VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 1939 chevy convertible...need some infornation plz

I've seen some '39 coupes that had two small "jump style" seats in the area behind the driver. In the case of the '39 convertible being discussed here, I don't recall looking in that area, but I do recall seeing the current owner and his family touring in the vehicle with at least one and maybe two small kids peering out from behind the driver.

For what its worth, there's a 1939 convertible advertised on ebay. Charlie

Australian Holden body 1939 roadster were available in both the dicky seat model and the long boot version,
The 1939 sports roadster has the dicky seat for passengers, while the business roadster had the longer top hinged boot lid.

The spare wheel was mounted behind the seat on the roadsters and left enough room behind the seat to store the hood and bows down bellow the body line of the Car.

1939 australian roadsters are the last passenger chev to have wood in the body , with the exception of the woody wagons, they had timber frames inside the big boot lid and the rear body framing around the boot lid.

Thanks for the heads up, i'll check ebay.

As of the jumper seat coupe, that should be a oprah coupe. which I would like to find because it has the gas filler coming out the rear fender and not from the body (if I remember correctly). And I did figure it was going to be a really small seat in the rear. I guess from what i have see on the 40 convertibles there wasn't that much room back there either and is a 4 seater. So I figure the same wil be on a 39.

As long as i can squeeze myself in the front seat along with my wife then the kids can fight for the back seat LOL!

The 1939 4 passenger coupe was the only 1939 coupe to have the gas filler on the rear fender. Also the gas tank was at the rear of the car and not behind the front seat under a wooden shelf as the business coupe had. The 1939 in questio has a small bench seat behind the front seat. It was a busines coupe to start with and the tenk was in the center because its a Master 85.
The 1937-38 and 1939 bodies had the same demensions and the 1940 body was wider in the rooof area.
From what I recall Harry said the top came

Sorry, I had a problem and will continue. Its too late to go back and edit my "typing" errors" also

When Harry told us about making the convertible he said the top the came from a 1939-1940 GM car with the larger "B" body. That would be the Pontiac (not 1940 specail),Olds 70 and 80, Buick Special and Century, LaSalle and Cadillac "61". It was cut down to fit. That being said the 1940 top could be altered in the same manner.
The 1937-38 Cabriolet to would be too short due to the fact the 1938 convertible roof was much shorter due to not having any form of a rear seat.
Harry did convert a 1938 coupe to a convertible before he built the 1939. Thats a whole another story. While at a Meet Harrys and another '38 were parked side by side. A friend with a '38 and I noticed the top windshield corners on Harry's car were more rounded like a sedan. The "real" one had the more square corners. With closer inspection you could see little differences between the two cars. We got Harry on the side and he admitted that he "built" the '38 convertible. We laughed and he said we were pretty sharp to tell the difference.

Thanks ChevGene for the reply.

This is some information I can use.
So, when you say the 39 and the 40 share the same body width you think the convertible bucket should pretty much fit into a 39 coupe body with little modification?

I also plan on using the windshield frame to give it that stock look and not the rounded look like on the 38 that you guys noticed haha. But, that might have to be narrowed a bit along with the bows. I'm guessing he used the windshield frame also?

Sounds like Harry was a pretty talented and skilled man. He had a couple of conversions under his belt huh. Any pictures of his other cars that he completed?

Well thanks again. Sounds like the 40 chevy is a good canidate for this converstion. Since it is close to a 39 chevy. If it worked with a big body gm donor then it should work with the small one.

gcsfc

Would you guys happen to know what the difference is on a 1940 chevy chassis to a 1939 chevy chassis is?

The 1940 chassis has many changes from the 1939 chassis.

Which chassis are you comparing? master85 or the deluxe model.

Wheel base is increased to 113 inches, rear leaf springs are changed in the mounting method.
Between the front and rear kickups, the frame is 2 3/4" lower. frame is wider 2" at the rear due to wider bodies.

Front leaf springs are different , including load rating. etc etc.

I would guess the deluxe.

I have the original chassis to the 40 and since it has the hefty x member was hoping i can use it.

Is it the independent front suspension , or an I beam front axle?

Should be independent front suspention.

Thanks again guys for the replys.
I had some personal biz goin on and it completely slipped my mind that I started this thread.

