Hot Rods >>Cleaning up an OLD '36 ROADSTER<<Clean up thread! Photos!

Hello all,
My mate calls me one day and says...''That '36 roadster you have always wanted has come up for sale" .... Brief silence...confusion.....glee....No way I said. So off to the bank and the roadster is mine after a very patient 25 year wait. I told the wife about our new purchase when she got home from work, it went over real well, well sort of. I did not see her for ages.

So our '32 pick up was put on the market, we sold it off and after 1 monthly repayment to the bank, we payed out the residual amount owing. Moral of story, get it now, think and work it all out later. At least you have it. If I jagged around the vendor and argued about the asking price, I know I would have missed it as there were no shortage of well qualified buyers lined up for it I was told. Well, it worked for me!

Heres the pickup we sold.


The ''new'' '36 is a 3 owner Adelaide car from new and has always been garaged and loved by all of its owners. It has never been apart, but has had plenty of repairs over the years to keep it on the road.

I was told that the car was sold new as gift to the wife of a well to do Adelaide businessman.

One of the stories that has been told to me on more than one occasion was the car was raced at the 1938 Australian Grand Prix at Lobethal. I will try and confirm these ramblings as if they are true, well thats cool with me.The first owner sold it in 1949.

If your into old Fords around here, every one seems to have some sort of memory of this old Port Adelaide car, as its second owner was a bit of a character.The second owner immediatly repainted it Black from it's original Washington Blue, he filled the cowl vent, got some '38 Ford 'Spider caps, hotted up the engine with Edelbrock heads,hot cam etc. etc. He and the roadster got up to a lot of shenanigans together over his 49 year ownership.Most of the stories told to me usually ended with a squad car behind it. With his ageing and failing health, old Joe sold it in 1999.

Between 1999 and 2009, it sat in a garage and became dusty........

This is it, with all dust washed off and in the condition when we got it a couple of years ago.



It's had these Edelbrock heads for years and years. Even though it does not look like it, every thing here is chrome. Starter, generator, exhaust manifolds, sump, carb body, nut, bolts, linkage - everything! It also has the wildest 'home ground' cam given to him by a friend from a sprint car from Rowley Park speedway back in the early 50's. It's got a real tuff idle, is an absolute stinking, lurching pig in traffic, but where I drive it out on the rural roads where I live, well it loves it. I am swapping it over as we speak for an Isky 'MAX 1' cam so it is more pleasant to drive. (read, so wife can drive it home after parties)




Lots and lots and lots of cool old shit in here!



Here is the photo of the 1938 Australian Grand Prix. It is rumoured to be this car.



When we took delivery of the roadster,the car was only running on 6 or 7 cylinders.The dude I bought it off of said 'Sheil be right mate, it's just a stuck valve from sitten aroun" ''Ittl come good" Well, it never did come good, So let's get the engine out and give it a rebuild.



While we are at it, let's renew the old hydraulic brake conversion using new bits throughout, new steel bundy tube, master cylinder, wheel cylinders, drums, cups, pistons, shoes -everthing. While we are at it, might as well make up a new stainless twin exhaust system for it as well. Ring up the radiator place as well, might as well get it done too.



While it was at about this stage, I got 5 new Firestone white walls - 6.50/16 for the rears and 6.00/16's for the front. Im goin down to 5.50's for the front though now. I also made up some new rims for the wider tyres as well at this stage and had them powder coated red.
When we pulled the engine down for inspection, we found one of the valve collets? (can't remenber) flipped out and was not where it should have been and the valve was not doing it's thing. BUT, (heres the best part) when the heads came off, they had 3 -(three)- head gaskets under each of them. The heads have had that much shaved from them over the years that the valves where hitting the heads because of the wild (400+?) lift cam! So, easy fix, add more gaskets!AAGGHH!!

These are the old heads and were no good for this car anymore.I bead blasted and cleaned them up and they became wall hangers.



Heres the wall hangers. It's what you do when your a bored signwriter.



After numerous late nights, heres the engine all back together. Time for paint.



To be continued.....

 

Wow! I love that wall-hanging, and what a great car. Is that really 60 year old paint?!

 

Great story! Can't wait for the rest.

 

love it

 

Love that Grand Prix photo, headlights, hubcaps & license plate.....lets go rac'n!
Wayyy kooool car.

 

Very nice ride!

 

This car is so cool on so many levels.
Good work on the Edelbrock sign too.
Quite the handy young fellow.

 

That's a great Grand Prix photo....

 

cool car with some history,like the sign

 

Absolutely Stunning!

 

Yes, the paint I have been told was sprayed in 1949. It buffs up so shiny that it is incredible but, in the next couple of days, it seems to lose it's rich lustre. I think it is nitro cellulose laquer?
I have to go and install some signs now and I have a lunch sunday booked at a nice rural hotel with the neighbours, I will post more photos and story tonight. Stay tuned...

