Thanks for the information, Chris. The exhibit identified this car as a 1939 hot rod, using the year it was built rather than the model year of the body or the frame. I've revised the caption accordingly. Here's a link to a Smithsonian Web page that provides more details about this car:http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/collection/object_263.html
chris
21-Oct-2009 15:40
That's a 1929 Ford body on a 1932 Ford frame, not 1939 Ford. John Athan did build it in 1939, though, alongside his pal, Ed Iskenderian who built a T roadster. Both men still own their respective cars. Both are also spry characters to this day. Coincidence? I don't think so.