Wow this will be a great thread and you got me with the pics of dad, man keep it the way he built it and everytime you go for a ride you are going with him..................... subscribed to this one!
I gotta throw my .02 cents worth in... The picture I'm showing is my buddies car. It sits on an all original chassis. The only thing done to it is the front spring eyes have been reversed and 3 leaves have been removed from the front spring (UNDROPPED big beam axle). It rides on 17" front wheels with original 18" rear wheels. I think this look is the most beautiful example of a traditional hot rod roadster I've ever seen...your mileage may vary. ...and it has a 283 chevy with a stock tranny and rear axle. He drives it on the hiway all the time. The stock drivetrain is good enough as long as you aren't launching the car all the time...
Hey Human Fly - If the car in your avatar is a new build, it looks like it's period perfect. Here is the clone from back in the day. This wasn't Dad's car, but was in the background in some of the pictures. Must have been a buddy... <O</O
455HOGT37 - Yet another "vote" for CHANNELED! Your father's roadster really deserves to be rebuilt in the same style he originally built it circa 1950! Here's some pics of really Bitchin' channeled Deuce Roadsters: click thumbnails to enlarge ... What's not to like? On a side-note: My father bought his stock '32 Model B Standard Coupe from a North Dakota farmer in 1954 (he too was just 18!) ... By 1955 he had already "butchered" it (i.e., channeled it 6" in front, 8+" in the rear) ... The car has certainly "evolved" throughout the past 58 years (i.e., mechanical & safety improvements and misc. styling updates) ... but as its current "caretaker" (my father passed away in '90), I would never even think about "un-channeling" it! ... There's a pictorial history of our coupe in my HEMI32 album.
Too cool! ...But it looks like your dad got robbed on that deal - $40 bucks for a car with no engine?!! My dad paid $50 for his and drove it home (as a 4 year newer "used" car to boot).
Yeah its a new build, mine is lower in the back.......but i just cant get enough of channeled 32's. That is another good example of how things should be done Do it how YOUR going to be happy about it. Enjoy and enjoy!!!!
You could just go with a reversed eye spring and take a few leaves out if you channel it and it will get it a little lower in the front. And again, it is your car, its cool that its your dads, and you of course totally have the right to build it as you want,and its awsome that it was your dads and you want to put your spin on it. jeff
You could compromise a bit on the amount of channel? It looks like a deeper channel, maybe bring the bottom of the cowl up to the bottom of the rail? I might not drop the axle, if it stays channeled. I really like highboys and full fender but this car wants to be what it was. Hard to explain that foolish statement. Heck, I even think the color was perfect for that type of build. Your pops had a good eye.
It`s just like i built mine back in the fifties.If you either pull the engine or remove the firewall(unbolts) and move the body ahead to where it will drop down over the frame rails and then move it back .I bet the original holes your father drilled in the lower frame rails will line up with the holes that we see in the front of the body.Of course it has to be slid back far enough to clear the rear frame rails that your father cut of.then slide it forward and bolt it up.looks like he used the original firewall feet to bolt the body up to the bottom of the frame.same as we did back then.then washers or spacers were used to bolt up the next holes.now the firewall will fit as is.i forget how we attached the back of the body but ithink we left the back lip on the trunk area and bolted it under the frame.the same along the side where a lip was left on the body and bolted directly to the bottom of the frame.Unchannelling a car is a big job and will also will decrease it`s value.survivors with history are very rare and if youever deside to sell will bring big bucks.just my 2 cents.Really nice to see you still have your father`s old hot rod.
No one has mentioned how hard it can be to remove the spring pearches, so that spring work may be the way to go.
You could lessen the channel a little by removing the firewall feet and welding new brackets under the frame or on top.But now the firewall will need work to fit.If you look at most homebuilt channel jobs from back in the day,they all have the same deep channel.Most of us could cut with a toarch but welding those feet back on the firewall was easier said than done.The grill will slide down between the frame rails in front of the axle.You can see the flat bar brackets his father used to mount the rad.
Do it the way you like it,your Dad won't mind. I started mine when I was 17 and I've redone things that were all I could do at that time. It's like primered cars; they were that way because people couldn't afford the paint job yet.
I skipped past this thread more than once. Glad I finally checked it out. You are very fortunate to have this car from your dad and a fairly well documented history of it. Have fun, and enjoy it. It is awesome ! I'll watch the progress.
