Hello everyone, you've seen my build thread in here on my 63 409 impala, as well as the 32 ford that was my late father's known prior as the chemical city coupe. My father passed away on Monday evening after a nasty battle with cancer. As I was sitting out in the shop the following day looking at the hotrods, overwhelmed by everything that just happened, my mom came out to the shop and told me how much I meant to my father, and that he willed me his 49 ford club coupe. It's a really nice coupe with a mild built 8ba flathead with 3 deuces. Some close friends are coming by this weekend to help me get the old girl back up and running again so it can be enjoyed. Hopefully it fires back up with little to no drama. I plan on doing some little things like getting the gauges in the dash working again, a working charging system, possibly lowering the rear an inch or so, and maybe some Olds feista 3 bar flipper hubcaps with some wide whites. Not too sure yet though. I just want to get it up and running so I can cruise it like dad wanted to before he passed. Hoping to make this a decent thread as well. Stay tuned.
Where would I look to find out how difficult it is to convert 6v gauges to 12v so they function like normal?
Thank you. He meant the world to me. He had so much knowledge and I barely got to scratch the surface of it. But I'm trying
Sorry for the loss of your father. Thats a beautiful car, I also have my dads car and as the previous member posted he will ride shotgun with you and you will feel it. I know I do.
Sorry for your loss. Good looking ride! Speedway has a thing called a Runtz. It supposedly allows you to use your 6 volt gauges in a 12 volt system.
12 volt to 6 volt reducers. Ford used them from 1957 or so into the '70's or so. https://eclassics.com/eclassics-196...1X9Y3-qiYCG5ODzpFr8PZjxLhQATFOx0aAuDyEALw_wcB Or this one from Carpenter and others. A bit more pricey https://www.dennis-carpenter.com/tr...wZLxhWZ5vRU6h9Y6OU4SSSbaWRe88WwMaAoMvEALw_wcB
I understand how you feel. I too have a shoebox I inherited from my dad. I love the car, but I wish he was still the one driving it.
I have built my own IVR for gauges. It is very stable for voltage. Here is a link https://chris66dad.tripod.com/id29.html
Sorry to hear of your dad's passing. That coupe sure looks fine! I've had many shubox fords in my past but none so nice as yours. When I wired my last one I went to a ford dealer to buy the original instrument "voltage limiter" . It fastened to the back side of the instruments. It;s been a few years since I've had a shubox but I paid $18 for the limiter. I was able to use all my original dash gauges. I put a shortened '49 ford dash in my old 33 ford pickup and again, went to the local ford dealer to get another limiter.....worked great!
Sorry for your loss. Your Dad had good taste in cars, and it's great that he passes that coupe on to you. I'm sure that working on and cruising it will be comforting (in some small way) and help preserve the bond and memory of him.
My condolences to you and your family. I have seen voltage reducers on Shoebox Central, along with many modern and OEM wiring options.
Sincere sympathy goes out to you, and all of the Family and friends. great that you are continuing to keep his love of cars alive.
Now the real question is, once we get the 49 up and running, do I leave the stock distributor in it, or put this back in it? Its not a real magneto, but i have it, and it works good.
Don't know anything about the unit you're considering as a replacement but you might want to consider a Chevy conversion distributor. Just a thought.
Isn't the unit you're holding a Hunt Magneto? What makes it not a real magneto? I run a Hunt in one of the boats and it is definitively a mag. But that will require re-wiring the ignition.
@snoc653 they make a look alike that’s just a distributor that looks like a mag, and to the best of my memory I’ve heard nothing but bad things about them. I’d Google it before I swapped it out if the shoebox is running fine as it’s set up now. sorry for your loss but thanks for sharing the scene with us. I’ve always loved that 32.
It's not running at all yet. And yes it is a look alike. Not a real mag. The one with the white wires was in the car, and a new one is in the box as a spare. The car is wired to use either or.
There are several accounts of guys who claim they have made the stock "Load-a-Matic" distributor work with multiple carbs. In my opinion, if you want optimum performance, you need to replace it. Good alternatives are a converted SBC distributor, or an old Mallory dual point (which is my choice for appearances sake). Charlie Schwendler in New York has done many dozens of these conversions and does flawless work. I will add that an SBC Mallory can also be converted to use in a flathead and are much easier to find and a lot cheaper than one made specifically for a flathead. I have also seen multiple accounts of premature failures with the "look-a-like" mags.
I'm just trying to use what I have to get it running and drivable. It's not a racecar, not a hotrod, just a cruiser. The flathead is very mild with a .060 overbore and an isky 77b camshaft. Other than that, the flathead is stock.
Sorry for the loss of your dad. It's hard in the short term. You have a garage full of very nice cars by the looks. And the fact that one was your dad's is even better. I bet when he decided to will it to you he was in hopes you would get it back out cruising again. I'm sure you will do him proud.
Sorry about your dad. Do like the coupe. Hope to see an update of it running. Another vote for converted Chevy distributor.
The Jalopy Journal
