I picked this up and am trying to identify it. More importantly what doors should fit it? Thanks for any and all info! Jim Click here for video link of cowl: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtQIxwcPbe0&feature=youtu.be . . . . .
It could be a 30 Briggs body..I'm no authority on Model A's and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night! HRP
I think the two holes on each side indicate where a cowl stainless band is missing. This is almost always 30 or 31.0 Take thought of the patent plate with numbers missing, then pretend like it should have been placed in the same place on the opposite side. At this location, sandpaper a little bit and you should reveal the exact date, to the day, of the car. Most all model As have this stamp, which is not visible very well unless you rub on it.Perry
28/29 Sdn. Sdn fire wall had double bolt rails on the cowl face. They did not have a cowl band. Large hole on side is cowl lamp smaller hole is likely an add on light of some sort. Iceman
I'm with the suggestion that it is a Briggs body closed car cowl.A kind of a mixture of 28/29 and 30/31.The holes on the side are for cowl lamps and wiring.The bracketry on the firewall at the top are for the radiator stays.
Ok- thanks for all of the input. It does look a lot like the pic posted of the 28-9 briggs. Never head of a briggs??? Don't know anything about them. Next question is what doors will work with it, or will all 28-29 doors work. I am thinking of turning it into a RPU. Jim
Wanna say '30-'31 doors will also match right up. Did a modified project that way with some old coupe door skins a while back.
There's a little misinformation being thrown around. Like a couple guys said, it's a '29 Model A Fordor Cowl. That's the answer. It could be a Murray or a Briggs, but to know we would need to see the doors. Briggs doors were flat at the top of the window, Murrays were arched. The typical 28/29 Cowl you're all used to with the scoopy pillars (Like on my coupe) are common to all Coupes, Tudor Sedans, and Pickups. Fordors were like this guys' video. Roadsters were like a coupe but with a bead in the pillars.
Briggs and Murray made the bodies for Ford,, and used the panels for thier cars from the previous year,, if one was to take the tank skin off of the pictured cowl (30-31) B or M,,there would be a 28-29 gas tank underneath,, been there done that. Three piece firewall is the clue. I would pick it up.
The only two numbers I see which are clearly stamped on the firewall is 7 8. Is this July of 28? I did not have to sand it to see them- they are very clear. Jim
This is without a doubt a 1928 or 1929 Model A Ford Fordor Sedan or Cabriolet cowl. The bodies were built by Briggs or Murray, the Fordor, including the cowl, were based on a prototype designed by Lebaron in December of 1927. There are other ways to identify if it is a Briggs or Murray, there might be a body tag on the firewall (didn't see one) that would have the body serial number and Briggs/Murray. There are other hidden ways to tell if it is a Briggs or a Murray. http://www.fordgarage.com/pages/murraybriggs.htm The tag referenced in the video is the patent plate which listed all the patents that the vehicle was built under. It would be of no use assisting you in determining what the cowl came from. -Tim
Actually that date isn't the date the vehicle was built. Research has shown that the date is when the gas tank, not the car, was assembled. The thinking goes that there were some quality control issues with the gas tank and the date was stamped onto the engine side of the gas tank. The earliest known date on a vehicle is May 31 1928 and the latest is August of 1929. There are numerous examples where the date on the gas tank pre-dates the engine and frame number. Let me backtrack... The engines were built at the River Rouge plant, they were put on a test stand, run for awhile and then after passing the tests, they were stamped sequentially. These engines were then put into storage or shipped all across the country to a different assembly plant. On the assembly line, as a chassis was being assembled, they would take an engine, place it into a frame and then stamp the number from the engine onto the left frame rail near where the rear of the cowl bolts to the frame. So, there are examples where an engine with a serial number that corresponds to a particular month are in a car with a gas tank from a couple months earlier. FWIW -Tim
Ok- The Month and year were stamped deep and clear- the year not so much. It sure looks like 29 to me. And if I am reading it correctly it's birthday is coming up!
You are correct Dreddybear it is a 28/29 cowl. The fordor has a little secret. It has a false top and if you remove it you'll find underneath the complete 28/29 gas tank, like a coupe or roadster has. Rich
Ok- so the date says 29. I have a 28 frame and a 29 cowl. It's a start. Now to start collecting parts to make a hot rod project out of this. I will be combing craigslist and the HAMB classifieds for more parts.......... Thanks for everyones input! Jim
Yeaaa another HAMB success. Khum by ya my lord.... khum by ya Honestly this is what i truley like about this board. The knowledge base and tenacity are pricless.
The Jalopy Journal
