HUBBA HUBBA my 32-4 Tudor tribute to Gramps

Just doing parts scrounging across the board. Some of my favorite "auction site" treasures...

I'm going to use the tired oil pressure gauge in the engine bay. The large jewel glass light is for oil pressure and will be mounted in the upper center of the 3w dash where the factory cigarette lighter once resided.

I have one more old chrome 94 to make a pair. The other is a couple hours away at the in-laws. I need a pic or to get them side by side to see how they gel as a couple.

 

I don't want to look like I'm showin off but I really love this steering column. I couldn't resist and took a little mothers to it. It still looks like old chrome though thank goodness.

@corndog also sold me a weathered shiny parking brake lever to match. Mine was ruff, time for the shelf.

 

I have gotten a lot of good stuff from corndog in the past. The column looks cool!

 

"Take two and call me in the morning"
Now I have these,

they're the most economical. First thing to go are the Phillips head screws!! Then I just have to paint the insides right? Dark maroon paint cans you better hide, I'm a comin for'ya.

 

Although parts chasing is fun in its own right, I really want to start working! I bought a 40s rear axle, bones, 36 tube and shaft. I already have a set of rear hubs to match(no brake parts yet). I'd like to use the 34 rear spring but maybe a 40 front is in order. Also mustered up carb scoops, side shift linkage rods, and the 32 ford parts to do my speedo overhaul. Until I come up with 32 rails, preferably original and crusty maybe even bobbed up front, I'm not moving far forward.
And let us not forget what it's all for...

LOL.

 

Shine: The drip pan under your steering box is worth a few bucks so don't toss it. Tim

 

I would've already given the chance, thanks. I think it's a little bent. I'll take a pic, will you give me an opinion or do you need it? Most of the stuff I'm not gonna use isn't so much about making money as it is about it not going to waste. I've been know to throw stuff away just to find out right after that it had purpose.

 

I'm getting confused here. Are you going to have this car be old paint/rough around the edges or a painted/chromed out show car?

 

Sorry bout that, its evolving into something much cooler than when I busted a plan out of my noggin in the first week. I want it to still look like shit. What I mean buy that is... I'm not painting it except where I have to replace metal, when I do it will be crappy to blend in, there will be no "new" shiny parts except for the tires, the chrome parts don't really look that great in real life, and if I have something that looks out out of place I'll blend it in if that even mean kicking it down my driveway, leaving it out all winter or pissing on it, I don't care.
The Ultimate vision is... I don't want it to look like I built at all, period! I want it to be a time machine. Something built in 1948 that has been used, neglected, parked, got running again, beat on, then left in a chicken coop, then chicken coop rots away, car starts to rot too , then I get it running again, fix what has to be, then rub on it some like you would do with cars we were stuck with in high school that most grown ups wouldn't touch. Side note: I remember waxing right up to the edge of the rusted out lower doors or rockers and holes in the qaurters on many a car of my youth. Now I fix it or would go get it fixed.
I'm going to clean up the intake a little, the heads maybe a touch, the block may get left as is but power-washed(even after machining) the carb spacers if I have to buy new will get soaked in a corrosive solution then hand polished back out. Things like the frame are going to be harder to deal with, I really don't want new rails but original 32s are ridiculous. I have to paint the front bones but may leave the axle rusty. The radiator looks terrible and I'll leave it, and on and on.
I'm a details guy, not the type to run down to the hardware store or call up speedway to get a big bag of bolts, I analyze every rusty screw and scratch, this will all gel and the car will be righteous I promise.

