1938/1939 Ford Woody Hinges Question

Hi, I'm sorry to inform you that 38/39 front door Woodie hinges do not interchange with 1940 front hinges. The roof line and door contours are quite different so they will not interchange. Best wishes, Toby
 
while I agree with Toby that the roofline and door profile above the beltline are different on a 39 than a 40, I cannot believe that 40 hinges are different than 39.. as a 39 cowl, where the hinges mount is identical to a 40 cowl.. additionally I have had 36 hinges that are visually identical to a 40 hinge.. that said.. perhaps in application there are slight variations that make the 40s only fit 40's but I find that very hard to believe. I am certain that somewhere within ford literature a part number for door hinges is called out which would ultimately answer the question..

of other note.. When I needed front door hinges for my 40 ford woodie, treehouse did not have the hinges available, so I've reproduced my own and will be offering reproduction hinges for ford woodies in the very near future..
Jeff
www.eastcoastwoodies.com
 
The 40 hinges have 01A part numbers. There is no doubt they are different then the 38/39s. Could you make them work somehow--maybe.
 
I thought I'd add my two bits . I have a 39 and 40 side by side in the shop . The front door
hinges appear to be identical on the 39 and 40 .....I've measured and compared them several times . Mick
 
mick said:
I thought I'd add my two bits . I have a 39 and 40 side by side in the shop . The front door
hinges appear to be identical on the 39 and 40 .....I've measured and compared them several times . Mick
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Are the two you have woodies or passenger cars?
 
Hi, Despite the differences of opinion on Woodie front door hinges there are certainly several explanations for a wide range of experiences with these parts. First, I have rebuilt several sets of 38/39 Woodie front door hinges and a couple of pair of the "same" for 40 Woodies and they certainly are different. One person said that 40's could be made to fit a 39 (and vice-versa) but originally they were different and not just by part number. "Original" equipment hinges from the 39 model year were probably carried over on the first 1940 models as the factory would have used up old stock. However, because of the differences in the door designs the hinge had to be re-designed to more accurately fit the 40 profile. Front doors were also subject to greater wear (particularly drivers doors) and these doors are incredibly heavy which may have caused mechanical failure on the hinges. The local dealer might have replaced a 40 hinge with a 39 hinge and had his mechanic heat and bend it to a closer profile so the door would work. The same may have happened at the factory as their is probably no more inconsistent production models in the Ford line than the Woodies. Oddball parts were used throughout the production run to keep that line moving. Iron Mountain, Michigan was not always supplied with all of the parts they needed for the new production run so they used whatever they had to complete the car. Rarely can you find two Woodies that are identical in every respect until you get into the 47/48 model years (and even then there were anomalies)
I stand by my original statement but caution you to consider the aforementioned situations and the 75 year history of these vehicles and you can envision many different scenarios that could cause "incorrect" parts to be used (i.e. wrecks, improper restoration, factory supply anomalies, vendors who supplied slightly different versions of the same part, etc.).
Hope this helps shed some more light on the subject ( or perhaps muddied the waters a bit). Toby
 
Ford gave the 40 hinges a new number because they DID change. The beauty of the Ford parts numbering system was that if a part didn't change, it kept its original number and prefix. B- part numbers can be found in vehicles into the 70s and probably later.
On a side note, sadly a Ford parts man recently told me they were going to be going away from that tried and true system.
 
Just my FYI 35-39 front hinges and rear door hinges should be the same, as they share the same roof line and suicide rear doors. Cowls are same configuration except flat or split windshields. The tailgate hardware as well (32-39 are same) . The only differences are in the wood belt lines and slats. And 38-9 had the spare on the front seat back. Being limited production, a lot of parts were carried over from year to year.
 
GSCOV said:
Just my FYI 35-39 front hinges and rear door hinges should be the same, as they share the same roof line and suicide rear doors. Cowls are same configuration except flat or split windshields. The tailgate hardware as well (32-39 are same) . The only differences are in the wood belt lines and slats. And 38-9 had the spare on the front seat back. Being limited production, a lot of parts were carried over from year to year.
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When I started on this adventure many years ago, I was told that I "HAD" to have a 1940 ford woodie only window regulator (for my 40 woodie) that I would never find.. as it turns out.. a "very close" substitute is available, and while it did take a "modification" I don't count changing the size of a hole as anything significant. (but I guess that makes them not fit!)

deuce_roadster said:
Ford gave the 40 hinges a new number because they DID change. The beauty of the Ford parts numbering system was that if a part didn't change, it kept its original number and prefix. B- part numbers can be found in vehicles into the 70s and probably later.
On a side note, sadly a Ford parts man recently told me they were going to be going away from that tried and true system.
Click to expand...

there are a number of instances were new part numbers disprove this theory.. and there are a number of instances where the same part number results in two different parts.. (I've "learned" both the hard way)

"even within the gospel of the green book"
 
This thread goes to show you that the two words that you don't want to use in conjunction with Ford is "Always" and "Never".
 
Sawzall--reread post 11. Of course anything can be hacked together. I believe the original question was if earlier hinges could "work". Sears strap hinges could probably "work", the wrong year may be substituted and modified but no matter how you cut it--it's not the same as the original part.
Have there been errors in the parts books--sure but they are exceedingly rare when you consider the overall number of parts listed.
Post 11 describes how close the front door hinges are to being the "same". It all depends on what kind job you are doing and what you want the finished product to be. If it is good enough for the owner--then it is good enough. Everyone has different standards of what is good enough.
 
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