VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 31 interchangeable body parts.

My thought was that the body parts for the 29-31 are interchangeable , more specifically the fenders, cowl, hood, running boards, rear fenders. A summing they all have the 109 inch wheel base. Thanks

Actually 1928-1930 have 107" wheelbase. 1931-32 have a 109" wheelbase. The main difference is in the running boards and splash aprons.

The 1931 hood, the 1931 cowl and the 1931 rear fenders are different as well. And, in 1929 there was an early cowl and a late cowl.

While it is true that the fenders are different, '29 & '30 front fenders will bolt up to the '31 frame. There are minor differences between the '29-'30 front fenders and and '31-'32 truck fenders. It will be necessary to use the fender braces and headlight bar to match the fenders. The truck splash aprons will match up as well as the truck running boards. The hood can be made to fit. The cowls and radiator shells are different but the hood is flexible enough to work. The hood and cowl moldings will not line up. It all depends on what you want to do and what it looks like when.

Others have commented on this and it becomes clear that most parts are not interchangeable between years, although of course some can be adapted.
For passenger cars only (Trucks and Sedan Deliveries are different):
Front Fender - 1929&1930(AC,AD)are same, 1931(AE)unique, 1932(BA)unique.
Rear Fender - 1929&1930 are same, 1931 unique, 1932 unique
Running board- 1929&1930 are same, 1931&1932 are same
Running Board apron - 1929&1930 are same, 1931 unique, 1932 unique
Rad Splash Guard - 1929&1930 are same, 1931 unique, 1932 unique
Gas Tank Apron - 1929 unique, 1930 unique, 1931&1932 are same
Hood - 1929&1930 are same, 1931 unique, 1932 unique
Radiator Shell - 1929&1930 are same, 1931 Unique, 1932 unique (note someone suggests a '31 hood might fit a '30 rad shell, I tried it, not a fit).
Cowl&dash - All years different
Doors - Unique to all years
Body - Unique to all years
Gas Tanks - Unique to all years
When considering using a non standard component, it may be necessary to change related parts such as mounting brackets, accessories, etc in order to get proper fit. For example a different year's hood may require corresponding hood latches. Long story short, try your darndest to get the proper year part for your car, the pieces are out there! And buy a copy of the "1929-1932 Chevrolet Master Parts Price List" from the filling station, it shows clearly which parts are for which years/multiple years.

I have a canopy express 109" wheelbase ae independence would your comparisons be inclusive as well?

Thanks

Actually the parts books are good and do generally show the interchange without any modifications. Even that is not 100% true as sometimes additional parts (many times there is a note in the parts book telling about other necessary parts, sometimes not!) are required. It does not show the minor differences or modifications than may be required.

As an example the 1931 side aprons are different than the 1932 aprons. The difference is in the two elongated holes in the '31 aprons for the hood latches. If you purchase '32 aprons you will need to drill two holes in each apron to put them on a '31.

Another example if you try to put '29-'30 front fenders on a '31-'32 truck they will bolt into place without any problems but have two holes near the back corner of the ledge for the hood latches on the '29-'30 that will need to be welded shut and finished. Also there are depressions (looking at the bottom side or domes if looking at the top side) on the '31-'32 truck fenders near the radiator shell. They are there to avoid two frame rivet heads on the frame rail.

I am sure that several people will be thinking, "How do you tell what will interchange and if not what minor modifications are necessary so they will?" Experience, observation and just plain trying things. That is a major reason to be a VCCA member with access to the Technical Advisors. Many of them know the "tricks of the trade."

As you may know, the 29-32 Canopy Express was manufactured by placing a completely different Panel type body on what was otherwise a largely standard rolling chassis. In your case for a 109" wheelbase model, the cowl, body, and doors would be unique to the canopy express. I have no knowledge of just what went with these models, but I suspect they used the truck fenders, which are a bit different than car fenders. If you have the vehicle now, you can look at pictures of '29-'31 Cars and see what appears closest to what you have. You indicated yours is an AE, but for these specialty vehicles GM often did not change components every year like they did the cars, so yours may have a mix of components dating from 1929-1931.

Wow...

Makes this even more fun. 1929-1931 look so similar, but guessthe closer you ACTUALLY LOOK into them, there are Such subtle differences.

I have both the 1929-1930 Master Parts List, as well as the 1929-1932 Master Parts List. The 1929-1930 is great for finding the Original Part Numbers for the 1930.