hello, new here. I have a 35 ford truck, stock, non dual rear end. Looking to keep the frame but update the front & rear. I am wondering what would be a good doner vehicle for this? It would just be a nice day cruiser when done, no towing or hauling. I thought maybe a late 80's to mid 90's mustang, f-150???
Loosing footroom from a big firewall set back is not going to make a comfy cruiser in an already cramped cab. Those SBF "ford in a ford" choices can work with all the aftermarket parts to make them shorter up front, but price them out first. .
I did want to stay ford/ford. I would even consider a v6, its just what rear end and front clip/ suspension would work? I know a SBF would mean moving the firewall back. I've even seen one on a late model ranger frame with its 4.0 inside it, supposedly rough ride??? I have seen aftermarket kits ($$) and full frames ($$$$), I'm not sure I want to go that route - yet/ unless I have too. I have a lead on a complete 82 mustang 5.0, 7.5 rear end. Mustang, f150, ranger, continental?? Combination of any and if so what years.
Do you want cheap or good looking? Pick one. Actually it can be done on the cheap without the ugly, but you won't get all the parts from one source. Search for HAMBer Roothawg's posts about his truck. He has lots of experience with them and is currently building a driver.
Whatever you buy for a swap, keep the setback issue as priority one when you mock it up. Unless you are very short legged. No joke intended. Nothing is more painful to see on a persons first swap, than a car that the owner can barely drive when done.
Like F&J says...Take that as gospel, especially with THIS model. I think somebody in L.A. had one of these little trucks in the '50s, and installed an Olds or a Buick...as the firewall came back, and the length of driving room diminished, the guy called his new ride a 'short'. Must be where that came from... But regarding the 'set it on a late frame': Isn't there a site where guys actually do this? Like..."Jack up the radiator cap and drive a new Crown Vic underneath." There's a guy here in town that 'rescued' a derelict '56 F100 from a friend of mine. The guy's donor car was a late '90s Police Crown Vic. Everything from the Vic went underneath, engine, radiator, tranny, rear. Clean job, too. But he took me for a little ride, and upon entering I was blown away. The subtle gray interior was VERY plush, though 'sedate'...but he had installed the whole Police Vic dashboard! I was in 'Neverland'... Not HAMB material, when I got out, it left me with a weird feeling... Like a line was crossed. Couldn't put my finger on it...Like HELL I couldn't! Ya know when something isn't just quite right? ...And when something's just WRONG? Hope this gent can resist some of the 'grafting' and 'renovation'.
Whatever you do , DO NOT cut the front of the frame off. '35 trucks use the same frame and suspension as Ford cars 1935-1940 and '41 trucks. Get a nice dropped axle and reverse eye spring and you are ready to go. If yours is shot or gone, there are plenty of places like Speedway than can hook you up with anything you need. You can throw some '40 hydraulic brakes on there while you are at it. (or even disks if you don't tell anybody.) You can fit pretty much any engine you want with a pretty minimal firewall setback. Here is a shot of the 389 Pontiac in mine with about a 2 inch firewall. I have seen guys put Chevvies in there without cutting the firewall at all. I just got back from a 2500 mile HAMB Drags trip in this little truck and it is as comfortable as anything else I own. Good luck and please don't hesitate to ask us for help. -Abone.
A 40 Ford might be a good upgrade It sounds like you're asking this question on the wrong forum though. Here on the HAMB, the focus is 64 & under. What you're describing is more into Street Rod territory. I encourage you to look around on here for other truck builds though for sure! You'll find inspiration and might end up catching the traditional bug! If you get into front clip territory, you'd be better off with a whole new, fabbed frame IMO. I'd encourage you to keep the solid, ford axle setup. Just change your spindles over and put juice brakes on it. It's easy to get disc brake kits if that's something you feel you need. I would suggest you go with a SBC for this and sell the flathead to someone who needs it. You can mate a SBC to the ford trans and get on the road while you plan for the next stage. The banjo rear should hold up fine with a mild SBC and day cruising like you've described. You don't need a beefy rear end and IFS for that.
I would be interested in staying with the current frame, just upgrading the front & rear enough to be road worthy/ a bit more modern. It doesn't need to be street rod. It currently is just a rolling chassis, I have a 21 & 24 flathead along with two 3 speeds off to the side. I've seen where the frame would need to be modified to accept a more modern trans. I may just go with a front & rear aftermarket weld in kit and modify the frame as needed. This is something I have time to do as its a father-son project that I hope once done he will appreciate and take care of. That's why it doesn't need to be a street truck. Something simple, easy to learn on vs today's electronic packed autos, and just plain cool when it passes you by!
