To chop, or not to chop

I think no on the chop... every T that you see is chopped so go against the grain... leave it stock with a flaked roof

 

Yeah it is a model t tudor chopped down to like a 5 window almost I'm not sure what you'd call it. I didn't do the work though I bought it that way. and there is a whole lot to fix

 

This car will be kind of a traditional hot rod. It's getting a 460 C6 combo, with and old '51 ford F3 rear end with 30 13.50 15 MT et streets. The name of it when it's done is gonna be "FAR BEYOND DRIVEN" Satin black with blue frame and suspension parts and some blue airbrushed murals on the sides and rear, and eventually I will retrofit somekind of a truck bed behind it. The frame is a 2x3 with like an 8" kickup in the rear

That's about all my plans so far. I will take any other suggestions or ideas from anybody that's got em though.

 

Oh yeah and it's getting a suicide dropped and drilled front axle from a model A

 

Like this one?

 

Yeah something like that except a yellow hot rod is something I have nightmares about regularly

 

Yeah, but channeled and unchopped is more East Coast.

To me, a 460 and blue airbrushed murals over satin black do not equal traditional hot rod. Shiny black with candy blue suspension and frame with blue plexi windows and chrome reverse rims and powered by an early, mechanically injected SBF is more traditional.

 

That's why I said kind of traditional. Small block is cool and all but I wanna build something that will turn heads at the strip as well as on the street. I am also building this car on a budget and this will be my first paint job and I think I will have the best luck with a flat or satin finish.

My goal isn't to build a traditional hot rod it is to build my hot rod.

 

I've always wanted to chop the rest of the roof more than the windshield frame to make it look more even.

 

Chop it. That'll be 2 cents please.

 

Then don't even use the word traditional.
Small blocks can turn more heads than you can imagine at the strip.
First paint job? Don't be a pansy. All the greats in the Hot Rod world always had their first, so just go for it. If it's worth doing, do it right. Don't compromise.

 

Tall T's are awsome..and why do what everyone else is doing...Keep it tall and wicked..
its your car, but cramped and short is not something that appeals to me..
do what you want.

 

Chop that sommebitch.

 

To menacekustoms

maybe a small block and shiny black to you is the right way but to me big block and satin black is what I see as right.

I agree, the fastest car I've driven was a small block ford, but bang for my buck I'm goin with a bbf. I'm not trying to be a hot rod great on my first full build and especially with less than 10k for the whole project. Thanks for the advice though it is usually my philosophy as well, but I am only compromising with the looks.

 

Originally I wanted to chop the living hell out of it, but I think I will try and see how it looks w/o the chop for now, and when i get the chassis done and the body on and see how it looks and go from there

 

Here's one we are starting on, 10" chop and all:

 

Think twice about the 460. Not just because its big. It's realllly long. Too long. Hard to make a T look right with.( kinda ugly too) You could build a (dare I say it) SBC that will look way traditional and still have balls enough to light the fuck outta that T. Probably for not alot of dough either. And it will fit well. Check out Littleman's A pickup.

 

I would never put a SBC in a ford or anything else for that matter except a chevy. Call me crazy but I think a ford deserves a ford motor. although I might be inclined to put a ford motor in a chevy Just to see peoples reactions

 

Are you taking all 10 inches out of the windshield as well?

 

Good for you! Have fun with the build..............have you given any thought to an injected Buick Nailhead?

 

I've gone over every motor I've ever heard of or seen pictures of. I was thinking of putting a diesel engine and running bio fuel through the thing. But I've already got the mock-up block and everything, so I'm gonna stick with the 460 for now and if it looks funny then I'll think about changing it

 

Think of it as a Hot Rod, not a ford. Am I ruining my model A by putting a 1955 Hemi in it? No, I'm not.

I had a Model A pickup with a 429 in it. I was the ugliest thing in the world simply because you cant get a radiator in front of it (and cause they don't make any cool intakes or valve covers). They dont make short water pumps for them. Your grille will be towards the front of the wheels, unless you extend the wheelbase so far that it works, which still looks weird. I'm just speaking from experience.

 

I'm thinking no chop. It will add to the freak value.

 

Do you have pics of that car? I'd like to see them. Maybe that's why I haven't seen one with a 460. It is a suicide front axle so its extended a good bit

 

I think I burned them all

Seriously, I have some at home I'll post them here tonight. I Tore the body off and now it's being built with a proper frame and early Caddy power.

 

I found one pic. I dont have a side profile, but if I did you'd see a very unsightly quagmire of a front end. The axle was off a 60's f100. The radiator had to be in the bed cause there was no room in front. It was just a mess. I saved the body. Gave the Seat to MR. FORD. Sold the engine to a bracket racer. And sold or gave away everything else. It will be a sweet little truck for my girlfriend when I'm done.

 

chop it , drop it as low as your neck will take

 

Listen to Dreddy........and dont run the MT prostreet tires, instead use some Hurst cheaters or MT/Radir slicks.

 

You know, use what you've got. Yes, wheelbase will be a little long, but you could always push back the firewall to make up the difference. Sighting Littlemans' cars again, look at "Deaths Doorstep." The wheelbase if fine, and he has plenty of room in the car. I don't know how tall you are, but even just 3 or 4 inches might help. The 429/460 is long, but so is the 472 that's in our own "Stripped For Action" '27 T Roadster. It's spring over, not suicide, but with a suicide, you could build it so the front spring perch is under the crank pulley and get away with it. Especially if you went with a bit of a cartoon look (not trying to be funny) like we did with Tangerine Scream. The frame is 3 degrees overbent just ahead of the firewall to give it that "engine so huge it bent the frame" look like a lot of the cartoon cars were back in the sixties and early seventies. We're using one on the tall T I posted a picture of, "Maximum Evil," and it's on top of a 425 Olds Rocket, which came out in 1965. The guy that owns it is in the same boat you're in. First car, not a lot of cash, but wants it to be wicked fast and (as the name says) the "Maximum Evil" look a car can have.

As for cool manifolds, what's wrong with a good old tunnel ram. There were in use by '64 or so, and plenty of guys use them. It's your first car, have fun with it.

 

Tall T's ROCK.

Bill