'35 Ford project...need help, tips, suggestions..

DONT LISTEN to pasadenahotrods ;-) - you would be better of with the '35 front end - they are better looking than those late model '36s... LOL

'35 wishbones are 42 3/8 from centre to center. spindles from later years will fit the std axles and king pins fit too with a little bit of work. from memory there is only 1 dropped axle which will fit on std wishbones, pretty sure it is the 4" super bell?

'35 front fenders differ quite a bit from '36 fenders. 36 fenders are two piece whereas '35 fenders are one piece. on the rear of the '36 fenders they kind of arch from the top to the rear whereas the '35s swoop down and flatten down towards the rear. you will also find the wheel opening different on both fenders, '36 follows the shape of the tyre whereas the '35 fenders slope away from the tyre on the back edge of the fender and from the wheelwell to the running board the edge on a 36 fender is horizontal whereas the '35 fender has a slight slope on it.

the grille from a '35 wont fit '36s and vice versa.

i was lucky to get a nice original grille about 6 years ago, cost me a lot of money back then but it was worth it because ive never seen another as nice since.luckily enough both my cars, coupe and roadster, have good grille's on them, pictures of both cars have been on here before so everyone must know them by now, but heres a couple of pics anyway funnily enough ive heard of another grille over here which is meant to be nice, dont think the guy will sell it though.

if you need any more info about them give me a shout.

retrorod if you want headlamps i have 2 spare sets, I might let 1 set go - give me a shout, both are for '36 though not '35 - 36 headlamps have big bug eye lenses, 35s are more flat, gl*** from 35 doesnt fit 36 lamps and vice versa, have the buckets and the rings, have gl*** for one but it is repro gl***.

 

Very nice!!! I think you and I talked awhile back about this car! Love it! Great pick!

 

scooter you probably have, the car has been out for about 6 years now so its been about for a while. got loads more good pics from the session, it was a good day

 

That looks like a pretty nice coupe.

About a month ago I took a chance on some rear fenders, hoping they were '36. When I got there, they were '35s but I bought them anyway. The price was right, and they are steel. I may end up giving my steel '36 fenders to my Dad for the 3 window. If I do, then I'll have his gl*** fenders or the '35 steel fenders to choose from. I've got plenty of time before that is a "problem" though. I'd love to trade them for some '36 rear fenders.

'35 stuff is much harder to find than '36 stuff, cause everyone converted their '35s to '36s.

 

doesnt help that the ford dealers did it back in the 30s either, for the princely sum of about $90 the would change the front sheet metal over. they must have had more than a few fenders/grille's kicking about back then

 

I prefer '35s to 36s... but I'm weird. I also like '39 Deluxes over 40s. :shrug:

Scootermcrad, you mention traction issues with your parallel leaves. You might double-check your pinion angle. Nothing plants a tire like parallel leaves!

Great score on the 5-window.. you don't seem new to cars, and you picked a really solid starting point. You've got great plans and a good start!

 

Kind of a wheel hop thing when I get a little carried away... I'll check things out. Still don't like how it rides back there, though. Springs we bought seem a little heavy for the application.

 

ive got leaf springs on the back of my coupe and never had any bother with the ride from them, when the pedal gets mashed i get pretty good traction, no wheel hop. got tci leaf springs on it, not sure how these compare to others.

 

You mentioned maintaining proper geometry so it will drive right - heres something you might want to consider . With a stock unsplit wishbone the only way to adjust the caster is by bending the axle ( yes I said bending the axle ) that rules out a tube axle and you will need to find an alignment shop that does truck work they will have the tools to bend it . Back in the day all the good alignment shops had the tools to bend straight axles but now all you will get is a blank stare when you ask . Not having enough caster will make the car shimmy at speed and it will dart to the side if you let go of the wheel . 7 degrees is a good starting point . Tube axles need hairpin radius rods or 4 bar setups so you can adjust them . Camber is adjusted the same way but a good axle like a bell should be very close right out of the box

 

Thanks! Trust me, I am very new to cars this old. I'm just the type of person who learns quickly, does lots of research and asks lots of questions when I become interested in something. To me, the education process is a large part of the enjoyment, and of course the sense of accomplishment that comes with doing things myself.

 

I have a 35 sedan thats pretty low.
I didn't build it, but it sounds kinda close to what your thinking about. Maybe somebody can I.D. the axel ? We think maybe a Bell ?
As you can see it's a mono leaf...and the wish bones are split... w/ a 283 and powerglide. It handles and runs down the road great...you just have to watch for stuff that isn't low ride friendly, especially with a 35's low grill.
If you want more pic's just ask.

 

searcher thats quite an intersting pic. i have mono-leafs on the roadster but i had to take the bump stops off the car because they were resting on the axle - the car only had a std axle though.

is there any marking on the centre of the axle? like a cast in badge or something. if you measure between the perch bolts you can normally work out what axle it is.

badxfr if you run a dropped axle you cannot run rod brakes, you will need to go to juice brakes.

 

The bump stops have been cut...or they would be on the axel.
I didn't look too close for any markings. It was cast with the drop in it, and looks about 4 inches. The tie rod was real close to the oil pan so a little more space was created by using the rod as a dolly and giving it a good bop with a big hammer.
The rear is on parallel leafs on an 8" Ford axel with 2" spacers.
The car is a driver and work in progress... as money and the wifes disposition permits.

 

I would like to run F-100 brakes, if I can locate some for a decent price.


Searcher, do you have any profile pics of your car? Would really like to see the stance.

 

if you run F100 brakes you wont be able to run wires without a spacer of about 1" - the drums arent the correct shape to fit them wires. ive got the T shirt for that one - I ended up buying 40 ford drums which are fine with wires.

 

I want to get the rear wheels out closer to the fenders and may go to steel wheels to get the right offset...or space the torque thrusts out for the time being.
I may raise it up in the front a 1/4 inch and lower the back a bit more to get it a little closer to level.
It's all steel.... the body has never been off the frame.