Hot Rods BChrismer's Survivor '40 Ford Convertible

I agree. Anyone who wants a flathead in his hot rod should be committed.

 

I can totally understand.
I will see your piston


And raise you mine


And the culprit two holes down. See the crack

 

Well, I guess I am not THAT committed to keeping a flatty in the convertible.

I've got the '58 283 in the corner of the garage that I had originally had in my coupe, but the 2.79 gears and TH350 just didn't work well. When I stuck it in the '40 stake truck, it ran pretty good, but smoked like a freight train and blew oil out like the Exxon Valdez. I sent a message to a local 283/327 guy, asking him for a good machine shop recommendation so it could be rebuilt.

Next thing I know, he offers to sell me a fairly fresh '57 283 that is currently in his '57 nomad, as he's going to put one of his old race car motors and a 700r4 in the nomad. I took a drive out to his house, insisting that I needed to hear it run. We struck a deal, and once we have a string of good weather, he's yanking it out.

I've got all the stuff I need for the swap with the exception of a 168 tooth flywheel drilled for a 10" clutch. The bolt circle diameter on those measure 11 5/8" if any of my local buddies have one lying around, but I will likely buy a new one from Summit when the time comes. On the wish list is a set of 265 exhaust manifolds. Again...any local buddies who might have those, I am definitely interested, otherwise I'll wind up using a passenger side 69-72 manifold on the driver's side to clear the steering box like I did on the stake truck.

 

I wish you an easier road than the one I'm going down with SBC swap in my 40 coupe.

If you wish, feel free to use or discard anything you find in my thread.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...verheating-the-hard-way-updated-12-4.1265297/

 

Bret, my 39 sedan had 80's 305 manifolds, they kinda look like a 265 manifold. It had a right side on the left to clear the steering box. Just another option. I'm partial to the ram horn truck manifold that kicks forward, that's what I had on the varmit.

 

Wishing you a smooth adventure installing that 283. You should be pretty happy with that combo!

 

I got a text message from Butch, letting me know that he got the 283 yanked out of his '57 Nomad and I could come pick it up. Since I have the stake truck in the storage building, I took the '05 F150 over to pick it up, which is always a pain in the butt because of the hard tonneau cover.

A last minute "how the heck am I gonna haul that pig?" solution came to me, so I threw in my MorFab front motor mount and my circular saw, and made a stop by the Home Depot for a 4x4, some bolts, and a couple of lag screws. Figured that would keep it from rolling around in the back of the truck from his house to mine, then out to Meeker's.

I dropped the motor out at Mike's on Sunday, and hopefully can get some time in the next week or so to head out and do a "Krylon rebuild". He's got some projects that he needs to get done, so we won't get on the motor swap for a few weeks or so. That also allows me time to gather up the flywheel, an Alan Grove alternator bracket, and a 10" clutch disc with the early Ford 1 3/8" 10 spline hub, and the pilot bushing.

 

I have suddenly found myself scurrying around trying to locate the few "missing pieces" for this puzzle. I picked up a Hayes dual pattern flywheel for the 283 today that will work with the Wilcap pressure plate that I had been hoarding. I figured it was worth a hour round trip to pick it up plus the $75 cash.

While having a conversation, he asked if I had any 4 speed shifters that I didn't need. When I got back home, I found the '55-57 Chevy shifter I had initially used in the beater panel truck and sent him a picture of it. He decided it was what he was looking for, so he offered me my $75 back. LOL Very worthwhile to me, as that $75 will go towards the clutch disc that the local clutch shop is gonna build for me, if they decide a 10" flathead clutch disc that they stock won't work with it. I also asked if they might have the pilot bushing that would work between the early Ford transmission and the 283, and he told me to get the ID, OD, and length, and he'd see what he can do. If not, I still have one in the back of my '58 283 that is in the corner of the garage but needs rebuilt.

I think an Alan Grove alternator mount and a set of 265 exhaust manifolds are about the only things I need to come up with beyond what I have, plus a fan belt and radiator hoses.

