I'll make this short and sweet. I currently have a 29 Tudor restored by my father 30 years ago. Now I'm getting the itch! Located 1948 Ford F-1 with early flathead. Engine has been under cover, oil still in pan. Crank turns two inches either direction. (free rods but stuck valves?) Generator, carb, dist, rad....pretty intact. Body worthless. Bought it for $150.00. I think its a good deal. What I want to do is box an A frame don't much care which body Tudor, Fordor, preferably AA but beggars cant be choosers. Other than engine what other components could be utilized on an A? This is not intended to be a "showroom" piece. Back and forth to work mainly. Would be good adv for my business sitting out front. Grocery getter, weekend runs to the beach with the kids. Need some direction from the "experts". ALL opinions are solicited. BRING IT!!
Got your email, HSteele, welcome aboard. You can go alot of ways with an A. This is a traditional hotrod forum, so spend some time sifting through the archives to get a feel for how to go with your build. We like to meet the new guys. Take a couple minutes and tell us about yourself at the intro page at: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=18
"Need some direction from the "experts". ALL opinions are solicited. BRING IT!! " "Looks like I picked the wrong forum. " Settle down-sent ya a PM, I'm local and can help with ideas. This is the right place! <!-- / message -->
Not the wrong forum, it's just that this forum moves so fast that a question can be down 10 pages in 6 hours. I usually just read the first couple and wait for the important things to float back up. The advice to do some reading in the archives is valid. All your questions have been answered somewhere here in the past. When you say early flathead I think of 21 stud versions. Which one of the 3 main styles do you have? 21 studs heads/24 stud heads with water outlets centered in the heads/24 bolt heads with water outlets at the top-front of the heads? All will workfor your purposes but take slightly different setups. From a 48 F series it should be the late flathead, 24 bolt 8RT/8BA. Can you just let the truck sit while you scrounge parts off it? Typical parts to grab include brake/clutch pedal ***embly, steering gearbox, transmission if its one of the 3 spd versions - they're synchro'd, etc. Are you sure the rest of the truck is s****? If the crank will turn a couple inches I doubt the valves are frozen. If they were, you wouldn't move it at all. Sounds like it may be a good engine, just has some crud on the cylinder walls. Pull the plugs and shoot some diesel oil into the cyls - let it set and see if it frees up. Pull the intake manifold (keep all the parts you take off and take pictures of anything you may not remember where it goes) and dump some diesel into the valve chest. With that open you can watch as you turn the crank and see what's not moving. That'll keep you busy for a couple of weekends - if you pull the engine before you start this.
#1- Read the HAMB, search for old threads. #2- Read all of Bruce Lancaster's posts. #3- Read this book: #4- Ask lots of questions. #5- Have fun.
F1 front brakes are better than 39-48 hydraulics. But new drums are hard to find. If your brakes are good they are worth using. You can adapt them to 39-48 spindles (42-48 are best) with a bearing kit from Speedway. If you can find a second p***enger side spindle you can run it on the drivers side with after market steering arms. F1 steering boxes and columns are desirable and can be modified to work in a Model A frame. Get the Bishop - Tardel book.
Don't forget to take the center crossmember out of that F-1. I am using one in my A frame to support the trans mount. Cheaper than doing the Deuce K member.
I am not sure what you are going to do. Do you plan on leaving the tudor alone and starting another project? If you want an AA you are in luck as they are the lowest cost of the body types. It will probably not be necessary to box the AA frame for a flathead as they are pretty beefy. Be sure to look at the end cost of your project as it is frequently cheaper to buy than build. If you buy it is usually best to buy a good vehicle to start with unless you have a lot of talents. Previous comments on what to salvage are correct. Charlie Stephens
Thanks for the input. It's a 24 bolt with water outlets in center of heads. Body is pretty much toast. Will post pics ASAP. I would hate to throw away parts that are of use on the A. I want this project with as few aftermarket or reproduction pieces as possible accept for safety features.
Thanks Charlie. Keeping the Tudor as is. True on the cost issue but gotta have a money pit somewhere.
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