Technical Wanted your opinion

I cant speak for anyone else, but the main reason I discourage a relative newby from taking on a rough, incomplete '41 is that a lot of the trim is one year only, and theres not great aftermarket support. A rough, incomplete car with little aftermarket support is not a great car for a beginner, it has nothing to do with any dislike for '41s. Hell, I LOVE '37 chevies, but I wouldn't encourage a guy thats new to this to tackle a rough one with lots of missing trim parts.

 

didn't those old things literally come with boards for the floor?

 

falcongeorge is handing you some good advice IMO, that car is a major project and as some have pointed out not the most desirable car for resale. My suggestion, if you feel the need to build, choose a much better car up front or somebody's project that is for sale. I admire the men that build from scratch, the many hours in garage, many $$$ spent, I have only known a few guys that fit in that group. I have also read that 80% of cars built to completion are not finished by original starter/builder (Hot Rod Magazine) 2 years ago, a guy up here that thinks he's a "car flipper" bought a Real Nice mild kustom 41 coupe, red, 302 Ford, autotrans, tweed interior, caddy taillights, polished American wheels for 15K, IMO the deal of the day if you like that style car. Ended up selling to another flipper for 15K after trying to sell for 2 years at a profit, So my point is....... Think this thru and if this car is your dream deal, go for it and enjoy it, buying a car and making it yours is another thought to consider or stepping up $$$ and finding your dream and buy it. The car hobby is full of good people for the social outlet of like minded car crazy's, shows, cruises, etc. See you are a young man so your ambition level is high. Good Luck !

 

You have to have structure to lay the board on. Most of these don't get wood floors. We don't do restorations much around here.

Also not easy to notice unless you have a good eye but the bottom about 8"of the body needs to be replaced.

 

Insert a confused look here, George. What trim?

I have a 37 Chevy. There are four pieces around the grill (I&I has repops), two on the hood sides (straight pieces, simple enough?), a hood ornament, and a trunk ornament (sedan).

One could live without the hood and trunk ornaments (mine were shaved by the PO).

So what trim is hard to find?


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If I were to get a car of that vintage, that came originally with wood floors, you bet I'd be putting in some ridiculous grained wood in its place

 

ok well maybe a '37 isn't a great example, I was more trying to make the point that my advice to the OP to find a nicer car to start with isn't because I hate '41 Fords, its because that particular car looks pretty rough and incomplete.

 

Look...I was fresh outta high school with a newlywed wife and child on the way. We both worked, but barely made above minimum wage. I snuck out and bought a 29 roadster body with 32 frame and NOTHING else for $1200.00. It w as money I should never have spent. My dad came unglued and swore it would never be a drivable vehicle (and he was a major league hotrodder), my mom wept for me and my wife just kinda shrugged her shoulders and said "Oh Well". Almost exactly 1 year later it was done. I did EVERYTHING myself, construction, paint, upholstery, wiring, parts polishing, you name it, including a new floorpan, and, I had never done any of this stuff before. Powered by only the will to have a hot rod, I got it done, which in all honesty, is probably the least important thing that arose from this build. I learned an amazing amount and became a lifelong hotrodder with several builds, both minor and major along the way and would not trade anything for the experience. If you really want this project, jump in with both feet...if it don't come to fruition, all you've lost is a little money and a lot of free time. But, if it does work out well for you, it will instill a passion for these old cars that will last you a lifetime and you will look back 50 years from now and say...Man, what a great life Ive had.

I know this is true, because its exactly what happened to me 48 years ago. Been there and done that.

 

Thanks for the encouragement, and caution everybody.
Ron Brown that's pretty much what my wife told me. "You have the passion, skill, and desire, and if worse comes to worse you can sell it and make some of the money back"
Right now I'm pursuing some other, better options other than the 41 Ford

 

FWIW, the first time my 17 year-old son MIG welded, he put floor boards in his car.

 

Quick question. Found a decent 47 deluxe coupe and went to look at it today. I noticed that the front tires seemed pretty fast forward. What would cause this

 

Possibly a bent axle. Highly likely to be sub-framed.
That is when the front axle and frame portion of another car is cut off and welded onto this 47.
If that is the case walk away from it.
Need more front undercarriage pictures.


In my old age...
Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked.....
the good fortune to run into the ones I do.....
and the eyesight to tell the difference.

 

Frame and axel are stock

 

Then the axle is bent.


In my old age...
Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked.....
the good fortune to run into the ones I do.....
and the eyesight to tell the difference.

 

Or that car doesn't have the original frame under it.


In my old age...
Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked.....
the good fortune to run into the ones I do.....
and the eyesight to tell the difference.

 

This might be good for you to watch. From Hollywood Hot Rods on basic tools and metal shaping. Not what you think but a glimpse of something.

I got it from the Flathead Forum

 

Are you looking for a 40's car specifically? The other day when you first posted, I checked the CL listings around you and saw a couple cool 50's 2 doors that were good deals.

 

I always liked the 30s-40s Ford's the most.
If it's just the axle no biggie I was going to put a dropped axle in it anyways

 

If it's like that on both sides is it a Merc with a Ford doghouse?

 

The front spring on 35-48 are in front of the axle . If the spring is on top of the axle it would move the wheels forward in the wheel wells. May have an earlier axle and spring to move it around.

 

I think you might be right the Merc is 118" WB and the Ford is 114" WB

 

Here's a stock front crossmember for the Fords. This is from my 47.


Here's a 46 Merc. The engine mounts are brackets placed behind the front crossmember.



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Yep it has the off set motor mount plates

 

And there you go. I'd jump on it. The Merc front end may be a little rare, but you could probably pull off a frame swap pretty easily and find the Ford sheet metal just about anywhere. OR move the crossmember back four inches and remove the wishbone extension adapter doohickey. If you do go with the Ford sheet metal, you also have to replace the steering column or shorten it because it's longer as well.


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Topher, you've been lots of mostly good information. Restoring that 41 sedan to running and driving will cost many thousands of dollars and an untold number of hours of labor. When finished you'll have a hard time giving it away. 41's have always been the ugly duckling of forties Fords with not too much resale value. If it were me I'd pass on it. Lots of better potential projects on the HAMB Classifieds.

Gary

 

are the frames the same, could I throw a Ford crossmember in ther instead?

 

I think you could get away with just moving that crossmember back and drilling out the holes for the motor mounts.


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Frames are the same. The Merc cross member is moved forward. If you look you can see a second set holes in the frame closer to the fire wall. That's were the Ford cross member would go.
The axle and the wish bone are the same. The mercury used an extension plate to move the whole unit forward and to mount the ball of the wish bone to. Remove the extension and move the front cross member back and it'set up like a Ford.
Old Henry was smart and cheap.
Torchie

 

I forgot to mention that the steering box bracket is located in a different spot as well.


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cool...thanks