I did a search and couldnt really find much on the differences of 49, 50 and 51 ford shoeboxes. I know theres a sedan and a coupe and I know there is changes in the grilles. But what are the changes between the 3 yrs. THanks for the help in advance.....
Among other things, the 49-50 had exposed chrome trunk hinges. By '51 they were hidden inside the lid, looked a little cleaner. The coupe/ sedan thing has been covered here before. '51 was first yr. for an automatic.
Easist way to tell is in the grill. There are other differences in the steering wheel, trunk hinges, etc. but the grill is the easiest way to tell a stock 49,50,51 Grill on the 49 has no parking lights and has a center bullet with the half circle in the hood 50 also has the center bullet and half circle, but also has chrome parking lights And the 51 is the only one without the center bullet and half circle. So no brainer on that one.
a 51 transmission will not fit in a 49-50. found that out the hard way. headlight rings changed in 51 also.
The basic body panels are mostly the same, and everything is interchangeable with minor modification. See this thread. It covers nearly all the differences: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=364304&highlight=shoebox+differences
True hardtop, Victoria, appeared in '51, built from a convertible body to compete with Chevy's hardtop.
Door handles on a 49 the whole handle pulls out instead of a push button. The strikers and door latches are different. Best way to tell a stripped 49 door from a 50-51 is the door handle hole is square instead of round. Trunk handles and license plate surround is different. Horn button, grill, trunk hinges, gas cap, bumpers have no outer braces. Some later models have the fifty outer brace. Hood ornament is different and the 51 was the first year with automatic trans so the 51 firewall has a larger opening for the trans. Also the center ring part of the grill is deeper on a 49 than the 50. Theres probably more once I start working on my 49 that will come to mind.
The Aussies and Kiwis refer to 49-50 as single-spinners and 51 as twin spinners referencing the single bullet and dual bullets in the grilles. 49-50 have the cat's eye taillamps which bulge slightly to the outside of the quarter panel with a tapered bulge in the quarter running forward. 51 has a chrome-spear running forward from the wider taillamp housing covering the bulge in the quarter. The taillamp lens is plastic, wider and thicker than the 49-50 glass ones, and has a pointed cone stocking out at each end.
49 and 51 have diffrent floor than 51 have the hood hinges on 49 is not same as 50 and 51 51 have diffrent rear springs
Thanks so much....the hamb is like instant information no matter the question. Is any of the 3 years "better" to make a custom or is it all preference??? Didnt know if any were the "duckling"
Hell no. All of them look great as kustoms. However even though I love my 50 I would prefer a 51. Nose end just looks so much better to me on those. Just personal preference
The '49 does have parking lites...they are arrow head shaped and at the ends of the grille bar, while the '50 parking lites have stainless (or chrome) surrounds that wrap around the fronts of the fenders. '49 trunk hinges are more of a pointed art deco style, while the '50's are boxier in shape.
I can't believe nobody took this opportunity to post up some pictures of their '49, '50 or '51...you know, just for reference.
50 differences between the 49 and 50 and probably that many changes between the 50 and 51. All the important shit like hinges, latches, etc were constantly changing. Bumper irons were different from year to year as well as bumpers. The best mechanically was the 51 as they had 3 years to get the car right. It also had hidden trunk hinges. Not the prettiest front end in my book, but the one I would use to build a shoebox on. A 49-50 nose will bolt rite on. I am not a big fan of the dash in the 51 but again a 49 or 50 will bolt rite in. I used a 51 Ford coupe as a starting platform and put a 50 Meteor nose on it and 50 bumpers and a 49 dash. Pat.
Here is my '49 Coupe...with '51 bumpers, grille opening and hood...the only parts left that are visibly from a '49 are the trunk hinges
Well, OK, here's my bitsa: it's a '51 Victoria, but with all the trim (grille, headlights, tailllights, side trim, deck handle, bumpers, dash) from a '50, 'cause I like them better. So it's a fake '50 -- except for a '49 hood ornament and dash knobs.
'49 and '50 had a push button to start. '51 had the start in the key switch. Go to http://www.carnut.com/ and see the differences. 50FRAUD has the nicest one in the world.
50FRAUD, I was all over your car at the West Coast Nationals (I think) a few years ago. While I knew that Ford only made a Vicky in this body style in 1951, you still had me second guessing myself, thinking Canadian or?? Then, on my 2nd or 3rd trip back to the car, I read the license plate! Beautiful job!
Thanks, guys. One more time, check out this thread. It answers virtually ALL the questions posed by this thread: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=364304&highlight=shoebox+differences
The Jalopy Journal
