Double Trouble - Sloper

[oz40]

Trouble always comes in pairs
So here's the story....on 'Double Trouble'.

HURRAH !!!! at long last, things have come together that my friend, Wayne and I have finally managed our schedules that we have been able to get a decent start on our 1939 and 1940 Ford Sloper projects.

With living overseas, working, both building houses and raising family, we both agreed,..to bite the bullet, and said we better get started, stop procrastinating any longer as we would surely die around our projects and never realise our dreams in driving and enjoying our Aussie 1939 and 1940 Ford Slopers.

Wayne and I have had our Slopers for a while now.
Unfortunately both the cars had somewhat hard lives until we got them and both the old girls sat around waiting for our belated attention. Though we didn't totally ignore them we did however continue to get parts, purchase new panels and manage to put together bucks for the rear lower areas.

Anyway, as you can seen by the early pictures they seem quite reasonable but once you get down to identifying the problem areas both the cars had near the same rust and damage issues.

Seeing that we had the same issues we agreed to jump into the projects and do them both at once, at the same location,, this way saving on time, energy, and speeding up the projects without double handling etc.
Our area is a little squeezed but the 39 and 40 are only a couple of feet apart and we easily jump from one to the other either doing the repairs or for on-going reference.

Follow along with Wayne and I during our build(s) and hope you like our Sloper resurrections.

[Pete from OZ]

Go for it Fellas, Will be following your progress.

Good Luck with it all.

Pete from OZ

[Manuel]

Havent seen a Sloper for a while!!

Manuel in Oz

[oz40]

Originally Posted by Manuel

Havent seen a Sloper for a while!!

Manuel in Oz

From memory, there might be (2) Ford slopers around that neck of the woods

[oz40]

Wayne has go a couple of these hiding in the shed..
They wanted to know, when can they start???

[Lawson Cox]

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Looks like the Roaming Gnome(s) have come to lend a hand. lol

[paul2748]

Sloper - that's a new one for me!!!!

[koates]

Hi there, "SLOPER" a bit like a USA tudor sedan but has a lower rear roof line, ie more slope. Hence the name "SLOPER" which was not an official Ford name and only built by Ford Australia in Geelong, Victoria (state) in 1939 & 1940. Regards, Kevin.

[oz40]

Hi,
Yeah, our beloved Sloper. Not many years ago, nobody wanted to know about one or even owning one.
I was one of them also,
How things have changed, now everyone wants one becuase of its rarity.
But I tell you nothing will let me part with this old girl!!!!!!!!!!!!

[oz40]

This is what we aspire too.

[Graeme / New Zealand]

It's the coupe you have when you don't have a coupe.

GB

[JWL]

If I only had a "Sloper" to race at Bonneville!!! Cool cars.

[Old Col]

Originally Posted by oz40

This is what we aspire too.

Hi Oz,that last pic is of my sons '40, shown here on the same day about 20ft. further along the street



....whereabouts are you situated?,regards, Col.

[oz40]

Hi Col, been watching his thread since getting it, great to see it come along since then.
What can I say, about Ford Slopers, I just love that shape and the body lines.

[oz40]

A few years back just prior to leaving to go overseas for work, in a moment of madness, I sold of my (2) perfect 1940 Deluxe RHD dashes to a friend in Melbourne.
And REGRET it till this very day...
Now that I am back ,I started chasing for some dashes, Boy!!! was I wrong, do you think you can get a Aussie 1940 dash now!!!
Anyway after much begging with the old friends, I managed to get another 2.
One was okay, the other, rusted all along the top and lower corner.

This how I went about doing the repairs on one of the dashes.
For the top edge of the dash I made up a male/female die that copied the small recess that has the screw holes to mount the dash to the inner cowl lip.
Basically I used just some small hand tools and varying thickness of left over scrap metal, welded up the set pieces and then prepared the new insert metal.
Then simply it was using a 20 ton press stand and pressing in the desired form.

[Snouts out]

Why did they build that body style there & not here? The ute was popular down under,what was the allure of the sloper?

[oz40]

Ford Australia though having imported various components via Canada over the previous years were bound by strict government Acts and regulations that sought tp protect the Australian workers and economy.
Out of this some unique Aussie came about because of our culture and needs.
Ford wasn't the first to do the Sloper style here in Oz.
Ford only produced this body style here for 1939 and 40 only.
If memory serves me right this was our version of the coupe and was referred to as Sedan Coupe.

Originally Posted by Snouts out

Why did they build that body style there & not here? The ute was popular down under,what was the allure of the sloper?

[robert hayward]

According to Ford Geelong sales book the correct name for Slopers was "Coupe Sedan"
There were only 1763 units made for the 1939 and 1940 style.

There is a body number stamped on the firewall near the kidney shaped metal cover over the wiring loom. For '39 Standard it reads S91C*** and for Deluxe D91C***, the Standard cowl, bonnet and fenders differ to Deluxe style.
In 1939 there were 1160 units, 368 were Standard and 792 were Deluxe.

The 1940 Sloper has a cowl number stamped 01A-70-*** ther were 603 units, 342 were Standard and 261 were Deluxe. Production of 40's ceased in December 1948.

In 1980's I owned a 1940 Deluxe Sloper, cowl number 01A-70-428, made in December 1941

[oz40]

Hi Rob
Thanks for the information, greatly appreciated.
Forgot to say both these are Deluxe versions.

Originally Posted by robert hayward

According to Ford Geelong sales book the correct name for Slopers was "Coupe Sedan"
There were only 1763 units made for the 1939 and 1940 style.

There is a body number stamped on the firewall near the kidney shaped metal cover over the wiring loom. For '39 Standard it reads S91C*** and for Deluxe D91C***, the Standard cowl, bonnet and fenders differ to Deluxe style.
In 1939 there were 1160 units, 368 were Standard and 792 were Deluxe.

The 1940 Sloper has a cowl number stamped 01A-70-*** ther were 603 units, 342 were Standard and 261 were Deluxe. Production of 40's ceased in December 1948.

In 1980's I owned a 1940 Deluxe Sloper, cowl number 01A-70-428, made in December 1941

[AnthonyG]

Very cool, never heard of them. They appear to have a roof radius line and rear side window similar to the original style VW beetle, obviously much larger. As JWL said

If I only had a "Sloper" to race at Bonneville!!! Cool cars.

The aero-dynamics would do well there!

[Russ/40]

Great and very interesting thread! Keep it coming, especially the progress photos.

[oz40]

The whole lip was rusted out so the repair sections was made out of (3) pieces with the screw mounting places measured up and then the correct angle on the folds done, and finally a small shrink done to give the right curvature near the ends of the dash.
Here I put a little heat on in the very corners just to sharpen the kick up of the curve.
Then I tack welded these up with the mig, ready for a little bit of grinding of the mig weld and then getting them for final oxy hammer weld.

