Good Morning folks! My name is Tim, I live in Arcadia OK. I'm an old Jarhead who now makes his living running a structural repair station for corporate aircraft. So - last week this 90 yr old friend of mine calls me up and says he heard I was lookin for a coupe. I went to his place - looked it over - when it started and ran - I whooped out the checkbook and drug it home. She's not my first hot rod but she is my first vintage flathead car - So - my knowledge is limited on this species and I think with some input from all the collective wisdom here - I should be good to go. What I know abt the car: Not much, when sold new, it was some sort of silver-ish color. It was painted black fairly soon and then "rodded". It has the original v8 flatty, edelbrock heads, an Edmunds 2x2 with 2 Holley 2bbls. a really cool vacuum "wolf whistle" horn and the 3 spd has been moved to the floor and allegedly has "Lincoln" gears in it. (Could have Jefferson gears in it for all I know - still a newb on the old V8 stuff) Been converted to 12v. everything else is stock as sold new. When I came to get the car, my friend had a large envelope and also some large b/w photos of the car taken by some dude named Timothy White- (allegedly famous but we aint heard of him here in Oklahoma yet...still tryin to get over JR from Dallas gettin shot) who had a car photography showing in 2005 at the Peterson Automobile Museum in L.A. back in 2005. this car was on the invitations ( I got one of those too) and the pics I received were the actual ones hanging there - as I am told. she's basically a time capsule from someone modifying it in the very early 50s and I wish to leave it somewhat "as is" plus some of my own things I'd like to do - hopefully this doesn't equate to desecration by definition of some Ford freak who will spit on me/it etc... ha! It needs love - lots of it... it runs - i drove it quite a bit this last weekend. it has some rot... paint is well seasoned to say the least. interior upholstery is fragile and the exhaust system is pretty damn crappy! I plan on pulling the motor and trans - do a rebuild - paint the block as spec'd by Ford - shine up all the stuff that should be - do some panel swappin, replate or replace bumpers - redo the original interior to original.. respray the black... blast & powdercoat the frame - drop the original axle and lower the back a bit. Add radials... and probably discs to the front - leaving as much original suspension or original replacement parts as needed. not gonna add a stereo - no fuel cells - none of that stuff... - just try and get it back to 195? when it was shiny and safe. I would like to fix the original 2 bar radio ( insert who does that please!!!) new wiring, an alternator, some lap belts and I should be happy. So... educate me or send me money ( either is fine!)- try not to beat up on me too much or I'll just get that much more stubborn in making it all happen. Thanks in advance for the help.
Wow-nice score-car looks great-someone on here will remember it if it has significance. Good luck with your build and Congratulations!!
looks like a great start on a project and a good plan...except i would stay away from disc brakes. since you are leaving it as a old hot rod i'd look for some `48-`52 F1 or `53-`56 f100 ford front brakes. they are 11" self energizing brakes and can be made self adjusting i'd also leave the paint as is not sure if Ford ever painted any `48 Fords silver
Well if you are an old leatherneck you got spat on when you came home from SE Asia so a simple spitting by a Ford fanatic should be old hat. Now not to spit on your plans I seldom fix what aint broken so unless I was going to ad a ton of electronics and the genny was working I would just leave it. I run alternators on a lot of my stuff but I also run electric pumps and etc and use later model engines than that in your Ford. As far as changes are concerned if it is your car you should personalize it. That's hot rodding. if you fuck it up we'll tell you we aint shy. Have a good time with it its yours now.
I love it. I am liking these late fat fendered Fords more every day. If you want opinions, I would get new bias ply tires from Coker tire company in Chattanooga or a similar company to leave the car looking "traditional" with the wide whites. You should research the cost of rebuilding a flathead before you pull it. It may surprise you, it did me.
how bout' Gray...? some form of it... glovebox door inside is that color with a factory decal on it... Paint - gonna be hard to leave alone- esp having to try and duplicate it's age and appearance when the corroded parts are repaired /replaced - I'm pretty good at squirtin paint but there's significant rot.
HA! I'm only 47... I just hang around a lot of old farts just because they have waaay cooler stories than me. close as I got to SE Asia would be Subic Bay in 1992. Anyone who got spit on shoulda punched those hippies in the throat... retroactively - today - Wouldn't that be great! as for me "F-in" anything up - very very rare.. admitting it even rarer... verifying this with my wife not permitted.
It wasn't just the hippies, today even the cook @ Camp Lejeune is a hero not so much back then. LOL If your friends are smart they only remember the funny stories. I doubt you will do much wrong with the old heap, spend some time driving it and it will let you know what it wants.
