Projects building a low budget bellybutton 40 ford coupe

Okay I'm gonna get a bunch of one stars for this thread but what the heck.
It may help someone else out,
and on a more selfish note,
build threads help me get motivated.

So here's the project.
Yeah it's a flathead powered 40 ford coupe.

For a while it was one of our more reliable cars,
and saw much work and daily driver duty.
Let's say it was a 6 exit slow lane freeway car!

After a while it wasn't as reliable.
It was mainly my laziness,
as this isn't just a check the oil type car.

Then a couple things peaked that allowed me to get ahead of myself.

If you remember I built the Chocolate & Cheese back in February/March.
The new owner wanted a running flathead and I had the perfect one.

The kids and I pulled the 40's heart and tucked into the 27 roadster.

Here we were at the crossroads.
I had a couple flatheads to go back in there,
but that's not what I wanted.

So it sat while some other projects took their lead.
TP

 

That's a neat car and your boys rule! 5 stars!

 

What the hell I like the 40........Do what ya want to it, but get it back on the road and drive the shit out of it.

 

Thanks guys but this is still early in the project!
The idea is to modernize the drive train,
but keep the body basically the same.

This is where it may get ugly for some of you.
About 5 years earlier,
I had gotten this car almost specifically as a donor.
Of course the thing ended up running great after a total gasket swap.
The miles were racked up on it,
and every smog check I figured this was it,'
but no it just kept passing.
The body was falling apart though,
no windows, leaky windows etc.
When the registration was due it was decided to retire the old beast.

The jewel was the 5.0/302 and AOD transmission.
The 1990 lincoln is the last year of this older combo,
even though it is masked under all this hubbub.

It's always fun tearing up a car that doesn't need to be put back together.

It took the weekend to pull it out.

The goal is to get it to look something like this one in my friend Mike's truck,
with a different distributor though.

After selling some lights and random junk,
a scrapper took the rest of the carcass for $100...

The 40 engine bay was ready.

and I brought out my secret weapon to help out with fitting it in.

In 1965 this thing had a seized 347 pontiac attached to a stripped 39 transmission,
attached to a sheared ford banjo rearend!
The firewall was never cut,
just hammered out to fit the big pontiac.

The next weekend I hacked away at the firewall little by little,
and ended up going overboard.
Fortunately most of it was a little messed up anyway.
My concession was there was an electric fan for the flathead,
and the same fan would be used for this 302 as well.
The hack job was trying to get room for a mustang looking fan.

The kicker was the Lincoln uses a kinda rear sump oil pan,
instead of the typical unuseable front sump.
The engine seemed to work when sitting at the same block placement as the flathead.

Now to figure out how to mount it.
TP

 

Be sure to get the right Lokar type AOD to carb cable too. Following your fitting fun closely, slightly different shape than a SBC. What is planned for exhaust manifolds?

 

This is going to be slick as shit!!! I loved the chocolate and Cheese roadster too!! This 40 has a cool look to it and making it really reliable for modern day, everyday use is going to be worth it!! You've got a great group of helpers too!! SUBSCRIBED!!!!

 

And every one wonders why we put SBC in our old Fords because thay fit

 

I want to watch.

 

Hey BFC a friend used that Lokar TV cable and even though it's a little hi-tech,
it's the only one out there!
It goes against my low budget theme but I'm saving up for one,
about $80 I think.

Hey Bugsy!
We went to the Barona Drags last year,
up in the hills of East San Diego County.
The old flathead barely made it up the mountain!
Well it actually did pretty good considering we made it in 3rd gear.
On the way back,
a friend in his f100/302 and my cousin in his 36 ford (w/chevy) coupe made the drive home.
The 40 was fine in the rolling hills,
but holey chit as soon as we got to the freeway they disappeared.
After that the seed was planted!

Hey NWB if there's no cutting or grinding then it's just not that fun for me!

*************************

Thanks guys for all the interest and comments!

Okay so here's the thing.
The 40 is at my house which at the time wasn't as set up for fabrication.
Basically I'd make some measurements or a template,
then later on come home and see if it worked.
Very slow and methodical.

The starting point was the motor mount brackets from the block,
then the frame mounts could be made exact with no guesswork.
I like the clean look of those flathead biscuits.

Looks easy enough right?
Had just enough clearance for the oil filter.

Of course something wasn't quite right,
and the only way to fix it was to raise the front by about an inch.

Then I realized that the mounts were offset by about an inch front to back on each side.
Fortunately caught this when it was clamped.

So the passenger side is totally open and the stock Lincoln header could work.

The drivers side clears the steering box,
but there will need to be some custom pipework.
I'll probably use the flange/runners from the sheetmetal headers and go from there.

Since the torque tube rearend was in the driveshaft tunnel,
the transmission would have to wait.

Now time to collect parts.
TP

 

You did fill in the hole in the back of the heads, right?

