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

LOL Allan it was a joke. I love poking fun at engineers, Dilbert comics are hilarious in doing the same thing if you have ever read them.
We need to laugh once in a while, even if it is at ourselves.
I have heard some very funny welder jokes over the years and do my best not to take offense.

Yes engineers do good things, and like anything else I have seen engineers who could not develop a proper toilet paper holder

I have worked with very good engineers, and others with an attitude and lack of aptitude that showed they should have chosen another career.

So it is in many parts of life.

Back to the program as you say, keep us up to date on your changes and enjoy the 5 window.
Larry.

 

Larry,

It's all good. I need to bust your chops once in a while as well
...... seeing as you still haven't taught me how to use my TIG lol.

Allan

 

We will have to fix that problem. I'll have to drop by and give you a lesson, after that it's just practice.

 

Sounds good.

 

I had the car appraised yesterday so I could properly insure it. Now that that's done, I was able to start making a few changes. Hubcaps off (looks better I think), spare tire removed. I did pick up a new rear spreader bar which I can hopefully get installed this week. I'll also need to see if I can do something with the gas filler. Shorter bumper brackets are in order as well. I also bought a '57 9" that I'll be picking up this week. I really want to get this converted to 5 bolt front and rear so I can get a more appropriate tire/wheel combination.

 

A bit of an update. I've picked up a '57 9" that looks to be in good shape, an 11" 5 bolt front brake kit, and probably most importantly a fully rebuilt .030 over 275HP 327 that I'm picking up tomorrow morning.

I'm hoping some of you may be able to help with the questions below.

1) Will I be able to use the engine mounts as they are currently located for the 327? I've got approximately 14" from the front of the mount to the radiator and approximately 9-1/2" from the rear of the mount to the face of the transmission. As stated previously, I've probably got another 1-1/2" I could move the engine back before I have firewall clearance issues.



2) Will the current radiator provide adequate cooling for the 327? The V6 does not have a mechanical fan. I was planning on using the same set up with the 327. Will this be adequate?



3) For now I'm planning on running steel wheels (14" on the front, 15" on the rear) with '57 dog dish caps. What 15" rims would accept the '57 caps. Are there any years other than 57-59 (?) 14" steel rims that will accept the caps as well?

Thanks in advance.

Allan

 

I picked up the 327 yesterday. Fully rebuilt with paperwork from the engine shop. .030 over, forged pistons, triple angle grind, hardened seats, etc. Should be a great engine for this. Just trying to decide whether to just do the front brake kit and install the 9" and drive it this summer like that, or to install the 327 as well. Any opinions on how easy/difficult this swap will be?


Thanks in advance.

Allan

 

Is the Edelbrock Performer RPM intake a good intake for this engine?
I've also got a line on a Weiand 2P 8000.
Is one better than the other?

Thanks in advance.

Allan

 

Performer RPM is the real deal.

Measure the I.D. of those caps: (I think they're 10-7/8") anyway, they're an 'Industry Standard'. They fit most 14" & 15" steel wheels, (Ford from '49 to '72 passenger car, Chev most 14", 15" from '55 to '70?)
Ford truck from '57 to '72, (thereabouts) just measure across the nubs on the wheels.

If you want some GROOVY caps, Pete The Wheel (Paulson) in Calif carries the '50 Merc clones (in this smaller 10-7/8" size, real '49-51 Mercs were 1" larger) really a nice cap on a full fendered 5 window...

 

Thanks!

And good info on the caps. The reason I was asking is they wouldn't fit on the 15" 5-1/2" bolt truck rims I had on my 39 (when I had it) and they won't fit on the 15" 4 bolt rims currently on the 32.
That will make things much easier.

Allan

 

It will be a couple of weeks before I get the 11" 5 bolt brake conversion..... and probably longer before I get it and the 9" installed, so I was screwing around with some hubcaps today since the dog dish caps don't fit these rims. I really like the look of these. What a difference from the 70's T-bird caps that were on it when I bought it. I just wish I had 4. Can anyone tell me what they're from? I bought them at a garage sale about 5 years ago.



