thunder road | -- 01-28-2017 @ 1:05 PM |
I know that 1939 was the last year for the rumble seat, but please tell me I could order this car without it. I personally love this model but could do without the rumble seat opening in the trunk. Dom Domenic This message was edited by thunder road on 1-28-17 @ 4:12 PM
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ford38v8 | -- 01-28-2017 @ 1:43 PM |
Ford offered four open body cars for 1938: Model 760 A, Convertible Coupe, single seat with Rumbleseat. Model 760 B, Convertible Club Coupe, two seats and trunk. Model 750 Phaeton, four doors, with trunk, Model 740 Convertible Sedan, four doors and trunk. Ford offered two open body cars for 1939: Model 76 Convertible Coupe, two doors, single seat, and rumbleseat. Model 74 Convertible Sedan, four doors, and trunk. Alan
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kubes40 | -- 01-28-2017 @ 3:04 PM |
Thunder, In a nutsh*ll, NO, you could not order a convertible coupe with a trunk in 1939. By the way, that car you'd attached in your post is, well, not one I'd want in my garage. Is that a nice way to say "it"?
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thunder road | -- 01-28-2017 @ 4:11 PM |
ford38v8 Thank you for the information. I know on the earlier fords you could opt , for the trunk in place of the rumble seat. Can you tell me if the trunk lid from a coupe, or sedan would fit this opening? If so then it would just be a bolt in, and you could save the rumble lid, and seat if you ever sold , so no damage would be done to the car. I seen a nice original 1939 convertible at this year's fall Hershey meet, and I always loved the small top on this model. What kind of surprised me was the bottom seam of the rumble seat . Seeing these cars in person is the third dimension that you can never get on TV, or in a book on a flat page Domenic
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Stroker | -- 01-28-2017 @ 6:37 PM |
38FordV8: I know this is "nit-picking" BUT... Model 780A Deluxe Station Wagon Model 780B Standard Station Wagon Were also "open cars", sharing chassis differences such as the thickness of front frame cross-members and cowling configuration. They also "shared" Easter Colors like your beloved Desert Sand due to that classification at West Coast assembly plants such as Long Beach.
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ford38v8 | -- 01-28-2017 @ 9:43 PM |
Mike, In a nutsh*ll, NO, your mother apparently neglected to teach you any manners. Dan, Did you employ moths and termites to take off your top? ...And they installed a rumbleseat? Dom, I've seen '36 Fords with trunks converted to rumbleseats, and I believe there was an aftermarket kit to do just that. It's reasonable to think that the reverse could be accomplished as well, although I've not seen one. Before you do that though, I'll tell you this: Without removing the rumbleseat or the seatback, a large conventional hardbody suitcase will stow neatly on top of the seat with the lid closed, and in addition to that, the rumble floorboard area can be stacked to the gunnels with seabags and duffels, while having room behind the rumble for bottles of oil and filters and such, saving the side pocket for a tool roll. The jack and related tools stash neatly behind the seat in front of the upright spare tire. I'd advise a small cooler on the passenger floorboard, readily accessible to your wife for when you require a soda pop. Oh, and if you put the top up, you can make her happy with a few estate sale purchases along your route, as the top well is roomy enough to accommodate quite a bit of loot. By the way, I'm confused with your statement about a seam on the rumbleseat? Alan
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MICHV8 | -- 01-29-2017 @ 5:48 AM |
Hmmmm...not much (or certainly enough) suggesting 1939 on that car This message was edited by MICHV8 on 1-29-17 @ 5:49 AM
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kubes40 | -- 01-29-2017 @ 6:46 AM |
Alan, My earlier comments in regard to the posted photo were in hopes to dissuade anyone from purchasing that car. As you may or may not realize, that car has been advertised numerous times recently. And, whether out of ignorance or blatant intentional misconception, it is nothing as is described in the ad. I am hoping to ensure that anyone entertaining the thought of purchasing it, knows exactly what the car truly is and pays the respective value.
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kubes40 | -- 01-29-2017 @ 7:05 AM |
Domenic, Most guys know me for my passion of the '40 Ford. Still, I must agree with you in that the body lines of a '39 convertible coupe are much more appealing than it's younger sibling, the '40 convertible. Of course that is simply "beauty in the eye of the beholder" and no doubt not an opinion that all would agree with. The rumble seat cushions should have no seams other than at the edges. I suppose a rumble seat '39 could be converted to a trunk model with some effort. Obviously, hinges would need to be produced and fitted to the body. That would require bracing that currently does not exist. The latch mechanism would require moving as well and as such, modifications there too would be required. All in all, a very doable modification but at a cost of course. If you are serious about this customizing, the car depicted in your original post would, in my opinion, be a perfect candidate for such as it has been so heavily modified already and any further modification would likely not decrease its value. Mike
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Stroker | -- 01-29-2017 @ 8:30 AM |
ford38V8: Alan, here's the "ultimate" non-approved accessory for hauling your Sea Bag and Refreshment. These were made right here in Ioway, and they also made a Dog Carrier that you could clamp on your running board. I still have my Grandfather's Kari-Keen Dog Carrier....Thinking about perhaps installing it on my Wagon..
