Pretty cool little truck,.. all restored .. TRD 85 hp V8 Flathead.. juice brakes,.. syncro trans.. I put the 7.50 & 5.90 white walls...gonna get lowered a little and dual lake pipe exhaust...
still not much interest in the ol commercial 34's... the last one I had years ago I took the truck body off and put a coupe body on it..then it was cool...they are starting to come around though...
Clean little 34. I love the 32-34 pickups more than coupes. it’s the camera, my 33 pickups color has always looked funny in photo. Camera’s always picked the color differently.
took the truck for a run.... all going good... stopped and fill the gas tank... went about 2 blocks and it died... felt like ran out of gas...open the hood... no gas in the glass bowl...fuel pump went... so I order a new one.... get here... wrong pump...went to so cal and they had one....finished up on the T bird... so the 34 was next in line.. go to put it on...left the key on dead... so dead it won't take a charge....pump rod is up too high so can't put it on till I bump the starter..looking at the old pump... 1/8 pipe thread... new pump 1/4... so new fitting needed there..fuel line to the carb wrong also.... wouldn't it be great to some day change a part that just bolt on and done???
So i'm guilty here.... for years,.. one after another stuff like this rolled into my shop.. motor, trans , front and rear end..removed and small block auto trans, disc brakes dropped axel... the stock stuff.... couldn't give it away so it went to the scrappers... so now days... a flathead needing rebuilt.. takes for ever to sell @ 50 to 100 bucks..... thats about 63 cents in 1960
still working on this one... the fuel pump issue turned out to be a rubber liner in the gas tank thats come loose..and sucks up to the fuel pick up... so ordered a new gas tank... got the headers on.. but waiting to get time to do the lake pipe exhaust..also... dropped head light bar.. and reversed eye frt spring..
thanks, I got a new set to put on....don't seem to be much interest in this old shit anymore...I think it cool...
I know, I know, the right way to do this is to spend 3 or 4 hrs rounding up the stuff to make a jig ...then spend another day trying to heat and bend a the drops to match..and hoping it fits...and hope that the bar doesn't collapse or that you ruin the head lite bar and have to get another one.. then spend another day buffing it .... so opted for the ordering one on line shipped to my door for 130 bucks..did have to cut the center and rotate it to clear the grille... then 2 little welds and done... also had to fab the horn bracket to be able to keep it on the lite bar..
Steve, that looks MUCH better. As for making parts instead of buying, I've been making/modifying parts for my cars ( OT and Hot Rod) for as long as I can remember. Same as my Dad. Nowadays the parts you buy are most likely offshore and they just don't have the same "FEEL" as old stuff. Thats just my way of doing it, everybody's different. Anywho I think it turned out great. Mitch
thanks for the kind words... took it out for a drive... the split exhaust sure sounds sweet... I think the new gas tank made a big difference also in the way it runs, no more surging.... the reverse eye spring didn't make a lot of difference as I think the stock spring was sagging a little... probley should have measured it before.... too late now..
almost for got... put headers on the flatty...the collectors always leak, they were cut off and V bands installed..
So......the flat head....I know that ive read where people have these and love them,... kinda cool to look at I guess... but nothing like a nice SBC and auto as a driver...this truck seems to like 35-45 mph...and back in this trucks day... probley where it got drove the most...pretty sure it would go out on the freeway.... but also seems that it would be pushing the limit ,so I just putt around the hood... I don't know if it's that i'm old... scared, or just attentive when driving this truck.......but people that come up behind, or along side seem to honk their horns alot... you know, and howler "cool truck!!!"... scares the fuc out of me...I think a wheel is falling off or something....anyway... seems pretty dependable now.... and sounds good... starts easy... last flat motor I had was 25 years ago... flathead jack motor.. didn't like the vegas heat... and sometimes it would just die and refuse to start till it cooled down... I've always thought these motors , the carb gets too hot and boils the fuel.. and gets into a vapor lock situation....but yesterday at 109 degrees out... did fine putting around..
Hello, When I was a teenager, my first real car was an 80 HP Flathead powered 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery. It originally was powered by a high performance 348 motor when I first saw it cruise into our teenage drive-in restaurant parking lot. It rumbled and just looked awesome. As the owner accelerated out of the exit, he gave it a little gas and everyone in the parking lot smiled and were impressed. By the time we all saw the 348 powered sedan delivery in the parking lot space, we all scrutinized the whole car, like everyone does when a new car rolled into the lot. 348, sedan delivery, no one has one for surf trips and camping… HMMM… That instantly gave me an idea. The owner had come back the following week and was a little irritated that the past week, “Salmon Pink” was the color everyone thought was the actual paint. He told us it was “racer orange.” No, there definitely was a hint of pink in the color. From a 348 high performance motor to an 80 HP flathead... Jnaki But, it was the lack of horsepower from the 80 hp flathead motor that was the negative portion of owning the cool 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery. It had the style that no one else had in any hot rod build in all of So Cal at the time. When we drove 50 miles south to Dana Point and San Clemente to go surfing, it was coastal highway and all it offered. Visual confirmation of the waves, the swell direction and how consistent it was. Do we stop in Huntington Beach or keep going to Dana Point Killer Dana and Salt Creek Point waves? No place to put surf racks for our longboards, so we utilized a rear door window opening. So, while we were on our way, we knew from experience that the flathead could handle any flat surface roads, loaded with beach supplies, food and drinks + two/three heavy longboards. But, there were two places along the coast that gave us trouble. Trouble in the sense that the 80 hp flathead had problems going up a steep grade, despite a 60+ mph downhill head start in 3rd gear. Upon getting up to speed going downhill, we all knew what was ahead. If no traffic was in our lane, perhaps we could make it up the steep grade by shifting to 2nd. But, it there was traffic, then a definite 1st gear shift was necessary to keep up with the slower traffic. It was a shame as the coast was the best view point in all of south orange county at the place called El Morro Beach. The road is steep and the views are amazing, especially when the waves are blasting the tall cliffs and peeling all the way to shore. Note: The other place that required a fast downhill blast in 3rd gear then trying to make it up the steep grade was at Salt Creek Beach. There was an open window to the ocean with no homes or anything resembling a house. The view of the waves was a perfect window to that world which we were going to invade soon. But, we could not worry about those waves. We were in the right lane as the turn off to the beach trail was coming up at the top of the hill. Driving into the opening and then going down the steep trail to the ocean was nice. All 1st gear drive with brakes. A smooth rolling silence as we moved past the open gate and were able to park around the point cliff, out of anyone’s sight. Why silence? The dinky house at the gate was there to collect $.25 cents to park all day on the sand. But, $.25 cents was almost half a tank of gas to get home. So, a silent roll past the gate/house to surf some of the best waves on the coast. Today, it is still called Salt Creek Beach and above stands the humongous hotel resort, the Ritz Carlton built in 1983. The lack of flathead motor power was a hinderance to me, but the flathead was so reliable that for the 5 years and 1000s of miles, not one repair was necessary. An instant start and ran like a top everywhere we went on our surf journeys… But, what about cruising/racing credibility? My friends were the first to want to get in the sedan delivery as it was a different way to make a splash... (pun intended) when we drove into the hot rod laden drive-in restaurant parking lot. Everyone knew it was my car and made no qualms about how fast or slow it was. We all knew. From the fastest hot rod sedan in Bixby Knolls to one of the slowest sedan delivery hot rod vehicles. It was quite a contrast in teenage speed and action... at least it was always shiny...YRMV
The Jalopy Journal
