simularities with 1941 and 1946 ford pickup?

Here are some pics of what I did to improve the look of my front end - kinda gave it the look of a '41 Willys/shoebox/Cobra style grille.

 

Man, this is a zombie thread that just won't die....

 

This is my next build! I like the front with frenched head lights and shaved turn signals!

 

This might be a little late but I have a 46 ford truck that I have been trying to get going for about 10 years. I have the frame sandblasted sitting in my garage and I have a mustang II Independanr front suspension sitting here waiting. Does anyone have any info for the ch***is that could help me. I need to know where the centerline should be for my crossmember. Also where the rear axle placement should be.band what rear end fits good under it. Along with any other info that will help me get started. Thanks

 

40-41 front car sheet metal is very nice, but I'm kind of like the 46-47 car front end.

 

I dunno...I reckon they look okay in an ugly sorta way

 

have 35-41 frame and also have a 41 ford pickup for sale ,if interested call 417 483 1950

 

The cab is essentially the same from '40-'47. The '40 and '41 sits on what is basically a '40 p***enger car frame. The body mounts that are riveted to the outside of the frame rails are omitted on the pickup frame, and the pickups don't have the sway bar that was added on '40 Deluxe cars, but it would be easy enough to add one since it's basically the same frame.
'41 pickups, at least the 6 cylinder ones (first year Ford offered a six) have a front crossmember that is unique to '41. It's a deeper crossmember to clear the oil pan of the six cylinder. '41 pickups that have that crossmember sit a little higher in the front than a '40. Other than the omission of the body mounts and that special front crossmember for the 6 cylinder engine, '40 and '41 pickups are built on a '40 car frame.
Beds and rear fenders are the same '38-'41 and the bed is 46" inside width. The '41 tailgate is unique because it doesn't have the V8 logo stamped under the Ford script. Ford started offering a 6 cylinder option in '41, and they also put some 4 bangers in '41 and '42 pickups that were essentially 9N tractor engines. They're rare, never actually saw one, only saw pictures of them. '42 was the first year that the pickup had its own frame that was not based on a p***enger car frame. Ford built pretty much the same truck (the jailbar grille) '42-'47. A lot of people are under the mistaken impression that no trucks were built during the war years. Regular civilian production of p***enger vehicles was suspended in February of '42, so there are some '42 model cars out there, but a limited number of pickups and big trucks were built during the war for essential business use. I know the whereabouts of a '43 Chevy ton and a half flatbed, and the Shell oil distributor in Cartersville GA has a '44 Ford tank truck that the business bought new.
On pickups, the beds were widened 3" starting in '42. They did that because more building materials were being made in 4' x 8' sheets. A sheet of plywood won't lay flat in the bed of my '38, but it will in a '42 or later bed.
If you really hate the jailbar front sheet metal, I have seen a '46-'48 Ford car front clip mounted on one of these trucks, and the guy who did it made it look like it was born that way. Don't know how much work was involved. Same thing could be done with a '41 or '42 Ford car front clip. I think this swap would be easier for several reasons. '40 and '41 pickup is on 112" wheelbase, while the jailbars are 114" wheelbase, same wheelbase as '41-'48 Ford cars. If you put a '40-'41 nose on a jailbar, there are a couple of problems. Due to the different wheelbase, the front wheels won't be centered in the wheel wells. Also, a '40-'41 pickup frame tapers in toward the front and has transverse springs front and rear. The jailbar frame is a straight ladder with parallel leaf springs front and rear and little or no taper at the front, which is going to make the '40-'41 front sheet metal very difficult to fit. It's hard enough to align the '40-'41 pickup front sheet metal and get the gaps even when it's sitting on the correct frame.

 

I kinda miss my '42, when I bought it I didn't even know there were trucks/cars built during WW2, I was out looking for a engine for a forklift and the guy had this " '42 Ford PU"...front clip was off and stuffed in the bed. I thought for sure he was full of ****...he showed me the ***le and sure enough said 1942. Price was good enough to not even look through everything in the bed, I paid him, went home to get a trailer.

A few weeks later I start pulling things out of the bed, might as well put the effer together, right?

So the first thing I notice is the front fender, then the grill, then the hood...I'm wondering what the **** did I buy?

Off to the library, found the Standard Catalog of Trucks, or similar.

I'll be darned, I did indeed have a '42 Ford PU.

To me it was ugly like that runt dog of the litter.

 

Back in the early 80s I built this '46. Thought I could hide the "ugly" with flames...didn't really work