I would say GO FOR IT ! I am currently building a Banger powered 30 Coupe - I`m unsure of the era but I am sure plenty folks will tell me when its done .It is not cheap for 4 banger speed equipment though ,especially here in Scotland !!!I have put a picture up for you but if you go to my Youtube channel (jimshotrod) there are a couple of videos of progress and I will be updating them whenever I have done any significant work.........it`s not a "how to" channel more of a "this is achievable" channel.
If you feel you have what it takes to finish such a project, go ahead and do it! I think that as you seem to want to do it on a limited budget having a strict idea about what engine to put into it (and an engine that can cost a lot of money too) may be a bit of a mistake, it could be more suitable to keep an open mind about any four cylinder pushrod engine for example and see what turns up for the right price - but it's your project, you use the parts you like, and people will be asking you why you used the one you've used no matter what you go ahead with.
If you’re rich, do what you want. Some old hotrodders have told me that the 32 and up motor was/is better. They also tell me flathead eights are boat anchors, and run small block chevs. If you’re not rich and or not a mechanic it might not be a practical choice. A local here drove a stock model A to the midwest somewhere, the agents at the border didn’t want to let him into the country and onto the interstate. My latest project is supposed to have a running stock banger if that turns out to be the case, maybe I will try it for a while. Everyone has an opinion and wants to give it to you. Your mental health is between you and your doctor. Good luck, keep us posted.
GO FOR IT!! The red one, I like the red one. I did. Sorta. Avatar is tweaked a bit. Not cheap? As compared to what? Guy from NM drove his to the upper Midwest this past summer. Ben
What ever happened to true Hopup? Strip all the unnecessary weight off the car. Start with a stock motor. Add parts as able and have a blast! I have a bunch of banger parts with alloy head, better cams, etc, but haven't built one yet. Still playing with the stock 4 cyl. Those who talk about your ideas vs. a SBC would tell you you were wrong no matter what you did... unless it was adding coil overs! Have fun and that will get respect from true car guys. The billet guys will never understand.
I think it kind of died when people got their hands on a cheap bigblock and matching transmission, and shifted focus to making space for that instead. Probably made the car twice as heavy as it was stock, but I'm sure it could be fast in a straight line if the traction ever was good enough... I like projects where focus is on more than just acceleration. Minimum weight, good handling. Might not impress anyone at the drag strip, but could be very fun on a twisty road.
I like the idea, I’m running a stock banger in my 28 Tudor, it’s not fast but gets around well the torque in these little motors is incredible in a speedster it should run like a rabbit and the sound is great
I like the drawing! If you decide to go four Barrel (what they called them in the 30's), get Jim Brierleys book , " Four Bangers and me". Good reading, even if you decide to go another direction. Good Luck!
Do you plan to build the engine start to finish and park it in a corner then build a car to put it in, or work on both projects at the same time? These cars have been built over the past 90 years so the answers should be easy to find. How fast on the street will an A four banger with a hi compression head get you, same question for one with an overhead. Either one should work as a daily driver around town.
Last winter, I bought a 31 RPU that was a driver but no trailer queen. It was all stock except for the engine which had a 6:1 head, insert bearings, downdraft 97, reds headers, 12V upgrade and an FS centrifugal distributor. I drove that car all summer reaching 60MPH. I have since built a T5 for it, and acquired a set of Randy Gross cast drums and an F100 steering box. To date I have spent US$22K. This was going to be a build on a budget but I don't think that is reality. The car is currently an engine sitting in a frame with a front axle. When it goes back together, it will be a hi-boy and should weigh in around 1600 lbs. With the overdrive, the 16" wheels and the Diamond Backs, I suspect it should top out a 70+MPH. I have another model a running an aluminum V8 (Buick/Rover) that weighs 320 lbs. It drives and steers like a dream with a stock axle. If this is your first build, think about every thing that has been said in these 45 posts. Warren
Go for it! Keep the body as light as possible, use 2" exhaust and a small turbo muffler on a stock engine to make a big difference in performance. I have a running, driving stripped down Model A with a silly looking homemade body that I use in parades. It draws a lot of attention. I think it looks stupid, but people always say it's cute, so who knows. A stripped-down A may not have a great top speed, but acceleration is pretty amazing. I'm going to re-do it into a hill climber or speedster someday, though. My avatar car has a stock 8BA engine and 3 on the floor. Everything is beat up, as found stuff with no attempt to make it look better. Lots of homemade parts, too. Very good performer. I have taken it to local shows, and it draws a lot of attention. Pretty cheap to build, too. That's good enough for me.
The black rpu is mine & the roadster belongs to some mates, both bangers both with multiple carbs, both with home made headers. Both alot of fun. Though their's is a little more refined than mine. As others have said check out the monthly banger meet here, Also Joey @J.Ukrop has a great tale of putting his togrther on here. "Building my first roadster in San Francisco" check it out.
So I have done things backwards... I have owned a banger coupe, then rebuilt a flathead v8 car, sold that to buy and build the blue banger coupe. Stock bangers are ok, everyone should drive one once..... Hop up that banger and its alot of fun trying to go fast in a slow car. Get some major HP in a banger, around the 100 hp mark and some deep gears and really change things up. My stock crash box trans behind the 95 hp b motor rolls 65 to 70 easily. Put it this way, from stop lights I outrun most normal traffic without trying even with the stock trans. The flathead v8 I had was 120 hp probably. One thing notable, you have to spin the flathead v8 up more for the same torque of the banger. Noticeable difference in driving, the banger will outperform just about anything of the years on the bottom end. Torque curve like no other. There is a reason I am back in a hot banger car. Now trying to justify a miller ohv to myself is the hard sell. But it could net me some big power. In order of my last 3.... The blue banger is my latest... The cream car was an unrestored survivor, was too nice to cut apart at the time. Its addicting man... enjoy....
You know what you want. Build it, drive it and enjoy it. I'm totally over horsepower. You can buy a 1000 hp crate motor from GM. What are you even going to do with that? You can't legally drive it at top speed on the road and most of us don't have the reflexes for it anyway. Was going to add a supercharger to my late model Mustang. It's a fun car. But as I thought about it, I realized I'd never driven it as fast as will go anyway. Project canceled. Sold my 405 hp Chevy hot rod a couple years ago and bought a 90 hp flathead coupe and am keeping it period correct. Lots of fun doing it my way and having something unique at cruise night rather than building someone else's dream. Doing your own thing is what's cool, not building a duplicate of whatever's popular.
You're not crazy, it will be fun, it won't make much power - gearing is your friend - figure out how to run a T5 or similar. https://www.inliners.org/Jack/t5_page.html
I gotta tell ya, fellas. Everytime I open this thread and see your comments and the cars you're working on, I gotta believe THIS is as close to the original paradigm of hot rodding as it gets. Guys thinking on their feet, solving problems, coming up with innovative ways to squeak HP out of a drivetrain that was originally built to top out at 40-50 MPH, but more importantly, having fun. This right here, tells me that the old school hot-rodding spark is still very much alive and I thank you for that! This is the stuff that keeps me on track and lights that proverbial fire under my ass. Keep that shit up!
One of the Hangups of running a banger is low hp.Its still plenty of hp for a light car. I think one of the biggest improvements i made for drivability is getting rid of the stock 3 sp and going so something like the t-10 or the Volvo 4sp conversions i have been doing. 
The Jalopy Journal
