'33 vs '34 Fords
 

How can you tell the difference between a '33 and '34 Ford besides the grill, number of hood latches on each side, and carburetor (Detroit Lubricator vs Stromberg 48) ?

Sal

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

Dash, bumper bolt location, curvature of the hood louvers, hubcaps, headliner sides, dash knobs, and the obvious ones you mentioned. Personally I feel like the 33's have a more attractive style the way the louvers, front of the door and the grille have more matching angles. The differences are subtle to those not in the hobby but to me they really stand out. It's a similar comparison to 35 and 36 pickups

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

1934 front doors have the EXTRA couple of inches on the rear of the window openings for the “roll rearward” vent window feature.

Micheal, I agree with you on the 33’s, the swoop of the grill, the curved grill louvers just a smoother better flow of the lines.

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

My vote goes to the 34 as I like the hood and grille more. I would love to own either but find the swoop in the 33 grille a bit "snipey." Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess. Now I must admit if I get the opportunity to own a 33 I will probably need to change my mind, which I gladly will ! LOL

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

When I bought my 36 pickup I thought the larger grille and especially being chromed made it look too big. I was thinking of installing a 35 grille but with the requirement to use the smaller 35 radiator I did not do it. Now the chrome grille has become a defining factor in my love for the 36. It seems to be what a lot of folks like also. It's very easy to become "kennel" blind."

Love the one you're with!

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

33 headlights have deeper or longer buckets than the 34.Now look inside and see the remarked difference in the instrument panels of the dashboards.

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

Add to those lists the front cross member, outside door handles on phaetons and roadsters, closed car door latches and locks, window channels and mechanisms, fenders, front fender brackets, and running boards on early '33s, fuel pump, engine splash pans, generators, air cleaners (V8s), bumper bolts (thread size and shaped of head), front fender aprons and front fenders on all '33s, radiator pans, and grille attachment brackets on radiator.

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

Thanks to everyone for the detailed info.

Sal

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

34’s are easy to tell even if you have an absolutely stripped down body with nothing bolted to it. There is a divot at the top edge of the firewall for the hood side to sit in. The rear wheelwells have a crows foot stiffening rib. And the lower hood latch fits in a hole with a flat top edge and the foot of the cowl.

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

I have to disagree a bit, iirc the stamping for the window opening in the doors is the same 1933-34, with a web added 1934 for the "roll rearward" feature. This leaves the 1934 window and the garnish molding about an inch shorter than 1933.


Add to the list, hood latch mount on cowl has a distinctive different stamping, the wheelwells on coupes at some point gaining "chicken tracks", and the large number of variations of the inner fenders.


Many of the differences may be more on the order of "running changes" than definitive model year changes.


I await Davids edition of the 1933-34 book!

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

Karl,


So is David.:)

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

I was about to say everyone forgot the carb, but there it was, in post #1.

Just about all first year models have issues to be resolved, and many are also the most beutiful. An exception to that is the '53 Ford over the '52, the style refined and perfect. The '49 and '50 definitely over the '51 stylewise, but again, the '49 had first year issues. The '33? Lots of improvements in the '34, but I'll vote for the '33 for style also.

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

No skin in the game but I've always thought Ford took a step backwards with their exterior changes of the 34? I'm a deuce guy but the 33 Vicky lights my fire.

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...p;d=1746438105

Note differences in Cowls - 1933 (blue) & 1934 (green)

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

NOTE the difference in window opening detail 33 to 34

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

1933
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...1&d=1746446370


1934
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...2&d=1746446370

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

You aren't the only one.

Ford especially took a step back with the back-end of the '34 Victoria.

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

Not to mention the differences like dash's, dash ashtrays

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

Dash ashtrays???...'33 & '34 - They look the same to me...


