Projects Whats new with the 41 convertible...not quite a custom but maybe a little closer???

I have looked around the shop at all the goodies I have for the 41 and thought some of you may like to see whats in store for the ol girl. I have had the car off the road with a toasted throw out bearing. It has made noise since I got it on the road after it's long slumber...I think I now know why it was parked. I pulled the tranny in mid July with plans on installing a new throw out bearing and a rebuilt tranny I had collected for it. After removing the tranny, I soon realized that it had a later 49-53 flywheel and clutch, the the throw out bearing was not hitting the fingers int he right area...it was just grinding the hell out of it- hence the noise.

Well, now the pan had to come off to get the flywheel out. I closed the hood and figured if I was doing that, I'd just wait and go through the engine as she is a greasy, stinky, oil burning pig anyways!









Meanwhile, I have been collecting parts and slowly working on having stuff plated for it. I am aiming for a 1949ish build- nothing fancy, nothing groundbreaking. I found a set of NOS foxcraft skirts for it...I have wanted a set since I have owned the car!!!










The garnish moldings in the car were once plated but rusty. A friend of mine is good pals with an out of town plater and said he could hook me up. I sent some stuff over and just got it back...man it looks GOOD!!! Now I need to work on redoing the entire interior- any volunteers??








Finally, I went to the Albany, OR swap meet last weekend. Like an idiot, I get on Craigslist for that area before we went down and I find this nice fresh 1941 Engine. It has Wieand heads, new water pumps, rebuild distributor, new clutch, chrome plated fan and oil filter...and looks pretty dang clean inside. It was a decent buy so I picked that up for the car. I am gonna pull the heads off for the engine I am putting together for my 33, and keep this engine pretty stock. Think red with the plated fan, filter, air cleaner, acorn nuts...pretty much what a run of the mill MILD custom would have.

It has a raised area under the intake, I think that means it's Mercury...anyone have any info on that?












So thats it as of right now. I wanna get the interior done, all new seals, lower the whole car around 1" all around, etc. I'll get a little thread going if anyone is interested.

 

Foxcrafts look great on the car Chris! A bit of black laquer and you'll be good to go!

Gotta love fresh brightwork...I know an upholsterer..ha ha.

 

Getter fixed Chris! Im diggin the skirts and shiny stuff!

 

I love it. Now I'm itching to get started on my 48 rag top.

 

awesome, i've wanted a '41 -'48 ford rag op ever since i was a little kid watchin back to the future. i'll take the pre-manure version tho

 

Engine is a one year only 1941 I believe, I have one in my roadster.

 

I'm digging it,spot lights, skirts, nice and simple.

 

Looks awesome!! Any plans on lowering it?

 

Good plans.

 

Looks like shit.

 

Errrr, I mean THE SHIT!

I say you run the Edelbrocks you have on your 33. If you look at some of the famous restored customs they often did have a little pep in their step. Edmunds stuff would be rad here....

None the less, I like a stock looking flathead too.

 

When you get the heads off the flatty, try to measure the thickness of the cylinder walls. If reallythick, it may be one of the famed "99" blocks. There may also be a faint 99 stamped on the cast surface of the top deck, just outside the locating pin near that front inner vent tube.

 

I lowered it already, about 1.5" up front and 2.5" in the back...I wanna lower it a tad more.

 

I don't have any heads for the 33, I was just gonna run stockers. I wouldn't mind souping it up a little, but this engine is bone stock so heads and dual carbs would help...but not a ton. And I would rather spend the money it would take to buy that shit on an interior at this point. Not every old Ford had a souped up mill under the hood.

 

What is so "famed" about a 99 block?

 

Yeah from this view i can see it! Killer. 41 Ford is my favorite car ever.

 

Aren't they the high nickel blocks used for racing? The 99 Blocks are the best starting point for a race engine.

 

Drive it over to NC, I'll have Davina stitch up an interior for ya!

 

Super neat car! Looking forward to seeing the custom touches you're gonna add! ...the 99 before the number means mercury

 

The 1939-41 era Mercury blocks with the 99 stamped on them (and some weren't stamped) have thicker cylinder walls. Lots of meat for boring to the max. I've never heard it said they have higher nickel content though. They are rather sought after.

 

Man, I'd love too! It needs an interior BAD! That's next on the list for the ol tub.

 

Your rag-top is one of the few convertibles that's made me fall back in love with them all over again.. Can't wait to see what becomes of this one.

 

Lookin' good, but I wouldn't expect any less.

 

That picture against the turquoise warehouse wall is beautiful!

How do you plan to do the interior? Any "inspiration" pics?


Ed

 

I may end up going stock interior wise- I LOVE the large flat seats with the stitching down the center and up-and-over the sides. I could order a Lebaron Bonney kit and be done with it.

Something like this: dark red, black dash, etc.

 

If anything. a good old fashion tuck-n-roll would do me fine as well. Maroon and white- but time (and budget) will tell

 

Car looks great and will look even better with everything else.I love this car and love the plans for it.

 

Thanks Jeff, that means a lot! Nothing fancy here, I just picture a rich College kid or something that bought a car in the late 40's, lowered it, plated some stuff, added caps, spots, etc. Nothing super mechanical or requiring a lot of skill, but something the guy would have taken pride in as he tried to mimic the cars he saw cruising downtown or on the pages of those new magazines he's seen at the paper stand.

 

Looks really sharp with the skirts. Tasteful.

 

Looks great chris and love the thoughts in the build. The factory interior is really classy. I would go that route personally