The engine went to Andrews Automotive in Savannah, MO. Lewis Andrews had done one Cadillac flathead in the past and seemed up to the task. The rebuild parts were ordered from Egge. I started tracking down and ordering a few extra goodies.
Barry Burrell from Detroit machined up one of his father's design 2x2 manifolds for me. I sent the manifold down to Dick's Hot Rod Carbs in Texas and he fitted a pair of Holly 94's, fuel rail and linkage and off that went to Missouri.
My father in law has a 39 LaSalle convertible. Took him years to get it done as he did it all himself and it came out beautiful! It can be done... Great lines on these cars. This is gonna be one great looking hot rod when you're done. Hang in there and enjoy building it.
All I want for Xmas is a pair of those Cyclone heads. . . Damn, I just looked under the tree and . . . . Nothing. Next Xmas ?
It would have been great with a chop on that car. The roof is pretty high and square, so to take it down a bit would have improved the car a lot. I am really glad to see that you are chosing to restore the LaSalle engine and also dressing it up. Nothing beats those motors with a dual intake manifold and a pair of aluminium heads.
I have pics of the best traditional chop on one of these. I can't access them off my ph. Heed my advice on the Sixty Special back window frame if ever you do a chop.
Jammin'... Love LaSalles ! A great, rebuilt, LaSalle engine is worth its weight in gold...and, many of that breed donated their trannies to many cool Rods & Customs in the 40's & 50's...especially if you were racing a Ford Flathead ! I'd lower it, of course, but personally I always feel those 2dr. Opera Coupes by their very nature (AND, their name itself: OPERA Coupe) are a little too classy to be "taildraggers" & fenderskirted. BTW: Where is the shop in Missouri that's doing the work ? Best of luck...you've scored a rare, very cool ride. In fact, LaSalles were SO cool they were cutting into some of the lower-line Caddy sales...that's why GM axed 'em. ALSO, you can thank Harley Earl for creating the first LaSalles, in 1927, and giving that brand a fantastic, early, running-start...just before the 1929 Great Depression hit. Jonnie www.legends.thewwbc.net
I say chop it!My Grandfather built a chopped,tail-draggin,40' La salle coupe right after WWII..There are photos of it in some family albums. If I can get them scanned I'll post them for you..The car was bad-ass for 1946 and I am planning to build a replica of it someday.
Hi Jammin Have fun...interesting build...lucky guy. This is kinda nice perhaps for some New Years inspiration.
i'm out of town at the moment..My great uncle(gramps younger brother)has the photos,I'll get them when I return.
Good for you!!! The car deserves it's dignity. IMHO, I think all chopped tops look terrible, but that's just my unsolicitated opinion. We now return you to regular programming.
Not to be rude, but what in heavens name are you doing on a forum where people are talking custom cars? I know it's very straight forward, so please excuse my manners.
An interesting and different car - I love it ! It's coming along nicely so far . I can't wait to see more updates .
I thought he did the right thing by not chopping the top. This thread isn't on the custom forum. I caught this thread on the Timeline forum. Not to be rude but, I still think chopped tops stink.
Sometimes, it takes more balls *not* to chop a car. Some awesome traditional customs are un-chopped. As they say; Variety is the spice of life.
I figure the next guy down the road can always chop it. I'd love to see any old pictures. The shop I took the car to in Missouri closed up last winter. They completed the rust repairs and primed the car. The chrome and stainless went to a shop in Leavenworth, Kansas. They completed the chrome, but closed up shop last spring. I'm only plugging shops that are actually open for business!
The generator was sent to Don Allen in Florence, Oregon to have an alternator built into the generator housing. I opted to stick with 6 volts. Rhode Island Wiring Service made up a new wiring harness. It took about 6 weeks, but the result is very nice.
Ordered some fender skirts for the car. I can't remember where I got them now. I thought it was fenderskirts.com, but that seems to be a bad web address now. I remember the business was for sale when I ordered them last year. The idea is to have a taildragger stance with skirts and the rest of the exterior to be largely stock.
what an awesome build, some forsts for me, I had never seen a 39 coupe before, or the full wheel covers, this is going to be a instant icon. That flathead is mind bending
It's gonna be a nice car. When you don't chop the roof, I think it's good not to go too low on the lowering of the car. A couple of inches in the front and 3-4 inches in the back.. A nice motorboat stance and you're there. If you are going for a traditional look. Those steel fenderskirts show up here and there. I am not sure who is making them. Here's one of the places on ebay today: http://www.ebay.com/itm/TEAR-DROP-F...m2a5aa0d380:m:mYMci_TVEUAe6f8UfgTbWjw&vxp=mtr I have had them on my 1940 LaSalle for a couple of years and they are all ok in style and quality. Looking forward to see that engine of yours getting ready.
I agree--On a scale of 1-10, 1% look good-- The rest are usually never completed and are sold cheap if they ever sell. An old car with a character that's hacked usually ends it life sent to China to come back as refrigerator.
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