Also if you gusset / triangulate / reinforce the Z'ed motor mounts you will have more peace of mind going over big bumps, rough roads etc. It's probably fine but a little more strength is good.

 

Cool city, I like the, it's mine and I will do it my way approach!
Good goin bro. ~sololobo~

 

This brought back vivid memories of firing the '54 Ford "Ranch Wagon" for the first time back in April.

We had the new exhaust installed and fired the car up in the shop and it sounded like a pro street dragster,,I was shock at how noisy and loud it was,,the next day I drove it over to a friends automotive shop and he put it on the rack where I could check everything out underneath and make sure everything was tight and he question what we thought was an exhaust leak making all the noise.

As Earl was looking and feeling around the exhaust he discovered that I had failed to plug the 2 holes in the back of the heads where I had removed the crossover tube.

I had cleaned the engine and detailed it and completely forgot the holes.

about a half hour and two pipe plugs and the car sounded as it should. HRP

 

I'm subscribed. One question; is that car as solid as it looks? I'm jealous!

 

Very Very nice work !!!!! Keep posting. We need more or these kind
of projects and posts on tthe HAMB !!!!!

 

Ive always liked the 35-40's. Keep posting. Have you looked at the books Frank Oddo did on the Ford into 40's swaps?

 

Well I am feeling pretty generous today, I'll give you a star or two.

Great project with a great back story.

 

Thanks again guys for the comments and interest!
Always appreciated and helps me to know I'm not crazy doing this.

Yeah Joel it's really solid with just the right amount of bumps and bruises.
A family friend was selling it almost 10 years ago now,
he had collected all the parts to restore it,
so I got a basketcase along with a ton of parts.
It is so different from the rusty 40 project!
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=335174

There was a couple moments I considered selling it and starting another car,
then I realized why would I want to do that.
It would bum me out if someone else started chopping away at it when I could have!

Hey Thanks BFC and HRP for the technical support.
I'll be running in to more problems once the mechanical stuff starts,
and will have tons of questions I'm sure!
I better check those holes...

****

One of the hassles I've heard about these SBF's is the pulleys.
There are 4-bolt and 3-bolt dampeners,
and long and short water pumps,
forward and reverse rotation,
left and right side outlets...

Remember this is a low-budget build,
and about a year+ ago I put in a new water pump.
The Lincoln 5.0's are the low performance version,
and they use the normal rotation (i think) drivers side outlet WP.
This is a mockup pic so the radiator isn't that close! almost though.

I scrounged up a couple mismatched sets of pulleys,
and finally found a matched set that work.
crank pulley - d5ze6312a2a
waterpump pulley - d5ze-8509-ab
They fit and lined up.
I think they were for a 70's mustang II,
and are set back a half inch more than normal,
although that donkey dick water pump sticks out way too much!

Don't think I'll need the 2 extra belts but you never know.
Would be nice to have a shorter water pump,
but then I'd need a different WP pulley!

This may not seem too important,
it is just one of those clouds I didn't need hanging over the project.

TP

 

I have this 302/AOD combo in my '40 SD - it fits nicely - shorty water pump definitely recommended. I am putting a Cooling Components Inc. electric fan/shroud combo in mine. This is only 2-3/8' deep and pulls an honest 2700 cfm. that way it all fots without hacking the firewall....

 

Dang Weasel you shoehorned that thing in there!
That's a Mustang?
Weird how everything is the same as in the LIncoln just different sides.
Is yours the short or long AOD tailshaft?
TP

 

A neighbor and his friend work every Monday on their projects,
and even though it is slow,
there is steady progress.
Usually they'll do a car or truck in about 2 years.
I tried to follow that idea,
and every Sunday I'd peck away at the 40,
with a couple hours interspersed throughout the week.
Now you can imagine how long all that first page work took!

While I was on this Sunday kick,
the next thing on the list was to get rid of the torque tube,
then the transmission could be mounted.

I've used a Hot Rod Works open shaft conversion on our RPU,
and it works great.
If I had kept the flathead and installed a 49/50 mercury overdrive transmission,
the banjo would have stayed in.
A hot rod friend had a story of losing an axle/wheel on the freeway in his 32 coupe,
and after that I figured why spend $200+ on a sketchy rearend,
when I could get something that would match the newer powerplant.

The tricky part about rearends and fendered hot rods is the correct width.
Narrowing a rearend isn't in the budget,
so I studied which rear end to get.
Actually I only studied this when I found a deal on craigslist and reverse searched it to see if it would fit!
This 8" came out of a 1968 mustang,
and the overall width was maybe 1/2" wider then the banjo.
The gears matched the Lincoln gears of about 3.08,
so my hopes were it would be a good cruiser like the old town car.

A couple before shots to compare rim/tire fit...

