Projects 32 5W Build - The $4K Swapmeet Body / The Old Chrome Coupe

Fantastic build Neal!!

 

hey Ron....kinda reminds you of a certain 32, eh?

 

Yeah, it does Rocky, by the time this thing comes to completion it will have been on (4) individual chassis, not to mention setting on pallets, the ground or shop floor..... all & all by comparison it's quite obvious neilinca has a prime example a dozen times over. Ron

 

So killer, Neal!

 

I'm loving it Neal! Got a a color picked out yet? I'm liking the shade of those old purple hood tops!

 

looks amazing

 

Amazing find and construction. Great work.

jim

 

Deep Dark Purple (think Joe Nitti) is currently on the radar...

 

Purple would be preferable, with all that chrome... Love the stock height top, I had a perfect example in '59-'61, sold the fenders to do up a 'Highboy'!
Wish I had kept it (and the fenders!) Built a 296" flathead, 26 tooth Lincoln gears, '39 box. Halibrand V8 quickie, loaned to me by a member of the race team.

 

I'll cast a vote for the purple as well, can't say I have ever seen it, however my brother who worked in various high end L.A. restoration shops always said he had a deep pigment picked out called "Eggplant" anyone know what product line used it?

 

Very Well Scored And Saved...Best To You And Your Project...

 

I gathered some more old chrome for the 5W. My friend Rick sent me these old shocks, but said they weren't good enough for the car...


I spent some time with some degreaser, a nylon brush, then some rust stain remover and 0000 steel wool. I think they will fit right in with the rest of the pile...



We also got the frame in the jig for a little rear crossmember work.

 

I have just about given up on finding a chrome 32 rear end, so I am going to have all of the pieces plated. The problem has been finding a rear end good enough to plate. I finally gave in and decided to rob the one out of my old parts car...


The Fordor is a relatively low mileage CA car that has always been dry, so the undercarriage is very nice and smooth. The car needed some maintenance, so I decided to clean up another 32 rear end, add a torque tube seal (from Danny at Bruce's Rod Shop), a M/C and E-brake kit (from Dennis at The Early V8 Garage), as well as new shackles, rear shocks, brakes, brake lines, etc





With parts cleaned and painted, I am hoping to get the Fordor buttoned back up in the next week and get back on the 5W project.

 

That’s a pretty darn nice parts car!

 

It's so good you can just drive it to where the coupe is, no trailering the coupe back to the shop, swap the parts out right where the issue is, genius idea! hahahaha

 

another great build Neal

 

Making progress on getting the parts car back together, so I can get back on the 5W.

Brakes rebuilt


And started assembly

 

My dad would be proud, as he was always scrounging used parts. A neighbor said, when Chuck needs a part, he doesn't drive to town to the auto parts store, he just goes out behind the shop and digs around until he finds what he needs. I did that today, as I forgot to get a brake line T...


Pulled off a 40 rear end in the junk pile behind the shop, ugly, but it cleaned up just fine.

 

Nice!

 

I've done that with my A, it's good fun & satisfying.

 

Can't beat an old cleaned up Weatherhead brass tee!!

 

I would have sold you a 32 rear-end!

 

But, good enough to plate? I'll post pictures of the rear end out of the Fordor when I get it cleaned up. The metal is amazingly smooth. Plus the Fordor needed some love. This rear end swap went from 4.11 to 3.78, plus a much needed torque tube seal (due to the downhill rake), new brakes, shackles, shocks, etc. It was an excuse to take care of the loose ends I've been putting off for the last 10 years.



The car us almost back togther, just a few small parts to button up


The biggest chore is cleaning up after a thrash

 

I definitely have some pretty nice ones! They're all disassembled, so would be a big project though...

 

Where did you get your torque tube seal?

 

Ftom Danny at Bruce's Rod Shop in Texas

 

Do they work well? Thanks.

 

Yes, this is the third car I've used one on, and it definitely cures the drippy torque tube.

 

Back to the 5w project. I degreased and paint stripped the rear end i pulled from the Fordor and it was as nice as i suspected. It will make a great candidate for plating, it just needed a little cleanup first





The bearing surfaces and axle keyways are excellent




It even had matching Ford script axle keys, which I've never seen before.

 

Wow that suckers nice! I always assumed the came from the factory rougher then that from all the ones I’ve seen. This should look fantastic chromed