Pre-war (up to 1942) 1940 Lasalle valance

[Ben Medlock]

Purchased a rear valance for my 1940 50 series Lasalle project last week. I taped it in place to get a feel for the proper orientation and have a few questions:

1- The lower lip is curved and I assume the rounded edge should be to the rear but that puts the mounting holes facing to the back making them visible. Seems like the mounting holes would be hidden on the back side but that makes the rounded edge on the back which doesn't look right. So, what is the right orientation?

2- I think the part is made long to be cut to proper fit. Is the correct end points suppose to be at the fender to body joint line?

3- Going to have to cut the hole for the tailpipe extension. Should this hole be cut to fit snug around the tail pipe or should there be a gap between the edge of the hole and the tail pipe? I assume a gap because if it touched the pipe, it seems like it would get to hot and burn...

Advise and experience on this would be appreciated.

Thanks
Ben
34764

[Brad Ipsen CLC #737]

Here are some pictures of the original.  This is from a 52 series so don't know if exactly the same as 50 series and I have not done a 50 series.  As usual the repo is not quite right.  Its cross section is not as wide as the original so a hole for the exhaust pipe does not work.  A U shape works.  The ends need to be cut in a curve.

[Ben Medlock]

Thanks Brad. These pics are very helpful. I can see the ends terminate at the body to fender seem and I can see the bolt heads are in front of the valance and not behind so those questions are answered. I'll need to layout where the hole will be for the tailpipe but I don't think it will be an issue. I had no idea about the ends being tapered so that's great to know.... looks much better than a square corner. I still need to understand what size to make the tailpipe hole in relation to the size of the tailpipe. I'll probably make the hole about a 1/4'' bigger to give a 1/8'' air gap all around unless I hear some other advise from someone on this subject.

Thanks again for the pics and hoping the 52 and 50 series have the same valance designs.

[Tom Boehm]

Hello Ben, the 1940 Lasalle authenticity manual says the valance is the same for series 50 and 52.

[Sloriter]

Hello Gents, Here's a jpeg of the valance taken off my '39 LS coupe, Series 50. The valance is in two parts, and it doesn't look like a homemade cutting job. That is, the edges are evenly cut and smoothly done. That area of the body was rotted by rust, so I'll  be re-attaching the valance to a new piece as suggested.(Thanks for telling me what a car's valance is. I couldn't stop soto voicing Frankie Laine's theme song to the Lee Marvin movie, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.")

[Ben Medlock]

I completed my rear valance install this weekend. I found using a Dremel tool to cut the hole and bevel the ends worked pretty well. After cutting, used the same Dremel with a sanding drum to smooth the cut and to bevel the edges. I used SS pan head bolts to attach the valance to the car. The SS stands out a good bit against the black of the rubber so I'm thinking of blacking out the SS heads.