Ok if your doing a 30 31 model a then buy a 32 radiator and put the 32 shell on it.. It fits cause henry was playing with the 32 shit with the 30 31 shit.. 28 29 A it will work but more work and custom hoods if your running a hood.. Notice how i did my whole post with out using the D word and didnt make any fucking spelling errors.. Ya i have a 32 ... but i dont know how to spell deuce which doesnt really mean jack shit because i own a fucking 1932 ford. Love Dave
Thanks Jusjunk nice and simple post, anybody got info on the 28/29 swap as well. Sorry to read about your plight Bull, damn shame, I had a head on 12 years ago and boy it took some time to recover. It is all about your mind remaining strong and the body will look after its self. Hot rodding will get you thru it. Stay strong buddy.
No sh_t sherlock! I knoow it's been done but if you'd shut up and listen! You might find some other expert other than yourself willing to pass on some technical (tech to you) advise that could save me some of my valuable time and $.
Here's my experience on it. Hard won to an extent since I have a 32 roadster and 31 on 32 rails roadster. Radiator size enters into it if you want the right look. Right look defined as the hood line flows from back of cowl to top of grille shell. Don't take the measurements as gospel, do your own measuring and aligning to get where you want to go. Radiator height is critical for 29, 31 and 32. Note that the 29 encompasses the 28 and the same for the 31 and 30 being pretty much the same. 32, get a radiator 1" shorter than stock height. Walker carries them and the other manufacturers should be able to supply them. American Radiator is one that I've owned. To get the 32 hood line correct with a stock height 32 radiator you'll need to use a 1/2" neoprene pad in place of the spring setup. That will allow the radiator to come down about as low as possible. Imo, 32's - Deuces - will have a better hood line with a 1" shorter radiator. You may have to trim the lower radiator sides, but no sectioning required. Here's a side view of about the lowest you can get a standard height 32 radiator. I know, you're asking about the 32 grille shell on a 31. Here's what's required for a good hood flow line. Granted, the 32 grille shell looks pretty good on the 31's, but it sits a little too high imo. Here's a pic of a 31 with a 1" shorter radiator. It sits up too high and doesn't look right to my eye . . . and a few others as witnessed by the hood panel article in the tech archives. What's needed here is 2" shorter radiator. The grille shell in the following pics doesn't have a radiator installed, but is sitting on some home-made adjustable supports and is at the height it would be with the 2" shorter radiator. Note that the grille shell sits lower in the 32 frame and the lower edges of the grille shell sides are trimmed 2". It has the same neoprene biscuits the 32 does. Like the guys say, the Deuce grille shell is a bolt-on (the Wescott catalog has the same info in the back pages). Even so, you'll be closer to getting the ever-elusive "look" and with the right stance on the car, it'll be a home run. All you need is the right height grille shell/radiator combo. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As far as the Deuce grille shell on the 29 goes, it's a tougher gig. From what I understand you need a Deuce radiator 4" shorter than stock. Along with that, you'll have to section the Deuce grille shell to fit. Note that Speedway sells re-pro Deuce grilled shells in fiberglass, 4" shorter and ready to go. Walker radiator can also supply the 4" shorter Deuce radiator. It is a popular swap and the aftermarket is aware of what it is and what to do, but you'll need some upfront info as well. Note too that this is for a 29 roadster on 32 rails highboy. It is a lot of work, way more than the 32 or 31 A's, but if you do it right you'll end up with the best looking hot rod highboy roadster there is. So much for the easy stuff, right? Geez . . . if this hobby was easy everybody would be doing it....
On a 28-29 the 32 shell looks best if it is chopped 2". Aftermarket inserts are available 2" shorter, and you can add a crank-hole, if that is the look you are going after. Good Luck, and let's see some pics when you change them both over.
One little bit I forgot to pass along vis a vis Deuces. Instead of pursuing that last half inch of lowness for the front end . . . which ain't all that valuable anyway . . . if you're building a Deuce frame and using the popular A front crossmember, instead of installing it level with the top of th frame rails, drop it down about 1". Granted, the front end will sit that 1" higher, but there are some benefits to be gained. Namely, the stock height radiator sits down 1" lower than the usual and a better hood design flow line is achieved. Since the design flow of the car looking at the side view is so improved the 1" of potential lowness is not noticed. And no, I didn't do this with either one of my cars, but wish I had. Compare this pic of my 32 with the one above. From the front it looks really low, but the car has the clearance to go anywhere within reason without having to worry too much or take special precautions. 24" tall tires up front. With 25" tall tires and it still looks low. I would guess that not too many overly low cars would venture across this dry lake, lots rougher than it looks. Lowness not a problem here, I just like the pic.
thats how i understand it.. i was thinking of putting a model a shell on a 32. would that work? ha ha
My 32 shell has 1-3/4in section removed from the bottom, I bought a 32 rad from Walker that was 2in shorter than stock and had an A bottom tank. The hood halves still need to be tweaked a bit and the rad moved back 3/8 or so...
Then you could tell people you have that elusive '32 Model A Ford and see how many guys say their dad or granddad owned one too.
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