[Graeme / New Zealand]

Originally Posted by robert hayward

According to Ford Geelong sales book the correct name for Slopers was "Coupe Sedan"
There were only 1763 units made for the 1939 and 1940 style.

There is a body number stamped on the firewall near the kidney shaped metal cover over the wiring loom. For '39 Standard it reads S91C*** and for Deluxe D91C***, the Standard cowl, bonnet and fenders differ to Deluxe style.
In 1939 there were 1160 units, 368 were Standard and 792 were Deluxe.

The 1940 Sloper has a cowl number stamped 01A-70-*** ther were 603 units, 342 were Standard and 261 were Deluxe. Production of 40's ceased in December 1948.

In 1980's I owned a 1940 Deluxe Sloper, cowl number 01A-70-428, made in December 1941

In the late 30s' through to 48 we got US styled coupes down here in NZ while the Australians didn't but we didn't get any 40s' because FOMOCO NZ had gone to War Production. I've always understood "slopers" to be coupe substitues and the correct designation you point out probably backs that up. Ford of Australia was quite innovative when it comes to body styles, something to do with a percentage of Aussie build content if I am right. ......correct me if I'm wrong.

[oz40]

Hi Graeme,
You are right there on 'Aussie Content'
Politics methodolgy has not changed since then either

Originally Posted by Graeme / New Zealand

In the late 30s' through to 48 we got US styled coupes down here in NZ while the Australians didn't but we didn't any 40s' because FOMOCO NZ had gone War Production. I've always understood "slopers" to be coupe substitues and the correct designation you point out probably backs that up. Ford of Australia was quite innovative when it comes to body styles, something to do with a percentage of Aussie build content if I am right. ......correct me if I'm wrong.

[Tudortomnz]

Originally Posted by Graeme / New Zealand

In the late 30s' through to 48 we got US styled coupes down here in NZ while the Australians didn't but we didn't any 40s' because FOMOCO NZ had gone War Production. I've always understood "slopers" to be coupe substitues and the correct designation you point out probably backs that up. Ford of Australia was quite innovative when it comes to body styles, something to do with a percentage of Aussie build content if I am right. ......correct me if I'm wrong.

True. With great hindsight, the Australian govt. only allowed car companies to operate within the country if they provided employment, & used local suppliers. Ford was allowed to build their Geelong Plant with prime port access as long as they moved into manufacturing, at first body building & later chassis components etc.
Re 1940' Fords in NZ, I believe some commercials came in. I know of a Std. Panel & big truck models here. Also '41 & '42 light pickups & big trucks for the Govt & Forces ; some '42 cars for the Forces too. Farmers also could get access to some new trucks in that period

[Snouts out]

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What does the finished interior look like in those beauties?

[oz40]

Something like this.
Thanks to Dale this is his 40 Sloper.

[Snouts out]

Very nice,like a club coupe.I wonder if they came in a business version,no back seat?

[oz40]

Well now you are asking some Q?
These 39 and 40 Slopers only came in either Standard and Deluxe versions and followed the Ford factory norm in body style versions.
The Slopers interior was very much the same layout as the Tudor models.
However with one big difference.

The back seat could be folded down totally flat back into the car cabin area making a long flat area that was either used for sales people for their wares or allowed for a flat sleeping area extending right back into the trunk area, as there was no cross bracing between the cabin or trunk.
This what makes our Slopers unique compared to a Tudor.

Originally Posted by Snouts out

Very nice,like a club coupe.I wonder if they came in a business version,no back seat?

[oz40]

There are only a small handful of these 39/40 Slopers left.
If someone has a picture of the seat in the fold down position, I would appreciate it, as I have long forgotten how it looks.

[tub1]

yumo must get me one of them one day on my bucket list big time

[Russ/40]

Originally Posted by oz40

Something like this.
Thanks to Dale this is his 40 Sloper.

Gosh, that is plush!
Looks beautiful!

[oz40]

This is the top lip tacked up. Now the oxy/acet work

[Russ/40]

You have some excellent skills. Keep the updates coming.

[oz40]

Next on the agenda was to repair the lower passenger corner and brackets.
Fabricated these pieces up and got them ready for the install.
Before putting them into their final place I had to grind off and prep the mig weld tack areas.
Then I oxy hammer welded these up.
I personally dont like mig weld up, I prefer the old way of oxy butt welding all my panels.
I just think its cleaner and less headaches at the end of the day.
Having done the oxy work I then jigged up the dash mounting tabs into a jig that replicated the orignal angles and dimensions of the tab locations and overall dash location..
With this simple jig everything fell into place like Henry wanted it to be.
You will see also the angle tab that supports the glove box flange.
I had to replace this because of the rust damage on the lower corner.
Then plug welded the brakets in and ground smooth the heads.

[mercman from oz]

Here are some more pictures of that nice 1939 Ford Deluxe Sloper. Notice how "fast" the roofline drops after the B Pillar.

[mercman from oz]

In addition to the 1939 Ford Deluxe Slopers, Australia also made them as Standard models for 1939. A lot of people get confused and think that these Standard Slopers are 1938 models, when in fact they are 1939 Ford Standards.

[oz40]

What can I say Mercman!! those two look sooooooooo nice.
That red 39 Std is very presentable. Is it a newer ressurection on the road?

[mercman from oz]

No, That 39 Standard Sloper has been on the road for quite a few years that I know of. The attached photos were taken back in 2006.

[mercman from oz]

Here are some pictures of another 1939 Ford Deluxe Sloper.

[mercman from oz]

These pictures show another 1939 Ford Deluxe Sloper & were taken back in 2007.

[oz40]

Thanks Mercman, great pics of the Slopers.
Any more?

[mercman from oz]

You asked for more pictures of Slopers. This one has to be the rarest of the rare. It is a 1940 Ford Standard Sloper. Complete with just the Tail Light on the drivers side. This one is a real beauty. Enjoy.

[oz40]

OH YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is nice.

[oz40]

Finally got the dash oxy welded up.
Now I just have to cut in the heater defroster duct areas and install the strengthener plate on the underside of the dash for the aerial base.
Other than that its just one or two small holes on the lower face that need attention.

And finally (later) some fine tuning to ensure the dash sits correctly into the inner cowl facia.

[fat fords]

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This is the dash Tom started with it's from a 40 Ford Standard. The car was was found under a Norfolk pine in Perth, which I had parted out in the late 90's, lucky the guy I sold it to still had it.

[oz40]

Not a bad dash to start with hey,

[oz40]

In the intro I did mention my overseas travel.
I set up a shop in mid Europe and here is the beginnings of the workshop and my Sloper waiting its time amongst the other projects.

[funrunr]

Is that a "woody" to the right of your sloper?