Allan

 

Those are Lyon caps. There are a lot of them around. I think I have one or two of them. I will look.

 

Really busy with work so not a lot has been done to the deuce, but I did get the 327 looking a little different. I'll be running a single belt to drive the alternator. Would somebody be able to advise whether a short water pump would allow me to use the inner pulley so I can lose the outer pulley and make some room?



Thanks in advance,

Allan

 

A short water pump setup uses a flat pulley that sits right on the balancer like the inner pulley in your photo so I think you should be fine to use that one with the short pump.

 

Thanks!

 

Al, thought I saw you cruisin' on the Henday today - looked good!

Steve

 

Here's what you need for a seat Al, an original 32 frame.
Apparently this one was available here on the Hamb and another member scooped it up.
Keep your eyes open and you can find one.

 

that sure looks the same as 31 coupe. Is it?

 

Don't believe it is, 32 5 window specific.

 

I've been working on the '32 a bit, installing an 11" brake kit that I'm now trying to source brake hoses for. Any advice on where I can find a couple 16" long hoses with a 1/4" female end with normal clip mount and a banjo at the caliper end? The parts guy I go to is having trouble finding a suitable hose.



While I'm on the search for hoses, I figured I'd address the headroom issue in the car. I pulled the seat out yesterday and then went to remove the risers from the floor. I had assumed they were bolted though the floor with adequate washers etc......... umm NO!



Who mounts a seat like this......... someone who's not planning on getting in an accident?
Getting rid of the risers and safely mounting the seat to the floor will gain me about 3-1/2 inches of headroom.
More updates coming.

Allan

 

Perfect. A 3.5" chop looks swell on a 5w coupe.

Congrats on finding an awesome launch point for a real deal hot rod. Enjoy making it yours!

 

Good catch Allen.

 

I think this is one of the three left that aren't chopped... it'll be staying this way. lol.

Thanks. I'll be in St. Louis in a couple of weeks. We should try to get together for that beer.

I finished the brake upgrade and went with 15' rims with a 195 60 15 tire. Huge difference on how the car looks. I really need to get the 9" installed so I can get the rear rims/tires on.




Allan

 

Definitely let me know when you're in town!

 

I just couldn't get over the Mustang II suspension and Pontiac V6 under this car. I bought a rolling chassis off the HAMB from a great guy (thanks Steve!) so the car will be getting a bit of a reincarnation this fall. I'll hopefully have the frame delivered by mid August using another HAMB'er for transport. Bill's Transport. Great guy as well!
The car is going to be much more enjoyable with this under it.

 

One last shot as it was.


The dismantle begins..........


It does look a lot cleaner with the VW back-up lights removed and will look even better once the coil springs are gone.



Nice terminal block. A piece of wood supporting the radiator was used to connect the harness to the headlights and marker lights. I guess it was more traditional than I thought. lol

 

It's amazing how differently it looks without fenders. The parallel leaf mounts were mounted under the running boards so I've got a little more work to do before I can remove the running boards. Now I just need to decide whether the car will have fenders. I never considered running it fenderless, but now I just don't know. The chassis I purchased is a hiboy frame so holes will have to be drilled for the front fenders and the wishbone mount moved below the frame. Has anyone had success setting a frame up so it can be run both ways? How were the front fender holes in the frame handled when running without fenders? It would be like having two different cars which is kind of an attractive option....... would take up a hell of a lot less space.

 

Al, I've seen this done before.....
If there is a good chance you will want to return the car to full fendered status after going the hiboy route for awhile, one option would be to drill the new frame with all the holes in the stock locations and make some "dummy" rivets to fill the holes.
For a boxed frame, some creativity may be required for accessing the nuts, and washers.
A small lathe, some regular or carriage bolts, and your set.
The hard work will already be done for later changes.

 

Please keep the fenders. As far as I'm concerned there is no better looking 32 than a full fendered 5 window.
It's going to be really nice on the new chassis and the only way to make it better would be really subtle 2.5" chop.
That keeps everyone guessing if it's chopped or not and looks really good.
Larry.

 

That's not possible !
Glad you started the thread in 2006, which is still going.