And the 40 was going into "not going back to flathead" territory.
Those rear tires are giant 7.50x16LT truck tires.
I love them even though they are extremely heavy.
They worked great with the 4.10 rear gearing.

The 8" was jacked in place with some cool 16" 4.5 lug rims,
and wow it looks like it's a perfect fit!

TP

 

I love low buck builds!!!!! That is going to be a great driver. I am all in on this one.

 

Awesome! Your build threads rule.. Subscribed.

 

I'd rather have multiple low budget builds then one high dollar one!

Thanks Tex - I'm trying to keep this one as easy as possible!

*****************************************

Okay,
so all this work was done by late June.
Then some shitballs hit the fan and other projects took precedence.



In August I installed a 9" in the chopped 40 coupe project,
and thankfully made a couple more of the mounting footballs.
They're made of 3/8" steel plate.



The '36 rear wishbones are perfect for a more traditional design.



Finally just a couple weeks ago (late september) I decided it was time to make the 40 a roller.
Weird how fast 3 months flies by.
It's dangerous when you get used to a project sitting high on jackstands.

Fortunately I didn't lose the pair of mounting footballs!
It did take some time to find them though.

One issue was the original spring shackle bushings were wedged in to the hangers.
This is always a fun job.
Someone had beat the living chit out of them.

Some careful torchwork and they cleaned up just fine.

Finding 5x4.5" rims was tougher than I thought.
A pair was located of all places on EBAY for a better deal then local junkyards,
and they were blasted and painted.
I also was smart enough to order extra tierod/bung kits/shackles,
so all the pieces of the puzzle were ready.

TP

 

I like your style! Besides, how could you go wrong with a '40 coupe?

 

Great build, as usual. I strongly recommend the short water pump if at all possible. I only have about an inch of clearance between the radiator and the fan. It looks great but itis a real bitch if you have to get your hand in there. A short pump solved the problem.

 

Never put together a 40' have ya? A SBF fits better than a SBC. No firewall cutting needed. You still have to cut the firewall on a 40 for a SBC to make room for the distributor.

Love your 40's zibo. Can't wait to see it all back together.

Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app

 

Hey Gasser -
I'm so used to cutting and grinding from the other one,
it's like cut first think later!

Hey Fatkoop your avatar is what I'm after.
Just not all shiny!

Hey HR40C,
how much shorter is the short water pump?
Is this the special one from Ford Racing?
I'm trying to have this be all "over the counter" parts for ease of repair on the road,
even though I'll need a list of all the cars the donor parts are from.
Anyway if you know the year/model that would be great!

***********************************************

Okay we're almost caught up.
Weekend before last the goal was to get this thing on wheels.

First those football brackets were cut and welded around the axle tubes,
floating like shower curtain rings so the rear end can pivot.

Then all the parts are attached.
A rectangular tube was used to simulate the spring - 48.25 center to center.
This one was much easier then the other 40,
as the front part of the wishbones was still stock.
The ends only needed to be bolted together with a spacer,
and the spring hangers were parallel.

The rearend was eyeballed in to position.
Fortunately the RPU and the rusty 40 have the same rear spring setup,
so I could use the measurements for an estimated placement since there's no spring.
The important part here was to get the pinion angle to match the engine,
even though its not mounted yet.
I welded it about 2-3 degrees - 2.5 I hoped.
Now the engine will need to be set to the rear.
With everything centered the footballs were tacked in place.

During the 3 months that have passed since I started,
the garage has gotten geared up for basic fabrication.
I use a bitchin Maxstar 150 set up for Tig and Stick,
and it's plenty strong enough.
The footballs were arc welded in place - traditional style!

I love the look of bias plies,
but this car is going to have radials.
Yeah I said it.
We already have 2 other bias ply cars,
and this one is going to be made for one-handed road duty!
Possibly by my wife and kids if we're lucky enough to keep it that long!

There are so many radial tire sizes it's tough to choose.
After scouring the internet,
my favorite rear tire setup was this burgundy coupe a guy on here has.
He said 225/15's but didn't have the middle number.

These no name "GITI PRIME WELL" tires were found for $50 on craigslist in the size I needed.
They were take-offs and were almost new,
and for now they're perfect to get an idea of tire size before spending big money.
This is an open ended project so it may not run very soon,
so now I just want a roller.
Yeah I'm a little defensive here,
cmon radials and cheap brand I'm sure to get flamed!

TP

 

I never had to cut the firewall to put in a SBC. just can't use a HEI. I've had six 40's with SBC's

 

Correctamundo. Previous poster probably is only familiar with HEI big boy distributors and cap-mounted coils because they haven't made points distributors since well before his birth.

My 40 Standard Coupe had an SBC mounted to the original drivetrain, perfect fit.

 

Damn, is that body as cherry as it looks? She's had some good care-takers over the years.

Gotta love Building on a Budget; I'll take a subscription, too.....