| IRISH | -- 11-14-2009 @ 8:56 AM |
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Did Ford ever offer a chrome dash in lieu of the plastic version or was this an after market item
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| 42wagon | -- 11-14-2009 @ 10:53 AM |
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Irish I presume you are referring to the plastic dashboard trim used in all 42 to 48 cars. There is no mention of chrome plated die cast trim being available in the 41-48 Ford book. There is only the plastic trim listed in the 1942 Body Parts List. As far as I can determine it was never available from Ford as an approved accessory. If you are new to the early Fords and would like to know more about your specific car, restoration books are available from the Early Ford V8 Club and can be found on the home page. Ted
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| Stroker | -- 11-14-2009 @ 3:07 PM |
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This is from an old codger who remembers the Chrome dashes. These were an aftermarket accessory offered by such notables as J.C.Whitney in the late 49's and 50's. I believe they were stamped steel, rather than diecast, but I may be mistaken. If you peruse old Hot Rod & Motor Trend magazines of the era, you will see them advertised, along with those wonderful little v-plow shaped bug deflectors with propellers mounted on the front. I had a good friend who ordered one of these in about 1956 for his 48-4door, with a decidedly non-original 56 Chrysler Hemi. His original plastic dash was crazed and "petrified" from exposure to So-Cal smog and UV. The chromed replacement looked great, but of course wasn't "original". We are so much better off today, than we were in the fifties. In the fifties, you couldn't buy any repro parts, and finding NOS in the old Ford dealerships was an exercise in futility. It is so much easier today to correctly replace missing or damaged parts, given the number of great people who have gone to the trouble to "get it right", and of course the "World Wide Web". Keep the dash, it's probably much rarer than the car is, and it is part of history! If it really offends you, paint it to match the original miserable plastic. Stroker
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| IRISH | -- 11-14-2009 @ 4:11 PM |
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I believe the owner has the dash piece in his house and not on the car. The car is a 41 unrestored convertible. I have not seen it but its in a garage with 70k miles on it.
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| supereal | -- 11-15-2009 @ 11:11 AM |
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There are plated dashes available from a number of suppliers. C&G has them as on page 249 of their online catalog www.cgfordparts.com They also stock the correct plastic replacements. My '47 had a chrome dash when I bought it years ago, and I left it in place, as it is very nice. The original plastic was subject to cracking and fading from sunlight exposure. Henry Ford loved plastic, particularly soy based, and experimented with plastic body panels long before Saturn and others claimed to be revolutionary.
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