41 ford 2 door sedan

well, its time to start on this thing. this was my first car. i bought it in 95 when i was 15 and drove it to school my senior year. it came from sydney montana. the car has been sitting now since 98. i asked my wife if shed like to help build a car...and she said ok!!! so, it was just towed from my shop to my house this afternoon. when id get laid off id do work to it here and there but never consistantly. its about 98% complete and next to no rot. the old flattie is stuck again but that doesnt worry me. i have annother complete engine with a known crack free block.
here are my goals. im looking to fully restore the body and interior to as stock. seat material included. stock rim size and stock hubcaps. wide whites with bigger than stock in the rear, and stock in the front. dropped front i beam with a reversed spring and an 8.8 locker with 3.73s out back (already have that). probably chassis engineering rear axle kit, the low rider (or whatever its called) kit. disc brakes all the way around (already have that too). id like to run a t5 and make my own shifter lever to look like a 39 ford shifter. there will be a question about the t5 swap in the tranny question section when this post is done :3dSMILE:. of course, a fully dressed flattie under the hood!!
dont expect rapid updates on this thread because i do work 2 jobs. but, i will keep you posted. im excited about this build for 3 reasons: it was my first car, ive had it half my life, and time with 2 of my loves.
pics below!!!

bob

I like your '41 a lot. Looks very solid. I think if you kept it simple you could have it on the road pretty fast and start enjoying it as you did more to it.

Keep us posted. :)

Don

if i hook the brakes back up, fix the bendex, and adjust the clutch...it would be back on the road. but, i really want the car done at some point...and i think now is the time to start that.
now im just recollecting catalogs and info. trying to get all my ducks in a row and get the game plan set in stone. although, this is the easy part...disassembly. lotsa coffee cans and ziplock bags. probably a few beers too.

bob

Sounds like you have a good and simple plan. If it stays that way you will have that Fat Fendered Ford up and running in no time. They are my favorite cars. Keep us informed.

RS

I don't think I'd bother changing rearend housings just for disc brakes.
The stock one is strong enough for the flathead.

I like it, and like Don said if you kept it simple you could drive and enjoy it.
Wish I knew how to do that, lol

looks great. Not easy to find old cars in that good of shape. Glad you keeping it with a flattie.:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shoprat

I don't think I'd bother changing rearend housings just for disc brakes.
The stock one is strong enough for the flathead.

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i have heard mixed emotions about that rear axle. some say they are strong enough and some say otherwise. the only guy i know that drives a flathead car has been through several with a mild built flathead. along with several trannies. he now has a 9 inch and an m21. then again, hes the only guy i talk to thats still into the flatheads. everyone else that was into them havent owned one for 20+ years.

weve been getting to work on it when we could. just been stripping it down. as of sunday, im VERY close to having this body off the frame. its down to the fuel tank, body bolts and steering column. well be taking care of those next sunday. plus the little things i may have looked over. here are the updated pics!! as you can see in one pic, i have a nice slightly elivated place to keep my back-pack blower for now!

bob

last saturday we had a party at our house. it was the "body off the frame" party! everything was smooth sailing. its amazing how light that body is with 10 or so guys! the body is now at my shop on a rolling stand. i have worked on both the frame and body since then but ill post updates on that when i get pics.

bob

i found this in my old pictures. this is the car the day i saw it, july of 1995 in sydney montana. bought it that day!

bob

Very cool and solid car Bob. Looks like youre working pretty fast on it to me.
Can't wait to see some more progress pics.

Thomas

i have removed the fuel tank, rear axle and torque tube. the motor and tranny are unbolted and all thes left is the torque rods (?go from bellhousing to the front crossmember?) and the clutch linkage. that will be next weekends job. i will be leaving all the front end on until i get my t5 addapter and see what im going to have to modify. the body is at my shop and i removed the dash and under dash heater. i set my battery charger on 6v and tested out the motor, still works great!!

bob

got more work done today. pedal assemblies, battery tray, engine, tranny, all exhaust, all brake lines and steering column have been removed. i tried to pull the tranny away from the engine...no go. seems as though the input shaft is frozen to the clutch disc. i have it soaking with pb blaster right now. ill soak it through out the week and hopefully i can get it apart next weekend.

bob

its been a while since ive updated. no pics right now though. i bought a t5 out of an 87 s10 pick up. as of today, i installed all new syncro rings and have all the gears back in the tranny...minus the input shaft. monday my new seals will get here and ill put the box back together. im waiting also on the ford green paint and the addaptor. the paint was ordered from eastwood today and the addaptor will be ordered some time next week from speedway. once the addaptor is here, ill have to pull one of my flathead blocks off the shelf to mock everything up.

bob

Doing a nice job on that 41 and looks like you can call on alot of help if needed. Lookiing good.:):)

that pic of all you guys liftinrg the body really brought back memories from last year

Oh .... I like this build ..... another fat fender guy.

REGS