Projects 1947 Ford Tudor build thread (A.K.A. seemed like a good idea at the time....)

Well, I've been enjoying my '47 for about 8 years now, and the flathead runs great, but just doesn't have the power needed to be a "Hot Rod" in my book.

I started with


Made a few changes over the years like, IFS, 9" rear with leaf springs, C4 trans, etc to make it a wonderful driver


After finishing my '28, I got to thinking about the '47, and what I wanted to do, so last spring, I picked up a NICE '69 302 Ford, and went thru it.

I know I will get flack for swaping out the Flatty, but it is cheaper to make power in a ohv, than the ole flathead

This week I started pulling the front clip.


Yesterday the clip came off, with only a few stubborn bolts.


After pulling the clip, I thought....This would make a good build thread.....

 

Keep 'em comin'. Nice car, and Ford in Ford is good!

 

heck yeah ! "good build thread",put the turkey down and go to it,

 

You selling the flathead? The 59AB in my '47 spun a bearing last week.

 

Cool! I did the same thing (and took some shit for it), and swapped my 48 Merc Flathead out of my 40 for a 59 Corvette, dual quad motor. Just got tired of leaky 97's and no power although the old flattie sounded great. I am much happier!!!!
E

 

least you have all ford. my car already had the sbc and clip done. but least I have an easy engine to work on. nice tudor. Ihope to get my car half that straight someday

 

sorry, there is already a waiting list for my engine

 

Well.....it's out. Got a little hung up on the Lokar shifter mounting bracket (gonna change that mess anyways, why does it need to be so big?)



The rails are great, there is a little wahoo in the RT front horn, but nothing else to worry about. I need to cut off the engine mounts I made and get the new Chassis Engineering ones in, then I will test fit the new engine before I start working on the firewall. Some rust to fix in the lower cowls, but not too bad for a 62 year old..



The Mrs. caught me making some room in the X member


until next time...........

 

Cool man.......I made room in the Garage for the flattie!!!!

 

imagine my disapointment when i opened this thread and no SBC!!

keep the updates coming!

 

It was closer to being a 350 Chevy than you could ever imagine. Good call staying Ford in a Ford!

 

a 302 I just got to say alleluia!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

sorry double post

 

yes it is true, I picked up a SBC first, but the outpouring of crap I got from friends (like Jay) made me rethink my ways......

I traded the SBC for a SBF straight up, and went to it. My other Ford is Ford powered, so it is not unusual for me.

 

So, this doesn't seem right.....


I have used many of Chassis Engineering Inc parts, and all have fit well. SO I called their tech support, and Emailed them these photos, and they said that my frame is different than the 3 frames they have there. Supposedly, the inner box frame on my frame that sits flush, is bulged out about 1/4 inch on the ones they have........still does not explain this

How am I going to drill and put a bolt thru this??

All they said was that my frame is different, and it should explain the gap.

He said I can put the braces to my frame where I would like them to be, and then measure my centers, and they will build me a custom set of mounts to fit it on the engine side. I guess that will be ok, but I still think they should fit beter than this.
They are also not square to each other. When I lay a level across them, it rocks corner to corner.

I am gonna think on it a few days, then most likely I will cut these ones up, and weld them they way I think they should be, and let everyone here know what I came up with.


What do your frame rails look like?

 

So.......I had to trim a bunch off of the front edge of the mount, and reshape it to fit tighter to the crossmember, in order to get the fore/aft dimension correct.


Then I put 1/2 inch spacers on the backside so that it will fit tightly to the inner frame rail, then redrilled the lower mounting bolt holes.


After all that, the mounts are still not square to themselves


so much for "bolt on" parts......

Here is the engine in on it's first test fitting. There is loads of room around everything, and no problems with oil filter (short style on in the photo).


Whew!, it fits great. I was worried, but now that it is in there, it looks small. maybe I shouldda went with a big block.......

I am ready for the shitstorm I am going to get about the serpentine belt........

 

Yeah the "Bolt on" term really means you have alot more work ahead of you. Great write up.

 

Thanks for posting. Following your build. Glad you put another Ford in it.

 

OK, now it's time for the trans mount

Doesn't look too difficult..........


Getting it all in place on the X-member


If it is gonna be that far off center, I wish Chassis Engineering would not even drill the holes.


So I get it in place, centered, correct front to rear per the dimentions on the instructions, measure it twice, and just when I am ready to drill the holes, I noticed that there are holes on the mount, that line up perfectly with holes in the Fords frame

Why the hell they don't just tell you to install bolts thru these first, I DON'T KNOW!
It would have made things a lot easier, as I was, like most guys would be, laying under the car, on my back, on stands, with little room to move around.

Here it is all mounted up, all holes drilled. Only used the center two on each side for the mockup.


The best thing about using a C4 transmission in a post war Ford, is all the room it has in the center X member. Very minor work is needed to provide clearance.


Here are a few shots from the interior with the floor panel removed.


Next step----Headers

All is well here in the garage, but the holidays are here, and I will not be able to get out and play with my toys for a little while. I have a huge shopping list ready to order from Summit Racing, so hopefully I will get a few gift certificates for Christmas

Once I get the headers mocked up, I will be pulling the engine out, and prepping the firewall and frame rails for paint.

