Didn't the late 29 have an extended plate on the back of the front cross member? Fender and running board brackets are different 28-9/30-1 There are also two styles of fender and running board brackets for 30-31; early is cast and later are stamped.
later center crossmembers had 2 chunks of steel stamped out of it to form anti-rattle supports for the brake rods... henry saving money...
The front cross members are different between 28 29 and 30 31 due to radiator heights. Front fender brackets are different as well.
Yep. Front crossmember is all you need to watch out for. My stocker 29 had a crossmember replacement at some point. It makes a mess out of hood, grill, & alignment.
They might be the same to a hot rodder but to a restorer they are very different. There were four major changes between '28 and '31. The earliest A-5005-A, was only used on about the first 200 cars. A-5005-B, is approximately 4 and 1/2 inches wider than the early frame and had a solid front motor mount. A-5005-C has a different front crossmember, 1/4" lower radiator mount depression. The latest frame A-5005-D has the front body bracket moved 2 and 3/8" rearward. Along with the four major changes there were over two dozen minor changes, such as bolt holes added and removed etc.
The front crossmembers are a little different, the radiator mounting points are at different heights and the early crossmembers were the front motor mount. They will basically interchange, a couple of bolt holes are in different locations.
Most differences aren't of any significance to hot rodding, except for the front crossmember radiator mount pads. Those are the areas where the radiator is fastened. The AR front crossmember, the earliest of the As, does have a higher vertical section that may interfere with some hot rodder's set-ups. It can easily be trimmed. Running an earlier radiator and shell on a later crossmember, you'll run into it being a tad too low. This is noticeable when running a hood. The 28/29 mount pad areas are higher than the 30/31 cross members and require a shim for the proper height. (Edited: Thanks to Dave for catching my flub.)
Outside of getting the radiator height spot on even if you aren't running a hood. Close only counts in Horseshoes and Hand grenades.
Most change the front crossmember anyway.. At least I always did to get the front lower.. My radiators and grille shells never sat to high....
Actually the last two lines are backwards. '28-9 radiator pads on the crossmember are taller. '30-1 pads are lower. If you put an early rad and shell on a '30-31 crossmember they will set too low. However you can always make a shim to make up the distance. '30-1 rad on '28-9 crossmember just sits too high. Talented people may be able to take a 1/4" or so slice out of '28-9 to make it work with '30-1 rad. Dave
Yes, Dave, you got it. I was typing it right in my mind, haha. Ford changed to the new crossmember in late 1929 with the exception of the overflow hole and shimmed the radiator up. They did this for the remainder of the model year and up until June 1930 on commercial models. I'll correct my post. Thanks!
Well, I mean, has he got a particular frame or looking for one or body to go with it? Does he have a particular body, or looking for a frame? The answer may be "For what you're doing, it doesn't matter." But, we're in the dark.
I stand corrected. I forgot about the differences in front cross members. everyone is correct it depends on what your plans are for your build it it matters or not. Body mounts are all the same.
Thanks guys for all the input, thats alot to take in. I thought I read some ware that 28/29s had elongated holes for the radiator and the 30/31s had round holes. The reason I asked was to try to identify my project. Its a 28/29 roadster pickup but as my frame vin number, when stamped on the engine was 2/24/1930, so the California DMV says it must be registered as a 1930. "Thats Life"
The 28-29 pickup body style carried over into mid year 1930, so it could still be correct. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
the DAY, MONTH , YEAR are stamped in the '28-'29 tank face... 6" from the left and about 1" up from the seam. that is the tank's date of manufacture...
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