Projects 47 Coupe Build

Well normally Id steer away from a build thread, every time ive done a build thread Ive struggled to finishbthe project haha. Im gonna chance it. I almost bought a 47 ford for my first car twice! a short door that was too rusty and a sedan I couldnt pull the trigger on. I ended up with a 54 ford customline. now 16 years later and I have finally bought a 47 ford long door. tags say 1979 on em so shes been off the road for a little ol 40 yrs, no motor or trans, 65 fairlane 500 front seat, interesting early production mishmash, has the 46 guages and had the roof antenna but someone added one to the cowl later. plan right now is to get it road worthy and cleaned up then do bodywork someday. i washed and wetsanded a bit and i think i can get a decent amount of the original paint visible. might clearcoat it. i have a 61 394 olds for it and still undecided on trans, i want a manual floor shift

 

Good luck on your project. I love your choice of engines.
Bob

 

some pics

 

thank you! im hoping itll fit without too much fight

 

Can't help you there, except to say that I stuck with the Olds mounts when I stuffed one into a 53 Merc truck. I had tons of room.
Bob

 

you wouldnt have a picture of how its mounted would you?

 

No, sorry. I did the swap in 1966, and never thought to take pictures when I was doing my swaps. I did start taking some pictures of my swaps in 1971, but that was long after I sold the Merc and bought the love of my life, the Cameo. The way I did the swap, was to transplant all the running gear from the Olds. I was lucky enough that my donor had the optional Hydramatic, and because I had used one in a previous swap, I was very comfortable with the decision. I would have preferred to have a standard, but didn't want to adapt to the Ford transmission ( I had broken enough of them), and I couldn't find an Olds standard, and probably couldn't have afforded one if I had found it.
Something I should add that might be helpful, is that in the late 50s, I stuffed a 53 Olds into a 34 Ford truck, and for the front mounts, I used the Hurst mounts and the standard Ford front pads. It made positioning the engine a lot easier. To use the Hydramatic, I had to cut the X and then rebuild it after I had the larger transmission in place.
I hope this is helpful.
Bob

 

very helpful! i have a hydramatic but i really want a standard, not sure how it will all play out, i really want to only use parts from 62 back to keep it somewhat period correct. i saw a guy who fabbed up something like the hurst mounts but alk one piece, i may try to go that route. i hope those flathead mounts will hold up, the 394 is a lot bigger with a lot more power, its going to be interesting

 

I know that Hurst made a single piece mount for some engines. I am really testing my memory here, but I am almost certain that mine were the two piece mounts that bolted to the same bolts that mounted the front cover. That engine was only a 303 but they held up with no issues.
Here is a link to a set of mounts like the ones I used.
http://www.2040-parts.com/oldsmobil...e-mount-324-371-394-rat-rod-hot-rod-i1860743/
Bob

 

the reason i read that they used their one piece was because of the aluminum timing chain cover

 

yours looks a lot more solid than mine how are the floors?

 

floors are really solid, got some holes where the access panel up front meets the cab but ive had waaaay worse in 20 year newer cars. im stoked to start working on it. its going to be the first car i ever build with my dad. he drag raced in the early to mid 50s a little. hes a pain, keeps saying we should take it back to stock haha as if he wouldve done that back in the day...hes mellowed a bit

 

if my cars early enough to have 46 guages and antenna location, would it have had 46 hubcaps?

 

Probably not. The roof antenna location was used at least through mid-year '47, and as for the gauges, are you sure they're OEM to that car?

From what I've seen, there's basically three versions of the '47. The 'early' '47 that was just a re-titled left-over '46, the 'first' '47 that had all true '47 trim except for carry-over '46 bumper over-riders on some cars and 'early '47' side trim (minor detail differences), and the 'final' version, with all 'correct' trim.

Ford was pretty disorganized right after WW2. Henry Sr was gone, and HF2 was still trying to figure things out. I was told years ago that which model you bought and where it was assembled had an effect on whether or not it got 'left over' parts installed as there was no clear company-wide policy as yet.

 

im not POSITIVE theyre oem however the clock and speedo are both the red version and i do know the cars tags expired in 1979 so the last time it was on the road it wasnt young but it was quite a bit younger. i had never heard of 46 guages on 47s but itd be kinda cool if they were oem.