[oz40]

Unfortunately, this was the overall state of the car.
Pretty much rusted out and needing a fair amount of work.
The whole floor was chiseled out, cowl completely cut and butchered, and various panels all around affected by rust or damaged in some way from its past life.
Waynes, on the other hand was a lot more presentable as it was all in one piece and appearing not as damaged as mine.
But like I told him, they always come in pairs, hence Double Trouble.
Boy was I right......

But what the heck, its rare, its a Sloper and its mine.

[oz40]

No, sorry to put a plug on the heart rate.
It is a whole cowl section of a '39 sedan used to repair another '39 Sloper that I had.

Originally Posted by funrunr

Is that a "woody" to the right of your sloper?

[oz40]

I got lucky and scored a '40 cowl of ebay, had it shipped there, got it quickly sandblasted and grafted it on.
Just that one little thing was uplifting, changed the look of the front compared to the butchered piece that was on it, before hand.

[oz40]

At this time I bought about 5 sets of floor pans from Paul Bradley, for myself and a few of my friends who also own a couple of fat fendered 39/40 Fords.
Very happy with the quality of these.
Though since arriving back in Oz, Wayne and I have bought new floor pans also from Bob Drake.
Anyway the floors are set to go and just waiting the next part of the puzzle, which is not far off, as we have not been that idle.
We have been doing a lot of planning and fabrication of smaller dies/bucks for those little pieces that you just cant buy.
Here in Oz we had a small production run of 38-40 Fords so getting any old recycable parts is very hard.
Either get them from the States or in our case you make them.
Wayne and I think you guys will like the progress as we post them up.

[fat fords]

This is one of the Paul Bradley floor pans over a rusty 40 Pan, as can be seen the quality is excellent.

We both decided to use the complete Bob Drake floor system due to the overall condition of our existing floors & sub rails.

We also considered rear inner fender wells but decided on remaking the bottom 11 inches on both cars due to rust & fatigue. This will also give us fresh new metal to attach our new floors.

[oz40]

The thrill is in the hunt!!!!!!!! they say.
So I went tin hunting.
Found myself a '40 and just had to bring it home.
Problem is I could only get it onto the trailer like this.
Boy, did we get some looks on the way home.

Anyway the car supplied a few good parts.

[Chris Nelson]

They look like my old Volvo 544 that took me to school every day. I often wondered about the shape as Fords here weren't quite the same. I think Volvo must have copied the Australian Ford design. Very interesting information about them.

[oz40]

VERY secret location of where I am hiding my other stash of 39/40 bodies and parts.
Thank God, I have good friends that let me store my stuff at their place.
Do you like the security dog patrol?

[oz40]

Finally managed to find other pictures on one of the other hard drives.
Now I wont have to bore you with all the lead up to some more serious work.
Over the last few months I managed to build a 35-40 Chassis jig.
I was fortunate enough to have my good friend Warren, loan me his 37 chassis.
This was spot on, no damage and all measurements correct.

In between working on other people cars, I finally got the jig done and all welded up.
So I started drilling out all the rivets on the donor chassis from under my 40 coupe ute, and tore it apart and got it sandblasted and primered up in black etch.
I couldn't wait any longer so bolted into the jig real quick.
Unfortunately the centre section of the X member/cradle area is rusted out as well the rear kick up area.
So I have got a few repairs to do.

[oz40]

Both Wayne's and my car had more or less the same damage from the ravages of time and abuse.
Prior to heading off overseas we braced out Wayne's car as the B pillars had been weakened and torn away from the floor as well as all the various rust areas all over on his floor pan.
The bracing was made from front to rear and cross ways.

Whereas my car was still somewhat stable after all the floor having been chiselled out some years back with only the rails still intact enough to bolt down the body. Whilst my Sloper went overseas on its little sojurn I did give it a "sort off" bracing. Put that down to being slack.
I wont bore you with the pics of that one.

Now that both cars were back together at one location, the real issues of which sections of damage had to be done in order of priority and in what stages to get us ready for marrying the body to the new floors on the chassis.
Simple,!!!! we need to replace B pillars and rear tail pan areas.

Sorry for the quality of pics, but you can get the general idea how bad the overall condition of the floor and B pillars are on Wayne's.

[oz40]

Here are a few more pictures of the the B pillars on Wayne's Sloper and the full extent of the damage.
We cut loose the B pillar from the floor /rocker areas here on Waynes car.
Ensuring that we still had near all the floor still attached to the body.
Whilst we were getting this done we also made up some dies for the lower edge where it attaches to the rail..

[oz40]

The lower B pillar area on the Slopers have two beads for strengthening but one inverts itself and tapers out, so with the dies that we made, we hand formed the beads into the dies and then reversed each to taper out the bead.
With some minor trimming we then oxy welded them into their original set positions.

[oz40]

Whereas with my Sloper (oz40) as you can see by the pictures and my earlier comments, I had no rockers or even lower B pillars to talk about.
And even worst my poor earlier effort in bracing the old girl up for some serious work. Like I said I was in a rush!!!!!!

[oz40]

Anyway mine (oz40), B pillar repair finally done and looking real good.

We will be also fabricating new lower triangular wedge sections, at the lower pillar section as it connects to the rail though in thicker steel and incorporate these as one of the lower mounting points for the seat belts.

[Mart]

Excellent work, I can see how it was a benefit to have the better one to use as a guide for yours, and that having to make two of everything can justify making up the dies.

Good stuff.

Mart.

[oz40]

Hi Mart
Yeah, it is a lot faster making up 2 sets of everything than just making the one piece alone.. Sure helped having the two side by side.
But still a pain in the butt having to make them in the first place. Though thats what its all about, skinned knuckles and few headaches in between.

[fordy_nine]

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I congratulate you on your patience and persistence......Bob L

[oz40]

Next on the agenda was to fix the lower rear inner fender- wells on each car.
Again having the cars side by side we could readily reference and cross check any planned repairs without packaging a picnic lunch to check out another car across the other side of town.
Heres the pictures of Waynes' Sloper, inner fender-wells, not that bad, but still needing some TLC.

[oz40]

My Slopers', LHS rear inner fender was pretty well stuffed from a previous repair, as well it was breaking away from what remained of the rear sub rail.
RHS didn't look that bad but it too needed attention.

[oz40]

Whilst I was getting a few other customers jobs done around the place, Wayne was busy getting the schematics and templates ready for me on the rear inner fender wells.
Various cardboard templates and measurements were done between the two cars to ensure no suprises in our fabricated new panels and insert steps.

I got busy on making up new dies for the RHR near horizontal swag pressing.
First, I had to press in the swag first on the near 6' (2mtre) panel, then the whole floor line crease with the bead roller was next and then for the step, we quickly made up a timber buck to hand form in the lower piece of the webbing structure.
Finally with the bead roller we pressed in the two (positive/negative) crease lines for the rear edge of the inner fender-well.

