Slant Cowl

[Vicky 1931]

Hey everyone, I was wondering if 4 dr slant cowls and Victoria cowls are the same and if not, what are the differences between them.

Thanks Mike

 

[jw hash]

they are pretty much the same, except the SW body has steel sub rails, and the Victoria
has wood. so, you will need to remove that part of the sub rail.

 

[Bob Bidonde]

This slide indicates there are differences in the cowls.

 

[rotorwrench]

Henry Ford wanted the subcontractors to make the new slant windshield cars to the same design for interchangeability of parts and basic uniformity. The Briggs and Murray bodies were pretty much the same in the basic design in each different body model that they produced after that point in time. For example, prior to that, there were a lot of subtle differences between the Fordor bodies produced by Briggs and Murray. The differences were pretty much eliminated in Mid 1931 with the full production of the slant windshield models.

The Ford made bodies had a lot of interchangeability back to day one in late 1927 so he figured the subcontractors should follow that model for the bodies they produced. Ford didn't build any slant windshield design bodies in house at the Rouge or at branch plants. They were all manufactured by Briggs and Murray then sent out. Budd made truck cabs for Ford but they were utilitarian so all of them were pretty plain Jane. The wood bodied station wagon types were all built to the same design as well since Ford supplied all the wood pieces from the plant up at iron mountain, They had one subcontractor for this work in the beginning which was Murray. Later in 1931,another sub was added which was Baker Raulang for station wagon production. Iron Mountain likely built most of the station wagons after they got an assembly line going.

 

[Vicky 1931]

Thanks everyone for the info. That has cleared up the cowl question for me. I have been trying to educate myself on the differences in model A parts. I looked up fenders, running boards and dash rails, I am now thoroughly confused. Can anyone tell me what other body style shares the same fenders? Thanks again. Appreciate the info.

 

[Bob Bidonde]

I am guessing that the difference in the cowl sections is the change from a flat to an indented firewall. In 1931, the indented firewall came about when the gas shutoff valve was relocated to the engine side of the firewall. So the type of gas tank you have will determine the cowl section you need.

 

[Vicky 1931]

Thank You Bob Bidonde