Hot Rods 40-47 ford pickups

How hard is it putting a 40-41 front clip on a 45-47 cab?

 

not hard at all. it is helpful to have a reference to put in the fender mounting holes in the cab. Now, the wood body mounts are a whole 'nuther story.

 

Is the cab on a '42-'47 ch***is?

 

'40s had transverse leaf front springs and a narrower frame.
'42 - '47 frames had parallel leaf springs and because of this the frame will extend outside of the '40 sheet metal up front.

 

It’s not “bolt on”. -42-7 frames are quite a bit different than 35-40(41) frames.

 

1. While the cabs are the same from '40-'47, be aware that '40 and '41 pickups are built on a '40 car frame. '42 was the first Ford pickup that was not built on a p***enger car frame. The first issue is wheelbase. The '42-'47 frame has a 114" wheelbase compared to 112" for the '40-'41. That extra two inches is between the firewall and front axle, so if you try to hang '40-41 pickup or '40 car front sheet metal on a '42-'47, the front wheels will be too far forward in the wheel wells. '40 car or '40-'41 pickup front sheet metal is hard enough to get aligned on the stock frame, it will be harder on a different frame. The '40-'41 pickup frame tapers in toward the front (narrower at the crossmember than it is at the firewall), while the '42-'47 frame is a straight ladder with no taper. The easiest thing to do is to just learn to love the jailbar front end. It will grow on you. The good thing about the straight ladder frame used from '42-'47 is that it is much easier to swap in any drivetrain you want with fewer clearance issues around the driver's side exhaust manifold and the steering box. If you just hate the jailbars, you have some options on grille swaps. The easiest is a Mercury (Canadian Ford) pickup of the same vintage--they had attractive chrome grilles somewhat reminiscent of a late '40s Chevy. The late '40s Chevy and Olds grilles are a possibility as is a late '40s Dodge grille (I've seen a late '40s Dodge grille fitted to one of these trucks and it looked factory. I have also seen '42-'48 Ford car front sheet metal grafted onto a '42-'47 pickup. You would have the same issue with the car sheet metal being designed to fit a tapered frame rather than a straight ladder, but the wheelbase is the same so your front wheels would be centered in the wheel wells.

 

I could not feel the love for the jailbar look. So I welded up the bumper outlets and made a Willys-esque grille using modified Cal Custom bars.

 

True.
My gigundo BBF w/ a Lincoln C6 trans fits the '46 frame. Just barely - but it fits.

 

Thank you guys for the info. So many smart and talented people on this site.