Can someone tell me the difference in a 28-29 model a coupe and a 30-31 coupe? Have not been able to see them side by side and not sure if my old mind is playing tricks on me but looks like from some pics. the 28-29 slopes off quicker in the back behind the rear window and the 30-31 goes back a little more before it curves down.
28-29 has a distinctive coach line at the "A" pillar. Looks a lot like a 26-27 Model T coupe or sedan. The 30-31 has a distinctive cowl band. Lots of other differences. But those are good for quick spotting.
just look at the gas tank, 28-9 has a nice swoop to it plus the body lines on the side are a single flat and 30-31 have a double bump if that makes sense
First is a 1928-'29 Ford, look at the cowl (the section to the front of the door) the gas tank is much deeper and there really isn't much of a defined body line. The cowl on the '28-'29 is also a bit narrower than the rest of the body: The second picture is a 1930-'31 Ford. Look at the cowls, the body lines on the doors, etc...
Unless it's been welded and smoothed, the '28/'29 has a distinctive seam on the cowl side near the top. The cowl itself swoops inward from back to front or from hinge-pillar to firewall. There are some other differences. Hear...see for yourself. Black one on the left is a '29. Light green one on the right is a '30/'31. The deck or rumble lids are quite similar, in that they both curve down slightly from behind the driver, then straighten out then do the big curve down. A '30/'31 is also just a little deeper from doortop to floor.
Well since you asked about the rear end of coupes and everyone is talking about cowls and showing you roadsters maybe this pic will help you out better. Here is a side shot of a 28/29 coupe and a 30/31 coupe right next to each other. Compare and contrast.
I think one has dooredges that overlap the body while the other has door edges that are flush with the body.
28-29 have flat line/features at the belt, 30-31 are rounded. 28-29 do not have a body line along the bottom and around the rear wheel openings like the 30-31 does. 30-31 door window openings are slightly curved on the upper, the 28-29 are flat. 28-29 have a flat sunvisor and sit slightly below the roof line, the 30-31 has a visor with a feature line, and is flush to the roof. but the cowl is the biggest ataglance difference
looking at cretin's photo, I see what you are talking about the curve of the qtrs, I never noticed that before.
All the above IS true BUT the 28-29 Fordor And Town Sedans and Cabriolets have a cowl similar to the 30-31 which can confuse things. They have a 3 piece firewall whereas the other body styles have a 2 piece firewall. On all 28-29 bodies, the top portion of the firewall is the wall of the fuel tank. On 30-31 bodies, the firewall is 1 piece is bulged forward and the tank wall is hidden behind it. 28-29 Cars and Pickups have screw on radiator and gas caps which are the same size but the fuel cap is vented. 30-31 Cars and Pickups have conventional 2-ear mounting for the caps and the gas cap is larger than the radiator cap.
On the coupes, the 28-29 doors overlap front and back, 30-31 doors flush fit front, overlap at back. The tops are quite different but difficult to tell on the two chopped ones in Cretin's picture. The curvature of the top at the back is different, and the way the cloth roof attaches is different. The 28-29 top material comes down to the drip rail and the 30-31 just fills the hole. The curve of the trunk is slightly different as seen in the picture but the deck lids are basically the same, except for the way the rumble lid latch attaches to the decklid. Also the quarter windows are slightly different shapes. Red
Awsome response, never really noticed all the differences. Thanks for all the info. you have all helped me out. dave
To true, I got a cowl,always thought it was a 30, but its a 28-29 offa town sedan. In NZ ,we didnt get many 31's due to the depression ,so im told.
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