1933
https://www.supercars.net/blog/wp-co...04/1047770.jpg


1934
https://external-content.duckduckgo....db32eef41c06b1

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

Nope, they attach differently AND the 33 has a spring loaded lid that pops open when you pull the ash tray out. Just learned about those this weekend. Here is a 33 ash tray

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

My 1934 roadster has an early January 1934 serial number which shows on the driver side front frame and on the clutch housing. I bought the car in 1995 from one of the inheritors of a small, now extinct European car museum in Spring Texas.
Several of the unique things about the car are:
The serial number includes the number 40 where American made cars show 18.
The brake system is the 4 rod rear, 2 rod front type.
It has 2 latches on each hood side but the firewall sides look like they had been modified as they are a just a bit wavy when you examine them closely.
The air vent on the cowl and the front and rear bumpers are the 1933 style.
I'm not aware of any other differences but I wouldn't be surprised if there were some.

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

Here is a 34 ashtray

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

Petehoovie
Side by side comparison of 33 to 34 ash trays

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

Outwardly, they look the same to me. This, looking at the pictures I posted. Weren't we talking about their outward appearance?..

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

In an open position, they look different given that the '33 has a lid and and the '34 does not.

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

33 cowl lights are longer than 34's.

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

As far as perceived favor, many of the hot rodders of the 40s through early 60s converted 33s to 34s by changing hoods and grilles as they thought they looked better. Same with 35 and 36 roadsters, the 36 being considered much more desirable.

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

While well short of a statistically valid sample, which would be about 20,000 cowl lamps, of the dozens of both years' cowl lamps that I have had there has been no consistent difference in the dimensions of their housings. And they all have the same part number.

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

Robert/Texas,

Given that Ford had only two engine plants producing V8 engines during the 1933-34 model years and that no open cars were manufactured outside of North America with the exception of some exotic drop-head coupes made in Germany, your car's engine number with a prefix of '40' means that its engine was made at the Dearborn engine plant. That plant's log cites that some '33-'34 V8 engines had a '40 prefix but were still in sequence numerically with those with the usual '18' prefix. Your car's body was manufactured by Murray in the States and it and the rest of the vehicle was shipped to Europe eithe completely built up (BU) or slightly 'knocked down' (SKD) or more or less completely 'knocked down' (KD) with final assembly there.


The changes to the bumpers and their brackets was not a Job#1 '34 model change, but rather a post-Job#1 running change, as were a number of other changes like the shape of the ends of the spring leaves and the shift from Champion C7 spark plugs to 7s.

The six-rod brake system was a local requirement in a fair number of European countries at that time.

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

I have a 33 5 window coupe.

after studying all sorts of things to do with the Model 40, and by no means claim to be an expert or even an authority on early Fords and in particular the Model 40.

I believe due to the lateness of the introduction in 1933, the Model 40 effectively evolved to become the 1934 version, I feel the 33 had so many issues ie grilles cracking rear wheel well cracks etc, etc

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

David, Thanks for your information as I am always interested in any 1934 Ford information that I can get. I should have mentioned that the body number on the firewall is 710-LB-4758 which I assume means that the car was assembled in Long Branch plant.
I was born in 1934 and owned another 1934 roadster back in the 1950’s. I sold it in 1959 about 3 months after I was discharged from the army. I wish now that I could have kept it.

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

All of the U.S.-made '33 and '34 passenger car with bodies not manufactured by Ford had such a body number tag on the firewall (or were supposed to have) and with the letters LB in the middle. They had no connection with Long Beach. The first group of numbers on the tag were the body type code as in your case, 710 for roadsters.

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

I've run into an issue with the third bolt [for grills] on top of the radiators. My '34's need it, but the '33 radiators lack it. ?? Newc

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

Third bolt ? There is a plate soldered to the top of the radiator.That plate supports the grill,hood hinge bracket and the brace rods that extend to the firewall. .Here is a much better pic.

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

1933 & 1934 radiator side straps are different at the top?

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

Not to my knowledge.He spoke about the 3rd bolt and no mention of side strap of which there is no 3rd bolt.

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

I have found the third bolt hole [and bolt] in 34 grills car/PU It is a long nut secured by those clips. Photos= Chrome PU grill and the radiator with the hole for the third bolt. The nut has a broken bolt in it. checking my core radiators about half of them have the clips for the long nut. [34's?] Newc

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...7&d=1746672845

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...8&d=1746672845

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...9&d=1746672845

Re: '33 vs '34 Fords
 

It must be a truck application?