Hot Rods Road to Great 8..My "31" sedan build thread

I have had the model A sedan for 5 years and put 30,000 miles on it in the first 2 years of it's new life. The engine was out a "67" Impala with 280,00 miles on it when I started. With the old motor non timeable I decided to replace it with a 292 Y-Block and T-5 tranny. Which then led me to completely redesigning the car from a raw hot rod to a 60's show car.

At this point the decision was made to debut at Detroit Autorama's 60th and be judged for Great 8.

I have been working on the car over the past 2 years and will be posting photos of the previous progress and continuing progress on this thread.


Here is a photo of what I started out with.



With the help of the late Larry Watson and Steve Stanford I was lucky enough to have them collaborate on the paint design.

 

I really like it

 

X2.

 

Very cool... can't wait to see it.. subscribed..

 

hell yea-love it!!

 

cant wait!!!

 

thats killer

 

Nice.

 

Good luck trying to make Great 8

I have been saying I want to try but man it would be tough to do with the style cars we build around here the judges have there head so far up there ass it crazy.

 

I think we have a winner!

 

With the help of those two, you can't go wrong.........

 

Yes! You have captivated me. To make the Great 8 is on my bucket list but I'm young and might be a tad overambitious. But..

It would be nice to see a trad rod make the Great 8, if not win the Ridler itself. The Takeout T proved that traditional rods aren't completely neglected so I have some hope for this one. Even if the Great 8 judges don't see eye to eye with you on this one, you've won anyways because this will be one beautiful automobile when all is said and done.

Best of luck to you and this build!

Subscribing for sure.


iPhone - TJJ App

 

That thing is going to RULE..

 

Thanks for the kind words guys..

This is when we put her up on jack stands for disassembling. And off to have the body dipped.

 

Looks good Trace!

 

I chose to install a "51" Ford dash in the sedan. I had never attempted such a task but figured I had enough commonsense to figure it out.



The dash needed to be sectioned 18" overall width. This amount needed to be taken from 7 different areas to maintain correct proportions within the smaller cabin space.







I had to pie-cut both ends of the dash, as it widens towards the bottom by several inches.




All the seams were file fit.



The glove box needed 2 areas sectioned to maintain the lock mechanism and proper proportions with the new size dash.



Here the dash is rough fit to the car.


ISCA rules prohibit me from showing you the finished dash.

 

I thought posting of Great Eight/Riddler Award build pictures prior to the show was a big no-no.

 

I think its ok as long as you don't see the final assembly.. Could be wrong tho..

 

Fred Warren got disqualified for showing his frame at a Welding show......Be careful......

 

Uh. I've learned my new thing for the day.

Now that makes sense as to why Russ didn't make a build thread for the Takeout T before then.

Don't dig yourself into a hole, Trace..


iPhone - TJJ App

 

Damit..!!! its going to be a great car... I seen stuff... you might have to shut it down..

 

I love the paint rendering, it's about time someone stepped up and went for the Great 8 with a full show traditional hot rod.

In addition you might want to contact Champion Auto Shows before you go ahead and post more photos on this build thread because it might get you disqualified. Just looked at the Ridler rules from the Champion Auto Shows website and it appears they have been revised since Doug Cooper's 1932 Ford B400 won back in 2009.

Here's what the website said back in 2009

Here's what the website say today.

 

The rules state no part of the build can be shown to the public in it's finished state.

Thank you for your input though.

 

I will call call Bob Millard today (ISCA head judge) to get final clarification.
Thank you all for your concern. I hope I haven't screwed myself!

 

Since when is this kind of squashed, snake belly low build style considered "traditional?"

 

Since August of 2003

 

I was gonna say "hes going for late nineties traditional", but I didnt sleep much last night, so I figured better not get into a flame war on no sleep...

 

Yeas Piero, I am aware of that one, I have the issue. But that car has RAKE even though it is low

 

I would love to clone that version...

Yeah I hear you.. Its just cool that his car that was beat to shit and even called the Rat word..now is getting built to compete with some serious cars and builders..
Allot of really great historical people are putting time into this car witch makes it even that much more special..

I hope Trace can keep on posting cause theres some interesting stuff on this car..

Just sayin