very cool article, very interesting piece indeed. The restoration on it is very well done! It belongs in a museum for sure.
I can't imagine that ISU (or anyone else) would have the motivation and bucks to have created this piece; FoMoCo would have had. Rick has photos taken at a show, presumably the World's Fair, and those will be part of the Exhibit at GNRS. Troy Wait did the restoration for client owner Rick Rennebohm.
Wow right in my own back yard! I need to check in on this. Hopefully we can get Vance Alexander to post some pics of his cut away of an Olds 215 tha the has
I agree that 1939 world's Fair makes sense. There is a great short flick of the Ford exhibit at . If you search for "1939 world's fair Ford exhibit video" there is also a great clip of Ford Day June 16, 1940. (Sorry, I can't get the copied link to work.)
Troy Wait, the owner of Hot Rod Alley in Peoria, AZ, and I have had the privilege of restoring this project to its current condition. I'm excited to mention that I painted the engine cut-away areas and assembled the motor. First flat head I ever assembled... and I won't get to hear it run... oh well, what a cool project. We will be showcasing it at the Grand National Roadster Show this weekend in Pomona, CA. If you are able to attend, check it out! Very nice piece. -Spike
Vance was my high school auto mech teacher, I remember that Olds well. He also made a cross section early hemi head.
I was just down theere and looked at that motor and thought about taking a picture and didn't. I called him tonight and told him about this article and aked if he knew anything about the frame but he didn't. I asked if he was going to post pics of the Olds but he said he couldnt get them loaded from his camera.
What a beautiful restoration! After this article and the frames appearance at the GNRS I would expect it to have individuals and museums fighting over an opportunity to own or display it. I will be saving this post for future reference on my projects.
I think that was for a drunk driving crackdown commercial a few years back. Don't know if it got produced. As I gaze at the chassis, and having done some cutaways in the past while in the prototype industry, it's surely born from the OEM and I think ROTUNDA, as in the building that showcased Ford's new products year after year until it tragically burned down. My folks used to take us there for Christmas shows but my only memories are of trees and lights. Some digging into that idea may net some info.
That chassis brings back some great memories. In 1956 St Louis had completed a new Technicial High School, Ofallon School. In the summer equipment was moved from the old Hadley High to the new school. My dad being a machine shop teacher was involved in the move. Much of the old prewar engines and parts from the auto shop were being discarded and I was allowed to take anything that I could use. One item was a complete '40 Ford chassis similar to the one in Ryans BLOG. At the time I had just graduated from High school and had an Olds powered '40 tudor. I stripped the chrome shocks, steering column, bumper brackets etc. The chassis was painted maroon and many parts were cut away and were unusable. The rest was probably junked. I also took several Ford transmissions, both floor and side shift. After inspection I found all parts like new except the cluster gears that were all damaged and had been swapped out by students. deChrome
I believe it was common for automakers to donate cutaways to high school auto shop programs and university engineering departments. Western Washington University's vehicle design program had a 340 Mopar cutaway mounted on a large Chrysler pentastar logo. It was electric powered and would turn over, so you could see the parts in action. A local high school also had a 348 tripower cutaway engine in their auto shop. At the time I was disappointed that there were no usable parts on that engine. Dave
Awesome! Yeah, I have a certain predilection for that particular year Ford. I looked at it in the very excellent photos and am impressed by how clever it is, being done not only to show things never seen in an assembled vehicle, but of the most carefully selected areas so as to lead you around from one place to another with effortless ease. And, the restoration is flawless to the point of being anal. The various colors are cool because of the kind and number. I think both Troy, in whose shop the work was done, and Spike who participated, and anyone else involved deserves all the praise they can get. Man! And, I kept thinking as I was studying the details, what a cool thing this must be to see in person. And, the chrome makes it so far over the top it's out of the box. Really. I could go on, and will only end by saying, yes, a Museum needs this in a major way. Think of all the young minds who will be even more amazed than a crotchety old man, or two. (I include myself) How about America's attic, The Smithsonian?
I agree it's OEM and quite possibly from the 39-40 Worlds Fair. GM trumped Ford at the fair by displaying an incredible '39 Pontiac "ghost" Sedan featuring a see through plastic body. Now...if the chassis owner could get a clear plexiglass 40 Coupe body drawn out of the "Drake" 40 Coupe dies......
There is a similar 39 Chassi at Motala Motormuseum In Sweden. And if you look how the steering column is mounted, its done in the same way. Suggesting that they made more than one.
pretty cool that something 70+ years old, that is maybe one of 5[?] made could be posted and a bunch of stories of guys seeing it, being in the same area of it and others from around the WORLD......gotta love the hamb [and the internonsense].
I've seen similar cutaway 1935-1940 US Ford chassis in Belgian / Dutch museums. I suppose they were used for educational purposes...
We have a saying, If there is a rare American made piece of machinery and they left America at some point, they has to be at least one of them in Sweden. And mr 42 proved me right.
Be hard to keep oil in it after it's cut up that way. Simply amazing the time and work that went into these to do them to start with, and I'm sure the same went into the restoration. For sure that needs to be displayed, it's like cocaine for a auto enthusiast. What a way to show the public your product, much better than line drawings or pictures even.
When my dad was in high school, the automotive class had a cutaway Buick chassis- by the time I got there, all that was left was the engine.
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