You can use the transverse rear spring and a 9" rear but you will need something stronger than split bones,,just a suggestion but the Pete and Jake's ladder bars would be what I would use. HRP
Well if you spent your whole life around sbc's then maybe that may be your best choice. But if you want to learn something different then go with the flatty. I've driven my flattys to work for the past 15 yrs. 45 and 55 miles one way. On 4 lanes and 2 lanes. A good rebuilt engine and the right rear gearing is the trick. Now. You want a challenge or do you just need to take a nap? So far most answers here surprise me. Maybe they just don't like tinkering?
Actually Chevy had a valve in head V-8 in the teens or 20s as I recall. An engine being valve in head doesn't make it any more reliable it just makes it more complicated. Phttttttt (just felt like being a bully ) I am personally a fan the SBC for a lot of reason which are no more logical than the fact that I like them. But I would not favor one over a flathead ford for reliability at all and I would use a flathead if I had one in a build and never give it a second thought. The flathead Ford has been and can be as reliable as any engine on the planet, a lot of them were going the distance long before the small block was even a dream. Hell I still remember part of a summer spent wandering around the west in a flathead powered car, North Cal, Nevada, Idaho, Washington, Oregon. We took tools and a few spare parts and made a repair or two along the way but we had a blast.
I say build what you are comfortable with. If you know the sbc and are fine with using it, then go with it. If you really like the look of the flathead and want to do the work to learn about them, then run with it. As far as the rest of the car, build it the way you want to build it. It's your car, and you're going to be the one driving it. Have fun with it, just do the research and build it the correct way. You'll be able to figure out what works and what needs to be changed along the way. That's called learning from experience, we all do it.
Wlel the good thing is it's rural Texas on a 4 lane mostly. Not much traffic. From big town to small town. And about 15 minutes on I40 at 60-65. A small as these cars are I think drum brakes will handle it. My 66 chevelle with drums and single pot master stopped on a dime. Actually better than my 70 chevelle with front discs. But I hear you Missy'sdad. A somewhat traditional build will be tough but right now I drive it in my work truck, Lifted tacoma and it's boring as hell. If it gets to be too much work and no fun I'll leave it at the house and play with it in town. Really my only concern with a flatty is cooling at hwy speeds. It'll be anywhere from 70 deg in the morning and 105 coming home in the afternoon. Also I can take my time at 65-70 if the bias plys don't like the speeds. Or maybe I could go with cokers bias look radials. I just hate street roddy crap though. Saw enough of that in my muscle car days. And I love to learn about new motors so maybe throw the sbc in and build on the flatty as time goes on. I'll have to ship it out or travel. No one around here messes with them anymore.
Your flatty will cool just fine, good pumps and clean the hell out of the water jackets before you assemble and you are golden. I am wondering how old you are? I could never afford my first set of radials until deep into the '70s. I drove the hell out of whatever I drove back then just like I do now and my bias plys worked just fine. Either way you decide to go if you are willing to put the work into making it right you will end up with a good driver. Or either way you go if you half ass it you won't do well at all. I don't get the impression you are going to half ass it so I won't loose any sleep worrying about you.
Ha ha. Thanks pork. I'm 36 but I'm lucky my dad is into cars so my first car was the 70 chevelle and to keep me out of trouble in high school we built and raced drag cars and a 66 chevelle 65 el camino etc. we went to a lot of super Chevys. Honestly I've never driven on bias plys so it will be an experience. I'm looking for. Complete car to build so I can concentrate on the transplant and mechanicals. I half assed shit in my younger years and paid the price so that won't happen here. I don't want to deal with break downs I could have avoided by doing it right the first time. So the next question becomes. If I go with the merc Id like to run two 94's. Are there trans options to keep the banjo and closed driveline that will give me highway speeds easily. If I can go 70 comfortably I'd be happy. I'm thinking the merc will only make 100-120 hp and I don't plan on any street racing or side stepping the clutch either. Thanks again guys
Yes, but a secret memo from Bob Cole at Chevrolet Division was discovered regarding the proposed Chevrolet V8: 1953, Bob Cole proposed a new V8, but it was to have an oversquare design, and proportions/shape to fit in early Fords, where the design would be guaranteed to replace the aging flathead, and have a perennial reign over a proposed life production of 100 years. Ask Zora. And...Show me a Factory Corvette with a flathead V8.
Just watch out for brake fade on those loooonnng downhill runs...........oh, wait...Amarillo. Never mind. Now, a north wind when you're headed south on the other hand...............
