ford would have found it almost impossible to mount 200,000+ car bodies on the same exact frame...each car that left the factory had it\'s own frame
Basically ... YES ... There are some minor frame production differences. Reinforcements and such. But for a Hot Rodder ... the differences do not matter. I have seen a few weird things in my 30 plus years of Deuce Doins ... Like this frame ... Front crossmembers also vary. A lot of the time ... you can tell which body style was on the frame by looking at the rear springs. The number of leafs ... gives a indication of the body. Roadsters have the least and Fordors have the most ... or that's the way I have seen it.
I've never seen that extra bacing before? Any idea what problem they were addressing? I've not seen cracks in that area, but have seen dimpling from bottoming out on the frame.
If your lucky, I believe you may find a deuce frame under some 33 pick-ups too, at least the early productions. Correct me if Im wrong here.
...here I was, workin' so hard to bust your balls, and Randy(Deuce Roadster) had to be a straight-man...
Ray Kuns 1947 issue of Automobile Racing had a feature on building A California Roadster Racer, the reinforcements were added in July 1932. Note that Ford issued a replacement rear corssmember to go with the reinforcement plates.
I did not actually own the one in the photo ... but I do have one like it ... only nicer. It came out from under a very nice, low mileage 4 door sedan and by the serial number ... 199,xxx it is a late, late 32 frame. The guy I got it from bought a new repro 32 Jerry Kugel chassis with a IFS and IRS set up and did not want the old junky 32 frame. He also did not want the firewall, fuel tank or the original hood. I got the rolling chassis. He wanted a Bitchin firewall, a bigger stainless steel tank and a smooth 3 piece hood. So I bought him a Bitchin firewall and new stainless tank ... and We swapped ... He is HAPPY ... and so am I ...
The reinforcement was a late-32 factory fix for the frame sagging that could occur when cars were driven down bumpy roads with a full gas tank. I understand there was a Ford service bulletin about it. I've seen that reinforcing on a '33 pickup frame. Dave http://www.roadsters.com/
I have seen many frames with the July 32 update and all the ones I have seen are on the inside of the rails (that's why the new crossmember was not quite as wide) Although I am not a 32 expert!
I'd say about half the frames I've seen have the INSIDE reinforcement. But I've never seen the OUTSIDE reinforcement. Gotta be very rare. I would think that would interfere with the wheelwell and floor clearance, causing squeaks.
i thought the outside was the dealer installed fix and the inside was the factory changover thats why the holes are enlarged around the rivets so it can be added without removing the crossmember
Yeah, the outside reinforcement was dealer installed and used as kind of a stop gap... Those frames are super rare.
SUHR's understanding matches mine, but all that stuff is very poorly documented. The bulletins show only the final solution, the inside braces, but there were a LOT of differences in every part of early production frames. They are all rare, as they happened before production reached anywhere near full volume... Odd stuff: first center X members were straight part only...no K early brake pedals had no separate braket...direct to frame parts next centers had different parts for B and V-8, final was interchangeable I think Several fron member changes...early B, early V8, then a fusion of frame parts and mount spans based on late V8 mounts rear, short one for late internal braces, long for no braces/external braces Probably lots more...the bulletins barely touch most of the evolution, and the parts book rarely shows anything about early stuff. Sometimes I feel like every '32 part I find is unique... Even the USA Owner's manuals have generations...I checked mine with a friend against the resto list showing that there were 3 different V8 ones; between us, we had all five.
I've got one outside brace, from under a B pickup. The frame is entirely bolted...someone long ago must have entirely disassembled his truck to fix frame weakness, and finished by crudely bolting all together...I have trans from that, so can possibly find out age of frame, though B's don't date accurately.
when you asked if "truck" is the same?, >>if it is a "big truck", like a dual rear wheel, then the frame is very different from a car & pickup frame. They have much taller frame side rails, and no kick-up at the rear, over the rear axle. . .
since your the cornucopia of knowledge on 1932 Ford ! Is the cigar lighter the same on the 32 and 33 ???
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