Projects My new project...Survivor channeled Deuce Roadster

I hate to say it, but I am starting to think that I am going to raise her back up...

 

Greetings! In the Feb 2004 issue of "Rodder's Digest" Dave Thacker installed dropped floors for his track "T" so he would be sitting "in" the car, not "on" it, floors were dropped almost the depth of a '32 frame, should work for you too.

 

I would!

 

Great score!

 

Yep, you should. It is your car and do as you will for your taste. You might try and sell it before you go through all that work or offer it for a trade of an unchannelled one. Even if you scored a gennie roller not running you would be alot of work ahead. Raising one up to factory specs is a ton of work. It's great you were able to get a real Ford for a fair price in a major venue. Just because something is a survivor doesn't mean you can't improve on it. Ugly is ugly no matter how well preserved it is. It'll look alot better and less Cartoony as a Highboy. (That's my humble opinion of course)


All the best,

Tim

 

I like it as is. That car and I came from the same place. That was the style.

 

Takes clues from the red Roy Brizio build a few years back,,You'll fit and love it. might take some research, call Roy he will tell you about it , had a rolled rear pan..WW's, Hubcaps ,might have pics.. go to his website..

 

Nice score. Please keep it channelled. Here is the build of Tom Gloy's channelled '32.
Check the seat pans.

http://www.roybriziostreetrods.com/progress/gloy_2/index.htm

 

I really appreciate that link guys...this might be possible after all.
I have to change some stuff on this car. The fenders & nerf bars are going for sure, The grill is being pulled back at least 5", and a 32 wishbone is going back in it.
My dilemma...
This car will be pretty easy to unchannel. The subrails are intact, just slide the body forward & up and set her back down. Replace the cross channels & the firewall, and the current floor & interior will work just fine with only a few modifications. Also, I have a nice original radiator that was modified for a smallblock years ago that will bolt right in. I also have a nice original roadster windshield that has been chopped 4". I will leave the z'd chassis the way it is. To someone that hasn't ever seen this car, it will look like it was originally built this way. Done. Also, I will now fit in the car & be comfortable...
To keep it channeled I will have to build a drop floor., build a seat & have it upholstered to match the rest of the interior, have a radiator built for it, get a different windshield with less of a chop. And the car will be a compromise as far as comfort.
All this being said, I played with it for the better part of the night trying to figure out a way to get reasonably comfortable in it. But I am really starting to think that the easiest thing to do will be to unchannel it.
Sam

 

Have you looked through the "Cool Cars- Square Rollbars" book to see if it's in there?

I am originally from Connecticut so I love the history, even though I totally agree with you about the "goofy" look of some of those early East Coast cars.

I will have to ask my Dad and his carclub buddies, the Eliminators out of New London, if they know about it.

 

What a shame to change this car. History is History man and if you fuck with it you are fucking with the future. These survivors are amazing because they survived. If you change it, you will have turned an amazing survivor into a bunch of old parts. That sucks.

Our selfish ways will erase the past for a far lamer version of it. Its a big responsibility to own a car like that. You are a care-taker, to preserve it and make sure it survives on.

If I was you I would sell it, and build the car you want, because once it is changed, it is lost...... for ever.

I understand the whole he bought it, he can do what he wants with it deal..... but I just don't agree.

I love hot rods more than anything, and to me the ones like this, the true survivors are the best! Sure they can be a little goofy or less streamlined than what we are used to, but they are as pure as it gets.

Every piece of that car was a step to how we got to where we are today.

damn it. Please take as many pictures of every detail you can before it is "Made Better"

 

Spot on!
It doesent matter if its a well known car from a known builder or a backyard build made by teens.
Those cars that made it untouched deserve to be left alone as is.

 

Survivor status is cool, but I agree with it's new caretaker; those fenders and nerf bar contraptions are goofy. The rear fenders totally conflict with the wheel opening body lines of the car. Just because it's old doesn't mean it can't be fixed or improved....and that car deserves to be improved.

 

I totally disagree. That car deserves to survive. Like others have said once it's changed it's gone forever. I think it could probably be sold to someone who wants a car like that and then the owner can build what he wants.

Obviously it is his car and he can do whatever he wants. Hell, If he wanted to burn it to the ground none of us could stop him.

 

Ok,so if i bought the mona lisa painting and thougt,that girl got some ugly tits,hell yeah lets paint some new silicone ones on there....im sure i got a spraycan layin around somewhere....

Naah,i dont Think so...

 

Im sad to hear this car is going to be changed. an original survivor. Honestly, there are very, very few surviving east coast cars. You have a rare gem. Send it back to CT

 

Don't be so hard on him Bob, I remember a couple old hot rods you found that you changed to suit your needs:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67987

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31015

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=636569

And I couldn't find the threads about your red '34 pickup or the blue '34 pickup.

How about your family heirloom? You even changed that a bit too didn't you?

I'm all for the OP changing his car to suit him. It's not a famous car, it doesn't fit him, and I have to admit that '36-and-up front ends in a '32 have always looked horrible. Unchannelling it and losing the fenders will not kill this car.

Flame on, flamers!

 

do you know where in ct it came from?
as far as changing it i have always felt history should be made and added to and evolve. the cars story should not end with hot rodded in '55 and put away. document, collect the early magazines and photos as life #2 [original #1] then give it life #3. remember there is some antiquer that is thinking change it back to original.
i wouldn't mind if some top notch artist gave the mona lisa bigger boobs....but he better be good.

 

Really not trying to start a contest here.... I just love to see stuff like that!

To me, There is a difference between old Hot rods that are incomplete or didn't really survive... and a true survivor like this one.

