Projects My first hot rod build: 31 Ford coupe

I have been a hot-rodder in my head since I was in diapers, and I've finally jumped in at the age of 49. I've been racing my current car (LS2 powered 240z) with the ECTA and hold 4 class records with them and am chasing an ECTA 200mph-club hat in that car, hoping to to go 200+mph by the year 2020. While I do my own design work and cut out most of my own fabrication projects, I've always been intimidated by welding and have taken that work out. Its time for that to change, so I've purchased a Millermatic 211 mig welder and getting as much practice as I can. I treated myself to a 30X36 oversize 2-car shop with 4-post and 2-post lifts. All of this has been done with the goal of building a Deuce-chassis-based landspeed roadster, with probably a 30 or 31 roadster body. This 31 coupe is my baptism into hot rods, straight axles, ladder-style frames, dealing with a separate body and frame (I've been a uni-body guy all this time), tall sidewalls, etc. I plan to build it with "traditional" looks, but there will be some modern exceptions because I hope to drive it a lot and race it a little.

 

The above pictures show the car as it was delivered. I found the car in Minnesota (I'm in Alabama) on ebay after watching for several years. The car is an original 1931 ford body (chopped and started by the previous over some 14-15 years ago). He put the car on a Kiwi Connection 1932 fully boxed chassis. It has 1940 Ford rear suspension and differential (with open driveshaft conversion), 1940 Ford brakes, 1933 Ford front axle, tube shocks, 1940 Ford wishbones and a F1 steering box. There was no wiring, no pedals, no hood, no fuel system. There was a stock seat that has already been reupholstered nicely. There are wooden floor boards. The car has a 1973 307ci sbc with a stock 1973 T350 and a Lokar shifter. There a 3X97s for carbs, a points-style distributor, a single-wire alternator no throttle pedal and no linkage. A 32 grill and an aluminum radiator are present. There is no vinyl top insert, no rear window glass. There are Guide headlights and Pontiac tail lights. 1940 Ford steering wheel.

 

Looks like your off to a great start.

 

I'd say your Transition is coming along very well. Nice Coupe, Welcome
The Wizzard

 

My buddy has agreed to do some of the foundational work for me since at the start of this I had no welder, and I hate wiring. I took the car to his shop and he put a 14 gauge steel floor in it with some 3/4" square tubing in between flat floor panels. He went with 14 gauge steel because we don't have a bead roller. He made me a front floor that comes in and out with rivet nuts. A tranny tunnel hasn't been made yet.

 

I bought a few things: a 1956 Mercury radio (I want to blast some 50s tunes) and a 1950 Ford steering wheel.

 

I hated wiring as well, wired a hemi T for a good friend. Found it to be very zen like and peaceful, take your time smoke a good cigar.......it will be worth it. You will gain full knowledge of you car.

 

Dwight built a frame work into the gutted fuel tank/cowl area. It is made of 3/4" square tubing and supports the Wilwood hanging pedals (hydraulic clutch pedal (I've never owned a car with an auto trans), brake pedal with separate master cylinders with an adjustable bias bar) and the steering column, as I want to be able to pull the dash quickly and easily (I hate dash boards) and will use it only as an oversize gauge panel. After multiple trials, the Wilwood compact master cylinders seemed to work best. Filling the reservoirs will be tough, but I'll just have to figure that out later.

 

Dwight started wiring. Knowing that I will likely be making lots of changes along the way, he advised that we start with pretty much the fanciest wiring kit he could find. As I said, I hate dashboards (but I LOVE a hot rod dash), Dwight made me some under-dash simple aluminum panels to allow the dash to be wired while preserving access to all the wiring and switches. I got the headlight rebuild kits and conduit from OTB Gear. He put the fuse panel in the trunk so that I won't have to get under the dash on my back to make future upgrades.

 

Cool project! Keep the updates coming...

 

I ordered a universal tank from Tanks Inc. I went ahead and got the version with the sump for an in-tank electric fuel pump in the event that I ever run fuel injection on the car. Beyond this, the choice of which tank to get was just a matter of what would fit. The fella who started this build already put a fuel cap in the narrow panel between the rear window and the trunk. Unfortunately, it is a couple inches out of alignment for this tank, so that hole will have to be re-located. The tank had a big dent in came out of the box-I got a little hammer and dolly practice!

 

Local networking yielded a new friend who scored a running, flathead powered, full fendered 31 just a few mile up the road. He even let me drive his car, since I've never driven an old Ford. I think I'm gonna like this! I will add pics of his car on a later edit.

