1938 Ford Standard Coupe questions

3

33pete

Member
Posted this on the HAMB as well but thought I would ask here too.

I just picked up a '38 Standard coupe, its missing the Driver side rear fender..it came with what looks like a NOS or super early take off passenger side rear. Im looking for a passenger side front and the driver side rear. Iv been told the '38 Standard coupe is unique and no others will fit.....my question is, will others bolt on?? Do they have the same general shape?? Im not building this car as an original but more of a 40's mild custom.

What are the actual differences, are the bolt hole locations the same?? Is the arc the same?? Will the running boards bolt up to other years??

Thanks in advance.
Pete-
 
I have a 38 standard that said If you are building a mild custom who cares if it is not period correct. My guess is a 37, 38 or 39 will "bolt up". You might have to improvise but all these Fat fendered fords were very similiar.
 
'38 Ford COUPE fenders are a one-year animal. '37s and '39s WILL NOT fit the rear. Cabriolet, Club Coupe and Club Cabriolet should fit, '38 ONLY...sedan fenders are different. What you need will not be easy to find. '38 FRONTS are different from '37 in that the '37 has a formed "peak", front to rear. '38 is "rounder", without the peak. I'm pretty sure this is accurate info. Maybe Dick Spadaro will chime-in here with the gospel. DD
 
Here's a good pic of a 38 standard "unmolested" car. I can see the difference in the "roundness" of the headlight area, the 37's appear to be a bit flatter....yes??

pete-
 

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I just took a few pics of the REALLY nice rear fender that came with the car.
 

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I've seen the work of some professional metal men and conclude that anything can be done but a person would save a lot of time in finding one that is as close a fit as you can get to start with. There are a few folks out there that could fabricate one from flat sheet with the aid of a buck and some basic forming tools. I guess it depends on how much time a person has to do the work and how good you are with the tools at hand.

Someone out there surely has one that can be massaged back into shape. This is where the hobby really gets interesting.
 
33pete said:
Aside from the "peak" issues, will the '37 Front fenders fit the '38 grill??

Pete-
Click to expand...

No. The only way a 37 front will interchange is if you do the entire front clip.... fenders, grill, side panels and hood. Take a look in your pics, at the right front fender just above the headlight. You can see a swoop in the 37 fender that accepts the side panel. That makes the fenders completely unique to 37 grill and sheet metal.
 
In 1960,I bought a 38 std coupe in about the same cdn & color as yours for $175 & drove it 1000 miles to get home.Was one of many cheap early V8s.
 
Front Fender Interchange:

1937 Standard or Deluxe fits 1937 passenger grill/hood only... All body styles.
1938 Standard fits 1938 Standard grille/hood only... All body styles.
1938 Deluxe and 1939 Standard fenders are the same... fit 1938 Dlx/1939 Std grille hood only... all body styles.

Running boards all 1937 std or dlx, 1938 std or dlx, 1939 std (only).

Rear fenders Interchange:
(this is where it gets strange) LH always has taillight provisions, RH fenders may differ only in that the Delxue has embossing/cutouts for taillights, or may be a totally different fender. My list below ignores the taillight difference.

1937 Standard or Deluxe, Coupe-Convertible-Roadster only (except will fit 1938 Coupe-Conv body but the fender has a totaly different shape.)

1937 Standard or Deluxe, Tudor or Fordor sedan (slantback)

1937 Standard or Deluxe, Tudor or Fordor or Convertible sedan and phaeton (humpback)

1938 Standard or Deluxe, Coupe-Convertible only (except will fit 1937 Coupe-Conv body but the fender has a totaly different shape.)

1938 Standard Tudor or Fordor sedan, Convertible sedan, and phaeton

1938 Deluxe Tudor or Fordor sedan and 1939-40 Coupe, Convertible, Tudor or Fordor sedan. (different embossing/cutout for 1938-39 vs 1940 taillight of course).

Of course we make all of these in fiberglass.
 
.....and of course, a standard passenger rear fender does not generally have a tail light (although, I had heard at least one State required both tail lights ?)
 
Oh man!

So...by the looks of it I have a '38 DLX body with a '38 Standard nose
The horn button says Deluxe as well.

You know what, Ill take some pix of the car tomorrow and post them, hopefully this will help me positively ID the car and model. When I purchased the car the nose was inside along with the green fender. I held the rear fender up to the body and it fit....

Pete-
 
Me too, thats why I bought the car, the Standard just looks better!

The good thing is...the '38 DLX rear fenders are easier to find than the Standard model.
 
Nooop, the fenders on the rear are the same design Std or Dlx, the front fenders are different Std vs Deluxe as well as the hood sides, the hood and the grilles. The fender that you show is the correct fender for all 38 cpe models the only thing that would determine that it is a Deluxe model was that it had a tail light provision and even in some cases this could be a Std because the State required two taillights.
 
cvstl

Thanks.

That's my all original unrestored 37, which appears to be related to your Avatar...
 
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