Well, I finally got my 40 parts and started looking for a 1939 coupe. The ones I have found have all been biz coupes, I guess the opera coupes are really rare? So, I guess i will use a biz coupe and just move the gas tank to the back and run the gas filler through the rear fender like a sedan.

Oldie, I noticed you mentioned you have seen the car around. Any chance you have more pics or it?

I would like to see his interior/rear seat area.

When dealing with convertibles, keep in mind their frames were different than closed body versions. They had the added K - almost X brace on the 1940 model convertible while the 1938 only had heavier steel and re-enforcements needed for the lack or torque stiffness due to the solid roof missing. Also keep in mind that the 1940 Chevy is a one year only style car. I understand that the Aussie Holden convertible models may all had an X brace frame prior to 1940? I am still wanting to see an example of a Holden.

That said, keep us posted with pics of your 1939 conversion.

Also, anyone know why there were no 1939 factory produced convertibles?

Eric

I would assume they knew the 1939 coupe body was to be a one year only body and wasn't worth tooling up for a convertible. Especially since they were selling only a few thousand a year. Also due to the rather short greenhouse a convertible with a back seat would not have been possible.
The same 1939 body was also used for the small Pontiac and Oldsmobile. They has no convertible also.
The small Pontiac and Olds also used the 1940 Chevrolet body in 1940 and they did have a convertible style.

From some further reading but only going on assumptions, there was a economic recession going on in the late 1930s and as you said, so few convertibles were sold in 1938. But the economy took a upturn by 1940 due to the war so the reintroduced the convertible. Also dealerships like to have a showcased convertible in the middle of the showroom - they and advocates complained about the lack of a 1939 model. I noted that Chevy only made 1,724 in 1937, 2,787 in 1938, but made 11,820 in 1940.

There is a color cover picture of Harry's car on the August 1983 G and D. On page 17 the one of the featured cars reads: Unusual 1939 Cabriolet owned by Harry Thompson #09468 of Liberty, Missouri. This is the way a 1939 Cabriolet would have appeared, if General Motors had produced this model. The car was a good 1939 Master 85 coupe when purchased. The Chevy underwent a complete restoration and conversion in Harry's basement;all the parts from the belt-line up were hand made. The project took about 18 months of Harry's spare time. It's truly one of a kind!
I saved this copy out of my collection of G and D's because when I joined the club in 1967 I had my mother's '39 Chevy Master Deluxe two door sedan. She bought her first new car in June of '55. It was a 210 Chevy 2 door sedan and the local dealer gave her $200 off the list price and we got to keep the '39. My sister drove the car until '62 when she bought her first new car a new '62 Chevy II Nova 2 door hardtop. Then I got the '39.

Well, its been a while since I posted anything reguarding the project. After a good while of looking for a coupe and not finding the right one. I finally made a deal with a friend of mine that has one. it is complete but has rusty floors. He is including the replacement floors. All the other coupes I was finding were someone elses project either gone wrong or hacked up. Or to nice for me to hack up! Lol. Well, i'll start posting up progress once the project starts. It'll probley be a while since the holidays are upon us.

Hi I saw this older post about a one of a kind 1939....not sure if it was an article you were looking for.I now own the 1939 that was listed on line as a 1939 Chevy Convertible (one of a kind)Anyway would like to see if this is the same car you are talking about.

Thanks KQQL39

Hi KQQL39 , welcome to chevy Chatter!.

Is this the 39 convertible which you have? (click on the blue underlined link)
http://picasaweb.google.com/62Impalaman/VCCAMiddleWestMeet2009#5357653466433670642

HEY KQQL 39
THANKS FOR THE REPLY.
IS YOUR 39 THE REDISH ONE?

ANY PICS?


THANKS IN ADVANCE

Dam you GEE, get back to you know where

This is an interesting thread about 39 convertibles. (Five pages so far!) I'm curious
to know if there's any updated info from any of the various participants....

Bill.

Am I missing something here???? Why is it that so many people make such a big deal out of a FAKE CAR????...if you did that with currency ....you would go to jail....ED

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1939...t=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item5ae43b9681

I think the ROYAL FAMILY got a raw deal. Look at the photos of this car. The entire front end is pointing UPWARD!. Look where the back of the hood meets the cab. The stripe is a full inch or MORE off. I see why there is only one photo, and it sure isn't a side view. That's a $35k car at best.