Projects Barn Find '39 Deluxe 4-door Sedan Build

Brief intro: This is a car that my dad bought in the early to mid-60's with no motor. I aired up the tires and it was moved from the barn stall that it had sat in for the last 50 years to my garage a week and a half ago. My son, brother and I are ready to dive in! I had snagged a 59AB Flathead out of the barn a couple months ago to hopefully get a jump on this project. We have it tore down far enough to where the crank is the only thing left in the block. It's still standard bore, and the rod journals haven't been turned, so far so good.

 

Nice

 

That needs a Cadillac or Olds motor.

 

Looks solid!!!

 

Those sedan's can make cool cruisers. What are the plans?

 

Great little project….are you doing a build thread ?

 

Last inspected in '61 wow, neat car. That'll be a great cruiser with your flathead. Good luck and keep us posted

 

That car is great.

 

It really looks clean!

 

Super solid !

Ill come along for the ride

 

Nah, needs a Hemi.

 

Looks like a good solid car. Have fun with it.

 

Great story and car. I’ll be following along.

 

Cool car

 

Very cool, cant wait to see where you take the build

 

It was nice of your dad to store the car in a good place. Have fun with it, and thank your dad.

 

Thanks fellas,
We had never seen the inside of a flathead before and aren't a 100% sure this is a good motor so my son suggested going a newer V8 route. I'm sticking as long as possible with the flathead but do have some 429 and 460 to pick from and my brother a few big inch Caddy and Olds 455's that are about 20' from where this parked so that is always an option. I'll add some up-to-date pics as soon as I get time. I'm half tempted to try this on a YouTube build. I've been following a few guys that make it look easy. The only thing I've purchased some Diamondback whitewalls in case the originals didn't hold air. It's been almost 2 weeks and they're still round. I think they're gonna look sweet!

 

Looks cool! Have fun!

 

Having zero experience with the Flatheads has proved very interesting so far. This engine had also been in the barn for 50+ years in an unknown condition. It wouldn't turn over until the timing gear was removed. Further investigation revealed cylinders 5, 6 & 8 had stuck exhaust valves. I borrowed the long pry tool and K-D Tools C-clamp and managed to get all the intake valves and 1 of the exhausts out. That took way longer than I ever expected it was going to. Once I got past 50% of them I didn't feel a bit bad about breaking out the cut off tool and removing the rest.

 

I'd be tempted to get that flathead back on the road. certainly a later V8 would be doable, but it's kind of fun to stay pretty much stock.

 

I'm on the fence how far to go with the rebuild. when i finished chiseling the mud n dirt concrete out of rear corners above the oil pan and got it removed and saw this obvious plugged up mess I figured this a hot tanking, piston buying, crank turning deal. Once we tore into it the bearings all look pretty good and now if wondering if I should just clean this thing up and put it back together? The block is getting chucked into a drum to soak the nasty stuff off before I make that decision. I'm going to have to do a search on here to see what opinions there are on how to handle the valve job. It is probably going to need some seats but I'm not opposed to buying cutters and making a pilot to go into the lifter bore and trying it myself. I have to get focused that this is not my typical 400 HP stuff. End result is it's a standard bore block and the crank has yet to be turned and I'll let my engine guy tell me what it needs. All the safety wire is really cool, didn't expect that.

 

Running into huge delay with finding a machine shop that isn't booked in my western PA, eastern OH area. The guy I've used numerous times is 100 engines in the hole and I've called 3 others that are behind about the same period of time. Of course, the # of people ahead of me is revelant to help and it seems they all are shorthanded badly. I got a couple more reputable people's names last night that I will try today. I honestly think I need a hot tank, maybe thermal clean, and 2 valve seats. I've had it in the back of the truck since Sunday evening hoping I can haul it someplace.

 

Back on track, dropping the block off to get cleaned on Tuesday! That'll be a such a relief once it's dropped off.
I decided to replace the single reservoir with a dual master cylinder and wanted to keep it simple. I went with a Dorman M64885. It's a GM manual drum brake application and both lines are 1/4". My brother made an adapter out of a couple scrap pieces of 3/8" plate to combine the new 2 bolt master cylinder to the original 3 bolt bracket.

 

In the Philly area I believe is Schwalms(sp?), they deal in Flatheads and are highly regarded in the Model A world. If everything looks good I would just rering and bearing the engine a get going down the road. You may get away with less $ in a modern engine but the cool factor is just not there. Plus you have to do alot of rigging and adaptors.

Just my 2 cents worth,

Mike

 

I'm waste deep into the brakes and hopefully will have them functioning by the time the weekend's over. The original pushrod was too short once the adapter was put in there so I fabbed up one out of a 3/8"-24 coupling nut and 5" long grade 8 bolt cut down. I did have to whittle down the middle.

 

Next dilemma, I'm not painting anything on this project and I'm definitely not going to be able to just leave the new pieces looking so outta place under there so I started Googling how to rust up some metal. I mixed up some Hydrogen Peroxide, vinegar and salt in a trigger sprayer and started spritzing. I traded the new master cylinder lid for and old crusty one. I was very happy how it all turned out this far.

 

You've got to be kidding me.

Do you plan on parking with mirrors under your car?

Things will look old soon enough all by themselves.

 

I paint every piece I handle. The idea is to preserve. no rat rod crap here

 

Pretty obvious this ain't your first rodeo! As far as flatheads go you might be surprised how well they go down the road when you get yours going. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

Nope, no mirrors, I just have a problem. I constantly do "well, since I'm here..." stuff and stretch projects out much further than necessary. Usually restoring and painting every part is what gets me. I'm well aware that between my job, work around the house and other cars I want to do there is no prayer of this being finished or other projects ever getting under way anytime soon if I start the body work & painting process. I have a REAL problem in that area. This car has been very well preserved for the last 60 years and still won't see any elements once it's roadworthy. My opinion is if all of the original metal was still there after 84 years, the few things I made a little rusty won't hurt a thing. This rodeo definitely is a first in this arena. I've done a fair amount of work on late 60's cars but a first attempt at a whole lot of stuff, huge difference in technology when you go back 30 years, and I'm definitely looking forward to it!