Then we had a few hours of planning in front of us for the inner fender-well cuts.
This we call the "Board Room Meeting"
high level executive, forward planning!!!!!

But we couldn't help ourselves so we got keen with the cutting disc and had to cut some crap out just to see how it all started to look.

Mission accomplised now here comes the real cuts and inserts. for both cars.

[Ol' Ron]

Doing it right can be very satisfying, but only you know the difficulties in doing so.
Excellent work.

[jim galli]

Originally Posted by oz40

The thrill is in the hunt!!!!!!!! they say.
So I went tin hunting.
Found myself a '40 and just had to bring it home.
Problem is I could only get it onto the trailer like this.
Boy, did we get some looks on the way home.

Anyway the car supplied a few good parts.

Laugh of the day as I thought to myself, well, of course it's upside down. It's at the bottom of the world and simply got loaded as found.

Learned something new today! Never seen or heard of Aussie Sloper's. Rather like a '39 - '40 Victoria Coupe.

[FlatheadTed]

WOW You have your work cut out there OZ Man .

[oz40]

Thanks Ol' Ron.
Yeah there is only one way in doing it, and thats doing it right !.
Plus these old girls are worth it.
Very satisfying and great character building.

Originally Posted by Ol' Ron

Doing it right can be very satisfying, but only you know the difficulties in doing so.
Excellent work.

[oz40]

Yeah, it was good day there.
I saw the car buried in a foot of dry soil and I thought no way is this going anywhere.
Luckily, the car was only a mile from a new residential development, and there was a flat bed truck with a Hiab lift doing some work in the area..
So bingo, exchange one slab (box) of beer to the truckie and car was on the trailer, ready for its trip home..

.

Originally Posted by jim galli

Laugh of the day as I thought to myself, well, of course it's upside down. It's at the bottom of the world and simply got loaded as found.

Learned something new today! Never seen or heard of Aussie Sloper's. Rather like a '39 - '40 Victoria Coupe.

[oz40]

But like they say the hardest part is getting started.
I just keep telling all my friends its like the NIKE motto....

JUST DO IT !!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by FlatheadTed

WOW You have your work cut out there OZ Man .

[oz40]

Pictures of the pre-cuts on the 39, showing the relieved rails and rear floor pans sections from the damaged inner fenders.

[oz40]

Just another few pics of the rear inner panels during the various stages of making them.
A lot of planning, taking measurements and making patterns but we are pleased the way they came together and looked in the first fit up.

[oz40]

On Wayne's 39 we got the LHS new panel set into position and clecod in.
The last pic just shows some on-going trimming to allow us to re-set the panel with clecos and scribe the cut line.

[oz40]

The right side on the 39 has now also been finally set in place and tack welded in. Still some more trimming along the lower horizontal edge but this too is looking good.
Now that the 39 has been the test bunny, I can now do the trimming and install on my 40.
This will be a breeze
I keep telling Wayne, somebody has always got to go first, so if I stuff up I can then fix it before I do the same on my 40.

[tub1]

mate your not stuffing it up its great ,wish I had your enthusiasm why don't you make that old 39 a 40 standard while your at it better dash and window dosnt leak as much

[oz40]

Thanks mate, but I think Wayne would have nightmares if we continue to suggest we make a 40 standard out of his old girl

Originally Posted by tub1

mate your not stuffing it up its great ,wish I had your enthusiasm why don't you make that old 39 a 40 standard while your at it better dash and window dosnt leak as much

[oz40]

Both rear inners on the 39 now finally tacked in, and the rear radius trimmed back to suit the body/fender profile. The final oxy weld up on these are going to be left for a while, as we start to sort out the rear sections of the cars as they meet the tailpan.

[oz40]

Just taking a bit of time out and letting the mind drift a little on how it looks.
I took this shot of the 39 from inside the 40 trunk area.

[oz40]

Heres the cut and install on the 40's LHS rear inner fender well.
These are going in a LOT, LOT quicker than Wayne's

[oz40]

Then the RHS on the 40 gets the treatment also.
Nothing nicer than new shiny metal to look at.

[oz40]

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Well, this was waiting for us next.
Doesn't look too good, but what the heck.

[oz40]

Because of the scarcity of 39/40 cars and parts cars down here, and the fact that none of the reproduction businesses are bothered with making a repop of this lower qtr panel we went about making our own.
I got frustrated that time is flying by fast and I wasn't prepared in waiting till hell froze over, before one of them got their act together.

So what we did, we grid patterned out the best of the various panels and a remains of a whole rear lower section of a 38 that Wayne had, and made up both vertical and horizontal template patterns in the making up of timber bucks for both the LH and RH sides.
You can see in the picture the remanents of the grid pattern on the RHS of the 39 quarter.

[oz40]

Got to say a big thanks to Wayne here as he put a lot of blood, seat and tears in getting the bucks ready for me.
After a bit of fine tuning and a couple of re-runs spread over a couple of years because of my jolly's around the world, we finally had them ready for the first sample run out of the english wheel.

[fat fords]

Tom's gone off to recharge his batteries, he gone to sun his buns in paradise.

Though we got the 4 rear lower panels made up and readied for trial fit up. Pics coming shortly.

[oz40]

Been a while between the posts, but have to say holidaying in paradise is better than cutting rust out.

So, here is a few pics of the rear sections getting some fine tuning and then being fitted up with the clecos.
Then we made up some dies out of a old door hinge and strap pieces to hand form the holes for the bumper irons.
We made up some hard wood timber drive tools to turn the edges of the panel whilst the die was clamped into position on the rear panels.

[oz40]

Here is the very basic die/clamp that we made up.
The only stress area that we were concerned with was right at the top of the dog kennel shape area.
We simply clamped the die into position then we applied small passages of heat into the top area and then, with our fantastic timber driver worked the edges over without tearing the metal.
A simple set of tooling,,and our panel turned out really good.

[oz40]

Then trimmed and tacked in, looking good at this time.
What a difference from the old crappy rotted out piece to that new one.

[oz40]

Just a few other pics.
And the last pic signalled, done for the evening and now coffee time.

[41panelmark]

Wow OZ, what an amazing job, can't wait to see the finished product.

[oz40]

Originally Posted by 41panelmark

Wow OZ, what an amazing job, can't wait to see the finished product.

Thanks, I can't wait to see them finished also.

[Mart]

Great work.

Mart.

[funrunr]

Keep up the great work! You definitely have talent.

[oz40]

Mart and Funrunr, many thanks and do appreciate.

[oz40]

I will be posting up some pics of a repair, that had been in the wings for a long, long time.

Basically the whole back window section had been rotted out.
And only way possible was to replace the whole section.