Sure, it's a water pump housing and pump for small block Chevys which raises the fan hub several inches. On early cars like the Model A this centers the fan behind the radiator core while at the same time giving clearance at the lower radiator hose to run a very large OEM-style fan. Has the same radiator clearance as a stock short water pump. I run one on my coupester and it has yet to get over 180 even on the hottest Texas days. It's like magic! http://www.snowwhiteltd.com/products.html
Alternative to Snow White is Zip's, which does the same thing, and gives similar results. However, it is my understanding that the Snow White uses a Volvo pump, and the Zip's uses a 6 cyl. Chevy pump. Guess which is easier to find if your pump starts leaking in BumFuck, Egypt?
No, I don't think you do, but that's okay, you'll learn by doing it the hard way as I have. I'm just trying to save you some heartache and some dough by sharing the results of my experience, not my opinions. You can't build an enjoyable, low-maintenance, trouble-free daily driver hot rod based on hot air, trust me I've tried. Sooner or later you're going to have to accept that a daily driver is different than a weekend putter and take those differences into account when you plan and when you build. Good luck, I'm pullin' for ya'!
Actually it's an aluminum Opel water pump which fits in a box about 4 inches square and doesn't take up much room or weight in the trunk. I carry a spare just in case. I'm not brand loyal so whichever one is selected is just hunky-dory with me. I carry a spare ignition module and a couple of other parts I'd not be likely to find on short notice as well, but that's only common sense. I also avoid "BumFuck, Egypt" like the plague, and suggest that you do, too. Nothin' much to see there anyways...
LOL, MD!!!!!! I've actuaslly thought of carrying another water pump with me, And also some other stuff. But I agree either one will get that fan up high enough to get it away from the bottom water neck and allow a fan big enough to do the job. Last year at Steel in Motion I ran my roadster about 6 or 8 runs back to back and each time had to get back to staging lanes on a return road totally clogged with race fans scoping out the vendors set up along both sides of the return road (and I've been bitching about it ever since, LOL) most of the time idle speed in first gear was too fast to get thru. But the car never got above about 185-190, and I'm quite happy with my cooling system. Nothing I hate more than a percolator hot rod! But on another note to the OP, I'm 77, and for the first 50 years of my life I tried to build a dual purpose hot rod/daily driver, and finally realized it just don't work. It's either gonna be a not so hot rod or a pig of a commuter. Also to consider, the insurance companies that insure hot rods for an agreed value for a reasonable price don't want the car to be a daily driver or be driven to work regularly.
What are these hills you speak of? I promise I'm listening. I'm struggling with form over function. I would love to do a flatty and banjo but I know it's not the best way. I think the combo will be 327/T5/ford 9" and vega box for steering. Drums on all fours 760/15 650/15 bias ply blackwalls. What are my options for switching the front to juice drums on the A spindles or should I change spindles?
I've got some juice brakes I'll swap you for that pile of a merc Motor nobody wants you to run... I like the idea of a hard chop on a tall car...
Most of your front end component choices including spindles will be predicated by your choice of steering box. The Vega is a very good choice but you'll need cross-steering compatible spindles to make it work on your Model A. The Speedway Motors catalog has some very good basic information on suspension setups as well as a plethora of parts from which to build them. If you don't have one I highly suggest that you get one. Go to the Speedway Motors website and request a catalog. It's like a bible to the budget do-it-yourself hot rod builder. On a budget your drum brake choices are limited to two: '40 - '48 Ford and F-1 pickup. Both are good and plentiful as are parts...but they are a far cry from the Chevelle brakes you spoke of earlier. Regardless of what you may hear, all drum brakes ARE NOT the same. And... ...if you go with a 9-inch Ford rear axle with its bigger stock brakes you'll need to downgrade their efficiency with a proportioning valve to balance with the earlier front drum brakes. So... ...perhaps in order to get maximum braking all around a budget disc brake kit from Speedway or CPP would make better sense. The discs will balance up much better with the 9-inch rear drum brakes and improve your stopping power and fade-resistance greatly. Once again, experience vs hot air. All this having been said, I am currently building a weekend putter '28 roadster which will have a very early F-100 9" rear axle and brakes paired with F-1 front drum brakes. This combo is very traditional and visually pleasing...but it won't stop anywhere near as well as my current '29 roadster with 4-wheel discs which is very much at home in high speed traffic here in DFW. It's a matter of fitting the car to its intended use.
I am looking at the Summit catalog and they list two opel water pumps. Which one does the Snow White riser use?
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