I've finally started working with the pile of parts I've collected. My wife and I moved back onto her family's farm a few years ago. There were a few Ford carcases rotting up in the woods, so I started dragging them out and disassembling them. I saved a '25 TT, a 29' A and a '30 A. Neither of the As had bodies behind the windshield, but I think I've got a solid lead on a '29 Tudor body. There were also a few A motors/transmissions as well as T motors/transmissions, spare frames, axles, etc. I've been trying to sell off or swap parts I don't want or need to help me get my build done. I'm trying to build my hot rod with parts salvaged off the farm as much as possible. There was an old church van with a 302 in it, so I grabbed the 302 and C6 transmission for the build. There was also another '80s Ford van with a 9" rear end, so I snagged that, too. Unfortunately the gears are 2.5:1, but it shouldn't take much to swap them out for 3.5:1 or more. I also found a posi for it on the shelf in the shop. Right now I'm piecing together the 302 and rebuilding it. The block is from a '74 Maverick (it was swapped into the van), I've got C9TE heads from a '69 truck, and a 4-barrel intake from a '65 Fairlane. The block and heads have been freshened, and I'm starting to assemble them. I hope to have the engine built in a couple weeks once I get all the little parts. It will be built to look identical to a '68 Mustang GT. I've got front spindles from a '42, and I've got a good lead on F1 juice brakes for the front. I need to find new spring perches, and I need a new front spring, then I'm ready to start assembling the front suspension. I'm going for a highboy with a raked stance. To do this I've removed and flipped the front cross-member (@ 2.5" drop). I'll get a low reverse eye spring to help drop it a little more in the front. I'll probably do a triangulated 4-link on the 9" rear end with small coil-overs in the back. The rest of the stance will be achieved with wheel/tire size. I don't know about chopping the roof. I kind of like keeping it look simple (closer to original). I might even use the full hood. I've started cutting down the rear axle housing. I cut the weld on one side and pulled it out and chopped it. I'm going to center the pumpkin. Before I do the next side I want to assemble the front with wheels to get a solid measurement on track width. Anyway, my budget is next to nothing, but a lot of the original hot rods were built one spare change and left over parts. It will be a slow journey, but every step of the process is a small victory. Untame
I took a walk up in the woods again this beautiful Wisconsin afternoon, and I looked over a '54 Ford Customline to see if it had anything to offer me. Well... it had these hub caps and rims. There's another set on the car, but they are frozen in the mud and will have to wait for later. Does anyone know if those '54 Ford wheels will fit on the front of my rod? Up in the woods I also stumbled on a Model T cowl with a pair of doors and hardware. I left them there after setting them up out of the mud. Maybe I'll rescue them this summer. In the bag in the picture are my lifters. I went through all of them completely, and they are like new now. The 302 had been sitting in the van carcass for 15 years, and it had died when it was parked, so they came out kinda' hard and were well carboned (is that a word?). Untame
Here's that '54 Ford that I've been picking over. I was eyeing up the steering column today -- wondering if it would work in my build. Also trying to figure out what else I could rob off it for my project. Untame
looks like a good pile of parts to get going with the car wheels won't fit the F1 drums pre '48 cars and all pickups = 5 on 5-1/2 bolt pattern post '48 cars = 5 on 4-1/2 the caps will fit 1965 to 1980's pickup wheels
Perfect on the caps for my 9" rear (off an 80's E150). Thanks for the info on the bolt spacing. Untame
If you wanna make some money you grab the hood latch and support and I would buy em off ya. If the steering column is for a auto I would buy that too.
Go to the 52-56 Ford Owner's Social Group and see if there's anything anyone needs. I know that the hood hinges are like gold.
The Jalopy Journal