A dear friend, gave me a replacement back window section that came from a 40 sedan in a place called Cowra, that he had salvaged many years back.
Fast forward a few years and with the car travelling with me back and forth overseas, the only thing I could get achieved was to measure up the planned install and trim up the new insert.
So after all the gap years I managed to re-start on the install, whilst Wayne and I were fixing the rear sections on the cars.

So, stay tuned, I will post up shortly the install stages of the rear window.

[oz40]

This is how the back window looked when I bought the car.

[oz40]

Cleaned up but you get the idea and see the extent of the various rust damaged areas.

[32 4door]

Nice job I have a soft spot for slopers

[oz40]

So in between a few customer jobs, finally got some time to start the install on the rear window.
The rusted out window wasn't a pretty sight at all.
Neither was the huge hole.
Managed to cleco in the replacement frame, scribbed and cut, ready for insert.
However I have a few smart arse friends, whom suggested it looked better with the large one piece back window like the 41-48's.
Butt ugly, I prefer the split window!!

Anyway finally tacked in and ready for the final prep work, to eventually oxy hammer weld it in, but at least it has stiffened up the whole roof area again.

[oz40]

Unfortunately the drip rail ends on the quarters and the trunk drip rail at the trunk hinge areas are not much better.
These too are rusted out on both Wayne's and mine.
So with some new panels made up and robbing a friends stash of parts we got started on the repair of these areas as I want to start getting the bodies more solid for the upcoming stages.

[jim galli]

Forgive the ignorance, but I'm curious about the rear spring config. Was this car on it's way to being a hot rod, or was Ford down under different in how the rear end was sprung? I did try the search thread feature before asking.

[oz40]

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Hi Jim
The story on this car was that it was a hotrod from about 1971 and went of the radar about '83.
The rear leaf spring hangers I believe to be late 50's ford whilst the springs, etc, could have come from a Studebaker as the Dana 44 diff was from a very early 60's car.

[oz40]

Most of the time we have been busy on making up repair panels for the roof to trunk corners for both cars.
And getting them readied for trial fit and alignment issues with the trunk.
It appears I have got most of the curves right but will still need a little improvement on an old original panel insert for my 40 RHR side.

[oz40]

Started installing these older panel inserts on my 40 so that I could stiffen the rear up as I removed the rear parcel tray also for some repairs.
The new pieces made up from the previous set of pics will be grafted to these.
The puzzle is starting to come together slowly.

[oz40]

Well, Wayne's 39 rear roof section is not better so new panels were made up also for both cars, so these are now ready to trim up and install as part of the on-going repair chores.

[oz40]

Next repair on Wayne's 39, was an old " 'Bush Cocky's " stick welding effort.
I hate fixing these kind of repairs as in all cases the surrounding metal has been damaged one way or another.
So I cut the old butchered repair out, grafted the replacement in and finally oxy butt welded it in.

Now to the next bits

[38 coupe]

I'm always amazed at body rebuilds like these. I wonder how much of the original body is left untouched at the end, and how much of the body that can be seen is well fabricated replacement.

[oz40]

Originally Posted by 38 coupe

I'm always amazed at body rebuilds like these. I wonder how much of the original body is left untouched at the end, and how much of the body that can be seen is well fabricated replacement.

Unfortunately both the cars have plenty damage issues, and it looks as though, most, if not all the panels in one way or another will be fixed/replaced on these two old girls.

[oz40]

Hidden away in another shed of Wayne's is my 35-40 chassis jig.
I have been doing various stages on my 40 chassis, and not yet ready to set one of the bodies onto it.
However, Waynes's 39 chassis needed only small rust repairs, so we got this set into the jig and these repairs done.
Looking good, and waiting for a body.

[oz40]

Progress on both the 39 and 40 has been good so far, and a fair bit of oxy work has been done on both cars, rear inner fenders.
These I wanted done, as once the bodies get fitted up to the new floor pans on the waiting chassis, there is no way I wanted to perform karma sutra trying to oxy hammer weld these in at that stage.
You will probably notice on both sets of rear inner fenders there are small retangular repairs inserts.
These were for the factory original right angle tabs in the trunk area location.
Which held in a cover board over the spare wheel which in the Slopers were laid down flat.
And missing from the Slopers were the cross brace under the rear parcel tray. This too was due to the rear seat folding down and offering a full flat area or sleeping area.
Any 39/40 Sloper owners reading this, I would appreciate a picture or two of the seating arrangements out of the Slopers.

[oz40]

The weather is lousy here and the boss (Wayne) is such a hard task master.
So, I told him I am out off here and am off to sun my buns again in paradise.

I hope you all feel my pain in having to return to such a place like this.
Life is hard here, I just dont know to cope with all the stress here.
Life was not meant to be this easy.

https://www.google.com/search?q=whit...ih=887#imgrc=_

[oz40]

Well, here is the proof, see how these little garage gnomes do actually grow up to be big helpers after all.

[Kahuna]

Oz
It's unfortunate that you have such a bad boss. Even more so that he forces you to attend a disgusting place when you leave.
How is one to be able to "recharge one's batteries" in a place like that?
The shame of it all.
Jim

[oz40]

Hi Jim,
Thanks for joining in on the banter.
No bosses, here, just me getting stuck into Wayne as he is supposed to put up some input here too, but he must have a broken finger or some boss syndrome issue.
But as you can see in the last post he does has very strong family lines.



As for the pictures of paradise, well that is now my home and do love every part of it.

[oz40]

Well, I've got poor Wayne in a total state of despair here.
I just told him that his PoS was better off getting new whole front side cowl panels instead of me doing piece meal repairs here and there.

You can see he was into some serious contemplation here.
"Parting is such sweet sorrow"

But my tactics worked!!!!!!!!

[oz40]

I did start doing some repairs to the lower hinge areas on Wayne's 39 cowl, but it became quite clear that I would be chasing my tail in doing a lot of small repairs.
Unfortunately both sides needed some TLC.
So Wayne got the new cowl panels through Drake and we are ready for the install.
And get into some smaller repairs at the cowl top, sides.

[oz40]

We removed the spot welds along the cowl/firewall edge and unpicked the rest.
Got stuck into a few small rust repairs @ top door hinge, dash tabs and top cowl along seam edge.
Nothing like a floppy body here, hey Wayne!!
Now ready for a new panel or two.

[oz40]

A few small rust repairs done on the top hinge and cowl stiffener areas which takes the hood bracket.
Now!!!!!!, time for a dress rehearsal.
The new panels look real good.

These will be only clecoed in until the floor and body are stage fitted up together, as I want to ensure all alignment issues are sorted out first and foremost as I dont want any surprises down the line.

[Zot]

Great work Tom.

[oz40]

Just a couple of small repairs done to both the top cowl sides on Wayne's 39.
Still needing a little fine tuning to get the lower turned edges right and then I'll re-tack them, prep them and oxy weld in, before I set the lower cowl sides into postion.
Wayne had one big grin from ear to ear, just then.

