Unibody on a 49-50 Ford Woddie the same???
 

Hey all,

I just landed a sweet donor car for my restoration of my 50 woodie. I only need the main body. Heres the issue: the donor is a 49. All of my research says that the main bodys are the same for the two years.

Thanks

Re: Unibody on a 49-50 Ford Woddie the same???
 

What did the donor frame come from? From what I know, convertibles and woodies had frames that were different from regular passenger cars. That being said, if there is anything left of your original frame, you may have the pats required to bring a "non-woodie" frame up to snuff.:)

Re: Unibody on a 49-50 Ford Woddie the same???
 

The donor has the same ladder frame style as mine. From my research, the only real difference is the front end of the body; ie, fenders, grill, and emblems. I have all those off the other two 50's I'm using to put this car in decent shape. No bondo other than a skim you can read the newspaper through. a patch panel here and there. Thats my plan.

Re: Unibody on a 49-50 Ford Woddie the same???
 

The donor is a 49 woodie

Re: Unibody on a 49-50 Ford Woddie the same???
 

Is your '50 woodie an "early" (wood tail gate/three quarter windows) or "late" (steel tail gate/two quarter windows)?

Re: Unibody on a 49-50 Ford Woddie the same???
 

Late

Re: Unibody on a 49-50 Ford Woddie the same???
 

December 50, built in Chicago.

Re: Unibody on a 49-50 Ford Woddie the same???
 

Proceed carefully. Measure, measure and remeasure. The windshield area, quarter window area, tailgate, and tailgate latch area are different. The '49 had mahogany panels and the late '50 had steel panels so those areas are different. The '49 and '50 had different sill plates and different hood hinges with different mounting. Some '49s had wood headliner bows.

Re: Unibody on a 49-50 Ford Woddie the same???
 

V8er,

I have done my homework as far as the hood is concerned. I have the front end of the 50 which the hood mounts to. In measuring the tail gate. I measured a 49 compared to a stock 50, and they line up just right. I do know for the hinges on the hood I need to tap a new hole on the side wall.

Re: Unibody on a 49-50 Ford Woddie the same???
 

The 49 doors had different latches which were junk and quickly changed in 50

Re: Unibody on a 49-50 Ford Woddie the same???
 

I know that is true for cars but I think the woody had mercury hardware so that might be different.

Re: Unibody on a 49-50 Ford Woddie the same???
 

Yes the main woodie bodies are the same. The tailgate is the only part that can be different -- wood insert or metal stamping. Now there are other small differences -- the door handles (1949 Mercury handles in 1949-push button in 1950), front fender spears were different, and you know about the rear side windows, the grille, front bumper, and parking light differences. I believe that only the very early 1949's had the wooden interior bows. The dashboard was also different. 1949 was birch woodgrained and I believe that 1950 was oak wood grained. There are also the dashboard trim that is different. But -- the dashboard size is the same so you can remove one and install the other.
As for the frame -- starting with job 1, 1949 Ford and Mercury woodies had the convertible X frame. Sometime in 1950 Ford realized that the ladder frame was strong enough and it was subsituted into production.
Part of Ford's marketing plan for 1950 was "50 ways better". Most of that pertained to the front suspension, so the 1950 frame would be the one you want to use.