Be aware that the use of the 34 firewall will probably screw up the engine location. A 34 has a longer frame in front of the firewall. You’d have less room and might not be able to bolt in that V8 like Henry intended. Also be aware that the use of a 32 firewall will make the 32 purists (yes I’m one) turn up their nose. You are basically devaluing the 32 cab.
A flathead V8 is a tight fit with a stock 32 firewall. No idea how you'd fit that in with a 34 firewall, plus I agree about keeping a 32 a 32. They are so simple to build a traditional hot rod using factory parts. Why mess that up.
Gotcha. Thanks for the varying info & opinions! I think that based on the fact that I HAVE a '32 firewall I'll probably stick with it. Is there a 'standard recipe' for lowering a '32 with full fenders? As I type this I realize that engine weight, what body panels are being used, and overall tire size are going to influence how far a guy can drop something without it hitting..... But I guess I'm wondering if there's something like "take out the 3rd and 7th leaf up front, and the 4th and 6th leaf out back and see how it looks. Adjust to fit after that"
Like I said above, come to the middle of Iowa and I can show you exactly what you need. Would take a whole book to teach all the secrets, and my finger would get tired typing all that out. I did all the hot rodding on my sedan with only drilling 13 holes, and a slight trimming of the front crossmember.
I'm a bit taller than you at 6'4" and about the same weight, I gained a good bit of room by removing the gas tank under the seat and mounting a passenger car gas tank out back, I then made a short riser to replace the tank and used a thin but dense foam to make the seat, keep the back of the seat thin and you will be a bit more comfortable. HRP
Not really, with my posterior being lowered about 6" kept my head from banging on the roof and actually made me more comfortable, with tall people the legs need every bit of room you can get. The new seat I made with plywood and dense foam I was able to move back a few inches also.
I only have a 32" inseam, so my legs are probably on par with 1930's men. My height is all in my torso. So cutting a bit out of the seat bottom will probably be all I need to get 'comfortable' in the truck. I was sitting in it making motor noises this weekend and I can't really see out of the windshield. At least not very far. But I can see the panel above the windshield!
I chose to make a new floor with steel adding a slight hum for the transmission and welding the riser to the new floor, I used the inside of the riser to install the heat/air unit and the wiring.
[QUOTE="Be aware that the use of the 34 firewall will probably screw up the engine location. A 34 has a longer frame in front of the firewall. You’d have less room and might not be able to bolt in that V8 like Henry intended. Also be aware that the use of a 32 firewall will make the 32 purists (yes I’m one) turn up their nose. You are basically devaluing the 32 cab.[/QUOTE] To my knowledge, the 32 and 33-34 cabs are located at the same location on the frame and both the 32 and 33-34 frames are exactly the same length. A flathead will fit in just fine with no needed adjustments with a later firewall. We are hotrodders not purists. The most important aspect of changing the firewall is having a tall guy fit comfortably. Now changing a firewall on a completed stock truck is a different thought.
Or you could find a '32 firewall that someone in the distant past cut it up and destroyed it in the eyes of most '32 purist like I did, then modify it to suit your needs. Repaired and painted it looked great modified to fit the sbc engine. My pickup came with a perfect original firewall and I saved it and stuck it up in the attic of my shop, if I ever need a nice firewall for a future project I will have it. HRP
Just a thought on wheels n tires. These are 16" 35 ford straight spoke wire wheels, like what you have plenty of. I got the Lyons caps from Justin Baas in california, just add v8 center caps and beauty rings. The tires are 5:50-16 and 7:00-16 firestones. A bit different, using available stuff. Justins instagram for the caps is @earlyspeedco
Here are some tips on how I lowered my 32 Fordor sedan https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/tech-dropping-a-deuce.733180/
Ok, so here's what I'm getting from your thread Neal: Front: "That's a stock front crossmember, a 2-1/2" Mor-Drop 33-36 axle, 7 leaves in a reverse eye spring and 32 spindles (which lower the car about 1/2" more than 37-48 spindles) and 5.50-16's." Rear: "That's a stock rear crossmember, a 9 leaf reverse eye spring, 2-1/2" 41 Ford shackles and a 7.50-16" I'm about 99.99999999% sure my truck is on 5.50-16's right now, that checks out with your front tire size. So to achieve you're stance I'll want to reverse my spring eyes (I read a thread somewhere here on how to do that.....) and pull a few leaves out. I'll count up what I have front and rear tonight. Final question is what's the relative drop between a stock '32 axle and a stock '33-36 axle? Or, how far do I need to drop my '32 axle to match your 2.5" dropped Mor-drop? And what's the eye-to-eye distance of those '41 shackles? By the way, that's a great looking car!