[fordlovr]

Hi, just to keep you enthused! saw this at ''Cooley Rocks'' last month. A hot Rod tho! ,they do have a nice shape to them. Cheers

[Tudortomnz]

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These ''Slopers'' look great, sleeker lines than a Tudor.
I looked up Ford Aust. references & see they were officially termed '' Sedan Coupe''.
Made to replace the Club Coupe body of '37 & '38 in Australia.
What do they look like from the back, with the much lower rear roof section ?
Tom

[oz40]

Hi fordlvr,
nice to see a pic of this 39 standard.
Very nice car. Great to see it on the road.
You would not believe it, but many a year back this car used to live in Australia's national capital (Canberra) and I at that time did some metal work on this old girl then.

Originally Posted by fordlovr

Hi, just to keep you enthused! saw this at ''Cooley Rocks'' last month. A hot Rod tho! ,they do have a nice shape to them. Cheers

[oz40]

This is a about the best pic I could find near enough to almost straight on, of a Sloper, that I could download.
Yes, I also think the Sloper roof is sleeker.

The rear window on the Slopers, being more angled, Ford Australia moved the window up into the roofline about 4 to 5 inches.

Because of the placement of the rear window, neither the Aussie sedans or US sedan parcel trays inter-change with the Sloper version.

Originally Posted by Tudortomnz

These ''Slopers'' look great, sleeker lines than a Tudor.
I looked up Ford Aust. references & see they were officially termed '' Sedan Coupe''.
Made to replace the Club Coupe body of '37 & '38 in Australia.
What do they look like from the back, with the much lower rear roof section ?
Tom

[mercman from oz]

Look on Pages 2 & 3 for more photos of these Slopers from all angles, including the rear.

[oz40]

Hey, Mercman
That was too easy a solution, do at the time.
Must be a public servant thing, that I get these flasbacks

Originally Posted by mercman from oz

Look on Pages 2 & 3 for more photos of these Slopers from all angles, including the rear.

[oz40]

One hell of a nice badge and its on our very own aussie 39 Fords.

[mercman from oz]

OZ40 posted pictures of the Body Badge that was affixed to the 1939 and 1940 Australian Fords (top photo) but have you seen the similar Badge that was worn on clothing? Both Badges are similar in shape but they have different wording. There are two Pins with circles on the back that fir through clothing, and a Split Pin gets threaded through these 2 Holes to retain it. It was made in Australia by Millers Sydney. Can anyone enlighten me to the identity or origin of the Clothing Badge? (bottom photo)

[Kahuna]

Where were those Slopers produced? In Australia by Ford?
I really like the looks of them

[oz40]

Mercman, personally I haven't seen the clothing one, but I would love to get a hold of either one of them.......

quote=mercman from oz;1116448]
oz40 posted pictures of the body badge that was affixed to the 1939 and 1940 australian fords (top photo) but have you seen the similar badge that was worn on clothing? Both badges are similar in shape but they have different wording. There are two pins with circles on the back that fir through clothing, and a split pin gets threaded through these 2 holes to retain it. It was made in australia by millers sydney. Can anyone enlighten me to the identity or origin of the clothing badge? (bottom photo)[/quote]

[oz40]

Hi Kahuna, only produced by Ford Australia for the years 1939 and 1940 only.

Originally Posted by Kahuna

Where were those Slopers produced? In Australia by Ford?
I really like the looks of them

[oz40]

Got one at last, and a BIG thanks to Andrew Levine without him I would still be looking..

Originally Posted by oz40

Mercman, personally I haven't seen the clothing one, but I would love to get a hold of either one of them.......

quote=mercman from oz;1116448]
oz40 posted pictures of the body badge that was affixed to the 1939 and 1940 australian fords (top photo) but have you seen the similar badge that was worn on clothing? Both badges are similar in shape but they have different wording. There are two pins with circles on the back that fir through clothing, and a split pin gets threaded through these 2 holes to retain it. It was made in australia by millers sydney. Can anyone enlighten me to the identity or origin of the clothing badge? (bottom photo)

[/QUOTE]

[oz40]

Its been a while since the last posts. Spent about 3 months over in Perth and working on the 2 x Slopers for a good while, in between a few clients cars. Lots of progress and plenty of pics. Will start posting later tonight.

[oz40]

The rusted out areas on the top sections of the cowl have been replaced and oxy welded up.. All the support brackets under the cowl section, were then sand blasted and have been repaired, as they were either cracked, rusted or needed holes filled because of wear out from the hood hinges.

[oz40]

Next stage on the 39 was the fit-up of the new sides. We had to modify the lower cowl to chassis bracket slightly just so we had correct 39 style fit-up

[oz40]

Ready to go , nice fit, got the gaps spot on.

[oz40]

Just a last before pic of the cowl split apart.

[oz40]

It was football grand final time down here for both the national footy codes.
So I had to put my foot down, and told Wayne
NO !! music or tv NO work !!
I won......

[Snouts out]

Did you ever get a line on the rear seat operation? When you do,a photo would be nice.

[oz40]

Back to some serious stuff now..
I had probably mentioned earlier in the thread, that we bought 2x new complete floors from Drake.
Both the Slopers floors were gone, no use in stuffing around with old crap!
I had earlier set Waynes chassis into the chassis jig for two very small rust repairs, but other than that this chassis was dead straight and no alignment issues.
As part of the floor to body fitment this chassis was then the " floor jig " at this stage.

Each of the 3x floor sections were pre fitted to the original chassis, all holes, body mounts, etc checked and readied for spot welding.

[oz40]

As part of the fit-up of the floor sections, the 3 x sections and the two sill section had to be stripped back off the EDP black as the spot welder will not penetrate through the surface faces.
After stripping with the die grinder, all the surface faces were primered with weld through primer.

[oz40]

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Both floors now all spot welded up and now waiting its marriage to the body. Looking really good here and very gratifying as each day brings us closer to our dreams.

[oz40]

Last job on the floors was to fix the top curvature profile on the seat riser area as it meets the trans tunnel.. The curvature doesn't fit at all here so, we removed the top section of the curve at the seat riser and welded in a new profile that fitted flush to the trans profile correctly. Clecod and then finally spot welded up.
In addition we closed up the gaps on all the swag sections off each the rear floor sections.. just to get a closer gap when we finally seal up the floors.

The floors are "one excellent product", and anyone thinking of going down this path to repair their car I can only say, dont hestiate you wont regret it.

Each and every install is different and ones circumstances also, so some things on the fit-up will vary from case to case, but in our case no issues what so ever other than bringing this puzzle of parts together.

[oz40]

Sorry on the delay but friend with the Sloper has not sent it yet,, As soon I get it I will post.

