VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 41 flying lady

I recently ordered and received a new reproduction flying lady hood ornament for my '41. It is really a pretty piece, but when I put it on I noticed that it was not as wide at the back as my center hood molding. When I compared it to my old one I found that it was approx. 1/4" narrower at the back. The difference in size means that when looking from the front you can see 1/8" of center hood molding protruding on either side at the back of the ornament, and my car's green paint no longer meets the sides of the ornament. My original ornament is 31/32" wide at the back, which is the same width as my center hood molding. Has anyone else experienced this problem? Are all the repros made like this? I contacted the vendor who advised that I send it back, and he would compare it with others in stock and call me.

Just a wild guess, but did you get a 1940 by accident? The 40 is very much tapered.

Thanks for the help guys. The pictures were great. The repro I bought looks like my original, only nicer. In conversation with the vendor, he indicated that the '40 would not attach to my hood, because the holes would not line up. One solution I'm considering is to have my old one re-plated, but if there is a correct sized repro available, I'd much rather do that. From my experience, re-plating pot metal can be risky. Mike Buller says he has a repro with a skinny back end on it also. Can someone measure the width of their repro and their center hood trim to help figure this out?

The 1940 has two studs and the 1941 three. They are probably using the same casting for both years.

The repro had 3 studs.

I bought one (Repro) on ebay @ $175 + $15 S&H. I just went out in the garage to look. It matches the hood molding on my '41. It is a sharp piece.

Thanks Gaither, your news is very encouraging. I bought the repro on ebay for the same price as yours from a vendor named Longrie. He was very responsive and called me the next day after I sent my phone number. Hopefully, he has another ornament with a wider base that will match my hood center molding. In trying to figure out what happened, he suggested that possibly my center molding and flying lady were both older repros having wider bases than original. Would you be willing to measure your ornament at the back of the base were it meets the molding. A micrometer or calipers and a ruler could be used to make the measurement without taking the ornament off the car.

'Looks like about 21MM where it meets the center trim strip. Almost a perfect fit against the hood center strip. It was from Longrie's.

Good luck!

I believe all of us got our Flying Ladies from the same source Longrie's in Grand Rapids, Maine. I bought mine March of 2011. When I got it I looked it over and put it in storage. I thought it would be neat to have if I every did a restoration of all my chrome and my 41 body. I don't think I will do either. I kind of like the daily driver, unrestored look.

I sell some 41 parts occasionally and 6wheel asked me if I had a Flying Lady for sale. I said I paid more and would charge more for mine than they were charging on ebay so he bought one there also from Longrie's. As we have corresponded he described the fit problem he had with his new Lady. So I tried the fit on mine and you can see the problem. The first picture shows the fit of the standard front hood spear, the second, the new Flying Lady. It is obvious that there is a problem. I hope Longrie's favorable resolves 6wheel's problem? I will live with my mistake until I hear how 6wheel does! Good Luck, Mike

Thanks Gaither. Converting my 31/32" measurement of the back of my original flying lady to MM would be 24.6 MM, so Gaither's is about 3.6 MM narrower than my original and my center hood trim, but about 1.5 MM wider than the repro I rec'd from Longrie. That will make it less noticeable, but still showing 1.8 MM of unpainted hood on either side of the ornament. Hopefully, Longrie will have one that is even wider.

Thanks also to Mike. Your pictures illustrate the problem very well.

I sent the flying lady back last week and rec'd a call from Mr. Longrie today. He had measured an original ornament that he had on hand and found it to be just under an inch wide at the back. He advised that after selling 460 of these ornaments, I was the first to point out the size difference. He personally had approved the original prototype before the ornaments went into production about 12 years ago, but he had not noticed the size difference because he was checking it on a rusty hood and there was no paint line to point out the problem. He still has 40 left and all are exactly alike, a little skinnier than original. He has already refunded my money into my PayPal account. My plan now is to try to have my original re-plated. Having gone through this before on my 55's hood bird, I know chances are slim that I will get a high quality job.
Sid

There is no substitute for original''

True, but there are those of us who just have to "make do".

Oh I totally agree' I only post the picture for those who are interested. But why pay these vendors like the one mentioned who is clearly interested in only the profits of his Chinese mass produced part' That to me is not what the old car hobby is about. I paid only a couple of dollars more for this nos part a few years ago. If you are keen in your searching you can find most things very close to the cheap (poor fit)ones in price. Just look and listen to the car guys at the swapmeets and shows, make contacts and you will be surprised'
Happy New Year to all
Mike
VCCA 27125

Maybe someday I too will stumble onto an NOS Flying Lady while walking through a swap meet, and maybe the vendor will only want $100 for it! I did stumble onto a freshly rebuilt 216 engine in a swap meet, and the vendor needed the space at home (hence a bargain). Now I have a spare engine as an insurance policy. So, it can happen. I just hope I live long enough to experience it again. Thanks for sharing the pictures Mike.
Sid

Hey...! Your 1941 Flying Lady just landed on eBay...I was so exited I forgot to get a #...

Includes the Stainless Steel strip...Here's what I don't get he says it will fit on up to a 1950 Chevrolet hood...Hard to believe the mounting holes will line up...

One bidder...At $75 dollars...

Thanks Kevin, I'll check it out.