32 Parts - How to tell Original from Reproduction??
 

I am trying to figure out if some of the parts on the 32 Fordor I just acquired are original or repro, specifically the bumpers and the hubcaps.

Are there any specific details to look for on the backside of the bumpers that will ID an original?

How about the hubcaps. The front side looks brand new, but when I took them off the mounting ring looks old and just like the few original caps that I have. What should I be looking for there?

Thanks,

Neal

Re: 32 Parts - How to tell Original from Reproduction??
 

If you see Chinese characters they are repop. LOL

Re: 32 Parts - How to tell Original from Reproduction??
 

The repo bumpers have washers stuck in the end curls. The repo caps do not have really crisp bends. The repos are kind of radiused.

Re: 32 Parts - How to tell Original from Reproduction??
 

Thanks for the repsonse Andy. This car was "restored" in the late 70's/early 80's, so parts would be older reproductions if so. I'll try to post some detail pics tonight.

Thanks,

Neal

Re: 32 Parts - How to tell Original from Reproduction??
 

On the bumpers the middle knukle on the ends is larger in the middle then the top and bottom ones. also there is a distinct curve in the bumper near the ends.

Re: 32 Parts - How to tell Original from Reproduction??
 

The inserted washer in the curl is the foolproof test as some original bumpers did not have the enlarged middle knuckle on the end. Original hubcaps have a cadmium-plated base and the reproduction bases are zinc plated. There have been numerous versions of the caps and some are well made while others are mediocre at best. Even the best of reproduction caps, regardless of whether the caps are B or V-8, differ from an original in the shape of the center portion (the oval on a B cap or the V-8), but that's hard to perceive short of a side by side comparison.

Re: 32 Parts - How to tell Original from Reproduction??
 

We were just discussing cadmium vs zinc yesterday. Is there a visual difference between the two?

Thanks,

Neal

Re: 32 Parts - How to tell Original from Reproduction??
 

Zinc plating tends to have a hint of blue in it while white cadmium tends to be on the white side, sometimes with a hint of yellow in places. Normally zinc plating will have a bit of a gloss (depending on the condition of the underlying steel and the age of the plating) and cadmium will have no gloss, especially if it is old, again depending on the condition of the underlying steel. The color is the best guide to the difference without regard to the age of the plating.

Re: 32 Parts - How to tell Original from Reproduction??
 

On the hubcaps.The rivet holding the clip is installed from the outside on the original and from the inside on the repops I have seen.

Re: 32 Parts - How to tell Original from Reproduction??
 

I thought I had heard something like that. The ones on the car are all installed from the outside...

Re: 32 Parts - How to tell Original from Reproduction??
 

Here's some pics of the hubcaps...

The face of the hubcap looks too fresh to be original...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...827_212805.jpg

But the backside seems to tell a different story...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...827_212716.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...827_212741.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...827_212728.jpg

and the end of the bumper...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...827_213219.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...827_213337.jpg

I could not feel anything inside the end of the bumper...just the cap on the top.

Your input would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Neal

Re: 32 Parts - How to tell Original from Reproduction??
 

They look OEM to me.

Re: 32 Parts - How to tell Original from Reproduction??
 

Both the hubcap and the bumper in your photos are genuine Ford parts. The outer skin of your hubcap has been polished to a finish which is better than that of a NOS cap. That's not especially difficult to achieve as the quality of most (but not all) original caps was very good.

Re: 32 Parts - How to tell Original from Reproduction??
 

Thanks for confirming that they are original Ford parts...

Back on the zinc vs cadmium plating subject. Where it came up the other day was a discussion of 32 grille inserts. My brother was thinking the bars were zinc plated, then painted...my dad thought they were cadmium plated...

Do you know which Ford used?

Thanks,

Neal

Re: 32 Parts - How to tell Original from Reproduction??
 

I figured I would keep this same thread going, since it is all 32 Ford related.

Can anyone tell me if these are indeed 32 3w sun visors, and if they are original, restored or repro?

http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/pictur...ictureid=18066

http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/pictur...ictureid=18067

http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/pictur...ictureid=18068

Thanks,

Neal

Re: 32 Parts - How to tell Original from Reproduction??
 

I am also curious about the steering wheel in my sedan...

http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/pictur...ictureid=18069

The wheel seems almost too crisp and crack free to be 80 years old. Were 32 steering wheels ever reproduced? The car was "restored" in the late 70's...

Thanks again,

Neal

Re: 32 Parts - How to tell Original from Reproduction??
 

Lawson, you are funny!... Brendan

Re: 32 Parts - How to tell Original from Reproduction??
 

Bob Drake made an excellent reproduction in the seventies and I would guess that may be what you have. That is what I have on my car. If I remember correctly there were a couple of small differences that you could use to id an original versus a reproduction and I hope someone posts them. The joke used to be you could tell a reproduction because it wasn't cracked.

Charlie Stephens

Re: 32 Parts - How to tell Original from Reproduction??
 

I think the sun visors are original that have been restored. Mine had little caps over the ends of the welting. The wheels were once availabe as repo's.

Re: 32 Parts - How to tell Original from Reproduction??
 

The sun visors in your photo have be recovered or they are reproduction frames and end brackets that have been covered. That type of '32 visor was only used on early and mid-year deluxe (3-window) coupes. They will not fit on the header of your Fordor unless it has be modified.

As for the grille bars, Ford used very little zinc plating on '32, so the plating is most likely cadmium, which Ford used extensively. Cadium plating holds paint better than zinc plating as well.

Bob Drake reproduced the '32 steering wheel a long time ago. After some initial problems with concentricity of the hole in the hard rubber for the light switch/horn button, those reproductions were outstanding. Some but not all of them had the Drake name molded in on the back of one of the spokes. While many surviving original steering wheels are cracked from use (normally where the spokes meet the hub), some originals have remained crack free. A long time ago, NOS ones would turn up from time to time.