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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / New to early Fords Have a bunch of questions

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Posted By Discussion Topic: New to early Fords Have a bunch of questions -- page: 1 2 3     gwistrup 12-10-2022 @ 3:19 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 37 Joined: Dec 2022 I may have the opportunity to obtain a 1939 Deluxe 4 door convertible that supposedly just needs assembly. The major components have been rebuilt and the body parts and frame have been painted. Most of the parts to complete the restoration have been purchased. I have not seen the car yet to confirm if this is true or not. What are the best resources for information on assembly? It sounds like I have a big puzzle to solve. I have never driven a vintage Ford before. What is its comfortable cruising speed? Would an overdrive unit be a good idea? Who would you recommend for purchasing parts? I would like to make this car as correct as possible within reason. Is there literature that has information on part numbers, colors, and fabrics? Thank you, Gil This message was edited by gwistrup on 12-10-22 @ 3:23 PM trjford8 12-10-2022 @ 4:42 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 4356 Joined: Oct 2009 Welcome to the Early Ford V-8 world. I'm assuming you have joined the Early Ford V-8 Club. If not then you should join to get the V-8 Times magazine. $35/year and it's a bargain. If you have already joined then we welcome you. First I would suggest you purchase the V-8 Club's 38-39 book which you can purchase from the On-Line Store. It will give you a lot of information to help with your potential restoration. In regards to cruising speed a comfortable speed, depending on the rear end ratio ,would be 55-60 MPH. There are overdrives for these cars. There is the Columbia rear end which is an authorized accessory for the 39 Ford and then there is the Mitch*ll overdrive which is an aftermarket OD. As for purchasing parts You can check the Links section of this site and there are many vendors who advertise in the V-8 Times magazine. The convertible sedan is a unique/rare Ford, so you want to make sure all the parts are there with the car. Things like complete top bows(metal and wood), the door garnish moldings, the correct seats, all the windows and window mechanisms, and if you are lucky maybe the prior owner has the upholstery kit and top kit. The frame and running gear are all standard to the passenger cars. Hopefully all the running gear has been rebuilt. Be sure to see if they have receipts for the work and also make sure there is the proper ownership documents that match with the frame number. The number can be located on the top left fame rail anywhere from the steering box mount to the front crossmember. Come back here with more questions if you need to ask them. This message was edited by trjford8 on 12-10-22 @ 4:44 PM ford38v8 12-10-2022 @ 6:19 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2883 Joined: Oct 2009 Times 2 everything Tom (above) said. He's hit on every major consideration important to your potential purchase. Not quite as important, but worthy of consideration also, you are not purchasing a car, you are purchasing a basket of parts, valued at considerably less than a car. Alan 1931 Flamingo 12-11-2022 @ 7:02 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 396 Joined: Nov 2019 Good luck ! ! C&G Ford and/or 3rd Gen Auto for parts. Paul in CT 3w2 12-11-2022 @ 10:42 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 877 Joined: Oct 2009 Good parts are becoming increasingly scarce and therefore more expensive. That is even more the case with parts unique to a single body type such as a convertible sedan. I would go further than those who have posted above and advise that unless you have had previous hands-on experience with a '39 convertible sedan, find a fellow hobbyist who has had that experience and arrange for a mutually convenient time for you both to thoroughly examine everything in person and in doing so make a list of what is missing or needs to be replaced. A '39 convertible sedan is very handsome car, perhaps the most handsome of any Ford of that body type (in my opinion), but putting one back together can be discouraging if you are missing too many unique parts. CharlieStephens 12-11-2022 @ 11:23 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 922 Joined: Oct 2009 Mr. gwistrup, The first thing you should do is put your general location in your profile. You never know how many comments/answers depend on your location. Talk with your local DMV about registering the car BEFORE you hand over any money. As soon as you buy the car GET IT INTO YOUR NAME! If there are any problems with the paperwork you want to know it BEFORE you invest any money. If you invest any money you will probably not get it back if it turns out that the car was stolen 2 owners back. Another benefit to getting the paperwork done immediately is that if anything goes bad you can still find the seller and he probably won't have spent your money on something else. When you register the car you state (again, where are you?) will probably tax it based on either the amount paid (keep the paperwork) or their estimate of its value. Their estimate of the cars value (hopefully) will be at the lowest when you first get it. In California (again, where are you?) you might consider using YOM (Year Of Manufacture) license plates. Also in California (again, where are you?) you can place the vehicle on "Non Operational" status and not pay annual fees until the car is finished and licensed for the road. Best of luck, I like the car. How about a few pictures? Charlie Stephens roadster36 12-11-2022 @ 3:29 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 44 Joined: Oct 2009 Make sure you get all the hard parts that are for the convert only. I have done several '38,'39,and '40 converts and if you are missing parts they are hard to come by. Convertible top mechamisms, some interior parts, etc. are tough to find. When looking at a pile of parts it would be easy to not notice missing items. Good luck and have fun with it. gwistrup 12-11-2022 @ 4:23 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 37 Joined: Dec 2022 Thank you for the helpful information. I was hoping to be able to see the car this weekend but it didn't happen. Thank you for reminding me that a pile of parts has a different value form a running driving automobile. I hope the seller also understands that. I live in Central New York. I will post pictures when I finally can get to see the car. Gil trjford8 12-12-2022 @ 7:31 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 4356 Joined: Oct 2009 Many great V-8ers live in New York. If you had a club roster it would be easy to make contact to see if they might go with you to examine the car. A second set of eyes can see many things you may miss. v8er 12-12-2022 @ 7:54 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 45 Joined: Oct 2009 Your Private Message feature is disabled. Please activate Private Messages so that you can receive them.

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