Projects 1932 Ford 3 Window with 389 Pontiac

great to follow your work, curious to see what vision (end result) you have for the build

 

I have @300 photos of the build out. I am planning on showing the process as we close in on putting this on the road. It has been a challenge. At the beginning I had no "car" friends to ask questions. I had no shop type tools or experience working on cars. I had the car and Dad's vision of a 70's street rod. I joined this group and asked for opinions and help. As a complete newbie it was at times overwhelming. Never knew there was a difference between a Hotrod and a Street rod. Didn't know I joined a forum that was a hard core Traditional Hotrod site. I received tons of helpful comments and changed the vision of the completed car to lean much more traditional. The work has been steady and thoughtful. Since I don't belong to a club or have any of the skills, I needed to find someone to help build this "vision". The guy I ended up choosing is a ex-Marine that built his own Traditional Hotrod and drives it all the time. He has been patient with me and has even been teaching me as he allows me to work side by side with him on the car. I personally am very happy with the blended vision, Dad picked the engine, I chose the tranny, and we are leaving the paint and fenders as-is. We have reworked the original dash. The way the body is channeled now and sits on the frame is very cool. The firewall....Dear God... that 1959 389 Pontiac motor made things interesting. Engine, exhaust manifolds, steering column, brake and clutch pedals-holy crap that is a ton of stuff that all goes in the same spot. Thanks again to all who have shown interest and gave advice. The battle goes on.

 

Glad you found someone to do the work on the car and bring it back to life. Can’t believe it’s been 3 years since I stopped over and checked it out while you were just learning about what you had.


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Coug,Congrats on the perseverance.I've thought of you many times.I was pretty harsh on you in the beginning,I'm glad to see you sticking it through.Now think of it as, less of a battle ,and more a very lucky opportunity.Keep on Bud..

 

Hey Ken, glad to see you were able to find someone knowledgeable/skilled who you can trust to guide you through the build. Pretty sure every time you drive it you'll feel your dad riding shotgun beside you.

 

That will be a much nicer dash. Bob

 

That's gotta put a smile on your face.Doin good Ken..

 

Looking really good.

 

Great work, That saved some $$$!

 

Nice save on the door cards!

 

Beautiful work!

 

It lives.

 

Great to see Ken, you must be over the moon!

 

Cloud 9! Good job, She Rolls..

 

Wow Ken, that is awesome. Great to see it back together and on the road!

 

Ken, Congrats on this milestone...I can't imagine the feelings you are experiencing driving this Hotrod after so many decisions and advice being tossed around...its great to see you kept to the vintage greatness you inherited...belated condolences on the loss of your Dad. His spirit is with you...

I've followed this Thread but been a while and yeah, great to reach this moment in the journey...I'm sensing nerfs out the back...

 

Yup, what Stogy said. That coupe is so bitchin.

 

That is tooo cool man! Honestly that’s living the dream right there.

 

Well done!

 

It looks amazing! What a great save, really glad you went the route you did with it. That car is truly something special.

 

Great job saving that family heirloom. Just had to keep most of it intact. I was reading the early posts and concerned it was going to be a street rod, but you made a million great decisions. Congratulations, it's gotta feel awesome. Lost my Dad 22 years ago.

Your Dad lives on in you and in that sweet, sweet deuce coupe.

 

Well that's a nice start to 2022...and amongst good company to boot...Hows it running?...it looks really happy to deliver ear to ear smiles...Happy New Year...

 

Fun to drive, really fun. Still lots of odds and ends to fix/complete. It drives great, rides like a tractor, and is noisy as hell....So perfect. I am having issues with the carbs and back firing anytime I really put my foot in it. If I really jump on it, it will start running rough and back fire on down shifts. If I pull the plugs and clean them it will run good as long as I am "nice". I also need to figure out a better fan set up as I am overheating in traffic. So typical issues for a rebuild I suppose. Went to 2 car shows last summer, and I am really looking forward to Deuce Days in Victoria this year. One really cool part of the car is the shift knob. The 50 cent piece was found in the car (1945) and Dads ashes and a picture of him with the car are in a hollowed out spot under the coin.

 

I often refer to mine as a wagon with an engine and noisy yupp...backfiring has never been an issue for me...different league though...94's and smallblock...2 of six...I've had dirty plug syndrome...fixed...

Your carbs and just about everything in the engine department look new so looks like uni-syn time...maybe you've done that already...the general consensus is get it running well on the primary then work on the others but I'm no wizard in that department and furthermore it could be something else completely...hope you get the issue ironed out as backfires can damage things...

Wow those last two shots are money man...

 

Looks rad, for your overheat issue I would try to get the fan closer to the radiator core or throw a fan shroud on it. The WOT problem could be a great number of things. The air cleaners look suspect, some of the available ones just don't let enough air into the intake and that would be the first place I would check, just run it without the air cleaners on and see if the problem goes away. I really like how it turned out, I love cars that look mean just sitting there.

 

Ken, Dad would be Proud! Thanks for taking us along. Fixing the little things along the way is part of the journey, Enjoy

 

Outstanding job on the preservation of Dad's Rod!
Straight up Bad A$$!