 

Sweeet Ride ! Good Luck with it. What am I sayin you dont need luck. You got the car already

 

Wow, what a car - looks like it's in safe hands - well done!!!

 

The roadster is super cool!!.......Also I love your edelbrock sign

 

I'd like to see more pix of the Australian Grand Prix. Good thread,... I'll keep an eye on it.

 

Great story and cool car.
Damn I hate you..........you lucky bastard.........

 

Wow what a great survivor, that Edelbrock display is the coolest!

 

That one is a treasure for sure. Great that you know most of it's history and your retaining the essence of the car and not changing everything as so often happens.

Frank

 

As requested Bobby Green,here are some more photos of the 1938 & 1948 Australian Grand Prix staged at Lobethal in the Adelaide hills, 25 miles east of Adelaide, South Australia. I live about 7 miles from the old street curcuit. Recently, there have been 2 re enactments of the races held over two days.It is a great vintage race meeting attracting vintage race fans from all over the world. It would make a great event coverage thread. I should do it if I get the time. Heres the photos anyway.

 

Fantastic car, and a really great read.

Now get out there and drive the wheels off that car

 

Oh... a few more.

 

Geoff,

This thread is well and truly going to blow my mind! It's so cool going through this thread after having exchanged a few PM's with you a while back about you're awesome '36.

I'm going to keep a real close eye on this thread. Such a cool car, and a strong history... You've got it made!

Very much looking forward to seeing this car in the flesh some time soon....

HC.

 

Great story great freakin' score man!

I love that old Rod of yours. Looks like it's in great hands amigo!

 

hot-rod dude - Great story! ... Great car! ... Great thread! ... Thanks for sharing!

 

Well, In true Poverty Flats style (thanks Paul) I'm going to show you the best steak that I have eaten in a long time.
I had a Sunday lunch with my family and favorite neighbours on my eastern fence line, Jethro & Felicity and their kids Esra and Joel. Heres some pictures of the food. It's always available at the Stanley Bridge Tavern, Verdun, South Australia....Yum oh!

 

So the engine is now assembled and about to hit the chassis rails.



So now its in, It's time to start it and check for all the obvious. It runs sweet, still pig like with that 'dam it' cam but shit, It sounds good..... Here it is in the engine bay.


So what now. Engine runs, good oil pressure,brakes work and it seems to stay cool. Lets take it for a run out north in the forest country, It's late, around midnight, dodging kangaroos of all sizes in the pitch black of winter night with 6 volt, bad earth 1936 head lights. Wow, what an experience. No dash lights to keep an eye on things, all done by ear and flashlight and open exhaust. Wow, things you do.

Next day....

Some of the gauges were a bit geewizz last night, sort of sending wierd messages. I sorted them out and while I was attending to a oil leak at the rear of the oil gauge, I had with me a rag with some prepsol on it cleaning things as I went.



Not thinking, I left the rag on the seat and soon... oh *#$!)* , the prepsoly rag started to hassle the seat and oh fu_k!, it's fu_king the seat....fu_k! What now? I franticly played around with the problem a bit and....well, hey hang on, shit, this might be good, what is all of this red stuff? What I stumbled across is a preserved Red and Black with Gold piping trim job that was done in 1955!

Some one told me it was retrimmed in '55 and I always thought it was too much black. Hell, the roof, trim and body? Man, throw be a colour!

At some stage, Joe must of painted the entire trim with 'tyre black' paint to give the car an all over black theme. When I worked up the seat with the prepsol, it diluted the 'paint' and there was all the old colours underneath. So six litres( 1.5 gal) later, presto. I always wanted to get it re trimmed and add another colour to the car (red) but now it is all revealed with the original, hidden forever '50's red & black with Gold piping trim job.WOW.



More rubbing....



Getting there...



Gee wizz, keep at it.....







You have got to be happy with that!





To be continued.....

 

Wow! Great Car you have there with very nice history.
I like your garage and signs very mutch too.Thanks.

 

so i fell in this pile of horsesh-- and found this thoroughbred. i have a friend who keeps saying better to be lucky than good. great story and great find. one of my life's mistakes was getting rid of a '36 club cabriolet!

 

great car hope you drive the wheels of it they are to be enjoyed not in the shed like my old tub i put the diff back in today back on the roads soon 12 months to do a clutch sucks but looking at your car has got me keen to drive it again thank you

 

What an amazing story on a great old car ,especially the reveal on the seats ,just like magic ,its great that it was promised to you for so long and the promise came through ,so many times those promises get white anted by a lesser person with different agendas ,,