| MikaJaakkola | -- 12-29-2013 @ 12:12 PM |
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Hi all, I'm new to this forum, and been thinking of purchasing 1939 Ford Fordor maybe in near future if I find a correct candidate. I've been wondering this matter for sometime. I'm located in Finland and in 1939 there were few hundreds of new Ford automobiles imported here. I know that the DeLuxe's had the "bigger" 85hp V8, and on finnish import Standard model series had the 60 HP engines. I've also heard that in USA there has been sold Standard models with the bigger 85HP engines. Can anyone estimate how many of these were ever produced ? app. ? Since what I've seen for sale, mostly are with 60 hp engines. I'll include a nice winter photo of 1939 Standard at finnish battlefront near Russian border. The sign says "Turn off the lights". Notice the dimmed headlight lenses.
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| 4dFordSC | -- 12-29-2013 @ 12:32 PM |
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Ford Standard Model 91A V-8 (85 hp) 91A 2-dr Five-Window Coupe-2P 38,197 91A 2-dr. Sedan-5P 124,886 91A 4-dr. Sedan-5P -- 91A 4-dr. Station Wagon-5P 3,277 John Gunnell, STANDARD CATALOG OF FORD, 4th ed., (Iola, WI: 2007), p. 49.
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| MikaJaakkola | -- 12-29-2013 @ 12:36 PM |
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Thanks for the reply. Does that " -- " mean that no Fordors were ever produced with 85HP engine, or that the information is not available ? I wonder how "big exercise" it would be to replace the 60 HP with 85 HP engine ? Or is there any realistic reason even do that (in hope of better performance) ?
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| deluxe40 | -- 12-29-2013 @ 2:56 PM |
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The V8 Album (published in 1985 by the Early Ford V8 Club) lists 28,151 '39 Ford Standard Fordor Sedans and 90,551 Deluxe Fordor Sedans. You can buy a 60 hp car and install an 85 hp engine, but it will likely cost more than buying an 85 hp car to begin with.
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| Stroker | -- 12-29-2013 @ 3:13 PM |
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Given that the 60 hp engine was not well-received in the US, many were converted to 85's post WWII. It does involve not just swapping-out the engine, but the transmission as well. In warm climates, the radiator should also be upgraded to handle the greater heat load. In the US, many 60 hp cars came with 4.44:1 and 4.11:1 final drive ratio's, which are a bit too low for use behind an 85. Today, as deluxe 40 has stated, you would be much better off to find an 85-powered example. It is also much easier to find parts for the larger engine, at least here in the US. At the risk of offending someone, I've driven both, and I would consider a 37-38-39-40 with a V8-60 to be seriously under-powered, especially in today's driving environment.
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| deluxe40 | -- 12-29-2013 @ 7:09 PM |
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Stroker - thanks for listing some of the other items that need to be changed when doing a 60 to 85 hp swap. I have never owned a 60 hp car, but I understand that the wheels are also narrower (3 1/2" vs. 4"). Also, the VIN on the title of an original 60 hp car has a "54" prefix rather than an "18" prefix like the 85 hp cars. Thus, it would always be recognized as a conversion rather than an original and this would diminish the value to some collectors.
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| MikaJaakkola | -- 12-30-2013 @ 12:41 AM |
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Thanks for the valuable information! How about the engine crossmember section ? Is it the same in 85HP Standards ? Are those 1939 85HP Standard Fordors rare or easy to find in USA ? They never imported any of those to Finland, only 60HP models. I've been looking for advertisements on 1939 Ford Fordors for sometime now and seems that Tudors and Coupes pop up much more easier on craigslist or on eBay...
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| TomO | -- 12-30-2013 @ 8:47 AM |
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There is a 39 Standard Tudor for sale in the Classified section on this site. You can also post a free wanted ad here and on the Fordbarn. You may have better luck on these 2 sites than on E-Bay as the ads are free and the sedans do not bring as much money as the coupes and convertibles. http://fordbarn.com/ Tom
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| MikaJaakkola | -- 01-01-2014 @ 2:14 AM |
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Thanks Tom! I will check these out...
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| juergen | -- 01-01-2014 @ 6:37 AM |
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I couldn't find figures for 1939, but in the Francis and DeAgelis book "The Early Ford as Henry Built It", the production figures for 1937 Standard Fordor are 18,541 with V8-60 and 20,804 for V8-85 and for 1938 Standard Fordor are 5,878 V8-60 and 11.288 for V8-85. As you can see, the V8-60 was falling out of favor, relegated to off highway and city duty. So I would guess that in 1939 V8-85s were the dominant power plant for Standard Fordor sedans.
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| MikaJaakkola | -- 01-01-2014 @ 10:35 AM |
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I found this webpage where's a picture of 60HP engines extra mounting brackets that are riveted to frame to fit the engine in place. http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/1939ford-project-teardown-4.htm
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