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"Barn Find" 33 Ford 5 Window Coupe

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by oldtimerodder72, Aug 2, 2011.

  1. Finally got an opportunity to go through some of my photos, and I thought it would be a good time to post some pics of a barn find 33 Ford Coupe I found 4 years ago. I drove the car for about a year after I first bought it. I had made several changes to the car to give it more of a 50s feel. The story of the car as I know it is pretty interesting, so I thought I would share the details with you all.

    Originally purchased by a woman who lived in Owen Sound, Ontario sometime in late 1932 or early 1933. Car was ordered as a deluxe model. At some point during the 1960s, the woman decided to sell the car. A gentleman by the name of Kirkland bought the coupe with the intention of using it as a hobby car. Upon close examination, it was discovered the body was in exceptionally good shape. The decision was made not to build a race car out of the body. He kept the car for a number of years before selling the car to a friend.

    This friend proceeded to give the car a rather amateur restoration. At some point the car received damage to the driver side rear quarter and the front end. The front crossmember had a piece of flat bar welded in to provide strength and repair damage. The front frame horns were cut off, and the front fenders, hood and grille required straightening as well. The quality of work performed on the front fenders was rather crude. Pictures will show the extent of damage after all paint and body filler was stripped. According the family members, Kirkland bought the car back in the early 1990s. He and his wife would drive the car to local cruise nights and into town on Saturday night to have supper. The car spent all of its life in the Owen Sound area until I bought it in 2007.

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    Coupe was jacked up and placed on log columns. This is how the car was left when the owner had passed away 5 years before.

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    Coupe on its wheels seeing the light of day for the first time in 5 years.

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    Coming out of the barn.

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    Being loaded on the trailer for the long drive back to Mississauga.

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    Back view of the coupe after being loaded on the trailer. Spare tire carrier was removed for the trip home.

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    Everything loaded and ready to go.
     
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2011
    kidcampbell71 likes this.
  2. wandi harry
    Joined: Jul 19, 2008
    Posts: 321

    wandi harry
    Member

    nice find
    what does it look like now?
     
  3. brady1929
    Joined: Sep 30, 2006
    Posts: 9,253

    brady1929
    Member

    Sweet hot rod
     
  4. Didja cut it up?
     

  5. Looks too nice to be like one of the typical barn finds. Even the barn looks too nice.
     
  6. Wow '34 5-window is one of my dream finds!
     
  7. 392HEMI4SPEED
    Joined: May 3, 2007
    Posts: 612

    392HEMI4SPEED
    Member
    from Wisconsin

    Very pretty...thanks for sharing.
     
  8. Spooky
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 2,239

    Spooky
    Member

    -speechless...-
     
  9. These barn find posts make me sick!


    Sick I can't ever find anything like them....
     
  10. AstroZombie
    Joined: Jul 17, 2006
    Posts: 1,788

    AstroZombie
    Member

    Looks like it was only sitting 5 minutes, not 5 years!!! GREAT score!!
     
  11. toranaback
    Joined: Jan 18, 2011
    Posts: 27

    toranaback
    Member

    wow, nice find,suscribed mor pics please!!!!!
     
  12. Century
    Joined: May 28, 2009
    Posts: 177

    Century
    Member

    Nice to see a car as clean as this found in Ontario. How did you get the lead?
     
  13. oldtimerodder72 - Looks to be a very nice '33 Coupe ... with some cool history ... I'm looking forward to seeing what you've done to it to get that " '50s feel " ... Thanks for sharing!
     
  14. That is got to be one of the best looking barn finds I have seen. Nice score. How does it look now. Post some recent pictures.
     
  15. RAY With
    Joined: Mar 15, 2009
    Posts: 3,132

    RAY With
    Member

    Very nice ride and as clean as it is rare. Good find.
     
  16. After bringing the car back to the shop it wasn't long before I had made some changes. We were after a mild 50s Rod, so we started by removing the front and rear bumpers, the spare tire carrier, replaced the factory spoked wheels with a set of bent spoke Kelsey Hayes with big and littles, removed a few leafs from the front spring to drop the nose and added the greyhound radiator cap. At this point the car was still running the stock 21 stud flattie and mechanical brakes.


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    Profile shot taken from the passenger side showing removed bumpers, hot rod rake and big and littles mounted on bent spoke Kelseys.

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    Frontal view.

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    Profile shot taken from the driver side showing removed bumpers, hot rod rake and big and littles mounted on bent spoke Kelseys.


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    Passenger side front 3/4 view.

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    Driver side front 3/4 view.
     
    Stogy likes this.
  17. I drove the car after these slight modifications for the rest of 2007. During the Winter of 2007, we pulled the front sheetmetal, fenders, and running boards off the car. We felt it was advisable to remove the mechanical brakes and replace them with hydraulic components. We chose traditional 40 Ford pieces for our braking requirements. Other projects came along that required our complete attention and the Coupe was pushed off into a corner to be worked on at another time.

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    Picture after all sheetmetal was removed. Car still rolls on the bent spoke Kelseys. Originally, I was going to run the 21 stud flattie that came with the car. I bought a set of the reproduction Eddie Meyer heads from Don Orosco. The two pot intake was vintage Eddie Meyer.

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    Front view of the car showing the Eddie Meyer heads and intake installed.

