Couldn't agree more... but to me, it sounds like the caddy motor is his "goal" or "perfect setup" or whatever you want to call it. I couldn't agree more that it's about the speed, efficiency, fun and challenge, but it's kinda like the chainsaw bike of before... it's cool, but not his thing. 1/2 happy with the modern 4 may cover speed, efficiency and fun, just doesn't sound like the motor he wants to challenge himself with. Very true... I was imagining a big caddy motor though. Guess my mind took hold of what i would want in the ride.
The Bellhouse pattern is the same as the Ford Kent, Pinto, and CVH 4 cyls. So it should bolt up to the Gearboxes out of Cortina's, 4 cyl Capri's, Pinto's, etc. There might be a problem with getting the right Flywheel, and getting the Rad to hook up the the top Hose ( on the wrong side of the head, I believe ) But the Folks that build Lotus 7 type cars have that all figured out... Its all available. Aftermarket parts as well. Cams, intakes, etc...
It will cost him more in the long run , and time ****ing with it , cregslist get something on there for cheap that will be an easy install.
not that i want one but where do you find a running $50 sbc. that beenig said i like the cad option but what is it 500 472 390. i also think that the 4 could be cool esp with a hood
You know the deal in ND! Car rots around the motor... needs oil and an air filter... Hell man, I got 2 POS but running mid 80's 305's for $30 and free back when i was trying to keep my highschool elcamino on the road. I'm not talking about a holley double pumper, aluminum intake motor... I'm talking about a quadrajunk, can't see the motor through the grease variety.
Buy a Chevy Suburban with a running 350. Remove motor and trans. Fill back with junk. S****. Chances are, the Suburbans get such terrible gas milage and s**** is so high, you can buy it for less than $500 and s**** it for the same money and have a FREE motor. Just as an example, I bought a running 6.2 in nice shape with 98K on it for $170 last fall at a surplus auction. It runs great and the body has very little rot for an '85, but they blew the trans out of it letting kids horse it around on a town mowing crew. Same place had a g***er 4x4 that sold for the same money, same problem the trans was blown out of it. Then I bought another Suburban with a blown 6.2 and a rebuilt 700R4 trans for $300 on eBay a month later. I stripped a lot off it and have been filling it with **** and with any luck I'll get $200-$250 back out of it when I'm done. The closest junkyard's been giving 135 or so a ton the last couple weeks. The trans rebuild is worth a good grand, it has an expensive new starter on it, came with an expensive new diesel fuel filter, new glow plugs in the boxes, etc. etc. Now fixing the Suburban is O/T but the same principle applies when you need a hot rod drivetrain. These are my second and third Suburbans, the one I drive now is a 350 truck and I paid $500 for it three years ago - from a guy who originally bought it with the idea to put the drivetrain in it, into a hot rod.
Ford Motor sport sells all the parts to go with carbs and RWD with the zetec, maybe other, motors. Same stuff is out there for the Ecotec and Quad4.
cregslist there are people that cant give away 350 chevys running , there must be 20 in my area some with ******s . some just say bo and they have been on there for mouths , i buildt my hole car for hafe the cost with new stuff , i payed 75 dollors for my 400 dollor holly in the box , I payed 75 dollers for my rebuilt ****** with recipts , hurst shifter new in the box , the guy said he had it on there for a mouth not one call ,
Oh ****, when I clicked on this thread I must have accidentally linked to a street rod message board. Sorry man, but I'd much rather look at another A with a SBC or even a SBF, than one with a modern FOCUS I-4. Are you guys serious? If you want to dare to different, you can hang out with this year AMBR winner, run your modern I-4s, 24" dubs, IFS and talk about how innovative you are. A major aspect of traditional rodding and customizing is to NOT reinvent the wheel. Stuck that 429 in there
So.....he has the Caddy motor sitting there...Hummm. Sell the Ford banger and rebuilt the Caddy. I used to laugh when people would tell me "my neighbor just gave me a boat..for free". There is no such thing as a free boat, same thing here. However, let him do what he wants. I'm sure he'll impress the hell out of everybody here when he shows up with the banger in it. Somebody mentioned the h***le of the wiring, computer and fuel injection (does it have FI?) what about the fuel tank and all. He must be young, let him learn from this HUGH mistake. I can't imagine doing all that and then coming back later and doing the Caddy. Mow some yards and build the Caddy.
Ijust picked up an A and had it in the garage 10 min. took out my sawsall and put in a 500ci caddyengine Igot from the junkyard for one of my other projects. It was out of their demo derby car and they were gonna throw it away in the core box and told me to take it. so theres gotta be sumpin better than a banger. They just don't sound right. My .02. good luck
how much fuel will a 500 inch Caddy drink? Don't get me wrong..it's cool, but there's nothing cool about NOT being able to afford to drive your hot rod once it's finished. My 2.3 powered Model A is my daily driver and gas is $3.82 per gallon in my neck of the woods. If it makes decent power and gets good fuel economy, why the hell not? Just make sue it has a hood !
Bottom line- it's his car. If the 2.3 will get him up and running, then great. And as far as not being "traditional"... he's using what he's got on hand to make the car lighter, faster, etc. Sounds pretty traditional to me.
because 4 bangers are gay , and new 4 bangers are even gayer , this thread is the gayest, no im kidding what ever , but id rather put my nutts in a meat grinder then put a new 4 banger in my hot rod model a truck , just sell it and buy a used bmw turbo , I think this is a hot rod site right ,gas miles god come on lol
Have you ever checked out the monthly banger posts, Robert? Might want to do some more reading before you go throwing narrow opinions around. If you don't like the post, read a different one
This post turned out much different than I expected. The reason I posted was because I was thinking the same way most of you were. Although I snickered when he told me about his decision, in the back of my mind i did some thinking and thought, ****! that would be pretty cool. This guy is 35 and has a strong background in building 10 second VW's but since has started building hot rods for the shop here, he's grown more towards hot rods. This guy is a freaking fabrication genius. So to say the least, I would not be surprised that he turned this Model A into something stunning. It's not my car so like many have said, let him do as he pleases. That 500ci caddi will definitely be monstrous in the Model A, and yeah it will sound f'n sweet. But after seeing some of his VW's pop willies I'm sure his 4-banger powered model will be just as impressive. California has prices are at $3.00+ in case you are wondering, that just came down from almost $4.
ya ya I was kidding but he asked what we think . so think about it , would you do all that work putting that thing in there , just to take it out later and put in a real motor , and you say the first rods where four bangers whats under your hood good for the first rods thats all they had
Someone mentioned milage of the 500...think about this. I had a 305 powered 79 Monte Carlo. it got around 12-13 miles per. I finally clobbered the littlest chevy and dropped in a BUILT 454. mileage guess anyone? 12-13 miles per. how the hell did that happen? Mechanical efficiency. The 454 did a hell of alot less WORK to get the car moving. cruising r.p.m. was the same, but the big block wasn't hurting for more power. accelerating, starting from a stop...it is all easier with a large motor. the fuel used is simply consumed. with a smaller motor, the poor little fellas have to bust thier ****s to accomplish the same task. this is why it's (relatively) easier to make big power with more cubic inches. cheaper, no...but there are far less stressors on the engine for it to do it's job.
Not on their website and not in the catalog. Please share the source as I am interested in the items.
The traditional police might get him, but I think any banger is cool. I mean ****, it's better than a 350.
Regardless of what one thinks of that Cosworth powertrain the incredible attention to detail, both in the restoration and fabrication areas of that Model A, is just stupefying. I waited who knows how long it took for all 200 pics to load just so I could drool over the craftsmanship. What an exquisite piece of work whatever you think of the finished product. Must've cost the guy a barrel full of euros. If rodding were only about vast wads of roaring power then we should all sneer at anyone who doesn't have a Saturn 5 booster bolted onto the back end of his ride. It's about one hell of lot more than that obviously and so it's only right that bangers, fours-sixes-eights, early and late, have their place at the table.
That Cosworth is not a Modern Engine. Its a Trad Ford Engine ( but not Trad Hot Rod...) Here are some links with History. ( look for the Info on the BDA ) http://7faq.com/contribute/owbase/ow.asp?p=Cosworth+BDR+-+it's+history+and+development&a=print http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/kitcar/kb.php?aid=138
He can always get a cheezy 350-350 for cheap, I could'nt see myself building a bad*** car or truck and working my *** off to put a 4 or 6 banger in there.
I can't believe the narrow mindedness of some of the people here. You talk about keeping it traditional and how could you even think about putting something modern in it. I call ******** on all of you. Unless you said to rebuild the stock 4 banger, you have no place to decide what is correct. You talk about sbc and caddy motor. Do you think when the first guy to drop one of those engines in his model a or 32 gave a **** or asked for approval from his friends? They probably all thought he was stupid for putting a Caddy or sbc or sbf or even a hemi in it. "Why waste you money and time to try and get that engine to fit in there." they probably said to him. If it wasn't for his forward thinking, then we wouldn't have what we have right now.
Some AMAZING ingenuity in this car, Not that I'm ready to swap my Flathead for the Cosworth (though i suspect I'd come out ahead moneywise). Henry would have been jealous of that black paint - too bad they didnt leave it all black. thanks for the post tho, I enjoyed it Pics: http://www.mat.fi/project1929fordmodel-a.htm Vid: http://www.mat.fi/video_aford.htm
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