At Deuce Days I spotted this unusual hardtop '33 Ford 3 window. Remembered seeing a similar car in Street Rodder eons ago back in the days if Indian Red paint and billet about how the body was a rare Huppmobile. At the time, I thought that someone was stringing me on - that there was no such animal. Well, here it is. Strange that the owner didn't mention its origins on his windshield sticker as anything other than Ford. Notice the three door hinges below the belt line which tells me that it came this way originally.
Here's another odd duck. Spotted this flathead such as no other I've ever seen. Notice that it has twin water pumps and the distributor mounted in the front just like Ford did but I counted 23 head bolts. With the deck that tall, this must be one HUGE flathead. Went back and found out that it is a fake cover done by Webb Flatheads for SBC. I just love stuff like this when it is cleverly done.
That is a real deal flathead. It looks like the hole next to the thermostat housing is missing. That would be the 24th bolt. Flatheads had two water pumps and the early 59A blocks had the front mount crab distributor. The heads are the same style as an 8BA with the water outlets at the front. They are aftermarket heads. But definitely a flathead. I have seen those fake SBC valve covers in person. Personally it is not a pretty sight.
The only thing throwing me off about that flathead is the exhaust. It doesn't look right for a Ford flathead.
The 34 Hupp Coupe was based on a 34 Ford Cabriolet body with a modified 3/w Coupe roof. Those are indeed Cabriolet Doors (3 hinges and the top reveal is longer than 3/w). The bummer is that when chopped, the door glass opening is proportioned too large when compared to the windshield and rear window giving it a opened up Jalopy look. One of the sexiest parts of a hammered 34 Coupe is the door tops. https://car-from-uk.com/sale.php?id=544463&country=us
Seems like it from their web site. Still not too sure how its done though. Sorry for the hi jack here.
Hot Rods to Hell straightened you out on the Hupp and the Webb flathead is really a 350 Chev. He cast all the parts you are looking at. The carbs are real, the exhaust is plumbed thru to the Chevy heads and the water pumps pump. I was told the distributor is dummy. It has side mounts and sounds like a Chevy.
That flathead was in that Bobtail big truck Rat rod thing with the cute dog and gal with a knockout pretty smile. I honestly didn't pay much attention to it when I took the photo Friday. I don't pay much attention to Rat rods and normally don't photograph them at events. The engine is probably big truck or Lincoln. I have no idea of what the truck started out as.
I digress, I have never seen that kit. Pretty crazy and very detailed. I am very curious how it attaches. I would like to see pictures of it on a block that is not in a car. This is the kit I thought was being talked about. I saw this at a car show a few months back.
I found this: https://www.enginelabs.com/news/unusual-products-of-interest-to-engine-builders-found-at-sema-2015/ It's basically a cover. Very interesting. Personally I don't like it.
Aside from the paint, that Hup looks great and would make a killer hot rod with a little cleaning up. The website for the fake flathead doesn't list a price, probably because for what it costs you could just build a new real flathead and not be made fun of.
Why would someone want to make a Chev look like a flathead, and put Olds valve covers on a Chevy. Why not put a flathead or a Olds in it and be done with it. I personally like flatheads and Olds over Chevy any day.
Or just dress the SBC up the way it should be and run the small block with pride. It's a bad look to try to dress the Chevy up like something that its not because a) you look like a fool to people in-the-know who aren't fooled, b) it makes you look insecure because you need to try to lie about what engine you're running, c) there's no currency in fooling the people who don't know better, and d) the SBC is a great engine, that's traditional, reliable, powerful, etc., and there is no shame in running that engine. So just own it. Putting all this shit on your engine is about the automotive equivalent of a bad comb-over. Just shave it, hit the weights, get some stylish clothes and go out there and kill it
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