The Ford Barn - View Single Post - Unibody on a 49-50 Ford Woddie the same???

nelsb01 · 10-03-2019, 08:04 AM

Yes the main woodie bodies are the same. The tailgate is the only part that can be different -- wood insert or metal stamping. Now there are other small differences -- the door handles (1949 Mercury handles in 1949-push button in 1950), front fender spears were different, and you know about the rear side windows, the grille, front bumper, and parking light differences. I believe that only the very early 1949's had the wooden interior bows. The dashboard was also different. 1949 was birch woodgrained and I believe that 1950 was oak wood grained. There are also the dashboard trim that is different. But -- the dashboard size is the same so you can remove one and install the other.
As for the frame -- starting with job 1, 1949 Ford and Mercury woodies had the convertible X frame. Sometime in 1950 Ford realized that the ladder frame was strong enough and it was subsituted into production.
Part of Ford's marketing plan for 1950 was "50 ways better". Most of that pertained to the front suspension, so the 1950 frame would be the one you want to use.

10-03-2019, 08:04 AM	#12
nelsb01 Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Up North Posts: 626	Re: Unibody on a 49-50 Ford Woddie the same??? Yes the main woodie bodies are the same. The tailgate is the only part that can be different -- wood insert or metal stamping. Now there are other small differences -- the door handles (1949 Mercury handles in 1949-push button in 1950), front fender spears were different, and you know about the rear side windows, the grille, front bumper, and parking light differences. I believe that only the very early 1949's had the wooden interior bows. The dashboard was also different. 1949 was birch woodgrained and I believe that 1950 was oak wood grained. There are also the dashboard trim that is different. But -- the dashboard size is the same so you can remove one and install the other. As for the frame -- starting with job 1, 1949 Ford and Mercury woodies had the convertible X frame. Sometime in 1950 Ford realized that the ladder frame was strong enough and it was subsituted into production. Part of Ford's marketing plan for 1950 was "50 ways better". Most of that pertained to the front suspension, so the 1950 frame would be the one you want to use.