58 Zodiak

After being in storage in Ohio at my Uncles house, for the best part of 25 years, the old girl is home in Maryland. My plan is for a Hemi 4spd. A friend gave me a 56 De Soto with a 330 Hemi in it. That's the engine I'd like to use. Only problem is it's 8 hrs each way. For the money I'll have in gas I could probably find a decent 354 Chrysler and have the stronger, but heavier engine. Plus, I wouldn't have the 56 body to get rid of. It's kinda funny, it has little 13 inch wheels with the 4 1/2 inch Ford pattern. All 4 tires were flat and one collapsed off the wheel while on the trailer. We stuck some P225's off my buddy's 63 Merc on it and the big tires look great on it. I was under the car checking the tire clearence and couldn't believe the tubs on the car. The 225 barley clears the spring, but on the other side of the spring the wheel well extends a good 6 inches. If I move the springs inboard I can stick some ****o tires under it.So, any and all input will be welcome. The plan is either the 330 De Soto or the 354 Chrysler. Another buddy has a 70's vintage Doug Nash 5 spd he doesn't use any more, of a standard Mopar 833 4 spd. Rear will be either 8 3/4 or Dana. that's all for now, Joe.
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OOPS, I guess I better go see what I did wrong with the pics, Joe.

 

you messed up the links?

 

Thanks, Joe.

 

Hmm interesting car, ive never seen one before. Good luck with the build!

 

wow...never heard of one of those

 

the Brits had some interesting cars

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Zephyr

 

That will make a cool little ride!
Check these out if you havent already.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=290458&highlight=vauxhall

 

This is our son Paul's Mk2 Zephyr Farnham estate (wagon)







It runs a Rover 3.5ltr V8 ( Buick 215ci.) with a Volvo rear axle.

Charlie!!

 

Down here they were called Maori Mustangs. Used to be some pretty healthy ones getting around too.

 

I'm baffled why this is on a traditional hotrod website.

 

tail lights would look good on a 53/54 chev or shoebox ford. time to tap into other worldly makes for some good styling touches i.e. side trim, tail lights, steering wheels etc. just my 2 cents.

 

Re: 58 Zodiak
<HR style="COLOR: #e5e5e5; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #e5e5e5" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and ***le --><!-- message -->I'm baffled why this is on a traditional hotrod website


Cuz it's OLD...that's why. A lot of us in here do a lot of different stuff that may or may not fit YOUR idea of what's appropriate for this site. Some of us have interests that stray from airbags, cobwebs and tattooes like wallpaper. When a member finds something a bit different - he/she shares it...and we say nice things (or not) and make miscellaneous comments about it. As long as it doesn't turn into the eternal thread (and the monitors do a great job on that) we don't usually castigate a fellow HAMBer for bringing something to our attention. This is NOT a "US only" site, and what he found would be considered "traditional" across the pond. His plans include a "traditional" engine swap, so what's the problem?

dj

 

You are correct sir. Think about it...how many Anglias, Prefects, Faits and other foreign cars did battle in the g***er wars? The Zodiac and Zeyphr cars were larger and better appointed cars from the same era as the later square body Anglia. Other cool ones are the German Ford Taunus and the French Ford Vidette.

 

check out www.galeforcezephyrs.com

 

I like where your head's at.....

I also think this would be a perfect candidate for a 2 door conversion.....

 

Zodiac

 

hey ,easy on mate !

 

Oops, it's on the hood in big, used to be chrome letters, and I still misspelled it. Thanks for pointing that out, I'm gonna blame it on too many Yuengling's, but as Jimmy Buffet said, "Hell it could be my fault", Joe

 

All is forgiven its 5'oclock somewhere. The ZODIAC on the hood and the script on the trunk are in gold.

 

My first car was a M2 Ford, fond memories...my brother ran a Mk2 Zodiac with a Ford 302 and then a Chev350...they are almost factory ready for the small block Ford drop in..the Chev needs work on the sump to clear the crossmember.

Here is a bit of footage of a Mark 2 being thrashed around Goodwood..stick with it it is slow at the first one and a half minutes waiting on the line, but he does he give it some serious abuse.

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...E-SearchBox&rlz=1I7GGIC_en&sa=N&start=20&um=1

 

I know, I wasn't sure how to spell "anodized", one "n" or two , so I put chrome.

Is that an Ardun flat head in your avatar? While I was out of town a couple weeks ago a 50 Ford came in the local Pick-N-Pull junk yard and it still had the flat head in it. All motors are $200 so it didn't last long. I'm hooked on the early Hemi's, but those Arduns are one cool lookin motor. How pricey are they to build?

Thanks for keeping me on my toes, Joe.

 

A old friend from up here had a 59 Ragtop Zephyr simular to yours.. it wasnt stock.. it was very cool.. give yours some life.. and it would look cool as a 2 dr..

 

Because the HAMB spreads the gospel of traditional hot rods and KUSTOMS to hoodlums WORLDWIDE. Not really that hard to understand . . .

 

My buddy has a 63 Merc Monteray. How do you spell Monteray? I work for UPS and saw it on my route one day. Hooked him up with the owner and the rest is history, Joe.