Back when I was just a kid at 16 I had a 51 Olds 2 door sedan that was given to me with no engine or tranny. Back in the day there were a few yards that let us young guys hang out and strip some parts to keep our old beaters running so we found a wrecked low mileage 50 Olds convert and ripped the engine and tranny out and put it in the 51. We were all styling for sure but that did not last long as I hit a tractor head on and totaled the car at dusk one night (the farmer had his lights off and we did not see him as we passed another car). Being resourceful (had to be to live back then) we stuffed that engine up against a 47 tranny and stuck it in a 47 Ford coupe making it the first street rod in the community. It was not much to look at but it would go like hell! Then I met my wife to be and her dad asked me not to park that junk in his front yard so I sold it and upgraded to a nice '57 Dodge hard top that kept all involved happy. So fast forward 50 years and I have just been hankering to build me another Olds engine. Picked up a 54 324 and had Dave50 rebuild it for me, then picked up a project from another member on the forum which consisted a 32 frame, 4 inch drop axle, 9 inch rear etc. Body is in fair shape with fairly good front sub rails. The OB had done a bunch of work on it to get it to be a roller. I have been looking at it for about two years now and have decided to get with the program before I run out of time or something like that. The Olds has a Ross cam and 4 97's mated to a 37 Lasalle. To date I have the engine in the frame and need to change a few things as the OB had set up the drive train for a cookie cutter SBC and T350. Not happy with the cross member or the rear set up either so all of that is being changed. Plan is to redo the X member to allow a set of 39 pedals to be used and a A cross member out back with an A spring to fix the interference with rear and the current cross member. Lots to do but all I have now is time so we are working at it slowly. This past week we cut out the firewall as it was trashed pretty bad and was to close to the Olds. Fabbed up a new cold rolled replacement and have that fitted now. Then onto the X member and the fitment of the new pedal assmb. Will work my way back to the rear. The drivers B pillar has dropped about 3/4 of in inch which has to fixed along with the sub rails so I will update this as the weather allows. It is 7 degrees here today so not much will be happening in the garage for a few days. Surely will look forward to input as I have never built a 31 before. Always stayed with the fat fender cars prior to this. Here are a few pics of what is going on to date.
Here is a pic of the firewall "post operation". These rails are not pinched so now I can spread the lower panels to fit over the rails. Got a sheet of 18 ga cold rolled and made a pattern with card board which I have transferred to the steel. Cut it out last night and did a lot of fitting to get it to fit tight. Will weld it from behind as soon as I get the distributor recess done. The body sets to high in the rear and I wanted to C notch the frame so I am going to put an A cross member in with a new spring. If you look close at this pic you can see where the rear end housing would have come up and hit the spring and cross member. Gotta fix that.
I am glad to see another old guy building. I am 67 and I just finished up a 1941 ford pu (if they are ever finished) don't know if I have another one left in me. good for you. tom
A lot of us are in that same age range and are still starting new projects. We may be older but we're wiser as well...hopefully. Some of the new cars going together will be so cool in a very traditional way when they're done. You've got a great start on yours, vtwhead. Keep up the good work!
Hey, old guys rule or so say the tee shirts. Good for you, never give up because who knows what life has around the bend for all of us. If Dave built that engine, you'll be happy. He did work for me and I was pleased both by the quality and the passion he has to do the job right.
I will be joining you at 69 in Febuary. i got my dream car,a 1939 Ford Deluxe coupe built the last 2 years of so. I had my 19 year-old grandson help for a while. Goes much faster with 2 guys working together and it is something I hope he will have fond memories of. I like your Olds engine choice.
I'm 69 and just finished a 31 Model A PU, great to see guy my age still out there twisting wrenches, keep posting pics.
Nice project. I'm biased as I've built a few A coupes. Something to keep in mind. As you lower that cowl the radiator and shell will need to be lowered as well to compensate in addition to the up-swept '32 rails. That nice Walker rad that came with the project most likely is too tall. Also, sometimes, the A bodies end up angled slightly forward to get that cowl down. This makes the radiator even shorter. It's unwise to order a radiator on a non-stock body frame combo or high boy until the grill shell height is established. Get the body together on the frame where it will be permanently located, prop the grill shell up where it should be, grab some masking tape and make a hood line from cowl to rad shell. Trim and drop grill shell and repeat as many times as takes to look like the proper slope following the cowl tops slope. Then measure and buy your radiator. Good luck with your project.
Excellent point. I am in the early stages of building a '29 roadster on '32 rails and had this issue pointed out to me by the very knowledgeable and capable guy who is doing my build...fortunately before I bought the radiator and shell. If you look at some of the completed cars in the various Model A pictorial threads here on the H.A.M.B. you will see examples of both. Once you are aware of the issue you can't help but see it - especially when flthd31's advice was not followed.
Right now Mike...one is enough....wonder if I will ever get it done! Thanks Tim! Love my Olds engines and can't wait to see it go down the road. Good for you Tom. I actually have two going at the moment. My 64 Chev 2 dr post is almost done but I feel it is a bit OT for this traditional forum. Thanks for your encouragement. Hope I am one of those that is "wiser". Guess we will see when this thing gets done! Yes Fab32's sudden passing has certainly reminded me once again how precious life is so you never know what lies around that corner for sure. Dave is a super guy.....definitely will use his service again. I wished I had my grandson here to help. All the grandkids are distant (KY&CA) so we do not get to see them much. Work mostly alone each day. Have one mentor who id building a 31 sedan at the moment which helps. I love your pickup. If mine comes out any where near as nice I will be overjoyed!
Thanks Flthd31! I suspect that a new radiator is in order. I am going to measure it to see. Good advice. Thanks. Yep, 50 years is long enough! LOL Thanks Shooter54. Lots to do yet and can't wait to see it come together. Yes, I have seen the high radiators out there before. I bet I am going to have a Walker radiator for sale soon!
hey my old friend, I'll be 66 in a few days and I'm building my first 30 ford coupe hot rod. I'll keep on building hot rods and kustoms until I forget why I just walked out to the shop. have fun on your build, you'll do just fine........subscribed
Thanks 2345coupe! Can't geti nto the garage the last couple of days. Just too cold....15 below today, bet you must be at -25 up there in the north Thanks Dennis!
Cool thread, subscribed. Nice to see so many Model A's lately. Looking forward to seeing it come together.
Great stuff. That engine is bitchin, and its not fully complete yet. Still looks real nice. I think your building a winner, and look forward to watching your progress.
Thanks Wex65! Don't know if I can keep up with you and Tony with your builds HA! Just want a good daily driver powered by an Olds. Thanks for the comments Kiwijeff! Got 4 97's going on top and hope to have a set of headers or something better than cast iron OE by the end. Hi Martin, good to hear from you. Did you get your Olds block back yet? Glad to have you along on this build. Might need some inspiration along the way.
I am not Bob Hilton, just a happy customer of his, and of Tony over at Ross Racing Engines. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Nope, I'm still waiting... Can't wait to see the 324 all dressed up in your coupe! That 4x2 is sweet!
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