 

I'm super inspired by Nick Hardie's Coupe and was fortunate enough to find it in publication this summer. This pic doesn't do it justice

 

Somebody please stop me! Although it's Bruce Lancaster's fault I've spun down this dark Path. He gave me the inspiration and emotional support to run the column shift.
I didn't have the column shift parts for the 40 setup I wanted to run that's when I went hunting and found the chrome column at a steal. Now I've just about gown overboard, and I don't even like chrome. Seems that it goes cheap if it's in poor shape, and what kind of fool would lust over it that way? So I've tried to kick it. I hope these are the last things to get thrown at a rusty old pile.
This is on the way:

This just got here today:

These are getting paid for tomorrow

I've got a cool plan for a stainless head light mount and cross brace. I paid probably way to much to get an original V8 emblem for it. Oh the trouble we'll go through to not use new parts. To top it off found this yesterday and now it's coming here:

Guide mirror to go with the headlights with shiny trim. Where the hell will it end?

 

In an effort to save money I'm always thinking and weighing options before I get excited and open my "wallet". With that...
Could someone please give some sincere opinion on leaving the stock stroke crank in a flatty. I can't believe how much the "4in" cranks are going for! I'd like to just calm down and build a 268 with stiff compression, porting, valves, 400jr, lifted up dual 94s, 46 dizzy w/petronix, and nice care to assembly, balancing, and lightened flywheel.
What kind of loss will I see minus the extra .250" stroke and 18ci ? Yes I understand all benefits of a stroker crank like torque increase, added piston dwell, ease of getting more squish in the chamber, and draw back from added piston speed. But I've never heard any numbers. Are we talking 20hp, 30, or 10 right off the bat?

 

DAM! I like the way your mind thinks....This is going to be very bad ass when it all comes together. Can't wait...Keep it going as we are all watching.

 

Dennis you are too kind. I've partly been getting all this cool stuff because of what i'm learning from all you good HAMB brothers. I'm not sure if I knew anything at all about Traditional Hot Rods previous to ten years ago. This is my second attempt, the first isn't finished, and this one is still in the driveway. I think your right and it will be bad ass, I have no choice now, if your gonna boast on here about such crazy ideas you better put up.
My latest nut-so idea is to maybe do my best or not so best @117harv job on the front axle to make it more fitting of being between the new bones. I only want to clean up the tops and bottom or the non-recessed parts then paint it the old two tone style. I obviously probably won't or can't afford to chrome it. Maybe just a high luster silver then black in the valleys?

 

id do a Merc crank if it were me...but the crank will run 3-400.00 usually and the pistons are a few hundred more too. But that's just me. The Merc in my roadster will run circles around the 239 in my 33 pickup

 

Not sure if you noticed my front axle on the 3 window (how could you not) but all I did was polish it and shoot some clear on it. Looks good and it is cheap fix.

 

Awesome!!! I didn't see that except for it's black n silver combo. This is great, I considered this because I've done the whole clear over raw Harley bike tins before. Nice to see its been done and that you won't mind if I copy? I might start on it today just to give me a jump start. It's easy to throw the axle out of the messy garage onto some saw horses and let the metal fly!
Like this?

 

This is a bad ass build. Hell yeah !

 

Finally!!!!! Some actual fab work has begun. Thanks a lot @383deuce ! Like I need a show car or something. Now put on your welding goggles everyone, this is after a little over a half hours work with 36 grit on the old 4+1/2 grinder. Here are some before shots first, yes it's ruff it was a 100 bill.



And now



I'm probably gonna weld this area and a couple other dingers but I'm not trying to make it look real nice, I don't plan on doing Much to the bottom side just paint it black.

Messed around down at this end just for a few minutes

I wasn't going to do the ends but there really beat up so I started in on one a little bit

And tested it the front side a little, I'm just getting a feel for its condition so I can evaluate what I have to do and where to draw a line

Still a lot to go but it's kinda fun. Remember this is only with 36grit about and hours work with many more to go. I hope it works out.

 

There's a guy on the HAMB here somewhere who's building a pretty cool dark blue 32 3w coupe with a good stance and nice chop. It also has bitchin grey wheels and a front suspension setup similar to what I'm gonna do. His axle looks good too, he's about to turn 76!!!!!! In a few days.