Originally Posted by Snouts out

Did you ever get a line on the rear seat operation? When you do,a photo would be nice.

[oz40]

The floor for my '40 got relegated to the spare chassis, waiting its turn for temp mock-up. More on this later.

[oz40]

The 39 body finally married to its new floor pan. The bracing will shortly be removed, after serving us well in keeping things in check. One thing we were always awares of was that the 39 did have a hard life and all the lower area damage vindicated this. As originally the B pillars had broken away from the rotted floor the body had both slumped down and increased the gap on the door to B pillar..

So Wayne's next job is to start removing the bracing.

[oz40]

Wayne (aka. Chopper) covered up his new floor and got stuck into tearing the braces apart.
At this stage, the cowl panels are still temporarily fitted up via cleco's and will only be welded up permanently after all gaps and alignments are correct.
The body at this time will be still loosely sitting on the A and B pillar points and temporarily clamped at the rear inner fender well area to move to the next stage.

[oz40]

Bracing is now out and it sure looks good.

[oz40]

Whilst prepping up for the floor, we made up the stiffeners in the tool compartment. Sedan ones are longer than the coupe version, and the only repop one is for the coupe, So!!! we made our own. These are now ready for install once the rear pan and quarters are set in place. Looks as good as the originals.

[oz40]

Another part we fab'ed up also was the diagonal brace in the inside window mechanism area of the quarters.
These were removed to get access to the repair work on the lower sections of the B pillar and as well for the future replacement/repair on the lower B pillar quarter area. Out with old and in with the new.

[oz40]

Next was the fabrication of new B pillar stiffeners where it attaches to the sills. As you can see by the photo these were damaged and rotted. These were remade in 3 mm plate with and additional tab plate welded onto the back face, the purpose of these will now be both stiffeners and seat belt anchorage points,, They willl be later drilled and threaded to suit the seat belt bolt size, and installed once the body alignment is set and ready for weld up.

[oz40]

This what it looked like...

[Brom]

Good stuff boys. What running gear do ypu intend to run? I am just down the road and in the middle of my own build so i will keep an eye on ypur posts. Have fun with a very cool ride

[oz40]

Hi Brom
The '39 is getting at this moment a 59A or an 8BA as Wayne has both at hand, and he still is not firm on which one yet. But Wayne has big plans on a new French flathead for it just as soon as he commits to it.

My 40 will get a flattie also, still yet to decide which one, but more likely a late model one..
Checked on you 32 Vicki, build also...... very nice

Originally Posted by Brom

Good stuff boys. What running gear do ypu intend to run? I am just down the road and in the middle of my own build so i will keep an eye on ypur posts. Have fun with a very cool ride

[oz40]

Look what I scored !!!!!
1939 Ford Australia badge...

[oz40]

Both B pillar areas on Wayne's '39, where the door female dove strikers are, where damaged, so we simply robbed a 4 door pillar of these areas and grafted them in, problem fixed.....


Now for just a little trim and final weld up

[FlatheadTed]

Nice job OZ 40 ,your a brave man ,heaps of hours going in there .Ted

[oz40]

Thanks, FlatheadTed,
yeah there sure has been and many more yet to come..

[oz40]

Just back tracking a little, these pictures show all the lower half of the rear fender wells and rear tail sections of Wayne's '39 all oxy butt welded up and ready for the floor to be fitted.
You can also see small square repairs in the inner fender, there were originally two small 90 degree tabs on the inside face, which helped locate a flat timber floor as a cover for the spare tyre.
These were torn out and others damaged, so small patches were fitted.

The Slopers did not have the cross bracing under the rear parcel tray or the spare wheel well.
As the Sloper had the flat tyre and in which the whole rear seat could be folded down and made into a sleeping area, from the front seat rearwards.

[oz40]

Following on from the previous post, you can see, how thw Sloper had no cross bracing in the rear section under the parcel tray.

The repro floors are for the coupe and these were perfect for our Sloper's as it sort off technically factory correct.

Wayne's rear panels now all welded up and the rear tail pan just clamped into place for a quick look as to what next.
I think I got the fit up to the rear panels with the tail pan, okay...

[oz40]

Some additional repairs on the door diagonal supports.
Both the 39 and 40 supports had some damage, cracks or badly repaired in the past, so they were removed and repaired.
Also having them removed will help in giving us better access for welding and hammer/dolly work on the door repairs and skins.
Prior to fit up these will get trimmed and doors jigged for alignment, with these in place we ensure we get the right door to body curvatures and gaps.

Again same old story, down here, lack of parts or parts cars to either repair or replace damaged parts, so we just have remove, repair or make anew.

[oz40]

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My '40 gets '' floored" also.
To see it at this stage after all this time, evokes a lot of good feelings..

Wayne and I indulged in quite a few , or more, or more !!!!!, celebrations drinks, as the most major install is now near complete.

My 40 is only getting this temp floor install, and readied for transport, as its getting a new home in "paradise"
Once there it will get the final fit up.

[oz40]

Had to do some repairs om the 40 rear parcel tray. This was rusted out on the edge nearest the rear window frame,, common story with the Fords down here.
The outer lip was replaced and welded in ,, the front section is yet to be made..
Also had to re-make the 3 stiffener panels from the parcel tray to the rear window.
You can see that the rear parcel tray on the Slopers are unique to these cars,, neither the Aussie sedan or the US version, are the same.

[oz40]

I have managed to spot weld up the stiffener brackets that fit in and under the inner back widow onto the 40 rear parcel tray, ... I might have mentioned it before but the rear parcel tray out of the Slopers are unique to this model only, and nothing else from any other 37-40 Ford is similar.

In the case of the 40 Sloper parcel tray it was pretty much how much I cut off it to repair the rusted sections...

I am still undecided as to which way I will repair the tray, but its been fitted up temporarily,,,and its a mighty good fit

[Henry Hopper]

Thanks OZ 40' just spent the afternoon sat by the fireside reading the full post..great work mate.BTW..lovin Paradise, now looking to take it in on our Aussie trip next year.

[FlatheadTed]

As I said You are doing a great job ,What's the stamping bead on the inner fender/guard .it looks like its done in a press ,is it new or something you have fabricated .Ted

[oz40]

Hi Henry,, thanks on the comment. At the moment I can't image sitting by the fire place at this time, its just to hot down here in paradise. But just in case you forgot what my paradise looks like, I thought I would slip this one in for you, just to make sure you plan your trip to this neck of the woods.

Originally Posted by Henry Hopper

Thanks OZ 40' just spent the afternoon sat by the fireside reading the full post..great work mate.BTW..lovin Paradise, now looking to take it in on our Aussie trip next year.

[oz40]

Originally Posted by FlatheadTed

As I said You are doing a great job ,What's the stamping bead on the inner fender/guard .it looks like its done in a press ,is it new or something you have fabricated .Ted

Hi Ted, Thanks for the comment and do appreciate it.

