Which model is which

pennies4pennies

pennies4pennies

Member
Hi everybody. Some of you seen some of my post looking for info. This is my problem. I have a titled 1931 Briggs 3 window. So I have been restoring the car for about 2 years now. Never did a model a before. So I am new at this. I have order parts and some work and some don't. My back pan under the seat is briggs and the floor pan in front of the rear seat is a murry. The front seat under pan is also a murry. My doors show briggs but when I order my bottom door skins they were wrong in the front. 1" to short. After going back and fourth with different part dealers I finally found the right size and they are from a 1929 door. The center door post was never change or moved. So this got me lost. My ID on the frame shows to be from Oct of 1930 . I do have a folding center arm rest in the rear seat with a drop pan in front of the seat and a oval dome light. I have cow lights. I bought this car from the original owner and he says he has never changed any thing. Just didn't really take care of the car. Also I have a visor which no 1931 briggs show on a three window but does on a 1930. I'm not sure which ID this car would be. If I was to put a plate on the car I would not know what number to put down, like 155d and so on, not saying this the right number. I have pictures of some of my work so far which might help some one to tell me what I have. They are in my album here on the fordbarn. Whole pictures of the car when I brought it home is the last pictures. Any help would be very much appreciated. I do hear that some murry and briggs pans where used on the same cars. Briggs pans where to small and murrys worked and look the same.
Frank
 
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You have a Briggs body, and it looks like a 1930. I'm not a Fordor expert, but I believe all '30 Fordors had visors.
 
Everything looks to be factory. As stated before I bought it from the original owner who bought it 1931. He has never changed anything, he told me. The plate on the firewall is unreadable, showing numbers.
 
I just went out into the garage and measured the doors on my 30 Briggs Town Sedan and they are, Front 27 3/4", Rear 26 13/16". I believe that the 1931 Slant Window version was the only one that did not have a visor. See my pictures in my profile under my 30 TS.
Terry
 
Terry said:
I just went out into the garage and measured the doors on my 30 Briggs Town Sedan and they are, Front 27 3/4", Rear 26 13/16". I believe that the 1931 Slant Window version was the only one that did not have a visor. See my pictures in my profile under my 30 TS.
Terry
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Is that the bottom of the doors or at top? If they are the top can you give me the bottom. I,m just about 27 3/4" on the front. Pretty much all back doors are the same on the bottom. The 1930 I order from Macs where 26 3/4"
 
That really looks good, but I would sure have the body sitting
on the chassis when doing all that wood and sheet metal work.

Bob
 
Hi Pennies,

Yep you have a 30 Briggs Townsedan. I don't understand how you can use Murry parts as they are not interchangeable. I don't think anything is interchangeable from 29-30 either. When I get home I can check the pics better and take some measurements if you like.

Mike
 
1930artdeco said:
Hi Pennies,

Yep you have a 30 Briggs Townsedan. I don't understand how you can use Murry parts as they are not interchangeable. I don't think anything is interchangeable from 29-30 either. When I get home I can check the pics better and take some measurements if you like.

Mike
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Thank You Mike
I would like that very much. I don't understand how there is Murry pans in this car. If I used Briggs they would be to small. The front floor boards work okay. I check sizes on the pans and look at pictures of the parts before I bought them. On one site it said the front pan under the seat was for Murry or Briggs, but the Briggs pans on other sites show to small in size. Same as the back floor pan. There is a picture in my album of the old and new front pan.
 
Here is some pictures of the pans. Could this car been a custom order. I don't think Briggs and Murry doors where the same.
Frank
 

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There were straight window Town Sedans sold in 1931. With and October frame number, yours could be an early 31 with a straight window and sunvisor.
 
Pennies
Where are you ordering your parts? I have a 1930 Murray Fordor and I never could get the right glass until I had some made locally from my original glass. I have also had issues getting seat wood and parts.
Good luck
 
Murray and Briggs were two separate coach builders. I cannot believe that Ford would buy a part from one and a part from another to assemble a car body that they are already paying two separate companies to build.
 
Frank,

Tonight I will get you measurements of my front and rear floor pans. I think what is happening is that the repo sheet metal is goofed up at the venders. They think they have one thing and it really is another.

Mike
 
clocey said:
Pennies
Where are you ordering your parts? I have a 1930 Murray Fordor and I never could get the right glass until I had some made locally from my original glass. I have also had issues getting seat wood and parts.
Good luck
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I have order from many different places. I did find out a lot of info from Macs. I have called them many of times and had them measure the part for me before I bought what ever it was at the time. Like if it wasn't for Macs my bottom door skins would still be wrong. At first I order what the door skins where for my year. I got them in and they were a 1" to short. I called them and said they were the wrong ones they sent me. I told them what my size was and the sent me another set and wrong again. Right size but it had a hump on the bottom. I called them back and this was where things went right. They went out and started measuring different door bottoms and bingo they found the right one but it was for a 1929 not the 31. If I remember they were not for a briggs . I think just about any dealer out there will check sizes but you have to ask them to do it first and tell them your size. I still have my original glass and will be changing it to safety glass and I can see this will be a problem also.
 
Hi Frank,

Here is Dan's email <Dan Gambill <townsedanclub@hotmail.com>, he runs the Town Sedan club and will have boat loads of info for you. O.K. I did some quick measurements of of the pans in my car.

-Front pan is 34 7/8 wide. that is from the outside metal 'wing' of each side of the seat to the other. Pic #1 in post 10

-Rear pan is 34 3/4 wide and 18.5 deep. Pic 3 in post 10

I may be off by a 1/16 or so as I was using a tape and I am not the best at measuring things. I have not dealt with Macs so I cannot comment on their products or knowledge. I have dealt with Bert's and they are great and they have lots of original parts. Just for kicks I measured my front doors and at the top of the drivers door I came up with 27 5/8 and at the bottom I came up with 27 1/2:confused:.

Mike
 
Thanks Mike. Are doors are real close but the pans are about 1" different. My pans are different. I'll email Dan and see what he has to say. I just found a mark on my windshield top brace that looks like a Murry stamp. Boy did I ever get into something. I was over Bill Goddard house today looking at his 29 briggs. We did some reading and it looks like a 1930 Delx briggs. All the detail to confirm are there right down to the seat cover material. Folding arm rest in the center and rope on the back of the front seat and cow lights and a few other things. These Murry pans got me going in circles.
Thanks for all the great replies everyone.
 
Where's New Freedom, Pa? I'm in Bucks Co. If it's not too far, I'll take a ride out there and see it.
Terry
 
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