 

Unless it's changed, Patrick's had Mercury pistons for the same price as Ford pistons when I bought mine. I got lucky, I was given a flathead to replace the cracked one in my 50 and it was from a 53 Mercury. Cranks are usually 300 to 400 just like Chris said.

 

Although I highly doubt it, if the stars are inlined for my poor ass, maybe I'll get lucky and one of my new engines will have one already, or two! I won't know for another week.

 

Go with the Mercury crank and skip the aftermarket aluminum heads. Run stock iron heads or Canadian aluminum heads and make the transfer area as large as you can get. As much as all the dweebs will argue flatty performance is all about getting fuel into the holes. Compression doesn't help much.

Got a couple buddies here racing and driving flattys for decades. The stuff they do to them you won't find copied on the hamb. But look at what the Briggs racers and what Harley did with the KR race bikes.

 

Axle looks good! But why the short pin center axle?

 

As far as the axle goes... It's about first I like the soft curve, second it was a lot cheaper than typical axles, but mostly it's about the cliché idea that to a junkyard scavenger of the 40s this would seem like an upgrade from the old parts. but mainly part of a bigger chunk when making the juice brake/suspension and rear axle swap.
Now on the subject of engine. I've asked opinions because I've already spent a buttload on the engines(for me) and bought a set of old Edmunds AL heads. I have to have a cam as I'm a porting addict and know first hand how these pieces all have to work together. True I'm a Flathead rookie and all my past experience is in more "modern" engine architecture. Maybe you are right about Flattys but I've never dealt with an engine where compression didn't amount to being anything less than 50 percent of the big picture in producing a power increase. It my understanding these side valve engines are pretty darn anemic. Another sad fact is they're horribly under square but this is alright for it works with the low flow potential of the intake and exhaust track layout and they end up correlating in a manner that gives what I call simulated torque and snap.
My last statement is that I've always had a tendency to throw everything that I can at an engine build while it's apart(mostly in the form of labor and setup) and so when this is finished it will still only be a flathead. Two quick examples of my lust for labor over store bought parts... My little annual old fart race xr75 minibike's cylinder. I took a 100 cylinder hack sawed roughly a 1/4" off the top including a cooling fin. Hand finish filed it flat had it bored 3.5mm to a total of 56mm to run a piston from another make and model bike 30+ years it's senior with less skirt, more dome so I could shape it, and a lighter pin. All in a effort to take a short stroke 72cc engine to a 105.5cc with as much comp. as possible.
Example two... My drag bike engine from about twenty years ago. I had the motor in a shop getting rebuilt as I was young and thought the multi cylinder and trans were complicated. They were buttoning it up when they discovered the cam cover wouldn't fit over my custom spec welded and re ground cams. I took it home ported the heads cam valleys for lobe swing clearance, made a spacer to raise the cover than had the head head angle milled down almost .040 to cutting into the valve seats. Once the 5 angle valve job was done you couldn't rest the head on a flat surface without the larger valves getting hurt From protruding below the head surface. All in a quest to get over the 15:1 comp barrier.

 

In my experience (Flat sixes) They respond better to diesel type modifications. More stroke, more fuel. This idea is similar to what friends running these types of engines for many years.

 

You mean I can take an 1/8" drill bit my main jets? Awesome!!!

 

Maybe! LOL

But if you unshroud the intake valve and open up the transfer area you will reduce the compression but still make more power.

Google flathead harley performance or read the book on it. Very interesting read.

 

I planned on that already for two reasons. 1-flow and 2-my heads although not here yet, looking pretty darned milled down already. Relieving will hopefully leave me in a more normal safe zone.
I knew a guy who passed away now that raced dirt track KRs in the day(John Narkum) that told me some stuff before that I've long forgotten. He actually was involved with HD and built there famous Daytona road race winning chassis the first year. When he died everyone came out of the woodwork to steal up his shop stuff and we're all nuts got the blueprints for those bikes.

 

I'm going to cheat a little and just copy FlatCab Dale's 32 Cabriolet Merc build quite closely.