from farther down in your thread I see the answer to at least one of my questions: ↑ What is the advantage of using '41 rear shackles? They are 2-1/2" center to center, rather than the stock 2", so they lower the car another 1/2"...plus the added length makes it easier to install a reverse eye spring.
This here is the thread I had found on reversing the eyes: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/re-tech-reversing-a-main-leaf-spring-eyes.225377/ What is this 'pocket chalk' the OP speaks of? He seems very adamant that I want to use it!
32 and 33-36 axles are the same drop, just look different in that the 32 axles have a heavier cross section, but otherwise interchangeable. My old 32 pickup was lowered in the same manner, but with an old dropped 32 axle and I relocated the gas tank into a tool box in the bed And built a lowered seat riser and used some 33-34 pickup cushions I found I'm 6'2" and needed to sit lower to see out, but that did kick my legs up into the steering wheel. My 5w and Fordpr fit me much better because I was able to move the seat way back to gain leg room.
what would be the disadvantage of getting 'all' your rear drop from extended shackles? For example a 5" eye-to-eye shackle, vs. 2" eye-to-eye would the rear axle wag around, since the rear spring is sorta what's centering it in the frame? The angle of the shackle would have less change throughout the normal jounce cycle.
Great start! As you have seen, the hive mind here is going to be able to help you on each step, but you need to devise which direction you are going first. I'd suggest cleaning and ID'ing what you've got first. The book will help guide you as far as the typical parts used and what works together. Decide which way you want to go and set aside stuff that doesn't fit your vision. Clean, correctly ID'ed parts will be trading stock for what you don't have. In that vein, I'd continue to try to get the banger (the current 4 cylinder flathead) back to running condition. It's worth a bit more that way, and you get the 'zen' of working on old stuff, valuable knowledge that can guide you in disassembly, reconditioning and swapping other stuff.
Turns out I hadn't hit "GO" on my book order. I thought it was supposed to show up Saturday and was wondering where it was. Still in my cart! Anyhow, I did actually get it ordered on Saturday and it'll be here tonight they say. I'm excited to get reading it. My current strategy on that Banger is that I have the pots swimming in ATF. I have been tunking them with a block of 2x4 and a hammer every day or two. I might need to mix a little something into the ATF to help it creep better though. Should I also pull the valve cover off the side and release the valves somehow?
As far as reviving the banger, you can do the youtube shtick, check the oil, hook up a jumper and crank away which is the least work and fastest, but most likely to break something, to pulling the side cover and pan, clean, get things moving by hand, then apply power to the yank it out and send the whole thing out for a pro rebuild. Most fall somewhere in the middle, depending on tools, time, knowledge and budget VS running value. A banger isn't big bucks, a one-of-a-kind Bugatti is. Do what you can to ease it back to life. Understand that it may have been parked due to a rod knock or broken rings.
Yeah, hooking up jumper cables and praying for the best isn't happening on this motor (although I have successfully done it on others in the past). At very BEST once I get things moving I'm going to have to take it apart and run a hone through the bores. But I can't even get it to budge yet.... I thought I had read somewhere that sometimes these motors will have some issues in the timing chain or valve train that'll lock them up, so then you're fighting not only the rings glued to the bores, but also the valvetrain? Here's how she's sitting right now......soaking away!
You might as well pull the carb while you are waiting and check/clean it too. Keeps you from rushing the engine! Paul Shinn has a youtube channel dedicated to Model As. It will help with your banger, although there are differences between the 32 and the As. There are others too.
Good thought. I have a (motorcycle) carb in the crab-pot that needs to come out tonight. I'll get that pulled out and get this one put in! I also thought I'd start going through the Strombergs one by one.
It should be easy to remove the timing gear cover and then remove the timing gear from the cam. That would probably help when trying to rotate the engine. Charlie Stephens
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