A 29 on top of a 30?

[Rparker28]

All-Will a 29 town sedan body fit on top of a 30 chassis? Ralph

[RawhideKid]

Yes

[wrndln]

There is a minor difference in the front frame crossmembers between 28/29 and 30/31 where the radiator sits. I believe 30/31 frames have a 1/4" or so lower crossmember area than 28/29 to accommodate the taller radiator. That means you would probably need to use some rubber pads to raise the radiator up so the hood fits well.
Rusty Nelson

[john charlton]

The 1930 frame has a different front cross member from a 1929. The area where the radiator mounts each side has a depression to accommodate the taller 1930 radiator ,You will need more pads to raise the 29 rad to get a good hood fit .You could not do the reverse ,30 body on a 29 frame, you cannot get a hood fit without raising the whole body too high .

John in cool damp evening Suffolk County England

[john charlton]

We were typing at the same time Rusty !!!

Best Regards, John ( is that phaeton finished yet ???)

[Rparker28]

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Here is what I have got and what I have found.......my engine in my 29 needs most likely a rebuild. It does not run at this time. I found a rolling chassis with a freshly rebuilt engine and includes the 30 radiator. The owner says the brakes are good all around and the tires appear to be new.

[V8COOPMAN]

Don't forget about the DIFFERENT serial # stamped into the '30 frame, and how that MAY affect your title paperwork. DD

[René W]

Originally Posted by Rparker28

Here is what I have got and what I have found.......my engine in my 29 needs most likely a rebuild. It does not run at this time. I found a rolling chassis with a freshly rebuilt engine and includes the 30 radiator. The owner says the brakes are good all around and the tires appear to be new.

Just swap the good parts instead of the body

[Rparker28]

It makes sense to just swap the engine. I can have the original rebuilt at some point and put back in the car. That way I can enjoy the car now. What is a reasonable price to pay for this running rolling chassis? How long would it take to swap the engine or should I just swap engine and transmission while I am at it? Ralph

[JDupuis]

Hi Ralph, doing an engine swap start to finish by myself, approximately 9 hours. I did one this spring. Had the engine out in just over 3 hours. That was starting with a complete car.
Meaning lights lightbar radiator...all still on the car before I started. I swapped out the engine and transmission as a complete unit. Good Luck. Jeff

[Dave Mellor NJ]

fordor bodies are the same from the doors back. you could possibly leave the cowl but you'd have to cut the posts

[mike657894]

i would swap the engine. have you had you body off before. I have had suprisingly good luck on everything coming loose when I needed to work on it but when stuff is stuck it takes so much longer to do.

[phonconn]

The front cross member as mentioned is taller to accomodate the shorter 28-9 radiator. I found it interesting in all my parts hunts and buys that I never was able to find a NOS 29 front cross member. It is my opinion as well as some others that Ford did not stamp out additional 29 front cross members but only 30-31 front cross members and told the dealers to shim the area where the 29 radiator sat with washers or additional rubber pads to raise it up to the necessary height. So all that said to say you could do the raising up for the radiator but I think it would be better to keep the chassis intact and just change over the parts you need to make it work as it was assembled.

[Rparker28]

Thanks everyone! I spoke to the seller today and I am going to look at it Saturday evening. At first I thought I would just move the body off the original chassis and put on this rolling one. The more I think about it I believe it makes more sense to just swap engines. I can enjoy the car now and rebuild the original engine later. Ralph

[René W]

Engine swap is faster and does the rolling chassis have a title?

[Rparker28]

It does not have a title,Ralph

[hardtimes]

Originally Posted by Rparker28

All-Will a 29 town sedan body fit on top of a 30 chassis? Ralph

Maybe remember chassis info easier this way, i.e.- ALL models will fit on all chassis ..of same year.

Different year chassis will have some small differences to deal with if you mix body/chassis years.