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Technical Drake's 40 Ford hood ornament ???

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by metalman, Jul 21, 2014.

  1. olscrounger
    Joined: Feb 23, 2008
    Posts: 4,770

    olscrounger
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    ^^^ This--have not been available for quite some time. Same with wiper towers. Grills are iffy too. I am going to take one to a plater and have it redone. Have done this with several sets of wiper towers (4 sets) and orig grilles but it's pricey.
    There is also an issue with the repops at the rear where they accept the center strip. The top rear edges need to be filed down a bit or they can put dents in the stainless strip-been there done that-learned the hard way.
    Wiper towers have not been available for a long time either-thus have to redo them-Baxter Ford used to restore them many years ago but I don't think any more.
     
    Last edited: Jun 26, 2020
    lothiandon1940 likes this.
  2. ..............I've seen that as well. The part may be dimensionally correct initially, but when they go through the plating process, a build-up of material causes them to be slightly larger.
     
    olscrounger likes this.
  3. Wow, that's a long ways off! I installed a new Drake ornament on my Deluxe about a month ago... fit well and I had to do no modifications. Of course; I bought it, the grille and wiper towers in the late 80's and still had them in the boxes. At least they USED to make good quality stuff.
     
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  4. olscrounger
    Joined: Feb 23, 2008
    Posts: 4,770

    olscrounger
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    As said I have never seen one that far off. Have installed many. Few years a go did a std coupe. The hood was NOS never installed-only one I have ever seen, The Drake std piece fit perfectly. On my coupe we had to do a bit of work to make it fit properly but not much--mainly in the arc curvature on the front.
     
    lothiandon1940 likes this.
  5. 100% Matt
    Joined: Aug 7, 2006
    Posts: 2,747

    100% Matt
    Member

    This is a Vintique piece. I’m wondering if that’s the problem


    Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
     
  6. goldmountain
    Joined: Jun 12, 2016
    Posts: 4,442

    goldmountain

    Heat would probably help. Saw a thread on here where heat was used on a bad speaker grille so I tried that on a die cast side mirror and managed to bend it where I needed it to go.

    Sent from my SM-T350 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
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  7. Kan Kustom
    Joined: Jul 20, 2009
    Posts: 2,739

    Kan Kustom
    Member

    I don't know how many hood ornaments or wiper tower sets are needed to manufacture a run but I would think that there are a lot more 40's than my two being built now. Seems the manufacturers are prematurely putting off production.
     
    olscrounger likes this.
  8. olscrounger
    Joined: Feb 23, 2008
    Posts: 4,770

    olscrounger
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Agree with Kan Kustom above but some of these items have been iffy on and off for quite a while. I had a hard time finding a deluxe grill 10 years ago when building my son's 40-finally found one then Drake had them in stock again about a year later. Wiper towers have been sporadic for years. Grills as well. Running boards were hit and miss too-when a shop here finally got a shipment of 5 I bought all 5 sets for myself and friends. Wiper towers I gave up on. I ordered some (5 sets) from a midwest HotRod place who said they had them in stock then charged me and then said backordered for a few weeks. They never got any and I had to contact card company to get a refund. Since then I have been redoing wiper towers as needed and have had orig deluxe grills rechromed. May dig thru my stuff and get a deluxe hood ornament redone as well as mentioned. My friend also has a few orig ones that are decent to rechrome.
     
    Last edited: Jun 27, 2020
    Kan Kustom and lothiandon1940 like this.
  9. Darin Younce
    Joined: May 8, 2019
    Posts: 589

    Darin Younce

    Been 20 years since I installed this same piece but I recall having to tweak it a bit and still it sorta raised in the back till screwed in in place. I noticed in the pic Trailer Ed shared , his sits somewhat lower than yours . Notice where his 8 is setting in relation to the stainless trim , then look at yours. I could be wrong but bringing it down, lightly tweaking the inside curve and then carefully screwing the now raised portion might get you really close.
     
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  10. olscrounger
    Joined: Feb 23, 2008
    Posts: 4,770

    olscrounger
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Just did some checking-looks like std grills are gone as well as are deluxe and deluxe hood piece as we know--only std hood piece available--side vent panels not available either. If you have any of these items you better hang onto them if you plan on another build. Looks like boards are available for the moment. Wiper towers long gone but I did manage to buy a set from Ficken wiper service last year-he had them in a trailer heading for Hershey.
     
  11. Kan Kustom
    Joined: Jul 20, 2009
    Posts: 2,739

    Kan Kustom
    Member

    There are so many guys just now getting around to building their 40's that to me it just seems premature to stop production. Hopefully the manufacturers will catch up on the amount of new builds going on and jump back in. I have been collecting parts and putting off my two builds for a long time and am just now getting to them. I know their are many more my age doing the same. I guess we need to all be more vocal to the suppliers. I don't think Drake and Carpenter are cutting back to slim down because of their age because they both have younger son's involved in their business. I just think they don't realize this has just been a pause in the parts buying era. My enthusiasm is peaking right now and I have conversations with others that are in the same boat.
     
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  12. olscrounger
    Joined: Feb 23, 2008
    Posts: 4,770

    olscrounger
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Kan Kustom-hope you are right and they start making the pieces again. As said some of this stuff has been iffy for years. Have a friend that has been doing 40's for 50 years. He has a lot of parts but won't part with them. If you beat the bushes you can turn up some things but not easily. I know guys with lots of parts but they won't sell any because they are still building cars. I know of a guy who has a NOS full set of fenders for a coupe-have tried numerous times to buy them as he has no need for them-nope-won't sell and I have helped him on many cars.
    Another guy I know has two NOS 40 std grilles-never installed and mint-nope won't sell.
    I have tried many times to buy these items to no avail. Another guy has a full set of deluxe coupe garnish moldings and no need for them-nope-won't sell and I gave him parts for his coupe (wiper towers)when he could not find them-Oh well.
    The parts are out there, they just won't turn em loose.
     
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  13. Jacksmith
    Joined: Sep 24, 2009
    Posts: 1,565

    Jacksmith
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Aridzona

    It's been said that since Bob sold out, they've moved production to China... if that is in fact the case, it's most likely an "off shore quality control" issue.
     
  14. .........When did Bob sell out?
     
  15. bangngears
    Joined: Aug 30, 2007
    Posts: 1,145

    bangngears
    Member
    from ofallon mo

    i had a similar experience and if memory serves me correctly there was an issue on the inside of the hood. It seems there were 2 layers of sheet metal that i had to trim one layer off so the ornament could fit.
     
  16. i.rant
    Joined: Nov 23, 2009
    Posts: 4,301

    i.rant
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    1. 1940 Ford

    @olscrounger
    I’m glad I called Drake when they announced they were going to pop 40 standard grilles and asked them to put me on a call list to secure one when they came “in stock” There was no pricing at the time and when available they did call and I was happy to get one.
    I remember the fella you tried to hook me up with for a grille wouldn’t even answer my email that I sent him introducing myself and inquiring about his parts or a possible lead on one. jeeesh, tough man to deal with.
    So if I never need it and I exit stage left my wife knows what I have into it $$$, anyone want on the list? ;):rolleyes::D
     
    lothiandon1940 likes this.
  17. olscrounger
    Joined: Feb 23, 2008
    Posts: 4,770

    olscrounger
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Glad you got one!! Yeah that guy was strange-he had 5 of them and sent pics--I tried again numerous times but no response either-very strange.
     
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