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This coupe belongs to a friend here in Placerville. He's owned it since 1955 but sold it sometime back when for a few years to a family member.. Not sure who tried to put in a late Mll front end and re-doing the rear end but as you'll see they didn't have the skills... They pretty much butcher the front of the frame to weld in the Mll front end...
After getting the front sheet metal off and all the Mll stuff cut off you could really see the damage...
With it all cut away there was a big piece missing on the lower part of the frame, luck for me i had some metal that fit the frame right on.. just had to cut it out to fit and weld it in... mocking up the front cross member with the new boxing plates..
With all the welding done we put it all together and back on the ground of see how we did... Oh is my head on fire??
Of course he wanted to put one of the biggest ford motors in he could find... someone had tried to do it before and hacked up the fire wall and just left it unfinished... hate trying to fix other peoples screw ups...
with the front Mll installed and the motor and trans in place it was time to move to the rear end.. you can see it was not centered in the wheel opening... plus we went with a 4 bag with coil overs.
Took the old leaf springs out and installed a 4 bar with coil overs and a sway bar... now it sits right and all wheels are where they're suppose to be... This was an easy one as this is as far as we took it, gave it back to the owner and he's been working on it for the past two years or so... it's all put together at this point and he's just completing the wiring... hope to be driving it early next year..
Another great build! Thanks for sharing the pics too. That Cleveland oughta motivate that one pretty good.
Hopefully those wheels go back on the truck they came from...:rolleyes:
Good save!
You're not fooling me, with your skills you love every minute of it! NICELY DONE!Quote:
Originally Posted by parkwood
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Much needed improvements! Nice work
Thanks for the build report. Congratulations on the nice work!
It's heart-warming to see a great car like a '40 coupe brought back from the butcher shop and set on the right road again.
Oh wow! Thanks for posting this. My '37 has the old-school Mustang II crossmember, too. It drives just fine (at least it did before I tore it down for a rebuild...:whacked:) but it's not very pretty. I've debated on whether I wanna cut it out and start over. This process is definitely food for thought.
Of course, with all the other work my chassis needs to be show quality (not that I really want "show quality"), I'd probably be money ahead just to buy a new one 35 40 Ford Chassis Rat Rod Rat Rods Ford Other New Frame Custom | eBay
Trying to fix hack jobs is a pain. Best to do what you did. Cut it all out and start over. Nice job.
So I believe I read a simple word in one of your posts recently that jumped to mind, " Retirement " but then I also noticed that this Forty was fitted in between work on the Chevy Submarine and the awesome '33 Coupe. Is the ford engine a 351 or slightly large in the cubic inch count ? Thanks for posting as your work is very pleasing on the eye and I need to learn from somebody with your skill level.
Yes the ford motor should do the job quite nicely.. at least it's a ford in a ford..Quote:
Originally Posted by 34_40
I know, I know the rims suck but i could photo shop them out... he is planing on putting some more up to date tires and rims on it...Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter
No really i do hate it but it does hone you skills to another level...but sometimes you have to hide the rope and sharp things to keep from hurting yourself...Quote:
Originally Posted by 36 sedan
Thanks Robert..Quote:
Originally Posted by MP&C
Yes Nick i'm happy i could help this guy with a car he's owned for so long, and hope he gets to drive it for years to come..Quote:
Originally Posted by Hot Rod Nick
Randy i looked at the site you put up and i can't believe that they can sell a frame like that for 2200 bucks... but saying that if the only thing wrong with your frame is the front end i'm not sure i would get rid of it... The frame that came with the car should fit the car a lot better than the after market one.. look at all you have to buy to get the $2200 frame up and running, complete front end, rear end and springs or 4 bar w/coil overs, run all new brake lines, fuel lines and the list goes on and on... you wouldn't have to go with the coil over front end like this one to get a nice ride..Quote:
Originally Posted by randyr
Thanks Charlie, when i first saw it i wasn't real sure i could fit it, but once all the old stuff was cut off and patched up it wasn't so bad...Quote:
Originally Posted by cffisher
Mark, i am retired from the real world... now i work in toy land. Been retired for 10 years this Jan. and i've not stopped since.. and there have been a few cars between the suburban and the '33... all those other cars helped pay for the bling on the '33... maybe what i should do is post a few pictures in order since i've been retired to set the record straight... and yes the motor is a 351.. heavy and wide, i see why they weren't used in hot rods for a long time...Quote:
Originally Posted by Whiplash23T
Yes, they are very heavy compared to the normal but still a darn good engine to fill a large space under the hood of the '40 . Had a friend that owned a '39 Oldsmobile with 283 Chevy in it and I used to have him on about having to get the microscope out so I could find the darn thing when I needed to check the oil. I would be keen to see your portfolio of builds please.
Very nice repair! My 40 was hacked worse than that one. I started repairing it but I'm not sure I like that yet or not. They hacked the frame on both sides, placed the MII cross member in place, then put the front frame horns back on and higher than the rest of the frame. Freakin nasty.
Ryan if they hacked it that bad, what do you think about putting on a Fatman front clip to save your frame??? I've put two of them on and they work and look great..Here is just one of them... this guy bought this car in Wash. and drove it all the way to So. Calif. when he got a hold of me i looked at it and told him it was so hacked together i would drive it across the street... he had it trailered to my house about 10 miles away... guess i scared him...Quote:
Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe
I did look at those and they are like $1200 for that stub. For a little more I can buy a whole new frame. I found an original frame on CL and I might try to get it and start over with it.
Yes if you can get a new un cut frame for a little more you're better off.. the one i posted was a '47 Pontica two door coupe and i doubt he could have found a new frame for it..Quote:
Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe