1940 ford floor question

I'm redoing the floors in my '40 sedan, and was curious if there was a specific reason why the floors from the factory had the removable panel over the transmission?

Or in other words, if I tie it in with the rest of the floor pans, will I kick myself later? I am running the original 3 speed if that helps.

 

Henry kept 40 floor is same as 39 which of course had floor shift tranny with removeable tunnel area needed for shift tower/stick removal.

 

I've crawled under the car and test fit different wrenches and tools to see how much room I have on the bottom for transmission removal, linkage adjustment and so on, and I don't think I'll have any problems, so for strenght purposes, I think I would like to tie the pans and transmission cover all together.

 

The trannie in these cars, once the rear/torque tube was pulled back, was removed into the INSIDE of the car, not from below. Hence, the big trans cover!

 

Never knew that was how they did it back then. I removed a tranny from a Camaro once that way. ...wasn't pretty, but I got the trans.

 

So maybe I will make it a two piece, otherwise I might have to pull the flathead if I need to remove the gear box. That's what I wanted to know.

Does anyone have pictures of their fab'd floors in a '39 or '40?

 

I would recommend keeping the transmission cover. You'll want it later.

 

There will be times when you wish you had the cover. Leave it in.

 

Any fastner suggestions?

 

I used hex head screws with a steel/rubber washer.

 

sweet. Thanks.

 

I agree. keep the tranny cover

 

did you guys replace the wood toe board with metal, or keep it wood?

 

Replaced toeboards last year with marine plywood. Works very well, it is strong, quiet and mostly weatherproof. By the way, I vote for keeping the transmission cover too, if you are going to keep the torque tube. You have to remove the trans from inside the car, and it also makes checking the clutch, working on the pedals, changing the u-joint, etc., a lot easier.

 

Id think it would be foolish to weld it in..

then again I really dont like lying on my head under a car anymore

then again.. this is a photo of the floor under the rear seat of my 40 wagon


my 40 conv sedan has something similar.. as will my coupe..

keep the trans cover. you'll wish it were there later

 

I used high quality, multi-layer plywood and sealed it with Thompsons Water seal before I painted it.

 

Thanks guys. You've convinced me to keep it.

 

Yep keep it. Last winter I pulled the trans in my '47 through the floor. I had the rear out anyway, it was easy.

 

Here's one that might help. http://www.bradleyfloorpans.com/39-40.0.html

 

Keep it removable. There is no advantage to making it all a solid floor. For instance, if you are still using the anti chatter rods you can't remove them without having a removable trans cover.