Great lookin car, I like the paint, but if you say there's rot and it needs cleaned up and reshot, go for it. Please don't use base clear, it gives a plastic look that just doesn't work with a 50's build. Check out southern polyurethane "black black" single stage. Definitely won't brown on you. http://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/#!pricing/c20uv Upgraded drums would be the way to go on a 50's build, but it's your car. Check the compression and bleed down on the flathead. Might just pull it, clean it, gaskets, and repaint. I've never owned one, plenty of help here. Keep us updated.
Tim, Nice find. I understand your desire to upgrade and make the car your own, but after you get over the "It's my car & I can do what I want" you can look at the car and realize that you have as you described a "Time Capsule". This an important link in the Hot Rodding time line. It shows exactly how they did it back then. This car as is will never loose value. If you strip it down and redo it you will spend $30,000 to $40,000, (you know how things snowball) and you will have a new almost street rod and we lose the opportunity to see an original Hot Rod. This car might not have a great history or a famous owner, but it has been documented in photos that have hung in the Peterson. Not many guys can match that. Put your journalist hat on and talk to the previous owners, (how long did your 90year old buddy have it? Did he build it? Tell us his story and it will increase the importance and value of this car. While you are documenting and preserving this coupe you can look around for another car or project to make your own. You will spend almost the same money, you can drive this coupe and remember how things used to be and build a new car that will be exactly what you want.
That is a very nice start to creating your 50's traditional hot rod. Consider picking a time frame i.e. 1958, that you want your ride to represent and then hold to that. As it has been suggested, disc brakes, electric fuel pumps, etc detract from the 50's theme you want to achieve. My 40 ford coupe is doing just fine under this umbrella of traditional hot rod, if it wasn't around in 1958, then it is not on the car. Still on 6 volts generated, drums and a torque tube. If you mix and match decades to much you can get all messed up and you won't know how to react when someone says to you, "Nice Street Rod"!
Nice looking coupe, as others have said don't mix era's. Although I put a 58 283 in my 48 in 1960 with a adapter to the 3 speed, so don't be afraid to upgrade and not still be "traditional"
That car is absolutely amazing! I am so jelous. In my personal opinion (just an opinion in the end its you're car) radials will totally ruin the look of the ride. I run new bias plys from Coker tire and you honestly can't tell the difference if you're suspension is all tight in the front. I second the F-1 brake notion as well and the generator. You would be surprised how well the car will drive if everything is all tuned up. This is just my opinion but an old car should drive and look like an old car. Keep the sole and spirit of the old coupe. Just my two cents but it's you're car and you can do as you please that's the beauty of America.
So one of them "Aint Skeered" decals at the top of the windshield and some testicles off the back bumper is prob gonna be a no go huh? dang... I was gonna JC Whitney the hell outta this thing too... ya'll are strict up in here!!
I don't know everything about anything but from a few pictures I can tell you that if that thing hasn't been touched in years! You have speed equipment to die for!And modifications we dream about! Crap it even has a wolf whistle! That alone tells you nobody has touched that thing in years! Around here you can't be a poser. You gotta respect, preserve, and protect the history. If you gotta start taking apart, rebuilding, adding disc brakes and radials, you dont't get it. If you put seat belts in it you need WWII surplus airplane belts! These cars stopped fine in '48 with the brakes they had. They dont need discs to stop. They need more car lengths between you and the next car! You drive these cars like it's 1950, not 2020! These fat fenders are not very rare, and are not worth a whole lot so if you want to blow one apart and rebuild it, go buy a stocker and rebuild it into a street rod you seem to want, and sell this one to somebody who will just get it safe, usable and noisey! You have something extremely rare! And the guy who built it is your friend! How cool is that. Live with a little rust. Fix it if it's structural, but try not to disturb the aura of the car if you don't have to. The car is talking, no, screaming at you! Just listen! DONE!
Radials? No... Alternator? No.... Disc brakes? no.... All of those things do not belong on this car, it is special, and should be left as such, it would not been invited to be in the Petersen Museum if it wasn't the time capsule you state it to be . Get it freshened up but don't make it tacky or street roddy. If the engine is a good runner, do the gaskets, paint it then reassemble. Flatheads will climb in price faster than you can imagine. The reference to the gears in the trans are to Lincoln Zephyr gears, they have ratios to get you off the line quicker, common and desirable swap back then and now. More pictures please.
