60's style rods with flatheads--> were there any???

I know the picture is pretty rough but it shows my 34 Ford back in '63 right after I sold it. The other guy added the Beauty Rings .
Note the Primer and the Flathead. Most of the time I ran with the hood off, showing the Cool Flathead. It also had a 4 inch dropped axle, 500s in the front 820s in the back, mounted on Merc 15 inch rims.
Tom

 

Sorry to get a little off topic, but I couldn't let this p***.
I couldn't have said it better myself DrJ (in fact not as well), I sometimes have to smile at the guys who sing the praises of their "traditional style" car (while looking down on everything else) when they are in some cases little more than antiquers or restorers copying what has already been done. What made the 60's cars great, (and terrible in some cases) could be summed up by a 60's mantra "do your own thing baby", or "whatever turns you on"
I mean, If you want to build in a particular style, that's cool, just try to put a little of yourself in it.
Here's one more thought to ponder, many of the cars that are being built today (the one offs anyway) that most of us here hate, with new hemis, efi, independent suspension,computers, etc. etc. are probably more in the hot rod "tradition" than the cars we refer to as traditional! Hurts your head huh?

 

I'm bringing this one back. Lots of good info here.

 

The thing I think is funny is all the open exhaust and fancy headers and when I look though the older mags most had under car exhaust there were some headers but not as many as Today.

 

Here is a picture with a Flathead and slicks,

 

Was just reading June 1960 Car Craft. Had a feature on roadsters. 10 cars, 8 flatheads. I guess they weren’t totally dead yet!

 

Zombie thread!!!!!!!

cool.

Back in 62, Milner asked some dude about his flathead. Dude got mad and insulted Milner’s mom

true story.

 

TO ME, highly finished 60's hot rods (similar to but different than kooky show cars) were the chromed, metal flaked, upholstered T & A Fords with OHV engines as reflected in some of the Early Times cars in R&C, or LA Roadsters, or McMullins original '32.

I'm thinking of a gold-flaked A pickup as a great example....

 

Flathead…not the fastest, but sure look cool when you finally catch up!

 

This car got me thinking about this:
https://www.tbucketplans.com/1926-t-roadster-moonshiner-himsl/

 

I pretty much have everything to build one.

 

Hello,

In looking back to being 16 and a teenager, it may have been one of the most memorable times for me. I made an offer on a flathead powered 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery. Prior to this time, I had to ask for a ride to the beach and surf spots. Or, I had to wait until my brother was going to go to the local surf spots in his Impala. But, due to the Willys Coupe accident, I now became the primary driver of the Impala if I wanted to take it out cruising.

So, I still made the offer on this cool sedan delivery. The owner was one of my friends from junior high school and high school. He had just finished it and we all saw it cruising in front of us at the local Bixby Knolls drive in restaurant. He stopped and of course, raised his hood. Inside was a 348 Chevy motor. The sound of the rumbling was very noticeable and nice.

But, through out the evening, he was disgruntled after most of the teens called his 348 powered sedan delivery “Salmon Pink.” He painted it the night before and it was supposed to be “racer orange,” a custom color. The parking lot lights had a lot to do with folks calling it “Salmon Pink.”

He got so frustrated that he left after telling everyone the sedan delivery was for sale. A 348 powered sedan delivery would be perfect for my surfing adventures and for weekend cruising… let alone the last two years of high school parking location preferences. Ha!

Jnaki

The owner came back one more night and no one wanted to buy the sedan delivery. Except for me. I made him an offer and he refused. We went around several times and I told him I had cash and made one last offer, which he accepted it, with some modifications. It would take him a week, but the flathead motor would replace the high performance 348 motor… yikes! But, the cost was a lot less, more in my range of funds…

So, I was now the happy owner of the sedan delivery and for those that saw it called it plenty of names, plumber’s car, the TV repair guy’s car, etc. It all went in one ear and out the other. It was the ultimate surf adventure transportation. I had an area in the back cave to sleep and stay protected from the weather on our longer vacations and summer road trips. So, the laugh was on them.

The flathead power was a little short on steep highways and later freeway grades. The slow lane was the obvious choice as it needed more power for those uphill climbs. The flathead sedan delivery did not go up to the local mountains as it would have gotten stuck on the steep climbing, winding roads to the top.

Yes, every time we went to Reath Automotive, they had a nice built up flathead with shiny heads and exhaust pipes sitting on an engine stand. My friends behind the counter always asked if I wanted to buy that motor. They even said installation was part of the package.

But, as soon as money flowed in, it went instantly out for gas money/food for our long surf adventures. So, we would have to endure the right lane, 2nd or 1st gear climb up in the slow lane... But, it would go North, up the coast in the winter months and South to San Diego or Baja Mexico adventures in the Spring or Summer...YRMV

A simple swap would have made this 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery a true hot rod. It had power and even without the mag wheels, at least it had a custom white ball for a shift lever cap. That was “custom” ha!

This design was always rumbling in my head, since we still had the 671 SBC modified blower spec motor sitting in our backyard garage. Or if my brother still wanted a different look or power, the Reath Auto flathead with a 671 on top… Yowza!!! But, at the time, my brother and I could not look at it, without some problems. So, it sat until we sold it in 1961. YRMV

Note:
If I wanted to drive a fast, custom hot rod sedan, I would back up the 58 Impala out of the driveway, for the midnight drags in Bixby Knolls.

thanks, @themoose

 

How about Bob Schoonhovens Lil Louie?

Back in the day

Current condition and for sale...I p***ed.

 

^^^^^ That's so sad, it was a *****in' and unique rod.

 

A '40 Sedan Delivery...dream car.