 

Dwight and Jeff got my headlights working (its alive)! There's a million kinds of switches to chose from. I really wanted to use 1955 Thunderbird switches and knobs, but as I looked at this option, it became more and more clear that mounting old switches was gonna be a royal pain. So, I broke down and got ebay-specials. Dwight and I tortured ourselves over all the different kinds of headlight switches that there are out there. I wanted to be able to switch between high-beam and low-beams without my feet (remember that clutch pedal), and to have a rheostat for the dash lights. Dwight made a mount for the 56 Merc radio-which I chose because it looks good and is 12V. We have a really good AM oldies station in our town. I can't find the wiring pigtail needed to wire the speaker(s), and on a recent trip outside the local area, I realized that AM-only isn't gonna cut it. So, I sent the radio off to Joe's Classic Radios for the full AM/FM/MP3/Blue-tooth/4-speaker conversion. It was a bitter sweet decision-I really like the hum of vacuum tubes

 

For Christmas, I took all the ties back and bought the Millermatic and started practicing.

 

More wiring progress.

 

Neat !
Keep those pictures coming.
Thanks for posting.

 

As much as I like the package tray, I need to move the seat back as far as possible in order for the brake and clutch pedal to feel like they are placed properly for toe-healing, etc. So, the package tray had to go. And, I need something to attach some shoulder belts to. Plus, as a racer, I'd really like to have some safety and rollover protection. Sitting in this car above the chassis, I kinda feel like a bird on a wire and I would love to have more steel wrapped around me. So, I tried like crazy to figure out how to make an NHRA 6-point rollbar fit, but it just won't. I searched the HAMB and landracing.com a lot to try to come up with a solution, but there just isn't one that allows the bench seat to be retained, or a rollbar that will allow the body to be removed from the chassis for paint in the future. So, lets call this a seatbelt bar instead of a rollbar. I'm ignoring the rulebook and most of my engineering knowlege due to compromises required to fit everything into the tiny coupe. I kinda stole this idea roughly from another HAMB-er who is building a y-block powered channeled coupe in Ohio and is active on the site daily. I learned, from an old-timer at the final ECTA trials at Wilmington, to mock up a roll bar in PVC to really work out the compromises that are required to make bars fit around everything. I have dropped this mock-up off at the local roll bar guy to make up the main hoop for me. I have ordered the 1-3/4" DOM and will take it to him when it arrives later this week.

 

The roll bar and the fuel tank are in close enough proximity, that they need to be installed at the same time. While waiting on the roll bar, I started my first fabrication project: mounting the fuel tank. I made a saddle that will be welded to the 14 gauge floor with some slits thru the floor to allow the welds to contact the 3/4" crossmembers in the floor pan that connect to the sub-rails. There will be approximately 3 feet of welding and 3 of the crossmembers will be bridged. The saddle is made and I'm now working on the straps that will hold the tank securely into the saddle. Hard to believe that I've only been welding a week!

View attachment 3427731

 

More wiring...endless wiring....

 

The dome light is from a 56 Fairlane, as is the rearview mirror. I have radio knobs and a choke cable knob from a '54 Ford, which I think is the same knob style that the 55/56 T-bird use. The car has 2 cigarette lighter sockets that have map lights since I don't smoke, but the sockets should work for my Garmin (road trips!) and my cell phone. Got a universal automatic power antenna for the back deck/quarter panel behind the passenger. I bought NOS 56 Ford key blanks that I hope can be used for the doors and ignition. I bought a really nice Model A hood in original paint, but I learned the hard way what I should have learned on the HAMB: the hood doesn't fit. The car has 7.00X16 tires in rear and 6.00X16 in front - I plan to go to 7.50R and 5.00F in time and will probably go to a dropped painted un-drilled I-beam and a Currie 9" and P&J ladder bars next year, but I want to get some miles on this car as it sits just to learn about what I like and don't like. Thanks for letting me catch up. Updates in the future as I have them. I'm open to suggestions, but lets don't argue over anything-I'm in this for the fun of it, not to start a new religion.

 

Looks like you have a good handle and some good ideas for your A bone. As I am sure you know Hot Rodding is alive and well here in Bama, with a lot going on in Northern Alabama. Look forward to seeing the car in person maybe this spring and summer.

 

I have that tank installed on my 1919 Dort.
Couldn't ask for a better fit.

 

Nice looking coupe. Off to a flying start. Subscribed.

 

Choppedcoupe,
Could you post pictures of the firewall from the engine side. It really would help in my Model A tudor project.
Thanks
Paul

 

PM sent to NashRodMan.

 

Sweet build-up. I love it.

 

Looks like you bought a pretty solid car to start with, now your well on your way to making it YOUR nice solid HOT ROD. Bill Rinaldi

 

Very sweet.....I know I'm going to have to get a coupe eventually....

 

You mentioned the body hole for Gas filler don't line up with inlet on tank. Personally I'd not move teh body hole. I'd use a matching size exhaust U-Bend and build an offset fill tube and connect with 2 short pieces of rubber hose. Just saying.
The Wizzard

 

Cool car, nice work, watching!!!