40 ford metal questions

Ok, This is the deal. I have a 1940 ford tudor sedan deluxe. I have a pretty complete car. It has one major problem. (to me anyways). It has a hole cut in the roof appor. 4 ft. x 3ft. The guy I got the car from told me someone jumped on it and caved it in. It sat like that and then rotted out so someone cut it out with the intensions of replacing it. This is where I need your advice..... I found a donor car. It is a 1941 ford tudor shell with a clean top. The question is this...... is the top on my 40 workable with 41 top????? my top is cut about 6-8 inches from the rain gutters on the sides, 10-12 inches from the top of the back window, and about 6-8 inches from the top of the windshield. Am I wasting my time trying to use this 41 ford or should I go a different route to repair the roof?????? Please help me out with your wise knowledge. tHANKS IN ADVANCE

P.S. I have the original 59 a-b motor, 3 on the tree ******, driveline, and rear end for sale

 

The '41 is completely different from the '40. Look for a donor from a '38 Deluxe or all '39s & '40s.

 

depending on the cost of another roof, you might want to see how much it would cost to make this part on an English wheel and weld it in place. it is just a compound curve and would be easy to make, especially if you dont have to make any of the rain gutters. .

 

So I take it that the 41 sheet metal is not possible to work out on my 40 huh. It looked real close to the same as mine. Finding a donor is hard, so I guess just putting in raw sheet metal is the way to go? What guage metal should I put in?

 

look at any of the turret top cars from the late 30s early 40s. you may find one you can use to splice in

 

I have a complete roof but I am in M***. If you want to have it shipped.

 

somewhere I have a photo of a 40 sedan with a sliding ragtop..

which is what I would do..

***of course. I am the guy who cut a completely good roof off a 4 door

 

Make friends with someone with an english wheel, problem solved. Seriously I use 1" thick styrofoam insulation to make a template out of. Then hit the bone yard and start looking. Make sure to make a template front to rear and side to side and mark which is which. Worked for me many times over.

 

38-40 4dr would be the same roof skin also.

 

if it were me, i would keep hunting for a good roof to splice in.

 

CAll Bobby Walden and have him make you one. He can make anything and it is perfect. Fresno has some good metal men also.

 

If the '41 roof is already in your possession, what's the harm in cutting the skin an inch oversize to your '40 hole? Lay the skin over the '40 for a lookie loo. I've never compared the two so I have no idea if they're close in contour. I'd be willing to bet if there is a difference it will be that the '40 has more crown. If that's the case, it would be easier to roll more crown into the '41 skin than to start from scratch with a flat sheet. One of the cheapy English Wheels you see advertised virtually everywhere these days would get the job done. As far as HOW-TO do the install? That's a whole 'nuther discussion...........

 

Yeah, but your car turned into a very nice unique piece !!!!! Well worth the effort.
Glenn

 

thanks glenn


40_ford_tudor
if i understand your description of the issues with your current roof. this is what I would do.



ps not sure where I found this photo online.. dont know anything about the car or its builder.. but I like it.. and I think it would make a ho hum 4 door a knockout.

 

I agree with Tinman. You can set the '41 roof on there for free, and see what it looks like. Beats the hell out of starting from scratch with an english wheel. Especially if you found a sedan you could make patterns from, then roll the '41 sheet metal to match.