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    Overhead view of the Eddie Meyer equipped flattie. Was also going to run Fenton cast iron exhaust manifolds and an original Edmunds Custom air cleaner assembly.

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    Closeup of the 21 stud flattie with a combination of original and reproduction vintage speed equipment.

    The decision was also made to remove the original transmission and replace it with a 39 gear box with Lincoln Zephyr gears. As an interesting note, the transmission inspection cover was stamped with the same serial number as the frame. This must be one of the few numbers matching 33s left. When the decision was made to update this car, some items were changed for the sake of safety. I have retained most of the original parts, and this car could be returned to factory delivered condition quite easily. The photos also show the bar stock added to the top of the front crossmember and the cut off frame horns. All the result of an accident at some point in the cars' existence.
     
    Stogy likes this.
  18. pwschuh
    Joined: Oct 27, 2008
    Posts: 2,827

    pwschuh
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Really like the engine mods. What other changes are you planning to get the 'mild 50's rod' look?
     
  19. ss34coupe
    Joined: May 13, 2007
    Posts: 4,239

    ss34coupe
    Member

    nice car! nice shop!
     
  20. resto-rodder
    Joined: Mar 20, 2009
    Posts: 59

    resto-rodder
    Member

    I like the wheels and tires you selected for the coupe. The black fenders with the blue body look good too, I wouldn't change it! The early speed equipment on the flathead is a nice addition to give it that "traditional hot rod look".
     
  21. Was finally able to start working on the 33 again after a 3 year hiatus. Car has been taking up space in the shop for long enough now. During this time there was a change to the employees at JDH Rod & Custom, so we got some fresh talent in the doors. The new metal man is a young guy who has great potential. The quality of work from this guy is far superior to the old guys. The coupe has been his indoctrination into the world of traditional hot rods, I must say he's doing a fine job.

    Over the past 3 years, I have been doing a lot of thinking as to what direction to take the car. I know I didn't want to change anything that couldn't be returned to original if someone wanted to. During the time I was driving the coupe, a few near accidents taught me the importance of hydraulic brakes. So that was definitely a change for the better. A really neat solution to the pedal mounting issue was devised. I am including a pic as to that bit of brilliance. I was also considering updating the flattie to a later 24 stud version. I had a built motor I was going to use in my 40 pickup build but I changed my mind. I will post specs of the motor here.

    The Engine

    Here are the specs on the new motor;

    3 11/32 bore x 4 1/8 stroke.
    Ross forged domed pistons.
    Scat forged H-beam rods.
    Scat cast crankshaft
    Johnson style adjustable lifters
    Iskenderian valve springs
    Melling high volume oil pump
    Camshaft specs N/A (am considering swap to Iskenderian 77B)
    Navarro regular 2 deuce intake manifold
    Navarro 59A 24 stud heads
    Fenton cast iron exhaust manifolds

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    The new motor sitting between the frame rails. Mocking up motor fit and placement. The dimensions on the 24 stud motor are different than the earlier engine. Checking to see what modifications will be necessary to make everything work.

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    Closeup showing machine work to the block and new valves and pistons fitted. Image also shows passenger side clearance of Fenton to frame rail.

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    View taken from front od proposed changes to elevate the front of the motor to clear the crossmember. Also note the bar stock added to the top of the front crossmember to provide additional strength. Note how hole for crank handle almost perfectly lines up with the end of the crank.

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    Notice how close crank snout is to front crossmember. Going to have to modify the crank pulley to clear. Also not how close back corner of cylinder head is to stock steering column. Over all the modifications to make this motor fit will be relatively minor.

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    Nothing like a set of Navarro heads and a 2 deuce Navarro intake.

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    View showing potential exhaust system routing issues to avoid contact with the wishbone.

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    Picture taken from above on driver side showing fit. Overall things aren't too bad. The motor is dimensionally bigger, but it could be made to fit. Definitely going to add to the vintage feel.
     
    Last edited: Aug 6, 2011
    Stogy and kidcampbell71 like this.
  22. moter
    Joined: Jul 9, 2008
    Posts: 1,137

    moter
    Member

    I love that car! Keep updating this. Looking forward to see what ya do with it!

    Scott
     
  23. way cool.
    Al.
     
  24. gassercrazy41
    Joined: Jan 9, 2011
    Posts: 1,432

    gassercrazy41
    Member

  25. WOW thats one helluva find man. I cant believe there still out there in that shape. And its wasnt that far from me.
     
  26. Sweet Car!! I like it a lot, Eddie Meyer stuff looks so cool. The newer stuff looks ok too.
     
  27. six pack to go
    Joined: Aug 2, 2008
    Posts: 1,938

    six pack to go
    Member
    from new jersey

    Very nice!!! What color blue is that? I am planning on painting my 34 Washington Blue.....
     
  28. thirdstreettito
    Joined: Dec 22, 2008
    Posts: 137

    thirdstreettito
    Member

    All you did to that thing is make it more cherry! The black wheels and the drop give it the perfect sinister look, while not sacrificing drivability.
     
  29. D ROD
    Joined: Jun 28, 2010
    Posts: 965

    D ROD
    Member
    from New Jersey

    Sweet Jesus 33! Keep on her, love the direction your takin her!!!
     

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