If it is a pickup sized truck (same chassis as the car), then Chassis engineering is the way to go. They have proven bolt in kits to update the chassis, motor mounts, recommendations for rear end widths, etc. If it is the bigger truck, then you'll have to do some of your own fabrication. Check out the other threads as mentioned above. http://www.chassisengineeringinc.com/
You are asking a question that has already been addressed,the hamb as a whole doesn't condone frame swaps or independent front suspension kits. I have driven thousands of miles with a dropped axle and they are very road worthy. Mustang,maverick,and early bronco rear axles are A PERFECT FIT. HRP
For @flamedabone to be comfy is a testament to a good fit, he is not a little guy(as in not short). Suspension wise there is nothing wrong with the Ford of the '30s suspension. Roothawg's thread is a good place to start for adapting parts to the little truck. The little truck does not weigh much so late model suspension and or chassis is not really a viable option. Kits abound for brakes if you want modern brakes or like F...Abone said, '40 Ford brakes work well. If you want an open drive line then '57-59 Ford rears work well.
If you've got the Flathead stuff on hand, I'd start with that (the 24 stud) if it were me and focus on dropping the stance and adding braking upgrades (juice). A flathead is pretty simple and there are some great books out now on the subject. You could look into swapping in a later Ford transmission as well. They had OD transmissions in the 50's. They might be a bit of a challenge to install and run, but they're out there. A T-5 might be an easier conversion if you need an OD gear to make it do what you want it to. But I'd build it with what's there honestly. You can always change it up later as a second stage to the father/son project.
Easy, get yourself a dropped axle and spring, adapt the brakes you want up front with either a kit, or the wealth of knowledge here, split the wishbone, make mounts, set caster at seven degrees. Find some rear leafs off something that weighs 3000 lbs, make your own sprin g hangers from square tubing, weld them on, use a rear end from the same car the springs came from, now you have a chassis. It's not hard, take your time, ask questions, don't adapt a chassis from a donor, you wind up with junk. Here's mine.
Look up the Austin Speed Shop build of a 35. There is no Ford product "clip" that will work and Gm "clips" are too wide period. The only retrofit that works is the mustang II. If the existing frame is solid rebuild it. The Explorer rear diff is a good fit as well as those mentioned above. Get some catalogs and research before you start cutting. Sent from my SM-G550T using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I like your stance. If you could indulge me, who did you go through vendor wise or what did you borrow from a donner for your front & rear set up (suspension & brakes)? Any pics would also be appreciated.
Look up Chassis Engineering in Iowa and call them for a catalog. Their front and rearend kits are great for beginners and will keep you from getting in over your heads.
@Old35Matt, I think you'd get a lot out of reading How to Build a Traditional Ford Hot Rod. It's a great read and will school you up a lot on what guys here are trying to tell you. It sounds like you've read The Hot Rodder's Bible, which will tend to put ideas like donor cars in your head. Really, with what you've got there, you're most of the way to getting a really killer traditional build together. Pick up some Speedway catalogs and check out SoCal Speed Shop. I've got one of their dropped axles under my T.
O.k. If it is a half ton, you can move on knowing that it's the same as a car chassis and all the suspension, brakes and steering stuff for the car chassis available from Chassis Eng. etc. will work for you. I would strongly suggest you do this, using the HAMB search function.
Here is my daily driver. 389 Pontiac, TH350, 4" dropped I beam, reversed eye spring, split wishbones, disk brakes. The rear end has a Chassis Engineering leaf spring kit and 8in Ford from a Maverick. All the front and rear end stuff came from Speedway and is pretty tried and true. Transverse I-beam has been around forever and actually works very well when put together properly. Stick around and you will be alright, I promise. -Abone.
Old35matt, mine is a sleeper. I started with a Bel lingham Was hington airport fire truck, 2 1/2 tonner, put a 51 ford frame under it, a stock pinto front end with 4 cyl springs, the stock pinto rear springs, pinto's weighed in at 3000 pounds, my 36 came in at 2770, so, it rides like a stock pinto, nice. I built the rear spring hangers from square stock, used chev powertrain, built the box myself with the help of a sheet metal shop, found some pickup fenders, a dodge minivan seat, a big gas tank in the front of the box, cause it gets big miles every year, a tonneau cover made of plywood with naugahyde stretched over it, all done twenty years ago.
Agree with many here. Dropped axle,split bones, discs up front,CE rear spring kit. 8" rear, 525 box fit to your column (I would use a 40 pass car column with key/ign switch) turbo 350 with a mild 327--real sweet driver and all pts easy to get. Have done a bunch of 40's like this--drive great. Chassis Engineering has all the stuff you need.
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