I've spent a little bit of time trying to figure out how the body was attached. Pretty easy to see the three holes on the rear frame kickup, but the firewall is a bit of a mystery. There were square nuts tack welded to the TOP of the cowl feet. That doesn't make sense if the feet were under the frame. The vertical distance between the holes (drop) is about 6.5 inches
While searching the depths of my storage container I ran across some parts. Some 32, some not, but all interesting. I did find the pitman arm and steering rod for the 32 - don't know if the rest of this is for the car. The pedal assemblies have been modified, so I'm guessing they belong to the Deuce? Unfortunately, I can only find one of these heads. I know he used to have the pair. He had a pair of aluminum Edelbrock heads stolen a few years ago, so the other Champion may have walked out the door too. What are my chances of finding another? Found this little dash plaque. I'm guessing that this passed for "scandalous" back in the early days of hot rod counterculture. These are obviously not 32 parts, but are in good shape and will be good trading stock.
the square nuts were used as spacers for a little more chanell.i bet dollars to donuts there is a hole drilled in the bottom frame to bolt the firewall feet up the bottom of the frame.do not worry about the firewall;it will fit perfect ,once the body is bolted up to the original holes that your farther drilled in the frame.pedals are 32 and will bolt right in.emergency brake will bolt to 32 top cover and throtle arm will bolt right on fire wall.I`m amased you are finding all those original parts after all these years.i hope you will bolt it back togather as it was.It can always be unchanneled at a later date,if you really did not like it.I`m sure you could get nice complete brookville roadster trade for your car if you really wanted a highboy.
I know how you feel about channeled cars. I don't particularly like the look of most of them either. But that photo of it in 1950 looks sooo right. Some cars look good with a channel and your dad's car is one of them. If it were me and my dad's car, I would build it back just like he had it. It was near perfect for a true hot rod.
I guess it's all a matter of perspective... I've only done California cars, so if the rust can't be knocked off with a quick pass with a DA sander - it's "rusty" The frame on this car is going to need a couple minor patches, but I think sandblasting is going to show a generally solid piece. The body will need some patch panels around the bottom in most areas as well as the bottom structure (body rails?). Certainly a lot more rust than I'm used to, but very much fixable.
Most old channel jobs included cutting all the inner subrails away and dropping the body down over the frame. It looks like your Dad did the channel in a much more sympathetic fashion. He just cut the cross channels and tin from the floor and swung the body over the rails. He probbably bolted the still-in-place subrails upward to the bottom edge of the frame. This method will make it VERY easy for you to un-channel the car should you decide to. And, I have to add my $.02 and say do NOT cut up the frame for a T5. Sure it would be easier to drive, but it will change your Dad's car way more than you realize. Frame will be butchered (you should see the prices guys are paying for original K-members), rear axle will be totally reconfigured, wishbone will need to be split, and other smaller details like pedals and flooring. Having been used to driving late models (even your 70's GTOs), you will soon find out an old Ford is a whole 'nother world. Leave the trans as-is for now and enjoy the new world for what it is. If you find you absolutely can't stand it, then unbolt the car again and change out the trans and all the other parts required to make it work. I think you'll at least be glad you had the experience to drive the car like your Dad did.
Build it the way your dad would of built it back in the day. And mount this on the car for everybody body to see who ae gonna tell you they would of done it differently.
I own a couple of 32's that were/are channeled. There is a problem with the front door post. It is narrower side to side than the frame. When the frame is put inside the body, it kicks the lower cowl out and the door goes with it. It makes the door gap out at the quarter panel at the bottom. Just something to be aware of if you re-channel it. I do vote to re-channel it. The only fix is to cut the door post (bad) or cut a slot in the frame (bad). The slot in the frame is my choice.
On your parts quest, the original style tie rod and ends is avail. at Mac's. I could sell you used ends with new balls but I would rather see you buy a new tie rod bar. I have some bars but they have rust pits. I have a 32 spring at $150. I would use new king pins and parts. If you just want to roll it around, I have used parts for the cost of shipping.
Andy, Thanks for the offer. Right now I'm looking at knocking together a shop roller, so used parts would be just fine. I am planning an upgrade to juice brakes with Buick drums on the front someday, but I'm stilll trying to figure out the ultimate parts I'm going to need, so no rush. I'll be in touch.
More treasure found in a cardboard box: In a rare nod to craftsmanship, you'll note that the welds have been ground a little on the angle iron headlight perches... Sano! Anybody else think it's cool the tail light lenses don't match?
That brings up what always leads to two sides in the fight... Yes, there are some things that really should be redone on most early homebuilts, but how can you ever know where to stop...before it loses it's "look" from the day?..or loses too much of your dads' personality. (that's a question, not a statement)
Question for the collective: I'm a long way from actually restoring this car but I'm going to run into some details illustrated in this shot. You will note that the rim selected didn't always allow the tire to clear the body (note the rub). Clearly, the fender bead got in the way as well, so it was bashed with a hammer for clearance. I will of course provide a correct offset wheel, but should I "fix" the bead, or leave it as is. Finally, you may note that most of the fender bolts are broken off in the body... My first inclination is to remove all these broken fasteners and then run a tap through the nutplates even though they will remain unused (because it's my nature). Is this a type of thing I should leave alone? I'm trying to formulate a mission plan that will gude what I fix, and what I leave alone. Some items are clear, others are pretty grey. Thoughts?
The Jalopy Journal
