I recently was thrust into the world of old school hot rodding. My dad had been after this car for some time and last Feb. he finally acquired it. He was as excited as I had seen him in a very long time. However, last May he passed away. Now I am going to finish this one for him. My problem is that I have never been this far into any car this old. Up until now my taste in cars has been the mid 50's to late 60's cars. I have been a bodyman for over 40 years and I have the tools and skill to rebuild just about any kind of wreck you can sit in front of me. I am a stickler for doing things right and I want this car to be an example of that. This car had been a Hot Rod starting at least 50 years ago. The top was chopped in the 50's. Later someone decided to channel it. Dad said that they did a shabby job of the channeling but he thought the chop was top notch work. I would have to agree with him. When it was channeled they unceremoniously hacked the floor out of it. To add insult to injury, rust has taken it's toll on what's left of the lower body. The lower inch or so of the body is mostly gone. Dad had bought most of the panels needed to repair this car. He was going to put stock sub rails and floor back in it. This car is very straight and sound for the age. I intend on keeping as much of the Ford steel in it as I possibly can. So now this is where I need some help/advice. 1. How were the subrails attached to the body panels? Welded, brazed, riveted? I have a complete full length subrail assembly with cross channels and rockers attached. I just want to make sure this is all put back together as close to the way it was intended as I can get it. 2. Right now the only outer body panels I don't have are the lower cowl repair panels. Who sells the best ones? 3. What do you think of the front axle on this car from a safety standpoint. This was also done "back in the day". I know it needs some real shock mounts. Other than that what are your thoughts? Here are a few pictures of what I'm working with. The first 4 pictures are from when I first saw that car a week or so after Dad bought it. You can see the cobbled mounts that were used when it was channeled, in the first picture. You can also see how much of the bottom of the car is rusted away. The right side is the worst. Dad replaced the lower rear panel and was working on the area directly above it. He also put a steel top in it. When I got it the subrail assembly was bolted to the frame and the body was just sitting on it. Both rockers had been removed as well as a section of the right lower quarter panel and the right door had been removed. One of the first things I need to do is brace up the body and get good door gaps, before I start replacing the outer sheetmetal. I am very anal about gaps and body lines being perfect. I get heartburn every time I see this car sitting in it's current state. I removed the subrails until I can get the body braced and the worst of the rust removed and cleaned up. Here are some shots of the front axle.
Cool car. Can't help on the assembly. But I think the axle is cool and I would run it as long as it past the crack test. Sent from my SM-G900T using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The sub rails are spot welded to the wheel wells the lower quarter wraps around the rocker and is welded on bottom side, there is a steel gusset that bolts the wood b pilar to the sub rail That axle is referred to as a dago axle , kinda crude looking but real strong , nice vintage piece
What a great project and tribute to your dad. Sorry to hear about your loss. Baptism by fire. You're about to begin a new passion in traditional Hotrod's. I'd tend to stick with traditional vintage components on this build. Lucky man. I live a half hour north of you and have no experience in that year Ford. That axle is good start. Have it magna-fluxed. .
The lower cowl is not available. I used a sedan part and made the door opening fit. Could ask Brookville if they do that piece. PM me if you have more questions I did the same as you are doing when I did mine. Martyn Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
You definitely have the skill set to fix this. It's no different than putting skirts and rails in a late model car. You just have to reverse engineering everything. I started in a body shop in 1955 and appreciate to a man who fixed cars during the great depression and WW2 . Russell could fix anything because parts were hard to come buy. You just your time and you will develop a new and different skill set. Brookville has almost all the parts you need. Good luck on your project and I am sorry for your loss. Frank
Is it just the picture angle, or does the drivers side drop of the axle not match the passenger side drop. I would check caster and camber of the axle to see if it matches side to side before I would use it.
The axle needs to be measured and checked for cracks, if it's good there, I'd run it. I'd be happy to take it off your hands if you don't want to use it. Same goes for the old tail panel with the round lights on it.
When the top was chopped, the upper hinges were deleted. That is the part of the door that they cut out.
My intention is to use as many vintage parts as I can. I have so much stuff in the shop that Dad had stockpiled over the years. There is a flathead, but there is also a nailhead. Dad had the nailhead in it to see if he liked it. I really liked it! However he told me he was going to put a sbc in it because he wanted to really drive this one and parts for them are readily available and cheap. I'm leaning pretty heavily toward the nailhead with the ST400. There is a 6x2 carb setup here for it also. The automatic trans would make my wife happy. That brings another question to mind. Dad removed the k member and legs so he could put the nailhead in it. It looked like they got pretty butchered up when it was channeled. What vintage k members would work best with the nailhead and auto? I'm sure someone has done this combo before. Would this be traditional/vintage enough for everyone?
Times moved on since I did mine. Macs Antique Auto parts have them. Also on eBay - http://m.ebay.com/itm/302007982075?_mwBanner=1 Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I use chassis engineering center x legs a lot , then just box front and back of that and leave center open, also industrial chassis in Phoenix offers a pretty neat center
Sorry for your loss... but what a great way to pay tribute to your dad! Cool back story... I guess it's time for you to start digging '30s hotrods! Take plenty of pics and try to find out more about the vehicles history. As far as the build is concerned there's plenty of folks on the HAMB that can help.
I talked to the guy that picked this car up for Dad. He didn't know too much about it. i had copied all of the titles Dad had before I took them to the attorney. I checked and found the name of the guy that owned it before Dad. I have been trying to contact him but the address was not current. I'm still working on that. I also got some cowl patch panels from Mac's. They are better than what is on the car. I would also like to thank everyone for the help so far. I got a few PM's with offers to help and some good advice too. This isn't going to be the build thread. I am just trying to get things lined up for when I actually start working on it. I work in the collision business and right now is our busy season. I have a little extra money coming in now but no extra time. This spring when we slow down a little I will have the time but very little extra money. I'm sure everyone knows of this dilemma. I went through Dad's books the other day and found a couple old books that will come in handy and ordered a couple more from Early Ford V8 - The 32 Ford set. With every car I repair, the first thing I do is study it and get a plan of attack in my head. That is what I am doing now with this car. I'm really starting to get a feel for it.
Looking forward to seeing this come together. Interesting looking A pillar treatment on your body, wonder if it`s lead filled and smoothed off?
Yes, it was leaded and the bodyline was filled and smoothed. All of the work done for the chop was leaded. The cowl vent was also leaded in. It's all in pretty good shape, considering it was done around 60 years ago. I intend to leave it as is with the exception of a couple minor cracks in the lead work that I will address. You can see the lead in this picture. Did a little sanding here and there to see what was done.
Way cool project, with dad looking down going well done son. I am also pleased your dad redid the rear panel, the tail light placement made them look more like boobs than tail lights. He obviously had a good eye for what work and what need to go. Every time we drive our 32 3W we smile. Am subscribed for sure.
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