Projects 39 Tudor,401 Buick,Four speed project

I have been collecting parts for some time now. I picked up a 1939 Ford tudor two years ago and stuck it in the back yard of our shop. Well I just brought it inside and am ready to get started on it. I find that I change my mind as I go.... but I do have a pretty good idea what I want.
These are the pictures I saw on Craig's List.............

 

The owner bought the car for the grille and the right front fender and put the rest on CL. He also kept the motor and trans, none of which I wanted. I went back with the money, he had put the body back on the frame so I could load it on the trailer and bring it home.

It sat like this for almost two years while I worked on my 34 Ford pick up project. I finally sold the truck after I found out I didn't fit in it!

 

I built this aluminum rack to put the body on while I was working on it..........I have the frame on an other one we made.

Sittin' pretty.............You can see it spent a lot of time in the New England weather

 

I'm not a big fan of the "frenched" tail lights so I may change them.........I started making spacers to raise the lights a little higher but not quite as high as stock.
I can live with the recessed plate.

It also has a smoothed gas filler, that dosen't bother me all that much.

 

I don't have a lot of room to work, but I know I am better off than most.........A good friend owns this place (Shaw's Engineering) and lets a bunch of us work on our own cars here. It is a welding/machine shop with every tool you could ever want and some good people that know how to use them.

 

Started cleaning it up a little, sanded the firewall and coated it with self etching primer. Also cleaned the in side and gave it a coat of POR15.........The front floors were replaced but never painted, the rain got to them so there was a lot of surface rust to contend with.

 

Had this 1965 401 Nailhead for some time now.........needs a rebuild. I pretty much have all the parts for a rebuild. I plan on using the intake in the picture, a Drag Star with six 97'S.

 

gonna be a nice ride....

 

I hope to get the frame outside this week and sandblast it...........

Making my own M2 type IFS front suspension, a copy of a Fat Man...........We have built a few before.

 

Got a grille and fender..................Starting to look like something.

 

Go baby go!

Can't wait to see this come together. Love the nailhead in the '39 for sure.



BloodyKnuckles

 

Gonna keep an eye on this one.


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

I told my buddy I needed a four speed tranny for my 401, he said he had one hanging around out of his race car and I could have it for free! I told him I would take it not knowing his race car was a 401 AMX............Free trans and Hurst shifter, I had to find a way to make it work.
I put the bellhousing on the motor and lined up the tranny the best I could....the input shaft is 1.5 inches longer than the GM trans. I got some aluminum plate and went to work.



I came up with this tranny adapter. Works great.

 

The plan for the '39 standard is M2 type front with a nine inch in the back and a 401 Nailhead and 4 speed to power it. I'm trying to give this sedan a 50's look. I will be running these valve covers on the Nail. They make the motor look much smaller and older. Tell me what you think...........

 

You had me at nailhead! Lookin good gonna subscribe to this thread! What's your plan for the aluminum valve covers? Would you ever part with them?

 

The aluminum covers went with the 1934 pick up when I sold it............it had a 364 in it. I'm trying to buy them back. I never liked the "BUICK" block letters so I ground them off............

 

Saw Nailhead in the title, clicked and saw what you were putting it into and then saw the Drag-Star intake...I'm sold!!!

 

Cool project!

 

This thing will be killer when you finish it

 

We have a gentelman here in the shop, that builds and rebuilds steering racks for the NASCAR modified guys. I asked him to put together a rack for my '39. I asked for a smooth working non-power rack and here is what he came up with..........
This is a pic of Bill working on it:

He started with a Lincoln power rack and hacked off the pices he didn't need.


The Lincoln rack has bearings on the upper and lower supports for the pinion.

I had to shorten the shaft, We ended up making a second one that we thought was stronger.this is the first on.

The lincoln rack has helical gears and not the usual straight cut gear..You can see in this picture that the oil lines are run and connected to each other, there is fluid in the rack.

It seems to work very smooth and tight, I can't wait to try it. Thanks Mr. Bill

 

Subscribed! Love those sedans.

 

Cool build! I love ´39s , 401s and 4speeds!...what are you planning for the rear gears? I think the torque of a 401 would be good for a 3.55 or numerical lower rearend?

 

More info on the power-to-manual rack conversion? Pretty please??

 

Baumi, I have, what I believe to be 3.55 it it now. I'm looking for a limited slip but I do have a few lockers........I don't think I want to use a locker on the street even though a lot of people like them.

 

There wasn't much more than what I posted, like I said, We made another pinion gear but I don't have pictures of it. The first one was just pressed together and welded(weld was x-rayed) it looked great but we decided to make another one that had a double 'D' shape, pressed that together, pinned it AND welded it............also had to come up with a seal to fit the new shaft, I don't know where that came from but I will check. I'm happy to answer any questions.

 

I bought this flywheel cover from Russ Martin (Buickrodder) . It's made of fiberglass and looks and fits great. Not cheap but worth it.

I was pretty lucky on ebay last year and got this flywheel and bellhousing for a good price........problem was the flywheel was for an early 401 and I had a late model motor. I made a spacer for the crank and flywheel and got it mounted fine. Next problem was the starter, nothing fit.While I was working on that problem a HAMB friend told me about a guy that had a NOS Hays wheel made for my motor that was for sale........I called the guy and after talking a few minutes I found out he was driving to our shop today to drop off an axle.......sometimes things just work out for the best. The Hays flywheel fit fine and it solves the starter problem. I'll hang on to the stock wheel for another project.

 

I like where this is headed. Anymore progress on the Mustang II front end? I've thought about building one but haven't seen anybody else do it. Good choice for your motor/transmission by the way!

 

I couldn't resist sticking wheels and tires up under the fenders............

 

I'm subscribed to this one! I'm building one also with a similar style in mind. Your making some good progress. Keep up the good work.

 

great work on the 4 speed adapter! car is looking good