I was going to suggest that you make it a Fat Fender car, using the 46/48 Ford or Mercury grills, that way you can use the existing sheet metal. One of the cars i had in the early 60's was a 1948 mercury convertiable and i loved that car. That's one of the cars i wish i had today, but i've had so many cars that i still wish i had today, like a 37 Studabaker couple, or a 1939 LaSalle coupe and the list goes on, i guess it's called to soon old too late smart.
Zip.