Hi, Has anyone ever swapped a 1939 Chevy truck dash into a 1940 Chevy truck? I have a 40' Chevy and it has a dash like the 41-46 Chevy trucks. My ***le from California says mine is a 1940. Everything looks like a 40' except for the dash. If the dashes interchange, I'd appreciate any info. Thanks Runningiron
Is it a welded in unit or bolt in now? I just switched a 40 Ford car dash in my 40 Ford pickup. Pickup was welded in but the car dashes are bolt in. The windshield moldings are the same, so it makes it a fairly easy swap.
mj 40's, Thanks for the info. I don't have the windshield out yet so I can't really tell. Hope it's bolted in. Thanks again Runningiron
Hey, Runningiron, I see that your truck's dash is rounded. My '39 Chevy truck has a flat dash with 3 round guages. My 40 Chevy truck, as I recall, also has a FLAT dash but with a rectangular guage cluster similar to the one in the picture that you posted. It may be that the 1940 Chevy trucks are a one-year-only Flat dash. Are you sure that your truck isn't a 1941 or later truck? What is the ID/VIN number from the Chevy Tag on the cab (or the engine #, if the little rectangular tag is missing)? I would think that it would be easier to swap between the '39 and '40 flat dashes than between flat and round, but I've never done either. Can you post a pic of the dash that you would like to swap in? That may help.
Hey Southfork, The tag on the p***enger side cowl is stamped 6KE059368. I checked the stovebolt website and that number indicates that it is a 1940 3/4 Chevy truck ***embled in Oakland, Ca on May 1940. Unfortunately, I didn't check the Ca. ***le real close. When I bought it, it came less engine and trans. The Ca ***le list the VIN# as AT3445992. That number comes up negative. I read in one of the forums that Ca often used the engine serial number as the VIN. So I believe it's gotta be a 1940. I guess when I take it to AZ DMV, I'll probably have to jump through some hoops and $100 later I'll have a bonded ***le, unless they look at the ***le, look at the mileage recorded on the ***le and believe my tale of whoa. But anyway, the dash that I'll eventually have to trade is the one on my initial thread. Who knows, maybe they ran out of 40' dashes that late in the year and through a 41' dash in it. Thanks Runningiron
I'm pretty sure that my 40 dash is flat, but maybe tomorrow I'll put on the snow shoes and hike back to the south 40 to verify it.
Are you sure you have a 40? My 40 has rounded dash and rectangular gauge panel. A 39 grille is similar to a 40, but has one extra grille bar. 1940 was also the first year with sealed beam headlights. I suppose there could be some end of model year carry-over?
runningiron, your dash is correct...I'm diggin your steering wheel, mine is a 3 spoke like an old tractor.
Hey Everybody, Thanks for your input. Black Primer, my grille has 16 bars in it, and the dash is rounded off with a square gauge panel, so it's probably the correct dash for it. I just got it about 1 1/2 weeks ago and discovered the Ca ***le has what I believe to be the engine serial # listed as the VIN#. I'll see what DMV says before I start taking it apart. Runningiron
Black Primer, Yeah I really like it, I noticed the steering wheel is different from the three spokes I've seen before. It's in really good shape and has some stainless bands around both spokes. At one time it has a horn ring, but it's been broken off.
When you get the windsheild open you'll see eight screws going towards the seat(when viewing from the firewall side) holding the dash and there will also be a bolt at each lower corner front under the dash .
IBB41, Thank you Sir. I appreciate the info. Rocky, that is a nice truck. I've always like the 40-46 Chevies. Rusted 40, you definitely give a new meaning to the word "hot wheels" I like that canvas canopy. Did you do that yourself or did you have someone s***ch it up? Thanks for the compliments on my latest project shop truck. Runningiron
The grill of the '40 truck is very similar looking to the grill of the '39 truck, but they're not quite the same. As mentioned, there are 16 horizontal bars on the 1940. Notice, however, that the '40 grill looks very different than the grill on the truck that Rocky has posted a pic of. Did that Grill start in 1941? If so, both the '39 and the '40 truck grill appear to be a 1-year deal. My '40 truck has sealed beams and the 16-bar grill, while my '39 has the old-fashioned headlights with bulbs and reflectors. I'm going to check to verify this tomorrow, but I could sware that my '40's dash is flat.
Southfork ,your correct, The 39 has one more bar in the grille than the 40 and round gauges. I'll look, but i dont think the dash panel is bolted. I know its welded in 39 cars.
Bluto, Thanks for the picture of your 39' dash. I noted the location of your windshield crank is totally different than mine. The one on my 40' is on top of the dash closer to the windshield. I don't know if it's worth the h***le of changing. Maybe I'll use a different set of gauges. Has anyone ever used the rebuilt and converted to 12 volt stock gauge panels sold by Jim Carter or Bowtie Bits? That might be the way for me to to go. I was hoping to use the old Stewart Warner gauges because they look so cool not to mention one less thing to buy. Bluto, I noticed your spotlight. Have you ever seen one mounted on the p***engers side. I''ve seen dual ones, but I can't remember ever seeing one mounted on the p***enger side. Thanks again Runningiron
36,37,38,39,40,41 grilles were all different. my buddy in the national guard got it for me, it happened to fit perfect. the old thing has hurt many ricers feelings. some bikes for that matter... I think I'm getting old I like the original ones better now.
You can take your guage cluster out replace it with a flat piece of whatever you like, drill the two holes to attach it back with and put any guages you want in there. This all bolts back in the chrome surround and looks like a factory hot rod part. I used 1/4 inch plexi gl***, painted the back side so it stays shiny from the front view and added aftermarket guages, pretty simple.
That sounds like a really good idea. It's such a small area to work with (am I whining again?), but I think I'll be able to squeeze a speedo and (2) 2 5/8" gauges in the panel. And, I just found another thread where a couple of gauges were located on the windshield wiper header. Kind of has an aircraft ****pit theme to it. Thanks
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