This car started out as a pile of mismatched parts from a junk yard and flea markets. The theme is a 1936 Buick speedster. The tail was fashioned from a 1956 Buick roof and the hood and grill came from a 1936 Buick. The engine is a 1963 Buick 401 nail head. The frame was a 1929 Buick bus frame shortened 30 inches. The front end came off of a 1937 Chev 1/2 ton. The steering and rear end came out of a modified dirt racer. This is a blast to drive. Gobs of power as you can imagine.
Nice job!!!. Looks like a lot of fun. How does it steer, that is a mighty long pittman arm? Narrower tires & wire wheels would make it look like a two man Indy car. Love the long hood!
The car steers perfectly. It is a power unit. The wheels and tires were chosen for long highway rides. This car runs as smooth as glass.
Nice Job!! I see this is street legal? What kind of hoops did you have to jump through to get it licensed? It does look like it would be a blast to drive.
This car hates hot weather. I'm going to run the exhaust out and down the side like they did at Indy in the 30's. That should allow that car to run a bit cooler. I was surprised at the 20 MPG (highway)I got last summer.
Damn, nice. But I agree with deuce354 on the wheels, just to make it more the period look. Try it, you might like it. Nice job dude.
Very Very Cool!!! Love the body, and length. But have to agree, thin tires and spokes would look awesome.
this is awesome on so many levels!!! I'm also curious as to how dificult this was to title, and that nailhead ought to throw this thing around pretty good! charlie
Very nice work there Fred. I'd love to see it sometime. Also interested in the licensing process here in Colorado as I'm working on a home made car too.
I like it, alot. More pictures? Some of the engine, some interior maby? There tires might be the mole, but I Think the wheel fits nicely, in the looks departement. But if it was my car I would have some different sets of wheel, just to try out what is the Best match for the car.
I'll address the tire choice. This being my first "from scratch" build I kept hearing about the terrific power this nailhead Buick had and I was worried about losing control if I had thin tires. The engine turns these big ones easily. These big brutes keep the car straight and true under heavy acceleration. I used to own a Model A coupe with a 454 Chevy in it. Too much power and would jump lanes on the highway when I put the big pedal to the floor. I had big and littles on it. This set up is a dream. I do agree that the looks are not what they should be but the road manners are superior to anything that I have ever owned.
You can get old style bias racing tires that would be close to the same size and would still handle well.
I always bought something that had a number somewhere on the frame or body. Then the rest is easy if you are patient.
I like it! And I personally feel like this is the first car I've seen those wheels on where it DID look right. They look to street-roddy for me on a "standard" hot rod, here they look like the indy car wheels they were designed to look like. The steering is crazy looking! Would like to see a side shot to get a sense of proportions of this thing. Very neat, and different.
Hey Freddy park it next to Gary so we can get a sense of the range of your abilities. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
That is a huge Pitman arm hanging down there. I put a Lee MFG sprint car box in my Model "A" Sedan for cowl steering. I wanted the steering arm to run parallel with the frame so I put a 16" pitman on it. Looked incredible but it was impossible to drive. How is your steering?
Hey Deuced up. I took my marching orders on the steering and quick change rear end from a modified dirt track mechanic. He supplied a Profile steering box that looked like a big Chevy power steering box. We bolted a Speedway power steering pump to the engine and began enjoying a terrific driving experience. You can steer with one hand at any speed and feel safe. The reason why the pitman arm seems so long is that if I lowered the steering box I would not have been able to get my feet under it to access the brake and gas. I solved some of those problems by putting pockets in the floor board for my feet to get under the steering shaft.
More pictures showing steering set up. Engine was set back 18 inches to get a 49/51% ration in weight distribution.
The Jalopy Journal
