Projects RHD '32 5W Build Thread: Pics...ideas

It's home!

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/album.php?albumid=10927



We used a tilt tray truck to move it from the tray top we transported it home in to the ground. I bought a chassis locally, tied it to a flat bed and drove 800 miles to pick it up. Mounted the body onto the chassis (eventually) with 6 bolts and drove back. 3 days round trip.



Finally resting on my turf.



Looks solid.



Nice arse.



A hungry mouth.



Needs work...or does it?



Stopping for a quick photochopportunity.



That's better (channeled frame height). Gotta love photoshop. I'll be doing more later.


If some is good...



A cham...wow! This doesn't look half bad as it sits! Dragged everything I could from the around the garage for a mock up. This is still the same day of arrival and after I tweaked the body a bit to bolt it on better. Discovered the chassis is 3/8 narrower than spec at the B pillar. I'm going to work with it.



Blower height mock up...am I having fun yet you reckon?



Gaff tape, old grille insert, spare headlight buckets (and some tape for crosses), the wheels off my "other" car, some ribbed caps for the front and presto...a horrendous mix of styles...lol Forgive me I'm just playing with whatever was lying around but it makes me smile.

This will be my build thread and I want you all to chime in if you feel the need. I'm leaning towards a late 60s performance feel. What sort of car could I have built in December 1969 if I was into drag racing and had a street car that reflected that?

Chop, rake, big motor, bobbed fenders, wide chrome 5 spokes (heavily influenced by Todd's HEMI32)...etc. I have two engine choices 429/460 supercharged (modern motor) or of course I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of my new 425 from Russ. I may supercharge that instead and sell the 460.

I know you guys are not "fond" of disk brakes but we have to have them in our jurisdiction so they have to stay. The chassis is "wrong" for the style as well but it was available so I'm going to work around or with it.

For example, this chassis has coil overs at the rear. Good for handling and all that but I'd like to see what sort of suspension was available in 1969.

One of the purposes of this board is to spread the gospel and promote the traditional approach to building a hot rod. From another thread on here I'm going to borrow the phrase "Traditional refers to the way things have always been done".

I'd like opinions on what would be required for a car to be "correct" for a car from 1969. I'm not 100% sure I'm going to go this way or be able to pull off 100% accuracy but I'd like to hear what it would take and if you have any pics from what was the latest things around this period I'd love to see 'em.

 

Well, first off you've stated a build style and era so that's good. The hard part now is to pin that total theme down and STICK TO IT!

I'm not thinking a big rake is in the frame for this. A nose up early /mid 60'sgasser style would still be more apropriate for that body style. My 2c, I'm sure there will be more, including regional variations.

 

I remember bidding for that on egay!

Yeah i agree gasser. It hasn't been done well over here..

 

I love gassers and agree, it hasn't been done down here much with a few notable exceptions. I noticed and bid low on that auction site but eventually did a private deal with extras. Extras I got were the original firewall from this car, a set of pristine garnish moulds, a fuel tank, some bars for my grill insert, the dicky seat and glass for patterns plus a repro rear view mirror.

A tyre rake plus the dropped axle should be sufficient to get the stance I'm looking for. As long as it looks like it's pushing into the wind I'm happy. I'm madly going back through all my old magazines trying to nail down what was available. I have early 70s, early and mid 60s (and plenty of small mags from the 50s - I bought an old guys entire collection going back to the early 50s) but no late 60s mags for reference.

I'll be using steel chrome wheels because I like that look. I have a set of wide Buick factory mags here (15x10) but I doubt it'll fit the theme though I'm willing to slide on that one because they look cool. I'll take opinions on that with regards to the period. I'm not after a 100% period correct car more to capture the "flavour" of the look of that time. What suspension choices were available then? This chassis has coil overs which would work well but would either have to be disguised or changed. If anyone can give me the lowdown and what was or wasn't available back then I'd appreciate it. Or just some example pics and I'll take it from there. As soon as I see something I like I'll make a note and build a (hopefully) cohesive car from all the choices.

I like black and flames but I also like metallic 60s and pleated interior, hi flake steering wheel, plenty of chrome which is the way I'm leaning at the moment. Blue, green, yellow work for me. Yellow is my favourite.

Tyres (I'm guessing) will have to be rags which is cool because I love fat rags (George Trosley style).

Blower were available but how appropriate is a 671 460 Big Block ford to the style of those times? Bit of a stretch or impossible? The 64 Nailhead will be fine and I'm guessing that because the 429 385 series engines were available in 1968 someone could have squeezed one in. All the alloy would have to be removed but with some chrome valve covers and accessories and a sporty period scoop I reckon I could "get away with it".

