I have removed the radiator in my 39 more than once. I did not take off the fenders. I took off the bumper as you need a little play where the bumper brackets come through the fender. I removed the hood and the two support rods that run from the grille to the cowl. I unbolted the grille surround from the fenders. I loosened the headlights and wrapped them in cloth and laid them on the fenders. Remove the chrome strips between the grille surround and fenders. With a little help, we were able to pull the fenders apart far enough to pull the grille out.

I agree with the suggestion that you pull and clean out the tube behind the water pump. This is also a good time to replace the front motor mount which is an inexpensive part and a real pain to get at with the radiator in the car.

Let me throw in an observation. The door interiors are very different from the 54 convertible. The armrests in 1954 were incorporated into the door panel. The armrests in the subject car are like the 53 model. The outside trim all looks correct for a 54. The tail fins & tail lights are unique to the 54 Convertible and Pacific. So are the three little chrome strips on the rear fender. The dash and all the knobs are right for 1954 but not 1953.

Troubleshooting your starter problem:
Check the battery ground where it attaches to the engine block. Make sure it is a clean tight connection. As stated above, make sure that you have very heavy battery cables. Six volt cables are twice the size of 12 volt. You can test this by heating the car up and using your jumper cables in addition to the current battery cables. If the starter turns, you need heavier cables.

When the car is hot and you try to start it do you hear a click at the solenoid? You may have to have someone else turn the key while you listen under the hood. If you hear a loud click, then you know that your ignition switch is working.

Turn the key on and Take a short piece of wire and jump from the small nut on the solenoid to the large nut on the solenoid that the battery cable is hooked to. This takes the ignition switch out of the circuit. Does the solenoid click? If there is no click, the solenoid is bad.

Does the starter turn over? If the solenoid clicks but the starter doesn't turn, your solenoid is good but you need a new starter. The starter has short that opens when it gets hot. It will get worse as time goes on. If they both work then the problem is in the ignition switch or ignition wiring. Try using radio tuner cleaner or a similar product in the switch.

A couple of easy things to try:
You may have corrosion in your light switch. You can buy spray cleaners for radio tuners at Radio Shack. Spray some in the switch and try pulling-pushing it several times.

The power wire to the lights may be grounding out or broken. This wire can be easily duplicated with a short run of new wire. It is hot all the time so it doesn't go through the ignition. Connecting it to the hot side of the solenoid on the starter is probably the closest, easy to reach spot to hook into.

If you see a frayed spot in the wiring, seal it up with a little permatex silicon.

If your lights aren't all out at once, check the grounds at individual lights. I've found that this connection is subject to more corrosion than any other for some reason. You might even add jumper wire from the taillight to the ground.

Answering my own question: I found that Max Merritt has a good supply of WCFB metering rods. You have to call them and ask as the rods are not shown in their catalog. They even have the one size lean rods for higher altitude. $20 each.

I am rebuilding a Carter WCFB and I have one incorrect metering rod. I need a 75-942. Does anyone know of a source for metering rods? I would replace both rods with a 75-987 which is the one size lean (high altitude here) if i could find any.

Those who have done the 57 chevy electric wiper conversion on the pre-55 cars-is there any conversion needed to use the Chevy wiper in a 6 volt system?