 

Great to hear of progress!
I'm hiding inside, the non-powered garage is hovering around 30 degrees and I am not doing that!
Please give your opinion on the mount once you bolt it up. It's what I've chosen to go with once I move along some stuff and free up funds.

 

Does Alan Grove make a mount that places the alternator over the valve cover or just the one that puts it above the intake manifold?

 

I think he makes both? Either way if you drive up to get it from him let me know and I’ll see if we can meet up

 

Last I looked they make them for just about anywhere you would want to put it.

Btw; mine is over the valve cover.

 

Because I bought my first one when I had the 283 in the coupe, I used his 200R - Alt. bracket, because it doesn't require the bolt holes in the head and it allowed for the oil filler neck. I used the same for the stake truck, when I put the '58 283 in it (before once again removing the 283).

Now that I have a '57 283 for the convertible, I will need another one.

In other news, I did a lunchtime run over to the clutch shop. They had a 10" clutch disc, but I didn't buy it because the springs wouldn't clear the flywheel bolts. I decided to run by Jim Pike's house and found a decent 10" clutch disc that will do the job.

 

Is there a downside to the low/driver's side position, if you have the side engine mounts?

 

Well, I would think the '40 crossmember would be in the way. I know that when a side mount is used, to run a mechanical fuel pump, you have to notch the top of the crossmember where the motor mount biscuit use do go.

 

Off topic, regarding the motor swap direction of the discussion, but I am needing the rear license plate light stuff, if any of you have spares lying around. My understanding is that it is the same from '40-48, and there's gotta be someone who's shaved a deck lid that has these in a box of junk they don't need.

 

Getting the convertible back on the road project has stalled hard with life getting in the way. I was hoping to have it back together before June, and as of this post on June 9, I'm no further on it as I was the last time I posted with one exception.

I finally put a jack back under the car and took the front tires off of the ramps so I could reach the windshield to clean off all of the soot that came out of the driver's side cooling hose when it blew off.



I bought the wife a new 10x14 cedar framed gazebo that I had intended to build, then tried contracting it out so I didn't have to take vacation days when it hasn't been raining, but nobody wants to try and build it in the limited space I have to work within. If it's raining on Saturday, as the forecast is calling for, I can finally run up to Meeker's to start the "Krylon rebuild" on the 283, and make plans for him to drag his trailer into town so we can load up the 'vert to take back up there.

 

We’d all be a lot further along if life would stop getting in the way lol

 

Keep at it Brett! You will get it all sorted out eventually.

 

It will all come together in due time. Keep pushing forward.

 

Sorry to hear about your run of bad luck. The 283 will be a good fit for your 40. I just swapped out the flathead in my Sedan for a 283. So far I’m impressed the 283 gives the car the HP it needs to keep up with traffic but the old Ford 3 speed keeps that old car feeling. The engine seems to fit perfectly in place of the Flatty. I documented my swap for Canadian Hot Rods magazine for a tech article.

 

I'm one of those guys that is a Chevy "hater". Long story but inherited that attitude from my Dad. However, seems to be a fact that a small block Chevy fits better in old Fords than the original flathead does!! I have owned a few Chevys and even had a SBC in a '41 Ford pickup because it was modified and came with a stuck SBC in it already so I stuck another back in.
But, I sure do love me those Flatheads!

Dave

 

A few weeks ago, we rolled the 283 into Meeker's paint booth for a rattle can rebuild. I also attempted to get some broken studs out of a set of log style exhaust manifolds, but had no success. The decision was made to order a couple of NEW late '60's C10 passenger side manifolds, so I can use one on the driver side to clear the steering box, and a matching one that will dump to the back on the passenger side. I'm going to run a set of early SBC Cal Custom finned aluminum valve covers on it.

I did talk with Mike over this past weekend. He was busy loading up his trailer with stuff for the Springfield swap meet next weekend, so we made plans to have him come down the following week so we can load up the 'vert and take it back up to his shop. I have scheduled myself for vacation days for the first week of September so we can pull the flatty out, put the 283 in, and haul it over for some twice pipes to be installed.

