Hot Rods Holy Crap..... I joined the Deuce club!!

Congrats, nice find!!!!

 

I did get rid of the front plate today..... not required in Alberta.
Definitely agree on the horn and bumper guards as well.

 

Nice

 

The horn's coming off this evening..... as are the bumper guards once I pick up some bumper bolts. Where is the best place to mount a horn? It's got a really nice firewall so I don't really want to mount it there. Any advice would be appreciated. Also mocked up a tire option. With the original look of the body I'm leaning towards wide whites..... rims and caps.... I don't know. Suggestions? Also, what would be a good tire combo? I was thinking 14" on the front, 15" on the back and a little wider?

 

I'm putting an old motorcycle horn on my roadster, they're small and can tuck in out of the way anywhere, might be a good option for your coupe.

Looks like a great car. Tire size and style will be determined by the period you're shooting for. If you're going for a mid 50's look, you'll want 15" wheels all around. Car would look amazing with 6.00-15 and 6.70-15 tires on 50 Mercury wheels and caps.

I like all of your planned changes so far, great car with great potential!

 

I'm looking late 50's, early 60's. Leaning towards a 283/327 to replace the V6 in it now. I'm assuming the V8 would be a drop in dimension wise for where the mounts are etc? I know... Chevy in a Ford..... but it would be interesting to see how many conversion kits were sold back then for a small block Chevy to a ford 3 speed vs. a Y block. Would the engine mounts be in the right spot for a V8?
The other issue is it's got 4 bolt wheels on the front and back with Mustang II front suspension and rear end (I'm assuming 8"?). Eventually I'd like to go back to an I-beam front axle, but in the interim, what's involved with converting to 5 bolt front and rear. A 57-59 9" would be the answer but unfortunately I just got rid of the one I had. D'oh!

As mentioned above........ lots of questions coming.

Thanks in advance.

Allan

 

I saw that on Kijiji too. Nice score. It'll be nice to see it get the style it was lacking. I like the 283 idea, have one going in my tudor.

 

Congrats! Nice Find, Enjoy making it yours. 32 Fever! Its a Good thing! John

 

That time period could work with the 14 front/15 rear wheel setup. I think an 8" out of a V8 Mustang II or a Maverick/Comet would be a bolt-in swap for the 4 lugger and give you 5 on 4.5" pattern. There are a few 14" steel Ford wheels with 4 lug out there but I've never heard of a 15" 4 lug wheel so you'll probably want to swap the rear.

Nothing wrong with a 283 or 327 for this car, the only thing I'd be worried about is distance between the radiator and trans (length) for the swap, if it's already tight you might have to push the trans farther back to have room for the water pump and fan.

 

Well that took 30 seconds.....

 

Nice find. Congrats!

 

Great find. Your plans sound good.

 

Nice find Allen!

 

The front marker lights are reverse lights from a 67 VW Bug, as well as type 3. They have some value. Try searching the SAMBA for an idea on value. Don't throw them away.

 

re the 4 lug wheels - there must be an aftermarket 5 lug front hub to switch to .

 

Thanks. It's kind of funny because Flowmeister sent me a PM on Sunday saying the exact same thing. How do you guys recognize these trivial little parts in an application no where close to where it came from???? lol

 

The 4 bolt rims on it are actually 15". Not sure what they came from.

 

Does that have a Mustang II IFS up front? Looks like a lower A arm strut rod poking out in the first pic. Would account for the 4 lug wheels, especially if the matching rear was fitted too.

Steve

 

Good eye. It does. Fortunately the fenders are staying on the car. At some poiint I'd like to go back to an I-beam.

 

Much better look.......

 

Looks real good. Will probably be in your area in a few months as son is taking a job with Owens corning in Edmonton. Wouldn't mind checking it out in person?

 

An I beam in front would look much better and traditional. Five lug rotors are made for the street rod market, and are easy to find. Make sure you get the proper ones for the brakes that are on the car. As for the rear, it may be easier to swap out than to source another set of axles that may fit. It may be possible to redrill the flanges.

 

I wonder where the 4 lug 15" wheels came from? Mount those wide whites on there and paint the wheels, or maybe run a cap on them, should look real nice with minimal investment. Why change what isn't broken? These are the caps I just bought for my car from Mooneyes, would look real nice on this coupe for minimal investment.

 

Thanks...... unfortunately the wide whites are 14" lol
Those caps look great though!

 

I measured this evening and have approximately 28-1/2" from the bellhousing
face to the radiator. If push came to shove I've got about another 1-1/2" I could move the engine back but that would create a ton of work. Would the 28-1/2" suffice for a small block?

Thanks in advance.

Allan

 

FWIW Change the wheels and small stuff and drive the wheels off it. Drive it to deuce days. Soon as you tear into the front end you will end up with a snowballing project that will set your credit cards on fire.

 

Congrats on the purchase. I have been watching that car forever it seems since it was first advertised on Kijiji.

Way earlier on I contacted the guy who listed it and talked to the owner on the phone, a nice guy who is just too old to continue with the hobby.
He had several other cars to sell as well.

In looking at it I determined that I would end up with way too much to change to suit my tastes, essentially I would have ended up pulling it apart down to the bare body and starting over with the drivetrain, chassis and suspension.

It was something I was willing to take on, but not for the buy in asking price of $40,000.
I tried a couple times to talk him down with no luck at all.
Even left my number for a reduced price but no call.

It seems to be a solid car, I saw pictures of what he started with, I just found myself wishing that he had chosen a more traditional theme with the build rather than a sort of oddball resto rod.

I'm glad someone finally got a reasonable deal on it (I hope ) and will be able to get it to the point where a 32 5 window should be.

If it had been anything like this one, it would be in my garage right now

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=871462&highlight=georgia&showall=1

 

The small block with short water pump is right around 29.5 inches, might be a bit shorter, couldn't quite get the tape in there properly.

 

Nice one!

 

I used to have a complete set of 15" Halibrands that had been drilled 4 lug for someone from the factory - would have been perfect for this car!

Steve