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thunder road | -- 01-29-2017 @ 9:34 AM |
Thanks to every one who 's helping me with my madness. I am only using the picture of this particular car because it shows the deck lid area nicely, But this is why belonging to a club is so helpful, people looking out for other members. The seam I am talking about is the lower steel rumble seat lid gap in the steel deck lid. When I look at the lower deck lid handle it looks like it can open like a trunk? if this is so , and the lid from the coupe, or sedan is not a perfect fit, I would just get an extra rumble seat deck lid and steel fill it closed with an extra steel rumble seat lid, extended. Domenic Domenic This message was edited by thunder road on 1-29-17 @ 10:41 AM
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ford38v8 | -- 01-29-2017 @ 12:18 PM |
Dom, I'm still unsure of what seam on the rumble lid you refer to, but I'll take a stab at it: The car body accent beltline that runs from the front, around the back, swoops down and meets at the bottom rear? This same or similar beltline appears on all Fords of the era, regardless of body style. For a trunk model car, it sometimes becomes the lower edge of the trunk lid, but on models having rumbleseats, the rumble lid is the only opening, and not an additional opening cut into a trunk lid. You've either got one or the other, but not feasible to have both. As Kube has said in his later, more polite post, a trunk model requires additional bracing inside to compensate for its lack of structural integrity due to the large trunk opening. I understand now that the car you pictured is not yours, but used only as demonstration of your question. In Kubes defense, I had, as I think others may also have misunderstood, thinking the car was yours, and his post was an insult directed at you. He has now sent me a private note, indicating that I had insulted him. ...Oh, well, he and I are known to disagree, but this is just silly! Dan, that Kari Keen is just what my Granddaughter needs on her Smart Fortwo! Alan
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thunder road | -- 01-30-2017 @ 3:53 AM |
The car that I wished ford would have built in' 1939' and '1940' is basically the coupe body with the small convertible top of 1939. This car would have used the same trunk lid, and would have had the same full size trunk as the coupe. It's only now that I realized that they never did this in 1939. This would not have been hard for them to do since they already had the coupe body to work with. Lastly can someone tell me what that trunk handle looking thing with the license plate light in it dose since it appears this dose not open and is not a trunk, in the picture . Domenic Domenic This message was edited by thunder road on 1-30-17 @ 3:58 AM
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TomO | -- 01-30-2017 @ 7:26 AM |
The handle in the photo is for opening the rumble seat. Tom
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ford38v8 | -- 01-30-2017 @ 4:58 PM |
Dom, Ford's marketing department had to consider offerings from it's new Mercury division as well as from Ford, in order to prevent direct competition with each other. It's easy to play Monday morning quarterback and say what they should have done, but they had the numbers, and took actions based on their observations of the market at that time. The handle below the license plate was indeed a release mechanism for all models. A trunk latch is easy to imagine in that location, but for the rumble latch, it was connected by cable and pulleys, around the side of the body, up and around to the top of the ruble lid latch. If you look at Kube's picture from yesterday morning, you'll see the latch itself. Alan
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3w2 | -- 01-30-2017 @ 5:43 PM |
Not to throw a monkey wrench into this, but given that '37 and '39 cabriolets (yes, I know that the '39 did not use that name) share virtually the same body and several known obviously original '37 cabriolets exist with trunks, how certain can we be that the same cannot be said for a few of the '39 version. Those trunks were not merely rumble compartments without the cushions and a forward hinged lid, but rather a real trunk lid, quarter panels, and lower and upper back panels like the coupes. (Mike, Roy owned one of them briefly.)
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thunder road | -- 01-31-2017 @ 3:43 AM |
About seven years ago I had a personal lengthy conversation with Bob Drake at the fall Hershey meet where he explained to me his dream of recreating the 40 ford coupe. He had one of the competed cars their on display in bare metal and the car was spot on. Every spot weld was where it was suppose to be. Every seam including the roof ended where it was suppose to, as ford had originally made it, and the metal gauge was as thick or thicker. We talked about how this help to keep original cars alive if someone needed a quarter panel or running board they sold the pieces separately. They did not reproduce the hood, and only the front fenders had an extra seam in them. After two years or so he sold the right and dies to Dennis Carpenter who still produces them today. I think between the two of them they could come up with the missing pieces to create this roadster with a full trunk, like the coupe. This would be a great alternative to going out to buy a new car. Lastly where did they keep the spare tire in the original 1939 convertible coupe? Dom Domenic
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trjford8 | -- 01-31-2017 @ 4:25 AM |
The spare tire stood upright and was mounted to a bracket behind the front seat.
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juergen | -- 01-31-2017 @ 3:22 PM |
It is not steel, but Wescott makes this body style and you won't offend a purist by modifying a work of art.
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thunder road | -- 02-01-2017 @ 4:03 AM |
On page 130 of the " ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF FORD BY GEORGE H. DAMMANN " bottom of page year 1938. the camera angle makes it difficult to tell if this is the deluxe convertible coupe with rumble seat or the deluxe convertible club coupe, shown above in the artist rendering .Ford archives have the picture identified as the rumble seat version , but close inspection would seam to indicate that it could be the club model. The rumble seat version sold for $770 . When they say rumble seat version it leads you to believe that a trunk version was made? Dom Domenic
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ford38v8 | -- 02-01-2017 @ 3:12 PM |
Dom, You're beating a dead horse. The open car models available from Ford are listed in the first response to your question. Alan
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thunder road | -- 02-01-2017 @ 7:36 PM |
Alan, sometimes by beating a dead horse a lot of learning can come from it . Who knew that 37and 39 cabriolets share virtually the same body. or that, that trunk Handel is to release the rumble lid. Or where did they put that spare. Their is a 1937 ford small top convertible in the new March 2017 issue of hemmings on page 337 priced at $41,500 or best offer. Dose this mean that I could put a 1939 front clip on this car? Dose the cowl, firewall lower cowl accept the 39 sheet metal without any modification? I am a purist at heart , but if the parts just bolt on, and you keep all the original stuff and the car can easily go back then I am ok with it. Dom Domenic
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