Can anybody with a Chevy of the '36 to '39 vintage tell me why, (if it actually is the case), would a person have to continue to run the two steel rods that run from the upper part of the firewall and connect out to the radiator shell? Why not do away with them? I realize they provide some structual support to keep the radiator upright and in place, but if a person is running a stock type hood, that also provides some "upright radiator support", as both ends of the hood's centerpiece "bar/hinge" also are connecting essentually the same things (from the cowl to the radiator shell)....and seems adaquate to me. We're in the middle of a rebuild on my '39 Chev sedan and are scratching our heads wondering why we would really have to retain those two rods. This is kinda an awkward way to try and explain these parts, but you 30s Chevy guys know what I'm talkin about. Thanks for any feedback.
I've got a 40 with the two rods. Have been there, done that----don't do it. It lends support to the whole structure of the front end. My entire front end is held on by like 6-8 bolts or so. Basically it becomes "top heavy" without those rods and you'll actually have movement of the entire thing. cooger
Probably to keep the top of the radiator support from moving side to side, which the hood itself is not going to control. Or maybe incase your hood doesn't fit anymore?
...they've worked for decades, I always use em, besides it's a good place to hang a trouble light....makes whole front clip very stable, as said above, they control side to side movement also.
Since I have fiberglass fenders on my 37 the rods are going to stay,I can imagine the weight of the steel grille shell along with the radiator filled with coolant would destroy the fenders without them. There are not many bolts holding the front clip on so it needs all the support it can get,I think it has only two bolts attaching the grille shell to the frame at the bottom so without the rods the fenders would take all the stress of the grille shell moving around so just think what it would look like after a couple years of driving around on not so smooth roads.
The '37 (Chevrolet) truck hoods are held on by the location of the grill shell in relation to the cowl. With out the support rods, the shell can move around letting the hood pins fall out, thus letting the hood go flying. Mine also has glass fenders, so very little support from them goes into the grill shell leaving only the two bottom mounting bolts to hold it all in place. The hood pins on my truck are only 3/4" long and move around a lot, with out the V rod, my hood wouldn't last very long at all. Joe
They were placed there by designers who knew their stuff, drive down a rough road without the hood and supports and watch the grill shell move side to side. This continued movement will stress the bolts brackets and sheet metal.
On my '40 sedan the rods also had the two horns mounted on them. When I put in the 350 I made a new left side rod to get rid of the bend in the factory rod that cleared the stock air cleaner. As others have said, the rods are necessary to keep the radiator support in place.
Thanks so much....obviously I didn't think of the extra stress and "downward pull"...and side to side movement possible. If I can't find any '39 rods (I had a "custom hood" on there before and it had other ways of holding everything in place).....looks pretty easy to fabricate a pair....anybody have the diameter rod used? Thanks again guys.....I can't believe myself sometimes....this all seems pretty obvious now!
For some reason I can't reply to your other post about the hood latches but Chevs of the 40'S has those too. Sorry about sounding like a salesman for them but they do have a ton of resto parts. Latch part # 378004B $50.00 a set. That part # is for '37-'38 but they look just like mine. I would call them to be sure. Good luck.
My experience is with Fords, but I don't think your issue is unique to Chevy but rather common to cars of this period. On my '38 Ford pickup, these support rods are of critical importance--you will never get the hood to latch right if they are not correctly adjusted. Even on a vehicle with a side opening hood, your hood won't fit right without them in place, and you will lose stability of your whole front sheet metal assembly without them.
I have found a V-brace/rod thjat is listed as fitting a "1939-40 Chevy pickup truck". Does anyone know if the V-brace that is on the '39-40 pickups is the same one or could also be used on '39 Chevy cars?
If you don't have the originals, go ahead and fab some up. Unless of course you want the chrome. Someone already said they are 7/16. They are simple pieces that provide a lot of support. You could get some pictures if need be to get the correct visual.
all of the above , but id be less worried about the side to side movement, take the old one out , put the hood on and pull the core forward and see how easy the hood falls out, then with the hood out push your core support back towards the cab , (SOFTLY) I bet you hit the fan ... now imagine that whole seniaro at speed. not fun lol , *edit* glad you decided to keep the rods
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