Last month, June, I finally bought my dream car! It's a '31 Ford 5 window. Came with some spares. The body is in fairly good shape. The frame, not so much. I'm happy to have bought a good start to a traditional rod. I bought it from a fellow HAMB member in Pompano Beach. My plan is to build a early 50's traditional. 4" chop, etc. Plan on running a Cadillac 365/390 backed up to a 5 speed or a 4 speed with a 9" rear. Like to lower the car drastically and run a drop and drilled front end. It'll be a while before I start. I need to buy a welder and level the body prior to any rust repairs. I'm still in shock I own this car!
Great start to a hot rod. Get them tools bought and get going, enjoy and let us follow when you get to building!
Got a 390 this weekend from a '61 Cadillac. Motor is a mess and it's stuck. At least the bottom end was clean enough and the bores felt ok. Lot of sludge though. I'll have to fill the cylinders with ATF and Acetone. Looks like someone didn't believe in oil changes! I plan on using Offenhauser valve covers and tri power intake along with a Isky cam and possibly headers. One heavy engine dry for sure.
Went to the turkey run and bought some stuff for the A! Got a good solid frame, a stainless steel gauge panel and tear drop Ford lights as well.
Bought some neat tail lights off a member here for my A. Too cool to pass! I decided to build a flat head Ford V8. Cadillac engine is trashed. Tear down of the V8 is coming along. Sorry, no more exciting progess haha
Hey, this is great to see. Look forward to following your progress. Those tail lights are very cool! I considered buying them myself. Good score!
Oh, a little tip: when you upload pictures to the Hamb, click the button that says FULL IMAGE. It will make your pictures nice and big. Us guys with old eyes will appreciate it.
I would suggest making a enclosure to protect your investment and keep yourself dry. Creativity abounds ....
Don’t know where you’re located, and as much as I hate social media, but up here Facebook market place is great for used or light used tools and equipment. Only reason why I an account. Just like anything else, give it once over before handing over the cash. Heck, lots of folks will barter or trade service hours. Just a thought. Project looks like a good start. One thing at a time. I read your other thread this morning. Bought my 54 Chevy in 2015. 4 shops, 3 jobs, 3 moves and 2 states later. It’s still coming together. Picked up a used Lincoln 125 MIG, some .025 line, Taught my self how to weld over 3 weeks watching YouTube and practice. Took 4 weeks but all sheetmetal and patch panels done. All hand made. All trial and error. My grandfather restored Model A Fords up here for decades. Told me the fastest he ever restored one start to finish was 18 months. That was after he retired and worked 8-15 hours a day 6 days a week. Keep the faith have a vision and don’t be afraid if you have to take a few short breaks. Here is a pic of me and the not so old lady taking the 54 for a cruise after I got the motor mounted last spring. Haha Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
What I can see of the subfloor looks better than what I was expecting, based on your comments in the other thread. Nice!
Gotta hunt down another Flattie. Mine needs 4 sleeves and it's not cheap! The trunk area is where the rails are bad.
What made you go from good hot rod power to a flat head? Your going to spend a bunch of money on that flathead and still be slow
Price out getting a flattie built if you cant do it yourself (get ready for that shock) and get any block crack tested before spending any other money on it. For a 1st hotrod maybe revert back to your caddie idea but buy a nice running engine and if you want to get it on the road soon and affordably I'd be looking at something simple like a SBC. There is a reason why they are so frequently used. You can change it out later if its not 'traditional' enough for you or some of the members here .
The Jalopy Journal
