Projects A late introduction-Junior Conway coupe build

The upper spears of the side trim are 54 Dodge. Jr tells me that he went to local car dealers parts depts. and got most of these parts!
My wife and I will celebrate our thirty fifth anniversary next month. We started out with 32 Ford parts under the bed.

 

This is the redone hood latch panel. The first pic shows the incorrect configuration. The second pic shows why it had to be redone. I got this pic from Jr's private stash after my visit with him in Nov.. I had already done the nose. The third pic shows the corrected,redone panel. There is one pic that I hadn't seen before that was devastating. We'll get into that a little later.
As is becoming apparent building a clone is way different than a cool custom that you've got some ideas about. There will be some concessions in this process. I will try to keep my cards face up, as we go. They will be minimal.

 

Hey! I have to add that my two sons did this redo. Proud Poppa.

 

With these pics we expose the engine process of this build. One of the reasons that I bought this car was because it had good mechanics. You can go back to the posts that deal with the engine and see that it had Offenhauser heads and a four barrel carb.The pic that showed what was needed was an early pic of the underhood area with Jr. on the lf fender. That is the third pic. What this pic revealed was some unique air cleaners that I was able to find (after a long search) at Wolk Design LLC that they had to modify to fit the 97's. Thanks David.The underside of the hood remained a work in progress after the exterior was done and the car was being driven (Jr's only mode of transportation). Although I could have stopped right here at this pic (Hey, that's the way it was!) ,the appeal of a dressed up flathead couldn't let that happen. The correct Fenton heads and dual carb. intake were found. Thanks Ebay. They were polished and installed. Close inspection revealed that Jr had a three carb fuel block on the firewall with the inside outlet blocked off. I've been unable to find a three carb fuel block so a two holer will have to work for now.

The big issue that wev'e had is with the location of the generator. If you look closely at this (third) pic you'll see that it is on the outside of the l head water inlet hose. I thought that the simple solution would be to buy a Speedway offset generator mount. If you look closely (second pic) you'll see that that mount puts the generator right on top of that inlet. I think we are closing in on a solution with help from Chris at ShoeBoxFord.com. and the H.A.M.B. guys.. What is needed is an early flathead (59A) mount with the stud kit. It mounts the generator to the head. That should be arriving shortly. Isn't this like a forensic investigation? The donor car came converted over to 12V.We replaced the alternator with a generator that was reworked for 12V from 6V. So one of the concessions is keeping the 12V system. While making an effort to disguise it somewhat.

At this point we're considering keeping the fuel pump in the stock location on the the intake manifold. We've discovered that when you remove the push rod for the pump you lose oil pressure if you don't do some machining at the push rod hole (in the block). It sure will enhance the looks with the polished fuel pump and fuel pump stand. But for the person that's paying attention (you can see the fuel pump block off plate) it's not correct. Another concession.

The correct exhaust system was stock with a set of duals installed (old style). The last pic shows the stock manifolds in correct relationship to each other. With the stock system there was a cross over pipe (shown) that went across the front of the engine. This connected the two and directed the exhaust forward and then around and out the r side. I'm saying all this because I'm looking for the duals conversion pipe that directs the l side exhaust forward and underneath the engine in front. I actually saw a genuine set in the original box on Ebay and missed it. I hope this makes sense and doesn't bore everybody.


With these pics you can get a hint of why Jr selected these colors. Its like a black and white movie suddenly morphing into the old Hollywood Technicolor. Wow! Am I getting excited too? Oh yeah.

 

WHEW, Jer, you're wearing me out!!.....Do you ever have a thought like,....maybe we could do this or that..change this or....NO! ....got to stay on track keep it correct! I remember when building the Chevy having to slap myself back into the reality of what I was trying to accomplish...and that was no where near the correctness where you guys are going ! Keep up the good work men.

 

Awesome!!!

 

I'll have that club plaque if you don't mind, Mazda. I need it for this build.

 

Really awesome...!!!

 

I'm really enjoying this build...and it's fantastic to see another great kustom come back to life! Your attention to detail is awesome!

 

I can't believe I have missed this awesome thread! Thanks for all the new info you have dug up about this car Jer!!

 

I'm with you. I missed it completly.

Awsome build!

 

I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE to consider the subtle inferences that I am coming unhinged (hinge?, whats wrong with the hinge?). I'm realizing that when you use pics only for references regarding body work there is a built in problem. There is a tendency for them to be distorted in some way. The photogs can chime in on this. There has been a big (real or conceived) problem with how the grille fits in its opening. After looking at ALL the pics available (Thanks Rik) and comparing them, from all the angles, with the grille that's now re-installed (and painted chrome) I'm satisfied that we're ok. Now, you'll have to excuse me, I'm sure that there's a template or something that needs to be made.

Oh, by the way Kid. I need to know about those ripple pipes for this build. How bout it?

 

looking good!

 

Alex Gambino made them for KIRK's 1960 Starliner... there is a post on the on here... will try to find it.

Here is another post.


Edited... could not find the post where Alex created them... but I had saved the photos

 

If you want some I'll see if we still have some at the shop. If not I know where to get some.

 

So you see Rik, you really are a "partner" on many of these builds. By the way what do your hands look like?

 

Were the hood hinges chromed on the Conway custom?

 

While I can appreciate the work and creativity that Alex has put into those beautiful ripple pipes they aren't the genuine "ripple" pipes. You see the genny's on Windfields shop truck resto that just came out of The 235 Kid's shop. I've pm'd him. You gotta love and appreciate all the incredible people/resources on the H.A.MB..

 

Yes, and you can just see the longest arm on the r one in the second pic (post # 156). It's cut off on the l upper corner of pic. Actually you can see them in the post #164.

 

thanks for the reply
Another question.
What was the diameter of the exhaust, 1.3/4"-1.5/8th"? Thanks

 

Its funny,I was thinking the same thing.

 

Well, Paulie, Jr just said "duals" when I asked about the exhaust. I think he depended on the muffler shop to put "pipes" on it. It wasn't until late in his ownership of this car that you saw exhaust tips. Diameter of the pipe? What do you want?

 

I wasnt trying to bust your chops, I apologize if it came off that way.I know that the exhaust tips were typically smaller back then and I was just curious to know the "correct" size if you knew it.

I appreciate the build!! In my opinion . The impact that Jrs car made in that it was such a HEAVY custom for it to be un-chopped is sheer amazing talent.

If you ever do find out about the size tips run please let us know!!!

Keep up the good tribute!

 

No offense taken. I didn't realize that you were referring to the tips. I thought you meant the exhaust system. I will ask Jr about it just the way you've asked it here. Then, compared to now.
I think Jr and his car were at the right place at the right time. It had the right components blended together in the right way. Not over or under done. You know, like that third bowl of porridge that Goldielocks ate (the whole thing). Mmm mmm mmm just right

 

Don't get too comfortable in there (not you Josh). Yer comin back out!

 

This picture was really distorted [post 96]so I straightened it out a little. Hope it can be of some use with the front end look. Keep up the good work!

John

 

This is rad!

 

Hey Paulie. Jr says that there were the small "pencil tips" back then but he only ran 2" tips on his car.

 

Eric, when was the last time someone said you had a nice rear end? Thanks again.

 

Thanks for asking. I appreciate that. Cheers'