| thunder road | -- 03-26-2017 @ 11:25 AM |
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Can you tell me if the original vin no. stamping is near the steering box top frame member? My 1940 coupe I recently purchased is vin. no. 165261890 is this an early or late car? If this was a 1965 mustang built in the San Jose plant I could get you close to the day it was built, but have no build date info on these early fords. Dom Domenic
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| kubes40 | -- 03-26-2017 @ 12:04 PM |
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Hi Domenic, The serial number was hand stamped on the left frame rail in three places. It appears you have found the only one that is visible without removing the body. If your transmission is authentic to this car, the number on it will also match. Anyway, the first two digits are 18, not 16. The serial number of you car indicates the engine / transmission assembly was produced in mid September, 1939. When was that assembly placed within your car? There are no records to tell us that precisely. I can offer you an educated estimate though. Most likely your car was constructed in late September to mid October 1939. This makes your car a fairly early one, "about" the 52,000 one (with 85HP) built for 1940. Does your car have any of the authentic glass in it? If so, what are the date codes? Hope this helps, Mike Kubarthg
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| thunder road | -- 03-26-2017 @ 12:46 PM |
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The car dose have date coded glass , with the ford script. The thing is, i remember being able to script date code my own glass back when I had my first 40 ford coupe. At Hershey their was a guy selling the kits with the acid to do the job. Back then their were at least a whole row of 1940 ford coupes to look at, and take notes. Me and my restorer -best friend looked at a lot of cars as to the placement of the script. One on the inside and one on the outside, and in specific locations and made sure it was right before I etched the glass , and it came out great. This car seems to have had the glass replaced , and I am not sure if all the locations are correct? This would be another good thing to have in the book, correct locations of the Ford Script/ date codes for the glass. It is trying to be spring here in Westchester County N.Y. And I can't wait to check the car out real good and drive it .Purchased it on Nov.21th and was able to change the oil and the anti-freeze and put it away. Hopfully early May the roads will be free of salt.Dom Domenic
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| 1940 Tom | -- 03-27-2017 @ 7:34 AM |
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Good Morning, Domenic--- Just a very general observation on your "early" vs "late" Ford question. How do the ashtrays open? Do you have a little door, with the knob at the bottom, and you push it in and slide it up to open it? Or, are they hinged at the bottom, and you pull the knob at the top to open it? As a GENERAL RULE OF THUMB (and Mike can help you more with this), the sliding door style indicates an "early" model (made in the Fall of 1939) and the ashtrays became hinged after approximately January, 1940, which would make them "late" models. See attached photo of the driver's side ashtray in my Deluxe 4 dr. Sedan. It shows the slide up door. I have confirmed that the car was assembled in September, 1939, so definitely - an "early" model. Good Luck. Tom P.S. - I was born in Mt. Vernon, N.Y. and raised in Westbury, Long Island, so I remember the salted roads. No fun.
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| trjford8 | -- 03-27-2017 @ 12:19 PM |
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Another indication if the car was early is the mounting of the windshield wiper motor. Very early cars had the wiper bracket spot welded to the firewall. Later the bracket was bolted to the firewall. I've seen both a coupe and a woody with the spot welded bracket.
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| 1940 Tom | -- 03-27-2017 @ 1:38 PM |
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Hey Tom--- I never knew that about the differences with the windshield wiper motor bracket. Thanks for the education. Tom
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| thunder road | -- 03-27-2017 @ 5:13 PM |
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Hey Tom, thank you for the great info, on the early cars having slide up doors for the ash tray's and the wiper motor bracket spot welded, or bolted. Mt. Vernon N.Y. is about 20 miles south of me. I used to take my first 40 ford coupe to the Mamaroneck car show in Sept. Back then the completion their was fierce . It took me at least three or four try's before I won a first place their. Me and my friend would take notes at Hershey and keep trying to detail and make our cars more correct. The guy I sold my first 40 coupe to lives in Mamaroneck and still owns it . It took me a total of twelve years from the first time I saw it to save up for it, and restore it, before I could drive the car it's first mile. I can't wait now to go out and check out my ash trays, and my wiper motor mounting bracket! Dom Domenic This message was edited by thunder road on 3-27-17 @ 5:16 PM
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| kubes40 | -- 03-27-2017 @ 5:16 PM |
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Very, very early cars had the wiper bracket spot welded to the firewall. I have had a couple of them. In fact one coupe and one convertible. I was unable to find a date when that first method was replaced but know that the bolt on type was already well in force by November, 1939.
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