From the Pacific NW

Hello,

I have inherited my dad's 1936 Ford PU. Well, the frame is the only part that is 1936. It is essentially a 1934 extended cab. He channeled the frame 4" and decided he needed more leg room, so chopped off the back of the cab, and extended it 12". Has a 1972 Duster torsion bar front end and Ford 9" traction lok. I am 38 years old now and can remember working on this back when i was 8 years old. He built this his way from the frame up. The only thing he did not do was the paint job (which he got screwed on) and the upholstry (which turned out great). Unfortunately, he got into an accident with it 5 years ago where he rear ended another vehicle. The bumper was too low and the radiator/engine took the brunt. He got it running, but not done before Alzheimers set in. I now have it and am working to get it back on the road. Any leads on a 33/34 PU/comm'l grill? Isee one in the f/s section and am following up. I really do not want to use a '32 grill, but may be forced to given the price I have been seeing for 33/34 grills. Although, I did see someone is now doing a glass 34 grill.

More immediate is the need to change the tranny linkage to a cable as the accident seems to have 'tweaked' the shifter rod, and I can remember it took forever for dad to get that thing to shift right using the Taurus column shift.

I will be seeking many answers in the coming months/years. Hope y'all are patient with me......

David**)

Welcome to the forum, David. It is really nice when a Son picks up on an old car Dad owned and is redoing it.........just the fact that the car has a history and sentimental value makes it great.

The very first thing I would do is make sure of the exact extent of damage done in that wreck. Accidents tweak things in strange ways. If the car took that kind of hit there is probably hidden damage to components you haven't considered. You will want to take very careful measurments and triangulate the frame in every direction to make sure it is square and level. You will want to pay close attention to the front axle and suspension as well as all of the mounting points. If it hit hard enough to bend the shift linkage, things moved around. If you do not feel comfortable doing that phase, take the frame and running gear to a body shop that has an alignment rack so it can be pulled back into shape. Don't trust your eyeballs to tell you it is ok.

Second, you will want to make sure the construction is done well. I'm sure your Dad did a good job, but things have changed a whole lot since the time he built the car. We now build them safer, better, and with stronger brackets and components. Shoot us some pictures of every angle of the suspension , frame, and engine mounting so we can see what you have to start with. We did some rather marginal work in the early days of rodding, even 30 years ago, so you will want to bring the car to 2006 hot rod standards.

As for the grille, good luck. Every grille has gotten expensive, even stupid tractor grilles because the rat rod guys are eating them up. The one you are looking for is exceptionally pricey, from what I have seen on Ebay. Being up there in Washington, you may have an easier time, as I see a lot of tin coming out of there when I surf Ebay.

Good luck, and post those pictures for us.


Don

Welcome!! You will quicly learn that there is a huge wealth on knowledge here and they are always patient with you.

I`d say you`d better hit that Portland swapmeet next spring, good chance
you`ll find one

Yea - I probably will hit the Portland meet. Haven't been there for quite a while. Does it still encompass the racetrack as well as the Expo grounds?

David

to hell with safe LOL "good god i went 180 in this thing!? i guess that proves when your young your fearless huh?" quoted from "tv" tommy ivo on his twin engine buick :D

I havent made it down there to the meet yet David,one year i hope