 

really nice work. makes me want to go fire up the heater and work on my tudor. looks good

 

Great project. I'm predicting that we'll see a lot more post war Fords being put on the road as hot rods in the near future. There is still a fair amount of them around in good conditon and a younger rodder just can't afford the entry fee for a '32-'34 Ford. Besides, there is tons of room in them for a growing family. The perfect entry level car.

Frank

 

They are big and comfy to ride in. I have amazed a few people with how well it rides. There is loads of interior space, and a huge trunk.

Going to the new engine should make this an all around great car!

 

I got my headers, so I thought I'd check them out.


Really not too bad quality for being cheapo house brand headers. I ordered them plain, as I assumed they would not fit the first time without some modifications......

OK, lets start on the passenger side. Good fit, but they hit on the starter, even though I have the small Ford starter installed.


Then, the drivers side. The steering U-joint hits it, and I cannot push them all the way in enough to install the bolts in the flange.


and talk about "block huggers"! they are so tight that they hit the engine mount on the drivers side.


all in all, not too bad for header fitment. Nothing a few well placed hammer blows won't cure.

 

Looking good!

The gaskets might push the headers out giving you the room from the engine block.

 

This reminds me a LOT of the '46 build I did on here, 10 years ago...

Absolutely nothing I purchased fit or worked as it should. Not one damn part!!

If I were to do it again:
I'd shitcan the whole pedal assy, grab something from the boneyard, pull the dash and brace the firewall for a hanging pedal. Which would also attach to the dash (as in the donor car). And they'd be power brakes, Hydroboost, if the vac can won't fit.
I did my own engine mounts, which placed the engine CL about 1 inch to the right, which helped the steering.
I cut a large section of 'X' member out, trimmed as necessary, then welded it back in, allowing for trans removal (because shit happens). It was far easier to mount the engine-trans, then trim and fit the piece of 'X', than do it the other way 'round.
I might buy CE's spring mounts, but I would in no way buy their springs. All they did was buy the shortest leaf pack they could, and sent it out. It NEVER MOVED with the weight of the car on it. I had to remove all but two leaves to get a decent ride.
I would subframe with an 80's 'A' body sub. The whole doghouse on this car mounts on the firewall and ONE POINT under the radiator. Tell me, how hard can it be to reconstruct one mount?? Vs. trying to get decent braking from a M-II setup?? The GM sub is good to go on that point. Plus the whole hanging pedal arrangement would work great here, too. And I could set ride height to a 'T'.
Rear axle on mine was 60's 'F' body.
Interior to your taste, but as for me, I love the '46 dash. Backlit gauges were only used that one year. Weld up the starter button, smooth with lead, same with the radio, but I frenched that in a bit, looked more factory than surface mount. And you cannot properly surface mount on a curved surface anyway.
Those are my thoughts, your mileage may vary.
Cosmo

 

ok, so here is the header remedy

Cut, make spacer, weld, and grind


there, now that looks better


On the drivers side, a little cherry red, with a dose or persuasion, makes it better, also moving the steering column a smidge helps too.



OK, next I pull it all back out again, and start filling holes in the firewall, and man, there is a lot of them.

Lauren wants to know when we can go for a ride again....

 

It is always fun to disassemble a car, and see what is hiding inside.....

Like what was the original color? remove the patent plate and find Green.


Pull the dash and find a scrap of material that shows the original interior color.


Remove the dash trim and see what color the dash was originally.


Look Ma, no interior!


I knew I was going to have to fill a few holes in the firewall, but WOW, I did not realize how many there were. Some made by prior owners with awfull patches screwed over them...


Well, the engine and trans is back out, so now I can start on the firewall, then onto the frame rails, then the dash, and thinking about brakes thru the firewall, then............

 

well, a few hours of welding, and many more grinding and sanding, and look.....no more holes!


other than the ones that are supposed to be there.

compare this shot to the one from inside on my last post line.... just a tad better

needs a little skim coat here and there, then prep for paint.

 

Jeff, if you would like I will look in my garage and see if I can find my trans mount that I duplicated for my car. I am running a 302 C4 and I fabricated a mound that eliminates the Ch*#y mount then an adapter to mount the C4. Looks the same as yours but takes the Ford mount and bolts directly to the tranny. I can bring it to Kzoo if I find it.
Dave.

 

here is a quick update on other things. I did not take a series of photos for this, but it is done now and I thought I would share.

Got a set of Autometer gauges, pulled the bezels, and glass off of them, gutted the Ford housing, and made the gauge holes just a tad bigger so the Autometer cups fit snug. Epoxied them into the original rear housing.


I did not like the original orange needles, so I pulled them off, stripped them, then polished them with a Dremel, and viola! shiny needles


reassembled with the dash bezel, and the look good. My only wish is that they had red lettering to match the speedo.


all right, back to the car......
I am seeing a whole bunch of "while I'm here" kind of fixes to do, like the wiper motor, and installing power brakes, that will be a lot easier to do now that everything is out of the way.