Marks hotrod build thread!

So i met this fella mark at a job i had earlier this year. Turns out he's a pretty cool cat, so we became friends. Tells me how he use to work at a rod shop, and build a 29. Me, being who i am, says "why dont we build ya a hotrod?" The only problem? we had nothing but a wheel and a milk crate. Well thats not stopping us! He tracked down a frame, juice brakes, and an axle. I had the rearend and the motor, and i found bits to a body including a 29 cowl, and the back half of a dodge roadster. Im trying to convince him to run a flathead 6. I know where theres a bigblock industrial chrysler to be had for cheap, but he's stuck on the sbc. LAME!

More updates to come, if he ever gets his *** over here!

 

bump for the day boys

 

That's gonna look cool!!

 

Never seen someone put the later A grill on the earlier A body. Should be interesting.

 

I think a blue milk crate would be more traditional.

 

yay you started it haha. I'll get out there soon hopefully this weekend so we can pull out that rear end.

 

Good to know I'm not the only one who does the milk crate mock-up!

 

I had a milkcrate seated driver at one time back in 1980.

 

See instead of razzing your friend for running a SBC you should be encouraging him for choosing an smaller engine. The problem with running a flat six or a early Hemi is that they are so ****ing difficult to get in the ch***is without stretching your wheel base all to hell or sacrificing the leg room because you have 30% engine setback on that ****er. I am all for running these engine (HEMI) but not at the cost of a ****ed up wheelbase and stance. If a dude has the baddest 6 deuce Hemi with all the right parts it's not going to matter much if he throws it on a 130" wheel base because at that point I have been lost and the look is grotesque.

Like I stated above, Hemi's are rad and I plan on running one in something one day but for a car that is being put together on a shoe string budget an SBC should not catch flak. ****, it shouldn't catch flak even if it's on a big dollar budget as long as it's dress properly. Lots of thought, planning, patience and sacrifice goes into a car when running a long engine and sometimes it's not in the cards to throw everything out of whack just for the sake of running an engine that is a little less common.

Just my two cents. I think it'll turn out great!!!


Oh and if you are looking for an engine that nobody runs and is still very small in size have your friend take a look at Buick 215's and 300's. They are cool motors with plenty of power and take their cues from their big brother the Nailhead.

 

nice looking build so far, keep it up

 

You should have no problem running a hemi with a 106" wheelbase. My buddy Marks coupe has a Desoto hemi, unaltered 30/31 firewall, and room for a mechanical fan, no engine setback, no big deal.

A flat six on the other hand...

 

A metal milk crate would be more traditional.

 

well the small block six is only 21 inches long, while the bigblock is 25 inches. Add the length of the ******, and its about the same as a small block chevy. We're also planning on stretching the frame to accommodate for a pickup box.

Can anybody say RPU?

 

What could be better than Weesner as inspiration! But if you notice, all of his RPU's have a short wheelbase!

 

Desoto's are a little bit smaller then the Chrysler counterpart. Definitely can be done but a little more planning and creativity involved I would imagine. That's not even involving the cost of rebuilding a HEMI.

From Dizzy to fan blade the small block comes in at 27". While I was out there measuring my SBC I went a head and measured my '51 Chrysler engine which came out to 31" form the same distance. That 4" is where a great deal of cars make it or break it. Take a 106" wheel base and when some guys choose to stretch the wheel base to compensate for the extra length to lets say 110" it's already becoming to long. Instead I think moving the grille shell and radiator is a smart choice as to keep the wheel base the same. Like I said, I am all for the HEMI if it's in the cards I just was sticking up for the Chevy engine because they definitely are rad motors when done well.

And as far as shooting for a Weesner type look. The thing that I notice with his art work is that the wheel bases seem to be shorter then possible in real life and the tires appear to be bigger then anything we have to work with. That' what makes his stuff look so good. It's like he's not constrained with size or scale. He shrinks the body until he sees fit. But it's all about the stance for sure.

I agree!!!

 

looks like you're half way there.

haha. cool man, keep at it.

 

looks great

 

thanks yeah i wanna roadster pickup and weesner is just insperation not gunna exactly shoot for that look, though i do enjoy it. Very good points and making me think about my motor as of now lol. I found a s10 rearend with 3.80 and a posi from a friend for $50 so now i got a rearend. need the doors and bed now