A lot of great comments. Nice old coupe by the way. For the most part the members who are real traditional car guys told it like it is. Yes, it's your car, but listen up and keep this one as close to the way it is as possible yet safe and useable. The old guy who sold it figured you'd know best. Don't let him down.
post above me states best what I've gained from this. As I mentioned right off the bat, I don't want to re-invent this car. I wanted suggestions and ya'll have given me great ones so far, fer sure. a little clarification - the gentleman I bought from didn't build it - he bought it a few yrs ago- then recently bought a 48 merc so he sold me this car. I believe it's from PA. the Generator is 12v ( I didn't do that nor did he... ) it has a holley elect. fuel pump vs. the mechanical one on back of the manifold ( blockoff plate) I realized once I was given the pics that I have a responsibility to keep this baby safe - and I will. but at the same time - I'm gonna drive it... no trailer queen.. wouldn't matter if it was Carrol Shelby's very own million dollar Cobra 427 - I'd smoke the tires off it and smile the whole time. and while this sweetheart wont boil the tires - it does make me smile either driving it or looking at it. Bias plys will stay/ replaced with same same - drums are fine with me... the interior is gonna get done like day one from Ford. period. I will ditch the elect pump and go original mechanical pump- 12v or 6 v wiring- not a priority. ( unless I can't get the wonderbar radio to work on 12 then 6 it is... ( who fixes these!!!) I will probably drop the axle - maybe the guy who built it never got to it...?! we'll never know. as for the rot and paint... damn... if it weren't for the rot ( floor redo at minimum) - I'd keep the paint... it's gonna be tough - but I'll see if I can do it... There's also a trunk popper inside the fuel door... was done much later on... kinda tacky lookin and doesn't work. someone also smoothed/ debadged the rear deck - no latch/handle/tag bracket or ford emblem... ( same dork who shaved the deck and added that shitty popper dealiewhopper if I had to bet) I'd love to replace them but with old original patina'd parts... if I'm keepin the paint - I cant have new shiny brightwork. weather stripping, seals, fender welting - all getting replaced... I don't want anyone mistaking this for a "Rat Rod" - however cool in their own individuality they are - that isn't what i would do or want. I do want it reliable - I do plan on driving the hell out of it. I do want it clean...Let me make a point - I think any hot rodder respects the past... we all love mechanical things... I'd bet most of us like guns... seems that car guys are gun guys in my experience - I have a few WWII M1 Garands, 1903-A3s and M1 carbines ( bought a few from the same dude that sold me this! - bastard has my number huh?!? lol) anyway - seeing the dings, sweat darkened areas on the stocks, and shooting those same rifles that some GI used , held, cherished, made history with - gives me goosebumps and I'm honored to be their keeper until I pass them on. so trust me - I feel the same with this car... Peterson or not... thinkin of some guy, back from WWII, saved up to buy this then added what he could when he could, cruised town - flushed up a race every now and then... used that wolf whistle on the pretty girls... maybe met his wife while driving it.. I get it... I'm driving someones very favorite memory... its a responsibility... I'd bet he'd approve of me having it... and getting it how he wanted it before his old lady made him sell it and buy an Edsel Wagon. very fortunate I get to make memories with it too... Trust me " I get it" and I sincerely appreciate the advice so far. Already purchased a vintage '48 OK tag for it... now looking for WWII surplus aircraft seat belts... ( See..I do listen!) I will take more pics tomorrow and stick em up on here for those that asked...
One of my '56 Fords has fresh paint, new chrome, and a fully pleated interior and people still call it a rat rod. Fuck what people think or say. I would fix all the rust areas and just blow the paint in (but that's just me). Nothing wrong with new chrome and a little patina. Just because a car has a little rust, patina, scratches, dents, etc. Does not make it a rat rod just a well used old hot rod. Get everything working properly and drive the shit out of it. Good choice on sticking with bias plys! It is honestly the worst seeing a really nice "traditional styled" rod or kustom and then it runs radials totally kills the raw mechanical and hot rod vibe of the car. Just makes it look like some fancy street rod. Keep the car raw and visceral! And thank you for not wanting to put a MII front and a SBC!
Congrats - your new pride & joy - proceed with whatever you need to truly make it yours and get on the road and enjoy the drive
They say if you gotta tell people you got balls its because you don't. I got a friend that has "I aint Skert" lettered on the deck lid of his coupe, has had that lettered someplace on every hot rod he as owned since '57. LOL
Timbo, you're in the 405, just take it over to these guys and they'll set you up for "the list" http://www.midweststreetcars.com. I'd love to see it stay mostly original paint, can you show some closeups of the "rot" areas, maybe we can give advice on repairs and paint blending when we see what's bad.
theres a ton of pics I loaded a couple posts up... should cover that . if not lemme know. Midwest street cars... nah... that's a circus for discovery channel. Seems like everytime they put an Okie on TV, they always exemplify the stereotype. We're not all that like - but we do carry the gene. lol
Question... Rear Wheels... Axles... Do they all stick out like that? Seems like the cap wouldn't fit? And... It has 15" wheels...tires are 8.20 x15... Maybe I could stagger tires vs dropping the axle-?!?
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