I have a 1929 cowl that’s in pretty good shape that was likely off a truck, sedan or coupe but has had the posts chopped in an attempt to do a coupester type build I’m guessing. Can I just get new repop posts (I have original stanchions) specific for a roadster? An old hotrodder told me he thought the truck/coupe/sedan cowls were a couple inches wider than a roadster so if I installed the new roadster posts it would be too wide for a 28/29 roadster windshield. Is there truly a difference on roadster vs other model A’s cowl width for 28/29?
There is no difference in widths. The '28-'29 closed cab truck posts are not the same as the cars. They used a hybrid post, which allowed the use of the remaining '26-'27 Model T car doors. Roadster door posts are specific to roadsters, car, or truck. If you want to make a roadster out of it, you can re-make the post tops, to take a roadster windshield. I think that there is a thread on here, that came up recently.
Possibly talking about 4 door cars and AA trucks ...the Fordor sedans had different cowls and widths...two different manufacturers different cowls and both different to the normal (hot rod) roadster/coupe/tudor etc cowl. In fact I read somewhere that there were 8 different Fordor bodies made by the Briggs and Murray shops in 1929.
I believe it’s a standard factory A cowl. So I should be able to get these and it’s essentially a roadster cowl after (the posts were chopped anyway) ?
My cab came from an AA. Exactly the same width. This holds true for all Ford made bodies. I cannot guarantee the Briggs or Murray dimensions.
Not exactly. Roadster and closed-car doors are not the same height, from the bottom, to where your arm would rest. Roadster doors are shorter, by several inches, the hinges are in different places, and have different body lines stamped in them.
Roadster (car and truck are the same in the cowl area): Observe this area here: Closed-car: Observe this area here: See the height difference?
Here is how the roadster windshield bracket interfaces with the cowl and the door: The top of the closed-car door is roughly between the middle bolt, and the wingnut. About the most common thing I have seen done to make a good looking coupster, is to get an aftermarket roadster windshield, and build posts, on the top of the existing door posts, tilted back at a pleasing angle, to support it. The best ones that I have seen curve into the door a little, and have the door corner finished nicely to accommodate. Can you post a picture of what you have, including the door post area? That should indicate what they came from (roadster, car, truck, etc.).
Isn't Smitty @sloppy jalopies doing a cowl conversion that may provide some additional info? found the thread: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...t-cowl-door-caps.1089821/page-2#post-12393220
Dood! Thanks! That was the one that I was thinking of. His is a 1930, which has a different cowl than a '28-'29, but there are a ton of good ideas in that thread.
So to clarify, I don’t have anything but the cowl at this point, not trying to convert a coupe or sport coupe to do a coupester build. I want to build a roadster and I was thinking that completely changing the posts on the cowl would automatically change the door hinge location and change the body line to use roadster doors and a roadster back half from Brookville while trying to keep some originality of a true 29. I’m a model A newb so trying to get opinions so I don’t waste time so everybody’s knowledge is much appreciated. Here’s the cowl, sorry I took the pics in the dark tonight.
No worries. I am just trying to line you up with parts that are more likely to fit together, and not make your head explode fitting them up. That is definitely a closed-vehicle cowl. The lack of bead on the door pillar, and the lip over the bar on the top of the tank give it away. With no hinges, it is hard to tell what it was, but not a roadster, originally. Yeah, you can put roadster posts on it, as long as you reinforce the hinge area. You could use coupe/sedan doors, too, and take the tops off. Coupe/sedan doors are longer (~29"), and make it easier to get in and out. With a roadster, the doors are shorter, but the remainder of the body is longer. If you are tall, it can make exiting funky. You should be able to find any/all of that without having to bust out a credit card. Henry steel is still out there. What state are you in?
'28 -'29 closed car A pillars are different than '28 -'29 trucks... trucks are taller [header] and the lower curl in the A pillars are shorter front to back than the cars... memory says the '28-'29 firewall, tank and cowl sides will interchange from roadster to closed car...
To further confuse this – these 28-9 4-door cowls had a roadster/coupe tank hidden under them, along with a continuation of the 30-31 (yes) body moldings and a factory cowl vent. They used to be dirt cheap with a nice tank that had never seen the light of day.
Help me expand my knowledge! I thought the first Ford manufactured Mercury was a 1939. There was an aftermarket Mercury body made initially for Model T's, then A's, but I thought all were "speedster" type roadsters. There was a 1929 Lincoln Torpedo, but I think these were all open-bodied cars. (There was also an Italian Bandini "Siluro" [English - "Torpedo"] sports car that was converted to Mercury outboard power, early 1950s. Your car appears to me to be a 28-29 Briggs 4-door (no side windows behind the rear door; Murray bodies had a third side window behind the door). Or perhaps a 28-29 4-door cowl grafted on to a 2-door body.
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