Hi Guys I am building a 1926 Studebaker roadster pickup running a 250 cube 1959 Desoto flathead 6 and 52 dodge gearbox it started as a open wheel race car project but has evolved with the purchase of a 26 Studebaker cowl and 4 doors from a tourer , the chassis is a 37 dodge that has been narrowed and shortened , a 37 dodge tube axel and paralel springs and 46 dodge diff, I will post as I put it together for anyone thats interested Cheers
Hey Laurey that looks pretty cool is that a nailhead they are hard to find down here, I am hoping for a vintage look using as much dodge running gear as I can, I have shortened the stock dodge paralel leaf springs and moved the mounts to get it low and are using 1940 dodge front brakes and the stock 46 dodge brakes on the rear 37 steering box and cut down column, I will use 37 dodge gauges and senders, I am going to cut the tourer rear doors in half and add a flat rear panel like a model A roadster pickup and add a rear deck. the1959 250 desoto flathead 6 has 3 x 2 barrel carbs on a home made manifold and headers and has heaps of grunt. I have 90% of the parts I need to build the car but I have run out of room so it will be a slow build as I need to finish my chopped 36 ford to make some room to set the car up
That's a mighty fine looking engine you got there, I like where you are going with this, I'm very much I a fan of alternative body styles. fwiw I sold all the running gear out of my 28 Desoto down your way, must be a few mopar fans down there. good luck with your build.
Yes mate the engine is cool a mate of mine built it up when it was in his 59 desoto he hand made the headers and intake from heavy steel plate added the 3 holly carbs and an upper cylinder lube I drove it in the 59 with a car load of guys and it went up hills like a rocket and thats a heavy car. the RPU will be a lot lighter so it should go alright. I got it when he sold the car and the new owner fitted a V8 I got it for a good price and will work it up a bit more, there is a lot of good stuff available for them.
Had a chance to ride in a 31 Ford Coupster that a friend made. His was powered by a dual 2bbl Desoto 6. It was backed up by a GM 400 trans. He made his own frame, used a ford rear had disc brakes all around. I believe it weighed a bit less than 1900 lbs. Thing was smooth and went like stink. Did you mate do any internal work to the engine when he built it? The later 6 had the best designed head and about 8 to 1 Compression. You might want to have the head milled about .030. for even more grunt. Are your carbs linked by progressive linkage? These engines make lots of torque, in the 1200 to 2500 rpm range and are happiest below 4000 rpm. have fun and good luck.
yes mate I will run it with the stock head that has been milled, it has a progressive linkage, water heated intake, upper cylinder lube and I will run a HEI ignition, I am looking at changing to full flow oil fillter as I have a Motor City Flathead unit on my worked up flathead V8 in my chopped 36 ford 4 door flat back sedan and I will have a go at making one for the 6, the RPU will be street legal but we do a bit of dirt tracking on old speedway tracks over here so hoping to have a go at that Cheers
its been a while since I posted any thing about the project a lot has changed for me I got made redundant from the factory I worked at for 33 years when it closed down. got a better job in a different town, moved house and started again. this project has evolved again as I changed direction to a more vintage build. I am now using a 1928 DA Dodge chassis with the 38 dodge tube axle 39 dodge 16 inch steel wheels 46 dodge diff, 55 dodge 3 speed gearbox and the 26 Studebaker cowl and doors I have a couple of flathead 6 engines and I am setting it up with a 23 inch engine with 3 carbs on a vintage Fenton intake. the aim is to use as many stock or modified Chrysler mechanical parts much of witch will bolt together. the chassis is now on wheels and can be pushed in and out of my shed. once the engine is mounted and all the chassis work is done I will start on the Roadster pickup body and tray, the car will sit high and should look more vintage than a rat/hot rod. here are some pics of the work so far.
the engine is stock but I am setting the chassis up so I can swap in the larger (25 inch) engine at a later date. the 23 inch block looks good with the 2 carbs on the Fenton intake but I also have the option of fitting a 3 carb manifold. I purchased this manifold to get the carbs for the twin it is from 1957 Holden ( aussie GM ) 138 Cubic inch overhead valve 6 made by Cain in the 60s, when I got it home I was looking at the intake runners and thought they looked the same as the 23 inch flathead and to my surprise the intake ports line up to the flathead block and only need a little file work to enlarge the bores by a few mm and some alloy added to the flanges and it will bolt right up and it looks real good check the pics
Things are moving along nicely I have worked out the engine setback and the mounting points I am using 1937 dodge chassis mounts these are riveted into the 37 chassis but will be bolted into the 28 chassis once the front part of the chassis is boxed at the same time I will have extra holes drilled and tubed so I can move them forward 2 inches to fit the 25 inch long engine. the front engine mount plate will be used without the normal top rubber mount and ford flathead rubber biscuit mounts are used at the chassis mounts, a GM center trans mount will be used at the back under the front of the gearbox this should work great with the weight of the engine and trans.
I have made up the shackles and fitted the front and rear springs made up with new main leafs and assorted 37 dodge leaves the greasable top shackle bushes in the chassis are 1940s jeep the bushes at the spring ends are Nolathane with steel tubes.
Today I made up the adapter to fit a GM duel master cylinder to the original 1928 Dodge under floor brake pedal assembly, the pedal assembly will be bolted back into the chassis farther back and the new pedals will fit onto the original pivot shaft and will come up thru the floor, no booster will be needed as I am using 1940 dodge drum brakes all round, the adapter is made from 1 inch by 4 inch alloy flat bar with cap screws counter sunk into it, this will be plenty strong enough and will let me get a 6 to 1 pedal ratio with the pedal pads being about 7 inches above the floor. it came out pretty good and only needed some drill bits and a hole saw in a small drill press I will cut off the excess and round the corners off before bolting it up and making the pedals. Comments welcome
I have made up a temporary floor from plywood so I can work out the seating height and pedal placement the floor will later be made using the wood as a template we are not allowed wooden floors here in New Zealand with our certification system so it will be steel or alloy, the cowl will be cut down to the top of the chassis and a valance will be used to cover the chassis side rails witch are 8 inchs tall
I really like that you’re charting your own course here. Thanks for sharing your pictures and progress. Looks like you are enjoying yourself.
I have set up the new drag link and side link for the steering these I had made up at a hot rod shop in Balclutha called Flat Out Engineering run by Drew Galog he also modified the 38 Dodge steering arms to fit the smaller tapered early Ford male tie rod ends as they are easy to get compared to the larger dodge female ones, I will need to get a longer side one made as I have now decided to mount the Toyota Landcruiser steering box a little farther back to give more clearance for the top spring shackle bolt. I have made a temporary mount for the steering box from thin alloy this will later be replaced with a heavy steel one, the steering box arm is a new aftermarket one without the factory bend and a new taper to fit the Ford rod end.
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