I know the only person I have to please is myself but part of the fun of this build is going to be giving it a style that ties together and one that celebrates the power available at the end of the 60s right at the peak of the muscle car era. Rodders had a feast of power and driveline choices and I want to explore that. I'm having a ball going through all the old magazines again but this time with a purpose and a mission instead of just browsing.

I'm hoping someone will post anything that looks like a hot street coupe from the late sixties/very early seventies to help me zero in on what would look cool. If anyone wants to sell their collection of hot rod magazines from the late sixties (why would you?) PM me.

 

Not the golden era for hot rods. Just before the "street rod" boom.

 

I see. Looking in the adds of my mid sixties magazines I'm finding plenty of parts that I could have used, chrome wheels, big engines, induction choices, rear ends, shifters, steering wheels...etc. but I'm not sure on the suspension and what was available front and back and the stance that was popular back then.

 

please don't channel it. just take about 3" out of the roof and leave it alone.

-danny

 

Noted thanks for your input.

Not a big channeling fan? Or just wrong for the style?

 

As X38 has said the late sixties was not a good period for rods as nearly everyone was into muscle cars. Any rods built in that period had 4WD stance, non narrowed rear ends, reversed wheels and about 3" of rubber sticking outside the fenders. They were really fugly!

You might be better going for a 60's show car style - have a look at Grouchos build of the channelled 32-5 using the Rod-Bods body, green metalflake, white tuck and roll and a healthy 389 Pontiac, now that's something different. And if you're looking for something different don't chop it as nearly all the 32-5's in Australia have a 3" chop and are glass-right? Does make it easy to pick the steel cars tho.

 

You asked for input so here is mine.
Your wheel and tyre combo (big on the back) is going to set your stance or rake, so would worry about that too much until you get the boots bolted up. I would go something like chrome reversed steelies on the back and sprints or 12 spokes up front.
I would ditch the 4 bar front, personally its like seing a man in a pair of panties, swap em out for hair pins.
I would leave the coil overs but would put ladder bars in, you see those in the profile view and it gives it that drag look.
I would also bob the rear of the chassis, not chop it till the stance your happy with is dialed in then look at it again, also i would go a nice metalic paint job, remove the dickey handles. Chrome diff housing.
The scoop could be a deal breaker also, I would look for something period and go the nailhead for sure.....your on the right track there.

Oh.... and blackwall bias plys!

Hope this helps.

Did you ask the guy you got the body from about the red highlights!!!?????? what was going on there?????

 

I'd love to be instantly noticeable as a steel car and I'm trying to find a way to make the 5 look cool with no chop but I just can't get around it. Chopped tops just do it for me. If I can be achieve the right look I'm after without chopping then I won't chop. It's not impossible, many unchopped coupes looks cool but for my own personal car I'm 80% in favour at the moment.

Maybe I can vary the chop with an angle or some other unique feature. Or maybe just got straight down to 4 inch. Chops will have to be discussed eventually but I've done enough searching on this forum to know pretty much what you all think. I don't want to ever sell this car so it's not about resale it's about what makes me smile and will do so forever. Styles come and go but a chop is always cool and the slammer the better but I like your idea of looking earlier into the sixties but my brakes will look out of place I reckon.

I thought tyres sticking out didn't start happening until the 70s. I'll have to do some more flicking.

Great suggestions. Here's your chance to influence me in your favourite style so please feel free to chime in with what "you would do" and "if it was me..." or "personally I would...". I'm expecting some grief as well so let me have it if you think I'm wondering off track.

 

Thanks Human, Your response came in after I replied above. Love your suggestions. That's exactly what I'm looking for. Suggestions that make me scratch my chin and imagine it.

Ah, the red highlights. That's a good story. Apparently the car was used at a reception center in Mexico City that looked like a "Castle" of some sort. This car was referred to as the "castle car" during conversation. They would hire it our for weddings, Proms...etc and this could was used as a "Gate Car" to take young ladies (or guests I suppose) to the Prom from the car park down below. That would explain it's condition and recent restoration. There are some panels and most welding is neat and finished with a hammer and there's some filler but not much.

I would love to get any more information but that's about it. The car is a Mexican import directly into Australia. The guy who brings them in scours South America for old fords and brings them in. Us Aussies are just as car mad as you guys in the States and we snap them up. My car was used to assist with another 5 window build and I got the spare bits.

I've got some scans of what it looked like when it was complete but only one poor quality photo copy of the car in it's entirety. I'll post them shortly.

 

Want it to be instantly recognizeable as a steel car? Don't chop it.

There's no way I'd take a good steel Deuce 5wd & hack it up so it looked like all the rest.

