So my buddy Matt saw this on a local auction and won it for $900. He sent me some pics of it. He is not a hot rodder at all but I think he wants to become one. I think the body is an old gratiot auto supply body ( Detroit area speed shop that is long gone!) and it looks to me like a 48-52 F-1 pickup was the donor vehicle. The suspension and chassis definitely has some "wow" issues that need to be addressed. Hopefully he will become a Hamb member and start a resurrection of this old neglected girl.
Save the body, engine and trans, give the rest to the metal scrapper and start a fresh chassis, it will save a lot headaches and frustration for a first time builder.
Wow, that's some scary looking suspension, listen to what Pocket Nick said. Save your friend some chance of hurting himself or someone else! KK
Wow! It is a T bucket, but looks like something put together by a couple high schoolers with no money. ( I'm thinking of my past), looks fun and has blinkers. Cool buy.
If that license plate proves that car was registered and on the road in '71 then to me it falls into the category of a vintage hot rod build...some people dislike fibreglass bodies but that one had to made in the late '60's at least so your buddy is in the right place. I could see some reconstruction needing to be done but I personally wouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water....definitely ditch the coils and use a T or A spring out back, build a kick up with a T crossmember up into the turtle deck, find some orig fenders '70's style or delete them altogether, up front move that spring behind that axle, maybe a tube crossmember and definitely all new wishbones with heims, and shock mounts.....oh and that pitman arm! LOL! also figure out whether that drive shaft is the truck driveshaft (with or without carrier bearing) because there is only a slip joint in the driveshaft for the '46-'52 F1 driveline no slip yolk if you run a 1 pce shaft you'll blow the trans or rear.....otherwise my T is the same(except steel body) everything off an F1
Some horrifying engineering to be sure, but a really cool collection of pieces there and a fantastic price, I would have brought that home from an auction for $900 too, for sure. I would think a new chassis would be in order, but the body is cool, as is the engine and trans, hopefully it has the F-1 steering box, crossmember, and brakes all around, all of which would be great items to reuse on a new chassis, and if those wild reversed wheels are straight and true, I'd totally reuse those as well. Rear axle too. New T chassis are cheap, and once you have that, all those other pieces could fall right into place. I wouldn't even repaint it, just clean up what's there and run it. I wonder what those swing pedals are from? Those look neat, too. Looks like they made the original F-1 pedal pads into step plates on the sides, bolted onto inch square tube outriggers! Neat score.
That license plate is legit. It was built in the early 60's. Did not notice the step pads but you are right, those are the brake/clutch peddle pads from the donor!! Lol. Starting to look closer at this thing.
I wonder if those are old Ansen or Moon aftermarket pedals? Those are neat too. The more I look at this, the more cool I see in it. I think even if it was rebuilt on a new frame with proper suspension geometry and engineering, if you reused all of the good pieces on it, it'd still be mostly a survivor, or at the very least, a car with some history. Seems worthwhile. Is the engine froze up?
The Art of Hotrod takes many twists and turns. If this was art it would be a Jackson Pollock. Perhaps it was a re purposed older project. Time to finish connecting the dots and that opens up many possibilities. Thanks for sharing.
8RT...maybe it's got a 4" crank! love the school bus seat. An F-1 was most definitely the donor. Squawblow nailed it. All the F-1 mechanicals could be reused. I'd imagine the little dana axle was the same as my old 49 F-1's was...4.27 ratio. Frame and fenders need to go in the iron pile with most of the suspension.
that's been on craiglist for a while. The photos there had the interior almost completely filled with leaves. Looks like fun, but also a lot of work.
That thing is GREAT for $900! I'd encourage your buddy to document every detail of how it's put together, particularly any REALLY SCARY or broken parts, for posterity. That said, I'm in agreement that the best thing to do is transplant the good bits to a fresh chassis and suspension. Maybe use the old chassis as a doodlebug foundation later.
Make magic happen... Don't throw any of it's unused parts away, you never know when Ripley's may come knockin'
I like it in a general overview.....but I'd definitely get rid of that chassis...I had to take a double look at that setup, just because of the fascination of it all The engine, tranny and body combined are worth more that the $900 paid for it. Sure is an interesting little setup....the potential is there... pick and choose what is worth saving, and then the fun begins in a proper & SAFE resurrection! (I like the little 'foot pedal' for a step below the door)
After scraping my eyebrows off the ceiling (repeatedly), I think that the price was right, but only if there was a legit title in the mix. And, I must say, the presence of a licence plate does NOT mean it was ever driven for long., if at all. The first ride 'round the block may have caused the fatal heart attack that lead to the sale (some conjecture here). Cosmo
I think he did good at 900. Like others have said the body, engine and trans is worth more than that where I come from. I told him that I started a thread on it so hopefully he will join up.
Well I for one would be thrilled to take that home for $900! Cool old hotrod. Unfortunately, everyone is probably right about the chassis. The rest of it is a he'll of a find for the money though! Sent from my SM-G920V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Plenty to work with there, plenty of work to do though. I'd use as much as possible, don't paint any of it, just wash it.
Well that old heap is a total pile. But what old heap isn't right? I like it, it has potential. like as has been said save the pieces that are good, DO NOT get attached to the pieces that are not and build a sweet little T bucket. What's the brand on the tach ( or speedo) do ya know?
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