I bought a neon sign off of St. Louis craigslist...and while I was there saw an ad for a 1918 dodge touring car tub. I had the dough and the trailer space but couldn't catch the guy. Turns out he was a HAMB'er. We made a deal and I sent a check. We couldn't make a connection but he dropped the car off for me at Plowboy's house during the PileUp. An Indy HAMB'er had some car issues during the pileup and had to leave his rod at Plowboys house. When he went back to get it, he brought the tub back to me. I presumed it would sit as a someday project but then I had this 56 dodge lancer sitting in my garage and I thought..hmmm...that 325 would be neat in a dodge rod and I could use that rearend too. So I started taking the Lancer apart. I started looking for an adapter for the Super Red Ram to put a manual transmission behind it and another HAMB'er mentioned they could help me with that...except there was a hemi on one end of the adapter and a Lincoln 3 speed with overdrive on the other end and he wasn't interested in separating it. I don't blame him. So I brought the whole setup home. I found a 34 Ford front end on Indy Craigslist for $100 and thought...dang...I've got too much NOT to get this built. So off it went to Indy guru Gary Brown (also a HAMB'er) and in three days it's gone from the first picture to last picture. I'll have it back next week. I've got a full set of chrome reverse wheels with new Radir cheater slicks and wide whites up front too..and Edmunds 2x2 that came with the HEMI, and a Fatlucky seat hopefully happening soon. Should be fun. After years of buying and selling, I'm about to take a looooong break. I don't have time anymore. Three young girls need my attention more than Ebay and my wife deserves a clean garage and a car we can have fun in. I'm gonna get what is here (two old race cars) finished this year or next, and sell whatever is left. Gonna have some fun with the family and when the kids move out in 17 years probably get back to the madness. Time to go to shows and drink beers and skip the swap meets...cause I don't have the self control to even walk through them. I'll post up this build as it happens cause I usually just make posts like "hey man, neat car".
Scoob, man, I sit here and watch you buy and sell some awesome stuff and it makes me smile....but this? Dude, I'm happy for ya
it is kind of funny after all these years...this car does not have a 1000 horsepower turbonique drag axle, a latham supercharger, 6 or 8 dueces, rare magnesium front wheels, a million holes drilled in the frame, or anything else. It's a simple car with a big hemi. It's not even a style of car that has ever been on my radar. I just had the stuff and think it will be fun. I like collecting things that have meaning to me now. Gary Brown is my friend and I think he's a very skilled craftsman. So having him build this ch***is is way cool for me. Obviously I feel the same way about a Fatlucky seat. Of course I'll run a GMC Bubba distributor too. I like that the parts all came from people that I know or met because of this car and I know the story of each part on it. It's kind of a big tattoo sleeve of a life journey in the car world. I think it needs an Earl Scheib paint job when it's done.
Three days to build that frame and make it a roller? That seems exceptionally fast. Is there any rear suspension on it? Is the plan to run the body RPU style or are you planning to put the back half of the touring back onto it?
neato Man - it has the look already oh wait, I just noticed it doesn't have a turbonique axle - nevermind
I agree. Had to wait 20 yrs. but it was worth it. Nothing like having a great relationship with your sons and daughters. They like old cars also.
No rear suspension yet but at the pace Gary works, there probably is today. I just took the rear axle out of the 56 yesterday and took it him so it's just sitting there in the picture. It's gonna get tucked up behind the body like a little modified and there is an oval gas tank going above it. I think the total wheelbase is 105". Squablow...I'll have the doors off of that dodge this weekend and then that car is going to the s**** yard. Let me know if you need anything else off of it.
Check out that rearend real good before you install it, the original in my '55 was so slopped out you could turn the driveshaft 90 degrees in either direction before it would catch. Don't know if it was a weak design or maybe mine just lost it's oil and wore out. It's also a real ***** to get the drums off. Neat looking car though, the frame looks like it matches the body's shape really well, not just a square box. I'll send you a PM about parts.
Nice! If it means anything, that is very close to how I had it mocked up - great minds something something. And let me know about the '56 hemi - I can only hold it for so long.
Day three and a half... the frame is done except for a few gussets. I found a corvair steering box and some pedals while cleaning my garage today and have no clue where they came from but should be perfect. ' PS...this thing has a 104 inch wheelbase so it's actually the same length as a stock model a. Lot's bigger than a ford T bucket = room for my fat ***.
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