But then again, I wouldn't be building a '69 era, hi-po, street rod either.

JH

 

As restored. Note: chrome grill shell!

 

No worries I hope it helps you out a bit.
I would be such a shame to not help and see another 5w turn to shit.

Villies pies rule!!

 

Thanks for your input. Resto rod this won't be I can assure of that. I've just slapped it together because I wanted to play with it the first day it was here but I can see where you would get that impression from looking at the photos. This car will change a lot from how it looks now.

No glass cars have rain gutters unless custom made either but like I said, I couldn't really give a toss what most people (outside of this place) think of it as long as I'm happy and I've battled with the "don't chop an unchopped car" but I'm choosing not to carry that load. This is a car that I've always wanted and it's got to look tough and keep me happy and that means a chop as it always has (for me anyway). But I do hear you. It's a tough decision to make and I haven't made it yet - but I'm leaning that way that's for sure.

Maybe I'm missing the mark with my era identification. I want an aggressive street coupe with respect for the older cooler way of doing things. I've already got a glass car (that's being sold - don't worry) so I can pull something out of bubble wrap and push it through a hole already. That got old surprisingly quicker than I expected but this whole research and working with a genuine old steel car is the real thrill. It feel substantial. If you know what I mean.

I used to work with metal as a boilermaker welder (mostly welder) and I really enjoyed grinding on the car yesterday, filing, hammering, rust falling on the ground, getting clothes caught in old bits of nail sticking out the wood, dripping blood onto rust. It's all magic and I want to do, make, find, scrounge and swap as much as possible to make this car. I want to put my own experience into it and can't wait to get back out there. A lot of fluff and bull right there but I think it'll help if you know where I'm coming from.

 

Give the guy a break, at least he is asking and not acting like he knows it all, the least we can do is make tasteful suggestions........I made tasteful suggestions right :? hahahaha

 

No, no, that's fine. Give it to me. I learn as much from the slaps across the back of the head as I do from anything else.

 

To each, his own...

Keep us posted 32ford5. I'm sure it will turn out great - whichever route you take.

JH

 

So cool! I want them both!

It's still a "shock" to see an unchopped roof. I need re-education but I'm coming around. One huge benefit of leaving the roof as is is not having to worry about having the car ruined by bad work. There's no second chance here. If I can make it look cool unchopped I'll leave it. I search for hours every day but you guys have got some cool photos stashed so at the risk of wearing out my welcome I'm going to request all your favourite 5 window pics be posted here as well.

Links to relevant threads are also welcome.

 

I'll let Poteet slide here with a 1" chop...

 

I'll quit now. Don't want to muck up your thread.

JH

 

No Hijack called here. Keep em coming please. The Poteet car is stunning with that ultra cool 1 inch chop - now that's a statement.

That last car also did something to me. I remember reading about it in another thread (it was spotted driving around?) and it stopped me. I think those rear tyres just super glued my eyes to the screen. How cool are they?!

 

George Poteet's car also had roadster quarters which helps with the look,,

I prefer a stock top on a 5-window,,,chopped tops make them look like a glass car,,and before anybody gets their painties in a wad,,I have owned several glass cars,,nothing wrong with them,,but If you have a steel car make it look like one. HRP

 

Thanks 'Primer. I expect a robust debate but think of this is a vote. No one is wrong. People vote for all styles. Here is an opportunity for anyone who's interested to have their say about what they would do (not what they think I should do - though that's also welcome) so your comments are welcome.

I'd be disappointed if I didn't get every possible angle and opinion. I just don't want to bore you all because this topic has been "almost" thrashed already and I have already gathered many ideas from searching (it's endless!). The car is raw and un-cut so it's got great potential. I'd be a fool not to listen to all who want to comment. If you want to take the time to make a comment I'm grateful. Good or bad.

Regarding making it look like an old steel car; it's still got to look cool and the very thing that makes chops cool is what's made them so popular but I can't help feeling the butt of the irony here. I almost feel like it could be "too late" to chop my own steel coupe. Some thing I've always wanted to do and that's a tiny shame but I'm really starting to warm to the challenge of making a stock body look cool...besides, I'm still leaning towards a chop of some type. 1" or 2". Very interesting.

Interesting about the roadster quarters. Thanks for pointing that out.

 

nice V/8 firewall dont cut it up you can put V/8s in there with out cuts.

 

I was going to set it aside and look for a bad one to rescue but if a Nailhead will fit without cutting it I'm all ears.

 

small hemi, T5 , KH wires, no chop, no channel...

 

How about Nailhead in place of a hemi?

Manual is a done deal.