 

hey, anybody have 47 ford zenith experience? its my understanding its not polarity sensitive so when i convert to 12v neg i can just use voltage reducers, correct? if not the only other method is replacjng vibrator, bulb and tubes with 12v neg versions

 

i found this https://www.vintageautogarage.com/12V-to-6V-Vintage-Tube-Radio-Dropping-Reducer-p/dr100w001r5.htm i think it may be the solution to my problem if anyones interested. My radio is missing the selector wheel and spins freely so i think im going to wire it in one place so i can tune it. today i started swapping capacitors. i think i am right around halfway done.

 

next batch of capacitors in! does anybody have a parts radio i could steal 2 parts off of????

 

any thoughts on this kit?
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/264056005380
im thinking about using this but i am curious if there are any horror stories? there isnt all that much to wire up in a 47 ford

 

Love your coupe, I have over the years had 9 46 and 47 Fords, one of my favorite cars. If I get the chance to look in my parts bin I just may have an old radio, if I do you are welcome to it. As to the wiring harness I see nothing wrong with the one you linked to. Not a lot can go wrong if you just take some time and pay attention. Good luck and I look forward to hearing what is next on your build...

 

thatd be awesome! id love for the push button selector to function correctly! i think the next step will be pouring concrete in my garage/carport and pulling her in and the front end off, new brakes, shocks, bushings, clean up and paint the dash, new tires, split the bones, find a 3 speed manual and shove it and the 394 in, new harness and 12v neg conversion then wet sand and satin clear the body, reupholster front seat (gonna try my hand at upholstery) then drive it for a bit enjoy and save up before doing bodywork and paint

 

You might give the Ford Barn a shot when looking for those radio pieces. Back to lurking.

 

I have a 46 long door coupe that I pulled the factory radio from to go with a Blue Tooth set up. If it didn't get trashed it may have what you need. It also had the foot station selector which I probably did trash. I had a 46 in school and this car was going to be a nostalgia trip but after getting the entire chassis and drive train completely renewed I am too old (82) to do the block/color sanding, the re-wire, or anything that takes good eye sight and flexible joints. Whoever came up with the "Golden Age" is full of crap. I hope your project makes up for my abandoned one---Good luck.

 

thanks! after doing a full resto on a 1966 charger this 47 just doesnt seem that complicated, no automatic rotating headlights or ridiculous to get to roll down rear windows, full length consoles and thousand dollar glowing ceramic guage sets. im sure it will still be hard but fun hard! i just have to find that darn wheel or ill go crazy haha

 

pulled the front clip today, I am wondering if anybody has seen or done themselves a decent job of hiding a modern electrical system within the original system/look? im sure its been done. figured id post some more pics too

 

First steps. Blowing it apart is always the fun part. Looks like you have a pretty solid foundation to build on. I really like the Olds and a stick. Have you given any thoughts as to what tranny you are wanting to run? Also that Ford OEM rear end is not going to last long so what are your plan's back there? Really cool project I look forward to what's next.

 

well my thought at the moment is maybe ford 3 speed? one of the short ones and for the rear i had planned on starting work on a 9 inch but i want to find one from before 1961, i am trying to have it be all 1961 on back except the wiring upgrade, im considering switching to 56 f100 front brakes too. splitting the bones, im going to clean up the frame from the firewall forward and try to get it in driveable shape, repaint the dash, new wiring, 12v neg conversion then i have something i can drive and take to shows and slowly chip away at bodywork. i dont think bodywise im going to do much custom, shave hood ornament maybe, i think these cars look pretty awesome to start with especially with the right stance

 

so given the casting number on my engine pictured above if im going by this chart posted by a fellow hamber and using all of my brain power....it appears the 1961 date may have been wrong? looks more like 59 or 60?

 

or maybe just early 61 idk... itd be cool to figure out exactly what its out of, f means low compression 61 i think

 

My second car for me back in '62 was a crapped out 46 coupe. We installed a 303 Olds from my wrecked 51 along with a 39 3 speed. Used a Hurst mount. Fuel pump bowl interference with the Hurst. Used to loosen up after 50 or so miles and we had to retighten the clamp each time. Then there was the starter interference so we just removed the starter. When you are 16 pushing the car to start it was not much of a challenge and besides the gals thought that was way too cool! Side glass was too cloudy to pass NY inspection but we learned that they did not say you had to have glass so we just removed all the side glass which really surprised the inspection guys. The front seat was toasted but the cotton backing was still there so we covered it with a WWII silk parachute. The gals really liked that but that is another story.
Following along now......brings back a lot of memories.