Yeah... I'm confident it's a Dana 41 and the gear ratio seems to be a specific 48-49 Jeep item... can't think of a reason he'd switch to the Dodge brakes when the Jeep brakes match the front's bolt pattern, but they are definitely Dodge (39-42 car). I'm assuming they did not just bolt straight on & required some machine work so it seems like an odd choice.
Yeah, it's definitely a 41......agree there was something as to why it was done that way. Had a Willys Overland L6 226 pickup with the same 41-4:88 rear end in it.....in low/low that thing could pull an oak tree out by the roots with no hesitation.
I always advocate for leaving things 100% as is on these "original" hot rods but in this case I don't think anyone would fault you for "repairing" the damage done when the owner tried to change over to parallel leafs...seems like he was experimenting after the rear got ripped out and it wasnt the "as raced" set up anyway... a stock spring and crossmember along with a tasteful 4 link (perhaps made with Ford bones) or a pair of split bones (drilled through at multiple points and stuffed with steel rod then welded solid) with a 3rd one going from crossmember to top of the pumpkin to prevent wrap up would be traditional and solid...find some Jeep or Ford brakes and keep the cool rear axle but swap in some more street friendly gears....reinstall them when you go racing!
I think he did run this parallel setup and probably for quite a while... I think it's cool, definitely different. It looks strong and well thought out. We'll see how it behaves on the street once the car is on its own power before I start thinking about re-engineering it.
Sure hope you are taking lots of detail pics as you go. Considering a new house, the truck project and the T/A on the back burner, plus daily driver and life, this may not go back together in months, but years. All those little details to follow are crucial to repair, refinish and reassembly. If this is offering opinions, I'd leave the rear suspension and gearing, at least for the first drive. Experience the car as it was and that back end doesn't need to be homogenized unless it's not safe. Probably a good idea to reapply the conditioner for a few days. Make sure it is water based, not alcohol.
I forgot we worked the tuff stuff in after letting it foam up with a soft nylon drill brush too which is sold in the same section for like 11 bucks.
Some guys add metal to the frames of their race cars for added strength. Sid took a different approach. I'm gonna have to fix a few things and I feel like I really ought to reinforce the frame around the steering box if I'm gonna drive this thing regularly. No way that doesn't twist in turns.
Cross steer with no pan hard on a scalloped in boxed frsme I promise it flexes. Honestly Might even flex with no motor in it turning the wheel in the garage
Man, that profile is right on! I'm just trying to figure out one of these is stored in a barn nearby so I can have one too.
Been following along as well (so that adds Bowen Island, BC to the list). Am I the only one dieing to find out if there's a race bred Ardun sitting in a warehouse?
We'll see where it sits after I drop a motor in it... looking forward to getting pics of it in its heyday from Guy too. I don't know if I want to exaggerate the gasser stance too much with a 95 horsepower flathead up front... As it turns out, Sid was the owner of a pattern shop, aptly named Sid's Pattern Shop, right next door to the Lockheed Martin facility my boss worked at. Fort Worth used to be a small town! They never met, but he recalls seeing the pattern shop every day. I have struck a deal with the boss to keep the car at work so we can get it done quicker... over the next few days we will be finishing up the biohazard cleanup and getting to work on painting the frame/undercarriage components. Being able to use the two-post lift will greatly speed this process. I want to get the car stabilized ASAP because it has not been outside for a long time and I'm already seeing fresh rust forming.
I am not from Texas, But based on some old personal conversations with Don "Chicken coop" Cook years ago I would look for pics from the old Caddo Mills Airstrip. I think it was a very popular place where guys from north texas raced. Very cool find man!
What a score! What a save! What a find! So stoked for you and the car too. Will be watching this thread for sure. I have a 50s built chopped n channeled 32 five window that I am redoing right now also. I will get a thread going soon. Cheers eh! -Shiny
So stoked for you, Trevor!!! My feeling is you are receiving some good fortune on this build to off set some of the misery you went through in your first build. Hot rod karma if you will!
Drop a link in here if you remember! I wanna see that. No misery! It was a crash course in a lot of things. When I started that journey I had never worked on a car before and now I am a career mechanic managing a rapidly growing shop. I owe a lot to that first project, to Robin and to the forum that helped focus that new interest, and now I'm much better equipped to do this one justice. I'll loop around to #1 some day... that car deserves to get finished too. Thank you brother!
You have 2 different patterns, those work, they are 60s, and they are easy to swap. So long as you still hold onto a set of steelies like it had, I see no harm.
Funny thing about this statement is that it just isn't so. As it sits right now, This is Sids car! Trevor is just the new Caretaker of it. Art will always belong to the artist no matter who is the caretaker of it. In its current form Sid is the Artist. The only way this will be Trevor's car is if he changes it a bunch. Which would be a crime in my opinion as you just do not find them like this anymore. Those slot mags in the pic above are more of a late 60's early 70's thing and do not fit the era of that car in my opinion. Magnesium ET's or Halibrand would look great however there are alot of more budget friendly wheels that would fit the bill as well. I would look for a set of Astro chrome Steel slotted Wheels Or some old Americans. Either way whatever wheels you put on there It is almost a crime to Not put Pie crust Cheaters on it with narrow bias plys up front. Just my opinion anyhow.
I most certainly could have offered my opinion, and it would have followed along the same lines as have been stated by others. But I still stand by my statement that, "It's your car". Tim
Even if it gets changed significantly it's still a vintage rod that was left for dead that is getting saved. And had the original builder still been around and continued to drive it it would have likely been drastically changed over the years..... including being swapped to 70s style wheels. So regardless of whether it's turned into a museum quality frozen in time resto or chopped up into a road terror I'd say the car was done proper
Even the Astros aren't cheap, although they aren't Halibrand money. 3 bills a corner. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/new-astro-howard-style-chrome-slot-wheels.970413/
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