The boys we telling me they like the back seat of the 40 more then their Moms Tiguan. I’ll take that as a win
A winter update for the Sedan. After driving the car for the year with the 283 I had a vibration I just couldn’t track down around 60MPH. I tried the urethane bushings for the torque rods that helped. Unfortunately when the engine RPMs would get above 2600RPM I would get a vibration. This would happen just Erving the engine in neutral would shake the I decided that I should get the flywheel and clutch plate checked for balance. First off was pulling the engine back out of the car. Once out I found the front balancer and come apart pushing the rubber out of the two pieces The fly wheel and pressure plate were sent out for balancing. Turned out how I had it set up was 80 grams out. Even with trying to index the pressure plate the best they could get it was 30 grams out. The machine shop needed up having to add weight to the pressure plate and did a bunch of material removal on the flywheel. Once back together I could tell the difference just revving the engine. The speedometer no longer bounced around. Out on the road the car is so much smoother. The glove box no longer rattles going down the highway. The moral of the story is just because you bought new parts is no guarantee they are good. Get your stuff balanced and save yourself the labour of having to do the job a second time.
thanks for sharing, all of a sudden I'm paying attention to SBC in fat fendered Fords, as one lives in my shed now. though I've followed your thread for some time. cool sedan
What is your setup on the draft tube delete or modification? Mine is run to the base of my carb with an inline PCV valve. Seemed ok, but then i was recently told it was like a m***ive vacuum leak and not a good idea. - VOH
That’s how the GM engineers designed the system and it works well. The PVC controls the “vacuum leak” and flows more when under load vrs at idle.
The Small Block Chevrolet seems to have a bad reputation. Inevitably, every time I opened the hood somebody always seems to have the need to tell me I have ruined my Ford. I have heard all the lines “Henry Ford would be rolling over in his grave if he saw that engine in his car”, “Flatheads look cooler”, “Should have kept a Ford in a Ford”, “Why didn’t you use X, Y, Z engine? Anything but thatChevrolet!”. I will admit I used to share this distain for the all-too-common Small Block Chevrolet. This was because I didn’t understand why these engines became so popular. The goal of this project was to get to live the experience of what it would have been like to get your hands on a near new 283 from a wrecked Chevrolet. With the 283 it’s hard to explain on how much it has changed the car. The exhaust has a deeper rumble acceleration, is much faster, and the car happily reaches speeds it used to struggle with before. I would not call the car fast in today’s standard (I am sure I would lose a drag race to a Prius) but compared to the flathead it’s a rocket ship. I am glad I was able to experience this transformation for myself. it’s no wonder the Small Block Chevrolet has been the go-to engine swap since 1955.
It's interesting about people's opinions. I would probably choose another engine type except that the chev is affordable & parts readily available so it makes lots of sense. our 48 sedan has stock running gear except for the 283. a funny thing happened when I first went out in the car at a show close to home & the elec fan wasn't working & the car was hot & boiled when I shut it down. a friend of mine who hadn't seen the car & is a flathead nut said laughing 'look at you, everyone will say typical flathead!' He laughed even harder when I told him it had a SBC in it
Rob, I know exactly what you are saying, I have had 5, 1940 Fords and the last one has a 327 engine with the stock running gear. The car sounds different and runs so much easier down the road. So far I'm not regretting getting a hot rod 40. Glad you are enjoying your car too.
Well I have had the car out after the winters shop time improvements. The 283 runs so much better. Before any time you reved up the engine the whole car would shake. Now it’s nice and smooth. Apparently the annoying glove box rattle I suffered with all last year has been fixed with a properly balanced engine. I also swapped out the factory axle for a 2” drop one. I spaced the spring a 1/2” so the front end came down 1.5” from what I began with. Ended up bending the original arms down. First time doing it and ran into a few issues. First off you need to properly secure everything down. I started off in my small swivel vice and it would not hold it. Ended bending the arm into a funky s shape. Luckily a friend had another spindle so it was take 2 with everything secured onto my welding table. I was happy with the second try. The spindles were magna fluxed at the machine shop and they honed the bushing to fit my new king pins. I lowered the back 1/2” by moving 2 leaf packs from the top to the bottom. Seem pretty happy with the ride height now. Still have full steering left and right. For the back I also put in a rear sway bar. Built some brackets to mount the end links to the original shock locations and then used U-Clamps to mount the rear sway bar to the axle housing. Next winter I may build some actual brackets and weld the to the tubes but this seems to be holding up well. Had the car for a good run today. Went from Calgary to Lethbridge AB (350km) for the day to check out the show and catch up with a friend. The balanced 283 is much better at freeway speeds now 60-70MPH with anymore shaking the inside of the car. Southern Alberta it’s known for wind and it did not disappoint. The car seems to handle it much better now. Not sure if it’s the lower stance but most likely the added sway bar really help stabilize the car in a strong cross wind was not getting pushed around as much as last year.
Beautiful car , good to see it is on the road and being enjoyed . I don’t care what’s under the hood as long as it’s on the road .
Functionally there's nothing wrong with the muffler style clamps, I have two factory sway bars that are mounted using that style clamp to the axle housing.
Are those ****erfly tabs with the two holes the front sway bar attachment points welded to the top of the king pins? do they double as shock mounts? Neat solution if they are. My '40 did not have a factory front bar and I'm trying to figure out a good way to attach one. I have the Ch***is Engineering shackles with the extended stud for the lower shock mount.
The ****erfly tabs on the front are part of the front shock kit he got from us, WEEDETR Street Rod Components. Yes, they also attach the front swaybar, an oversized one is also available from us.
Man I’ve thought about a tear away bar on 46 for a long time for that same reason. Thanks for your install pix and report that it helped Is it a weedetr set up?
it’s the Weedert rear bar from @Weedburner 40 yes it is Actually it is your bar set up. I did struggle a bit to get it in but it seems to have worked out with a few modifications. Could be me not fully understanding the instructions but this was the only way I could make it fit the car with the stock banjo axle
I seemed to really make a difference with the car especially in a strong side wind. Before it would really push the car around but now it seems a lot more stable
Man I’ve had my 46 Tudor switch lanes in a sidewind before when I hit the end of a shelter belt that really made me hold my breath. I’ll have to add it to the someday list
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