1939 to 1947 cabs are basicly the same,as are the doors. i am not sure about the deluxe hood and grill on the 39, but the 40 std will fit the 39
Other than the belt line treatment on the cab/doors?... The seam for the roof is at the front on 38/39, above the wind shield, and moved to the rear on later model trucks. 38/39 trucks were unique in a lot of ways when compared to 40~46. I have seen at least one example of 38 STD car front clip on a pick up, but as I recall reading about it it wasn't an easy swap.
google images is your friend! you will see cabs are different just looking at the doors. the deluxe grille on 38',39' ford trucks i have been told are tough to find. there are pic's in my albums of my 38'.
the basic style are the same but 38 39 doors have a different belt line and wont match 40-47 cab belt line edit I type too slow
38-39 pickups and trucks share many of the same parts...and all had the oval grille. The only 39 Deluxe was a car. Pretty much nothing on a 38-39, but the bed and frame will interchange with a 40-41. 42-47 doors will fit a 40-41 cab. The pressing on the inner door panel is different...but they will interchange. Hope that helps. Neal
that is 42'-46' ford. the real differences is the hood trim on those years. pre 46' usually has banjo rear as in 46' the dana style was option.
Here are a couple pictures of 39 DLX and '40 grilles. Basically, the 39 dlx grilles dont have the wide, cast center piece that '40 standard and pickup grilles did, but do have (or are supposed to have) stanless steel trim on each of the vertical bars of the grille. '39 dlx and '40 standard hood trim looks very similar, but are not identical. Look for thinner SS trim along the bottom of the hood line, plus thin "whiskers" as well. My truck was customized back in the late 40s-early 50s with a '39 dlx front end, but for some reason the original owner used '41 truck hood trim (very wide center trim, and lower trim similar to '40 standard). Pictures show both an original (thrashed) 39 grill and a repop '39 dlx grill without the SS trim, and a '40 standard grill (installed after a *&%$ Honda Accord took out my dlx grill). - Speedy
To change a 40-41 Pickup, or 40 car Std/Dlx., headlamps to the 39 Dlx. you simply unbolt the 40-41 headlamp buckets and replace them with the 39 Dlx. The 39 Dlx. grille and 40 Std./40-41 Pickup grilles are interchangeable though there is a difference in the curvature of the 39, more pointed, than the 40-41 Pickup. The 39 Dlx. and 40, Std/Dlx, fenders do not fit pickups without modifcation nor do the hoods. So, actually your truck is a 40-41 with 39 headlamp ***emblies as it sits now. Previously it had both grille and headlamps from a 39 Dlx. car.
Right, that is pretty much what I said. Actually, when I got the truck, it had one truck fender and one '39 car fender mounted - and since the car fenders leave a big gap at the cowl, he had welded it on. I would imagine the hood is a '41 truck hood, since that is the trim that is one it. Eventually, though, I would like to have the entire front end trim, grill, and headlights be '39 Dlx for a little different look. Using truck fenders and hood, though, to get it all to fit right.
'38 and '39 cabs are a totally different animal from the '40-'47 cab. '39 was the last to have a roll-out windshield. All '38 and '39 pickups had an oval grille, '38 and '39 grilles are different but will interchange. '38 and '39 doors have a 3-rib beltline stamping. '38 doors have laminated cardboard inside door panels, '39 has stamped sheet metal panels. There was a deluxe trim package that could be ordered, though I am pretty sure the "DeLuxe" name was reserved for cars. The fancy trim package consisted of a chrome plated windshield frame and chromed grille. It was a case of the same piece with different finish, so you could have a grille or windshield frame that was originally painted chrome plated and it would be all the same. '39 was the last year for a roll-out windshield. '39 and earlier wipers are above the windshield due to the roll-out windshield frame. '40 and later has the wipers below the windshield. '38 and '39 has the speedometer and gauges in two 5" round clusters. '40-'47 has a rectangular instrument cluster. '39 was the last year to have the headlight switch in the middle of the steering wheel around the horn ****on. '40 and later has a push-pull headlight switch on the dash. Most pickups were floor shift up into the '50 model year, but column shift could be ordered optional on pickups starting in '40. They were rare--I've seen one '41 with a factory column shift and a handful of factory column shift '42-'47's. Bed and rear fenders are the same '38-'41 (except for no V8 logo on the '41 tailgate). '42-'47 has the gas tank under the seat. '42-'47 bed is 3" wider than '38-'41 (46" vs 49"). '41 was the first year for a 6 cylinder option, and the 4 cylinder 9N tractor motor was also offered as an option in '41 and '42.
Nope never looked at it. He had a 40 truck that I was looking at about 8 months ago and he was trying to sell both as a package deal. The 40 was all chopped up to put in a sbc with a powerglide and a ford 9". He wanted 3k for 40 and it was a lot more work than what I wanted and more than I was spending for what was left. Could you set that truck up as a 41 though? I thought you could put the 41 front on a 42-47 cab,
As for putting a '40-'41 nose on a '42-'47 cab, bolting up to the cab is not the problem since it's essentially the same cab. The problem is difference in the frame. For starters, the '42-'47 wheelbase is 2" longer, 114" vs 112" on '35-'41, and the extra 2" is between the firewall and front axle, so the wheels would be too far forward in the fenders/wheel openings. '35-'41 frame tapers in at the front, '42-'47 is a straight ladder frame. '41 was the last year that pickups were built on a p***enger car frame. Starting in '42 the pickups had their own unique frame. Hanging and aligning front sheet metal would be a pain.
I am about to start a 38 project. I going to put my 38 cab and front fenders on a 47 frame. The cab is a direct bolt up, wont need to even drill a bolt hole. The rest I will have to see as I go farther. My metal is from a 2 1/2 ton flat bed. I wanted the 42 - 47 frame for the strength and the parallel springs. Van
I am very tempted to offer him a super low offer and do a fenderless truck that sits super low. I feel dirty doing it though.
I offered 300 and he laughed. I was going to do fender less with a 302 but really not that interested in it and no ***
anyone that wants to change the frame on a 38'-39' ford truck has never owned one. the results are nothing but headaches. the taper of the frame and steering box location will tell you "dont do it!"
Actually this is my third 38 and It will be my daily driver. The 47 frame will be a giant step up from the car frame Ford used on the 38. If you would like pics as I go send me a pm. I'm surprised that you have tried a 42-47 truck frame for a 38.
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