VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION New User Forum 1916 monroe dash and firewall

In recent years I have had the good fortune to purchase a 1916 Monroe roadster and a parts car that may be a little later than a 1916. Thats the good news. The bad news is that both these cars were disassembled by the previous owners, who died before getting the cars put back together. The closer I get to finishing the 1916 the more problems I run into, because not only did I not take the car apart, but I have never seen a Monroe or a Chevy 490. There are two areas that I really need some help on. (1) I am making a new dash board and installing the windshield, it would sure help if I knew the exact measurements of the dash board (length and width).
(2) my other problem is knowing where the oil lines and electrical lines go through the firewall, just where on the firewall does the generator cutout mount, it doesn't seem that I should need a vacuum pump but three of them came with the car, also where does the horn mount. Any help greatly appreciated. Ed Emerson

It is my understanding that Monroe built the bodies for the 1916 Chevy 490, and that they were the same as the Monroe M-2 bodies. If I can get the dash dimensions from a 1916 490 roadster or touring, it should work on my roadster. Ed Emerson

Yes, Monroe built the 1916 490 roadster bodies, but the Monroe M2 and M3 body is narrower then the 490 cowl. Fred Upshaw drove his 1916 490 from California to the Indy 10th Anniversary Meet in 1971, and I remember well Fred's "little" roadster was parked in the tract infield next to a 1914 Royal Mail roadster (I think it was the one that was owned by the Indiana Chevy dealer who had the large collection of beige top open cars and is now in the Eric Parker Collection in South Australia). Fred called his roadster a 1914 H2 but it was noticed that it was about a half a foot narrower at the windshield and cowl? After Fred died in 2000, we took a good look at his H2 and figured out somebody had mounted a Monroe body on a 1916 490 chassis.
kenK

Thanks for the information. I had assumed that the M-2 Monroe bodies and the 490 bodies would be identical. I had hoped that when I get finished with this project that I could sell someone my 490 chassis with its radiator, motor, transmission, rear end and wheels,and the extra Monroe body. Now I'm afraid that may not be as feasible a project as I thought it would be.

When I bought the 1916, it came with a plank of wood cut the right size for a dash and it fits the body quite well. However it is about 1/2" too wide to mount the windshield on. If I trim the length by 1/2", the windshield will fit, but the cast iron brackets which attach the dash to the door jams will have a 1/4" gap on each
side. There may be enough flex in the door posts to make up for this 1/4" but that may mess up the door alignment. I guess I will make the dash fit the windshield, and deal with the doors if they become a problem. I still have questions about the firewall, that are listed in my original post. Thanks, Ed Emerson