The first truck was an old hot rod.... it didn't run or function as car.... it was hardly complete...... it was a stock truck with a small block in it... I loved it and still think about it everyday. It was brought back to life.... I probably shouldn't have chopped it..... but damn It was cool...

The shoebox was primered yellow from the guy who I got it from.... the origional paint was stripped with a body grinder...... I sold it because I wanted to change it and I felt it was the wrong thing to do.

The black shoebox was pretty cool, but it was stock with an old custom interior.... there were no other custom modifications. still proud of that chop....

The blue 34 truck was found after it had been changed All I did was drive it....... if anything it should have been changed back..... Man I wanted to chop it! I almost did even.... but I knew it was the wrong thing to do.... so I sold it.



The red one was an abondonded old truck that had not been on the road for years..... I tried my best to use only old parts and make it complete as it could have been....

My roadster.... yeah I've changed it, I regret it sometimes, but being that it is a family car.... the story is still being written on that one.... it was never off the road for more than a couple years since 1956. Wait till you see what i do with it next!


This roadster seems to be pretty much as it was and in really great shape.... to me that's priceless... I actually love the fenders and nerf bars! None of the cars I've ever had were in this kind of shape! especially my roadster.


This isn't anything personal torward anyone.... I just love the opportunity to see stuff like this and have heard so many stories of how they used to be..... This one is exactly how they used to be!

Its pretty awesome!

Think about it! Yeah the proportions look funny etc... but think about how bad ass it was when it was built.... it was cutting edge! Everyone knows better now.... arm chair quarterbacks. No one would build that car today and that's why it rules.
I look at cars like this and I think about how smart the builders were.... all the problems they solved.... they didn't have the resources we have and they made due... those guys were really smart.... and usually pretty young. Its just so cool to see,that's all..... and there aren't many cars like this left.

So yeah do what you want, its not famous so no one cares, it still will be a 32 ford.. Kind seems thoughtless.

I still just think its a shame. That's all ....No different than when I see an old building being torn down to make room for a condo....

I have surrounded myself with old things.... pretty much everything I own is old...... I live within their limitations. I like it that way.

 

If I could, I'd pay your expenses to trailer it up to the Tyrods Oldtimers reunion, to let the surviving old Northeast 50's rodders a chance to see it and shoot the bull with you. That is the one show that those very elderly guys look forward to, to see very old builds.

take a bunch of pics before or during the change, in case someone would like to see them someday.

 

Removing the ill fitting cycle fenders and removing the goofy nerf bars is hardly 'changing it forever', or hardly the same as painting tits on the Mona Lisa. Cmon guys, lets get real here.

 

This. I remember seeing this car at show, in Hartford, when I was a wee lad.

Nature, money and entropy claimed most other examples of classic East Coast style.

You are about to cull one of the remaining few. Your car, but I wouldn't.

 

Bob, I have loved all your work, and now to hear how you look at these issues, and I am even more impressed. I'm not saying this to dis what the owner has planned to do. I just don't see many people post what they really feel about old builds on hamb. It is dam good to know someone does really care about these old mutts. Again, I am not trying to tell the owner what to do.

 

Interesting dilema. Not sure what I would do, but probably would do the type of changes that could be easily reversed. Or maybe none.

 

Wow...this is getting good. If I didn't care about the history I would have already took it apart. I also wouldnt have spent the last three nights agonizing over it.

 

Seen your car at Louisville glad it went to a hamb member very nice project good luck with it

 

I also love old things. I live in a 160 year old house, the oldest building still standing in my county. But I didn't leave the original furnace and wiring in it. I couldn't stand those limitations.

I put together a hot rod from a stocker a few years ago. I wasn't going to live with the limitations of the original mechanical brakes and 4-banger. But I still respected the character of the car and have more compliments on the result than I could ever imagine. Most (99%) who see it would rather see it like the hot rod it is than another stocker '32.

I feel the roadster in this thread is the same way. The owner needs it to fit him, so he should make a few changes. The story is still being written. But it sounds like he'll keep the integrity of the original hot rod intact.

 

I have to agree with Bob Bleed on this........old hot rods have soul and should be preserved and this one is deffinately a TRUE survivor down to paint and interior.

I understand your dilema and the roadster is not most visually appealing car but that is how they were built on the East coast in the '50s.

I would suggest if feel you have to change it, then offer it up to someone else who would appreciate it for the survivor it is and start with a Brookville body.

 

I agree with this Bob. I look at that roadster and LOVE it. That "funky 50's" vibe just pours off that thing. Anyone can make a 32 roadster look cool...but no one will make it look like that. I would leave it, it looks like such a nice old car. Shit I have a hard time doing anything to my cars and they are no where near that nice for the most part.
Once that car is gone, it's gone. And I would argue with anyone who says that car updated would draw a bigger crowd then the car as it sits right now.

These cars sat a little higher, little goofier, had a little wavier panels and bigger gaps. They rode a little rougher and went a little slower then todays standards... But they are what they are and without them...we would not be here today.

Such a bitchin car!

 

I saw your car at the Nats and it’s great. This is an interesting dilemma as we all want what we like but are also interested in preserving our Hot Rod history. I’ve owned several survivor cars from the 50s and I love the history of authentic hot rods. A case in point is a 34 coupe I owned from 95 until about 2002. It was a car with some history and I elected to keep it as original to that period as possible. The car will soon be on the cover of The Rodder’s Journal and is absolutely awesome. The current owner elected to make some major changes such as a chop and completely reworked the firewall and rear valance. While these are changes I wouldn’t have made, they really look great and add to the overall look of the car. I look at it this way: it’s still the same car with the same history and is just in its next phase of its hot rod life.