1936 Ford Sedan Delivery

A reader wrote in asking for information on how I installed the 1940 Ford dash into the 1936 Ford Cabriolet.

Doug

"Just found your website and am interested as I am building a 36 Ford sedan delivery. I had to piece together a 35 Ford four door sedan from the B post forward and used the delivery body from the B post back. This modification uses the steel post from the Ford four door and only required a slight modification of the post casting.


This past weekend I managed to find a 40 dash and wondered if you used the front section from the 36 cabriolet dash when you installed the 40 dash in the 36 cabriolet. I am building my delivery with a reproduction 40 wheel and the swans neck floor shifter and with the 40 dash I hope to achieve a look similar to the cabriolet that you built.
Any info will be appreciated".

Thanks
Bill

Yes I did use a small portion of the cabriolet dash. I actually used the ends and top. You of course won't need a cabriolet dash. They are very valuable and it is different than the sedan dash. If I may suggests also, it would be much better to get an original steering wheel rather than using a fake. I try to always use real parts as the fakes almost always look like fakes.

I have built a lot of 36 ford bodies and have a lot of information on building a very functional and refined restorod. The list of modifications required to build that 36 Cabriolet that is on my web site is as long as your arm. The fact that these mods are not obvious is what I pride myself on.

My good friend that influenced the design work and technical information on the Cabriolet and who actually owns the towncar delivery, has a huge inventory of 35 and 36 parts. He has been an avid collector of those parts for over 40 years. If you are needing parts, we can probably satisfy your needs.
Doug

1936 Ford Custom Phantom Convertible Sedan

This 1936 Ford Sedan was transformed into a 34-35-36 Humpback Phantom Convertible Sedan. It had a great platform with only a few minor pinholes in the floor pan but had been hit very hard in the side. My friend Larry had a convertible that was in pretty bad condition so we decided to build a Phantom Car. We took 2-1/2 inches out of the running boards, used the bottom of a 1934 Ford Grill on the 1935 Ford Grill, reshaped the front portion of the fenders as well as reshaping all the fenders where they meet the running boards, and added onto the front inner fender aprons to fill the area under the grill. By using the upper cowl/windshield frame, doors, B and C pillars, we had the makings of a real convertible. Yes it is a one of a kind. The convertible windows will function as well. The picture on the bottom is a 1935 Ford Grill before modification and after, with the 1934 bottom fit onto it. This project is currently on hold because we are concentrating on his Custom Coachbuilt Towncar Delivery.

1940 Ford Dash in 1936 Ford Cabriolet

The 1940 Ford Dash looks better in the 1936 Ford Cabriolet than it does in the 1940 Ford. So many times when this conversion is done , the character of the 1940 Ford Dash is lost because the trim is removed, the ash trays are lost and, the original gauges are replaced with industrial looking gauges with the industrial looking billet insert etc. After all the trim is removed, you end up with just a silhouette of the beautiful dash that used to be.

When I fit this dash into this car, I retained all the character of the original dash. The control knobs are just slightly altered and the controls are actually changed because the systems in this car are totally different than the old 1940 Ford. The amount of work that went into modifying the controls in using the original knobs would be a long story in itself. I won't go into detail on that here.

I did use some of the top and ends from the original 1936 Ford dash in order to mount the 1940 Ford dash into the car and retain the trim effect around the windshield. The 1940 Ford dash did require a little shrinking and reshaping on the top. I also had to make a bracket to hold the steering column.

The string tied off the one control knob is hooked to the original NOS Yoder Wolf Whistle that I install on the top of the Fuel Injected 1957 Corvette engine that powers the car through the Zephyr geared transmission and the Columbia two speed rear end.

1936 Ford Sedan 1936 Ford Cabriolet 1937 Chevy Truck

1936 Ford Sedan 1936 Ford Cabriolet 1937 Chevrolet Pickup Truck in Doug's Classic Coachworks display at the 2008 Seattle Roadster Show. I had a nice spot on the upper level, right next to the beer garden. That was convenient, as we could sit there and watch as we sipped on our Budweiser. If you look closely, you'll see that all three vehicles were awarded Best in Class trophies.

1939 Chevrolet

In 1939 General Motors issued a special Chevrolet Approved Mechanic pin. It is a gold filled enameled beauty. This 1939 Chevrolet Approved pin is quite small in size but is quite attractive when worn on your lapel.

1948 Chevrolet Suburban Panel Rear Door Tailgate

1948 Chevy Panel had barn doors. The Suburban had Clam Shell or Barn Doors. I made barn doors lower and used the upper clam shell on this 1948 Chevrolet Panel Truck. I just added some more photos to this blog.   Click here to see detail. Custom Door Conversion

1934 Chevy Cabriolet Windshield New Bronze Recast

1934 Chevrolet Cabriolet Windshield was made of pot metal. As you know, pot metal was used because of the savings over using something like brass or bronze, which would have actually been the ideal materials to use for the simple fact that it maintains it's integrity far better than pot metal does. Corrosion in pot metal goes inner granular and therefore becomes extremely difficult to restore successfully. If you happen to find that rare Chrome shop that is capable of restoring pot metal, you will realize the expense of the process. The word expense will actually take on a whole new meaning at that point.

Recasting a windshield frame as we did with this one is certainly no inexpensive matter either, but the outcome can be very rewarding if you have the patience, skill and understanding of the process. Shrinkage occurs at a rate of 3/16" to the foot. I had to fill the groove for the glass as well.

To start the process, you will need a plug or in other words an original windshield frame that is enlarged and smoothed, as well as filling most of the crevasses and holes. You have to make it so it will release from the mold without pulling the mold apart. The mold in this case being of hard packed sand. Referred to as Sand Casting. This is by far the preferred method of low production castings. The reason being, that it would be extremely expensive to make a dedicated mold as they did originally in the factory.

After the new recast part comes back from the foundry, you will need to smooth it to make it ready for chrome, fit it to the vehicle and do all the machining required to restore all the holes and cutout for the glass etc.

If you are wondering about cost to do such a thing. Lets just say it cost more than 10 times what the car cost new, just to recast the windshield frame. But then, when building a car of this caliber, options are very limited.
Installing a less than beautiful windshield would only bring the car down.

This windshield is probably the only 1934 Chevrolet bronze windshield frame.