The goal is to have it moving under it's own power by September 6th, so I can put a few miles on it before deciding if it is going to make the trip to the St Louis Hot Rod Hundred. IF the goal is missed, the backup goal is for Midwest Forty Ford Day, and the "can't miss" target would be Gathering at the Roc.

 

One of the things I probably should have done while the car sat in the garage for the last year is a re-wire. To be honest, walking out and seeing it in the garage for the last several months had been a little depressing.

Now that I have a plan set, I will likely commence to rewiring the car. I have used a few different wiring panels in the past, but this time I am going rogue and using a cheap board from Amazon. I decided to use a larger fuse panel that has a constant and an accessory feed, both with 6 fused circuits, and this diagram that @Paul posted.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/simple-wiring-diagram.1103141/page-3#post-14275583



Depending on how quickly I work with the engine swap will determine if I do the rewiring before or after The Gathering at the Roc.

 

I used a similar auxiliary panel when I rewired my 40. Worked out pretty well.

 

so Brett, when it is in a '40 Ford do you say 'I have a two, eight, three in it' or 'I have a two eighty three in it'
or...'I just gave it an early small block chevy upgrade'.....'Corvette engine'
stay strong....

 

Yesterday, I drove the coupe across town to visit with Meeker and crew. Personally, I get overwhelmed by swap meets, but I did walk around in search of someone's 40-48 deck lid handle they decided to shave and sell, wanting to rob the license plate light out of it. I struck out, but meandered up to the Obsolete & Classic Auto Parts trailer, knowing full well that EVERYONE is out of stock on this.

I tell Curtis that I am looking for something he is more than likely out of stock for, but I'd be kicking myself if I left before checking with him. $28.00 later, I was walking away with everything pictured above in a tidy little package.

After getting home, I sat down and went through all the "small parts" on my wish list of out of stock parts, put together a little spreadsheet, and jumped in the truck hoping that they hung around for the morning before heading back to OKC. Unfortunately they had, so I put together an e-mail and sent it over to Obsolete to see what all they might have. (I tried to check their website, but all I got was a 403 error.)

Hopefully they will give me a shout tomorrow, advising me they have all the dash knobs and other junk that everyone is showing "out of stock" on, so I can purty up the dash in the 'vert. I also figured it would be the perfect time to put a stock firewall grommet, speedo/e-brake cable grommet, and a steering column seal in the car, too. I need to take the two part metal plate that goes over the column seal out of the coupe to make a template so I can make a new one out of a scrap piece of sheet metal. Apparently nobody sells those anymore.

 

You can check with this guy in Vancouver , Washington. He removed the trunk handle from the trunk lid I bought for a convertible. He bought a trailer full of 40 parts from a widow after her husband died.

https://portland.craigslist.org/clk/pts/d/vancouver-1940-ford-parts-convertible/7873099951.html

 

So last week, with the plans that if everything goes better than planned and I don't hit more unexpected obstacles than I have tried to expect already, there is a possibility that I could be driving the convertible to St Louis for the Hot Rod Hundred up there. (a year to the weekend that I blew up the original flatty)

With the thoughts of a long road trip, comes thoughts of listening to some tunes, which brings me back to the little blue tooth mini amp from a post from page 3 of this thread.

I wound up buying a 2'x4' sheet of 0.118" ABS and whipped up a couple of kick panels that fit much better than the real flimsy stuff that Ted had made before Pike bought the car.

Working from home is kinda nice, where I can sneak down into the garage during lunch. I used that time yesterday to make the kick panels, and today to mount some speakers into them.


Test fitting the driver's side kick panel

Passenger side kick panel installed with a 6" Blaupunkt BPS-E653 3-way speaker.

An outside of the car perspective, hoping they don't stick out like a sore thumb when folks are looking at the car.

Driver's side kick panel installed with the speaker in it.

After work, this evening, I'll likely meander back out to the garage, throw some temporary wire connectors on the little amp, terminate the speaker wires to it, and see if it actually works.

 

Hey, @bchrismer, someone posted a pic of your rattle can rebuild over on the "Amusing stuff..." thread: