Searched and searched, asked and asked. Is the 1950 four door frame good to use on a 1951 coupe body? I can't get a solid yes or no. Any help would be awsome.
Yes... The frames for four doors and coupes are the same for the respective years and are called "closed car frames". The 1949-1950 closed car frame (i.e. not the convertable or station wagon) is almost identical to the 1951 closed car frame. I say almost identical, because there are some very, very small differences that should not even be noticed. For instance, the front frame rail height for the 1949-1950 frame is 3 1/32", while the height for the 1951 is 3". All of the basic lengths, widths, side body mounts, etc. that you'll care about are exactally the same. You should not have any problems. Regards, X
The body mounts under the front floors are different in the illustrations. It looks as if the bolt holes along the frame rails could be redrilled for the new locations. The problem I see is the front outrigger mounts are 2 inches forward of the 49-50 location. I should be able to get you a couple scans from my Green Bible shortly.
If you notice the first couple dimensioned body mount holes from the front are different on the 51 vs the 49-50. Also the holes in the rails appear to be further toward the outside on the 51. Not saying that it WON'T FIT, just saying given the info I have there is some differences. After looking again the outrigger is the same, so the rail holes could just be redrilled if they don't line up. Good Luck and let us know how it turns out if you go ahead with it.