The rear rear wheel inner fenders (LHS & RHS) are all brand new..as in Post # 163
The stampings and bead lines as well as the floor contour swagging all done by Wayne and I.
The dies, were all hand made and with a friend who ownes a sheetmetal shop we pressed in the beads on his 80 ton press.
These come out really nice, a exact copy and sharpness on the edges as the original 39/40 beads.
Then we made smaller web pressings for the centre of the inner guard are, and then hand formed these to suit either side.
Also we used the bead roller to crease the line profile for the rear lower section where the fender meets the tail pan area.

A rewarding process, especially after it was all done..


We had to go this way as there is no supplier of any repair panels, for these areas...

[oz40]

Originally Posted by Snouts out

Did you ever get a line on the rear seat operation? When you do,a photo would be nice.

Hi Snouts Out.
Finally have got these pictures from a couple of Sloper owners, on the seat operational.
Apologies for taking awhile.
Thanks Gary and Dale, for getting your cars spruced up for the photo shoot..

I'll post them up in a few hours.

[Talkwrench]

Doin' great work Tom , your a wizz!

[oz40]

Finally got seat pictures from Dale and Gary's Slopers.
Thanks guys, greatly appreciated.
Its a first for me also to see how the back seat fold down operates. As there are not many Slopers to go look at down here.

So what do guys think?? somewhat different to your old tudor seat arrangement. And also a lot more art decor-ish with the rest of the Ford styling..

You can also see the 2x right angled tabs on the inside rear fender well, these were for the timber floor extending over the spare wheel which laid flat in the trunk (boot) area and rear section of the seat fold down arrangement.
Note also the Slopers did not have any cross brace like the US 40 Fords.

[oz40]

Ford Australia promotional brochure outlining the seat operation in the 1939/40 Ford Slopers.
Thanks Dale for the picture.

[Snouts out]

A great but simple design,I wonder why it wasn't utilized in the states? Looks like you could have a good snooze while camping or traveling. Thanks for postin oz40!

[oz40]

Originally Posted by Snouts out

A great but simple design,I wonder why it wasn't utilized in the states? Looks like you could have a good snooze while camping or traveling. Thanks for postin oz40!

Hi Snouts Out,,, I dont know either. BUT I like it.. I will have to ask around if any other Sloper owner has actually used the fold down as a camping thing, and get their opinion..

[mikeh]

nice work sorry this thread ended.

[oz40]

Originally Posted by mikeh

nice work sorry this thread ended.

Hi Mike,,, thanks for your post,, NO, the post hasn't ended,, just since the last batch of postings I moved over east here in Oz, and had a few family issues have stopped me from posting.
Plus a little bit of slackness on my behalf,, due to these distractions,,
I will start posting up again on the progress.. thanks

[oz40]

Sorry to keep you all waiting for updates, but had a few distractions, and a couple of customers cars in the process.
Anyway,, here we go again on the 39 and 40.

Finished, oxy butt weld on the RH/LH seams and repirs to the support brackets,, Both new cowl sides fitted with clecos,, and ready for final spot welding.
These panels are a dream.

[oz40]

Sorry about the clarity here with the pictures,, but just posted these to give you an idea of the work process.

[dwaynec]

All I can say is WOW!! It is really looking great.

[oz40]

Wayne wanted the cowl lower to be as the same on the 39's,, so I made up templates,, fabricated the new pieces and welded them in,, The 40 version is different and doesn't require this.. Simply fix and Wayne's all happy now as its a 39 version.

[Henry Floored]

Oz you are a helluva fabricator! I wish I had a thimble full of your skills. I'm doing a similar restoration on a US built '39 Tudor Sedan. I'm doing my best but I'm nowhere near the excellence you have displayed.

Been cutting, pounding and welding my butt off for two months and finally starting to think I might get this thing done sometime in my lifetime.

Below are some pics of where I was a month ago.

[Henry Floored]

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The floor from Real Deal Steel which is actually a Dennis Carpenter piece.

[oz40]

Hi,, many thanks for the kind comments, and appreciated also.
I love seeing this kind of grass roots restorations and commitment by their owners.
It sure proves our hobby is alive and well.

Your doing a great job there and all the best,, keep us up to date on how your going.
cheers, oz40

[oz40]

This is one of the distractions that keeps me away from my project,,
I just did a '39 for a friend over west about a month ago,, I fabricated new bottoms for all the A - B pillars, rear dog legs as well as the lower cowl sections and replaced the rear tail pan section.
Here is a picture of the tail pan install.. Required only a little bit of fine tuning to fit up nicely. I don't know why a lot of guys complain about the fit up of these panels,,

[oz40]

An area that"s giving Wayne a good headache is the cowl vent door opening on his 39..He is at a loss what to do and which way to go with the repairs.
So I quickly measured it up and cut the rusted area out..
No choice now but to go ahead,, hey Wayne.
At least there is a great big hole there now...
The only issue that's holding me back also here is that he has a 37 vent area as well as a 39 merc one, and each has differences to that of the 39,,
So I am held up here too a little bit as Wayne would ideally prefer one from a 39.
If anyone has one spare please let me know..
Check out the pics.

[oz40]

Originally Posted by oz40

An area that"s giving Wayne a good headache is the cowl vent door opening on his 39..He is at a loss what to do and which way to go with the repairs.
So I quickly measured it up and cut the rusted area out..
No choice now but to go ahead,, hey Wayne.
At least there is a great big hole there now...
The only issue that's holding me back also here is that he has a 37 vent area as well as a 39 merc one, and each has differences to that of the 39,,
So I am held up here too a little bit as Wayne would ideally prefer one from a 39.
If anyone has one spare please let me know..
Check out the pics.

So guys anyone got a 39 cowl vent area to spare ?? would greatly appreciate one to get Wayne on the go with. Thanks

[oz40]

Originally Posted by fat fords

This is one of the Paul Bradley floor pans over a rusty 40 Pan, as can be seen the quality is excellent.

We both decided to use the complete Bob Drake floor system due to the overall condition of our existing floors & sub rails.

We also considered rear inner fender wells but decided on remaking the bottom 11 inches on both cars due to rust & fatigue. This will also give us fresh new metal to attach our new floors.

These Paul Bradely floor pans,, have now a new home, these will be going into a 40 coupe.

[oz40]

The 1940 dash has been finally welded up and all remaining cut outs finished, and installed into the body for a final fitment check.
Looking good and pleased with the final fitment.
Can anyone see what's wrong with the last picture?

[slowforty]

Must be a U.S. Floor

[oz40]

Originally Posted by slowforty

Must be a U.S. Floor

Yeah,, half of the puzzle,, its a new floor from the 40 coupe repops,,