I just purchased a 1935 Ford 3 window coupe that was raced from the mid 50s to mid 60s. The markings on the side show b/gas 213 and was owned by John Wheeler in Indiana. The car ran a Cadillac motor which I have and I want to rebuild it the way it was in the 50s/60s. I am looking for any pictures of the car. It has stickers from Ok and 1961 and 62 nationals in Indy. Any help will be appreciated
Congratulations !! Let's see whatcha' got though......snap away...and post ! Some of these dudes need something to gander at to get the fingers a tapping. If no scratch and sniff photos.....it may be hard to venture some answers for ya'. Let's see what she looks like today, please. Inquiring minds and all....
John Wheeler Bargersville, Indiana 1935 Ford Coupe B/Gas Lifetime Member of the: Cluster Busters Car Club Car Club website: http://clusterbustershotrodclub.com/ I would be contacting his car club for help, being a lifetime member (R.I.P.) his club friends should have lots to help you with.
So I'm super excited because I just purchased this 1935 Coupe from nosnhojguy last weekend. My brother and I cannonballed to Indiana and back to Long Island where the car currently resides. I've gathered some new information by talking to past members of the Cluster Busters car club as well as the widow of the original owner John Wheeler who did the racing. I'm still hopeful that some racing photos exist but nothing yet. This is what I have so far. John bought the car in the mid fifties from a farmer in the Bargersville Indiana area. His wife thinks he paid 35 or 40 dollars for it. He immediately ditched the flathead and put a 49' Caddy motor in it. I tracked down one of his closest friends Paul Smith who is still an active member of the Cluster Busters. What he remembers is limited as he is getting up in his age but by far one of the coolest guys I've ever met. He raced a 56' Sedan delivery (Paul's Puffer) during the same time period (1956-1962) as Wheeler raced the Coupe. They raced at Stout Field, Bunker Hill, Oklahoma for the nationals and Indianapolis for the nationals. He also thought they raced at Great Bend but wasn't certain. He had some great stories of that time period. He mentioned that a week before the nationals (unknown year) Wheeler lost his brakes after a run (either Bunker Hill or Stout Field) and ran the car into a corn field. I guess one side of the car got a little tore up and Paul was a body man too so he did some work to the car. He said he only had a quart of red oxide and the car was gray primer so he ran tape down the middle of he car and painted only half the car with the red primer and left the other half gray. This apparently confused some track officials as the car returned to the pits a different color. The car is currently Pink. It's a light Pink so it doesn't scream "Mary Kay" when you look at the car it's more like "Hey I think this thing is Pink." According to Wheeler wife they had a 1956 or 1957 Cadillac that was Pink with a Black roof that they used as a tow vehicle and the Coupe was painted to match the Caddy. So I've totally embraced the color and wont change a thing. The good news I have the original Caddy motor it ran with and the Lasalle 3 speed. It also retains the Halibrand quick change in the rear. The bad news Back in the 80's Wheeler wanted to make a street rod out of it and put coil overs and disc brakes on it. Ugh! not good but the on he plus side he didn't touch the body. So my plan is to remove all that crap and return this thing to the way it would have looked at the 1962 Nationals as a B/G Coupe. It'll be a challenge since I pretty much emptied my bank account on this thing, and no it wasn't 40 dollars. HaHa. So if this jogged anybody's memory of the car please let me know and if I find any photos I'll post them. The first picture is John Wheeler.
Here are a few more pics. The first thing I'd like to do is get my buddy over to the house with his plasma cutter and remove the coil over set up. It looks like at least two of the three holes are visible where the original cross member was riveted. Luckily I have the original cross member and I did a quick measurement and it doesn't appear that he pinched the frame together or anything. Somewhere along the way he added some extra holes in the dash so I'll have to find some vintage SW gauges to stuff in there but that's a long way off.
NICE! Until I saw the photos I was expecting to see a rusty field find. Good luck with the rebuild. Bob
Looks good. Lucky it was a old drag car, and not a roundy-round. I think you'd have a lot more work to do.
I do not remember this car however I do remember the Cluster Busters with I think a white altered coupe with a Chrysler engine running George Field Ill. and Terre Haute In. in the late 1958 59 era.
This seems a bit of a Bttt, but heres a thread below relating to this Hotrod... https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...-1935-ford-3-window-at-the-1958-nats.1136619/ Does @dugydog still have it? What's the latest Dugy?...
Yeah I still have it. I made a deal with the devil when I told my bride I would sell two of my other cars to buy this coupe. Truth be told I really needed the room and the money, anyway both cars did sell recently so I'm begining to slowly gather needed parts for the 35'. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Great looking three window! As said that thing does not look anything like an old drag car, more like old hot rod. Check the measurements on the dash holes, Could be for this setup like mine. 49 Mercury gauges. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Yeah you’re right about calling it a drag car, hot rod is a better description. I’m in no means an expert but it’s my understanding that back in 1958 when this car was racing it was in a B/Gas class which was determined by your engine size relative to the weight of the car, additionally I think the car body itself had to be stock. As far as the gauges go I have some vintage large logo SW gauges, water temp and amp gauge, for the outer holes which are 2”. I’m looking for SW 2 3/8” gauges for the inner stock holes but they’ve been a bit more difficult to find and pricey. I think one of the larger gauges was oil pressure and the second was a fuel gauge. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
The Jalopy Journal
