Front sheet metal alignment '38-'39 pickup

[Lamar Wadsworth]

I know the fit and finish was less than perfect from the factory, but I've never been happy with the front sheet metal alignment on Henrietta the '38 Ford pickup. It's so bad that I have seriously considered leaving off the hood side panels so it won't be so obvious. The truck is sitting on its original frame, wood sills under the cab are rock maple reproductions purchased from Bob Drake, so cab should be sitting right. If I align the top of the hood side panels where they should be in relation to the cowl, the bottom of the hood side panels sticks up way too high in relation to the top of the fender. If I get the bottom of the hood side panels right in relation to the top of the fender, it's way too low where it meets the cowl. That tells me that the fenders need to come up, but I've got them up as high as I can get them without modifying stuff. Also if I bring the fenders up, it's going to pull the front of the running boards up to where the doors drag on the running boards when open. I'm sure there are some body men here who are experienced with old Fords and have lots of practice with aligning front sheet metal. Can somebody walk me step by step through what I need to do to get it right, or at least more nearly right?

 

[55 dude]

Lamar, everyone i have ever spoken to about these trucks says the same thing "mount the radiator and build the front sheetmetal around it. i would tey that and then shave those Drake mounts as needed. when i purchased my truck i had no radiator and soon discovered if you don't have the correct one for the truck your waisting your time. if you decide to re-align your sheetmetal take lots of pic's and notes on doing it.

 

[fordscript]

Lamar, if you take a look at factory photos of the assembly line, you will notice that the entire front sheet metal and running boards are all installed before the cab goes on. The cab has the hood fitted before it goes on the frame. There is virtually no allowance for the adjustment of the front sheetmetal...all the holes are round and perfectly sized, same with the running boards. But not so for the cab mounting holes....the cab can be moved quite a lot and still the bolts will go thru the holes. Have you ever noticed how a lot of frames are 'dented' right at the place where the front of the cowl meets the frame? I believe this was done on the 'line' to get the front of the cab down some more. A lot of restorers bolt their nice new cab onto the frame, and then try to fit the front sheetmetal, causing much anxiety..

 

[Lamar Wadsworth]

Are any of the assembly line photos you mentioned accessible online? These would be most helpful. It sounds like most of the adjustment has to be accomplished by moving the cab rather than the front sheet metal--I had actually been thinking about trying to shim up the back of the cab to tilt it forward a bit to see if that helped. Sounds like that may be my Memorial Day project.

Lamar, if you take a look at factory photos of the assembly line, you will notice that the entire front sheet metal and running boards are all installed before the cab goes on. The cab has the hood fitted before it goes on the frame. There is virtually no allowance for the adjustment of the front sheetmetal...all the holes are round and perfectly sized, same with the running boards. But not so for the cab mounting holes....the cab can be moved quite a lot and still the bolts will go thru the holes. Have you ever noticed how a lot of frames are 'dented' right at the place where the front of the cowl meets the frame? I believe this was done on the 'line' to get the front of the cab down some more. A lot of restorers bolt their nice new cab onto the frame, and then try to fit the front sheetmetal, causing much anxiety..

 

[dude]

55 dude and fordscript,are correct. I had to do the same thing when I built my 40'. Even factory alingment wasn't that good.