Is the engine stuck? Are you hoping to free it up & just run it? The gear boxes are an easy rebuild regarding the engine if you just unstick it, you just don't know what's gone on & you may bust something. It'd be a good idea to de-sludge the engine. You saved money on purchase price- yeah? I'd re-invest that into the mechanical's. My 2c Cool 40 btw
Great score! As outback mentioned I would drop the pan before trying to start it. I would also try and avoid taking the body off to do that patch. Things have a habit of snowballing ..... To preserve it like it sounds like you want would suggest buying a gallon of Gibbs for the body, you wont need anything like that much as it goes a long way but I use it on many things. For the rest buy a few wire wheels for your cordless drill and have at it. Once you have that sorted some Eastwood Rust Encapsulator Plus paint over the top and you are done. Spend the winter going through the brakes, suspension etc as well as the mechanicals.
Personally I wouldnt do this as you have no way to know if something goes wrong and that could have catastropic effects. Why not jack up the rear, put it in gear and rock the rear wheel back and forth? AFTER cleaning the pan.
Good call. I will probably go this route. I had another thread asking about getting hte flathead unstuck and they recommended pulling it around the neighborhood in 3rd gear. I actually meant to put todays post in that thread but o well. I will keep it all in this thread from now on. Maybe I'll pull the oil pan and the heads/manifold and see if I can get it unstuck. I don't actually know if it is stuck but I cannot turn it from the belt or the pulley. I was advised not to put a socket on the crank bolt....but I can't get a socket on it anyway as the teeth that connect to the fan seem to be bent outwards, preventing a socket from sliding on it. what is Gibbs? Yeah, I was thinking of treating everything. Floors, underside, frame, inside of fenders etc. Basically everything but the exterior body (for now). Thanks y'all.
Congrats...Your stars have aligned...nothing better than an 40 that had a taste of Hotrod...a good solid base to build the dream...I'm not alone in following your journey with it from Hazmat to Hotrod...
Remove the plugs, put it in gear and rock it. Put some marvel & ATF in the cylinders with the plugs out. If it’s a lightly stuck runner, that should be all it takes. If you have to drag it multiple blocks in third gear to unstick it I would think there is a serious problem & rotating the engine in that condition with the advantage the rear wheels have would probably cause further damage. With the plugs out you should be able to easily turn the engine by hand once unstuck by grabbing the crank pulley or even pulling on a belt.
I bought an 8ba as a smokey runner, & was going to 'see how she runs!?' I didn't get to it & got it rebuilt. the engine builder later told me lucky I didn't as the sludge traps were chok full. In the end the crank didn't even need a grind. Lucky i didn't run it.
Boy does this car bring back some memories for me. Started with one in similar condition. Hope you have a lot of fun getting it running and driving! Looking forward to watching your progress.
This is the Gibbs I was talking about. Unlike other products this does not significantly impact on your ability to paint the car later. I use it on my 2 early fords, harleys and old hondas. Great product. https://gibbsbrandlubricant.com/ The Eastwood Rust Encapsulator Plus paint will be perfect for the floors etc once you have cleaned then up.
This does makes for a humorous vision...and yeah it's been done... I'm thinking of a perfectly formed flat spot on a tire for some reason... He needs a Big Johnson...and some major strategic oiling...and dropping the pan is a great visual and place to do some additional lubricant direction...
Love it. Reminds me of my sedan, but mine was in much worse condition. If the flathead is junk the most economic thing to do would be to drop in a Chevy V8. It's a time honored and easy swap, that's what I did in my sedan. Before and After.
Ok ok I won’t be dragging it around the block in 3rd gear! I reread my other thread and no one actually recommended that. I just have read it elsewhere! think I’ll drop the pan and maybe pull the heads depending what I find with the pan off. Thanks everyone.
Nice car you got there. They only original once. You can use Poppy's Patina to protect it keep it looking as it does. They offer matte or gloss. poppyspatina.com Here is a Youtube link, They do the hood in the video,one side matte and the other gloss. It leaves a UV & water repellent finish. Easy to apply too.
Killer score!! that was what i was really hoping to find when I started hunting for a 39 or 40 but found my 39 standard in stead. A little touch up work on the paint on mine, but mine was not far off from what you have on your coupe. mine is about 80 % original pant just buffed up. Other than the paint mine was in almost exact same state, I did have to put floors and rockers in mine, but didn't think I needed too till I really got dug in to it. Hopefully yours doesn't.
Pull the engine. You are going to have anyway, so bite the bullet and pull it. Dragging it around like a pull toy is a waste of time. First things first.... Decide if it's a keeper. Before anything else!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have a place where you can store the car. Have a place where you can work on the car. Have a place where you can pull the engine. Have a place where you can go through said engine. Car that's been sitting for decades is going to need some serious rehabilitation to get drivable. You have to have the place to do it and it has to be done. It's more than you think....but it's not bad. It's not even expensive really. It's just the time, learning curve and labor.
Yep. Going to start the motor pull tonight. When I used to bring home vw’s (what seemed like weekly for a while) it was the first thing I always did so I decided to do this the same. I’m going to pull it, pull the pan and heads and then go from there. And yep, I have the resources, space and general mechanical knowledge (just not specific to this car…but that’s what makes it fun for me). I know what I’m getting myself into.
Busmania, you have in your possession a 1940 Standard Business coupe because of the split front seat, fold down auxiliary rear seats. Also, those ash trays indicates early production car. The fit of that trunk is too good to be true ! Congrats! Take some time to check out the 82nd Anniversary thread, hundreds of great Forties there.
Yep, this coupe reminded me a lot of your Tudor Dan. I thought of going to find some pics to post as inspiration here. But, you beat me to it. I still like your old Tudor and will always remember riding in it for a Texas Hot Rod Hundred.
I saw that car on the auction website and wanted to bid on it, but the car I really wanted, a white 59 Impala 2dr ht bid after that one. I bid the Impala and stopped at my $37k limit. It sold for $37.5. I was surprised (as you were) that your car sold for the price it did. I think you scored a deal, especially now that the low quantity of rust is known. Congrats.
Busmania said: ↑ It is strange though. In gear, I can spin the tires but the engine doesn’t budge. Pull the radiator before removing the engine. It makes it 50% easier. I would also disassemble at the clam shell at the front universal and the rear supports to slide the enclosed driveshaft backward in one piece. Its easy. This way you can inspect and pull maintenance on the radiator, clutch, driveshaft and rear end. Those old fords are different animals but after a few times you’ll get the hang of it. And its fun!
Man, the more I work on this car the less I want to get crazy with it. How low can I go with stock suspension? I like low cars but I’m kind of falling for the interesting stock suspension parts. I got the front end off. Every single bolt was a fight. Had to cut 6-7 of them off. That should be a fun problem to deal with later. I’m kind of annoyed that every nut/bolt is just that, a nut and a bolt requiring two tools to remove, versus having bolts that screw into welded (is the term captive?) nuts. When I go to reassemble I’ll probably weld nuts into place. I’m not sure this car has ever been apart. Not a single missing washer etc. still pumped. Working to pull the engine. I had a glimmer of hope when I got the front end off and finally got a socket around the 1 1/8” crank bolt and things started to turn…turns out I was just tightening the crank bolt. Motor still stuck. Engine coming out next! also, looks like where the front of body mount meets the frame has ripped a hole in the frame. Another piece that tells me I probably need to pull the body from the frame to fix stuff.
You can get the car pretty low with a dropped axle and spring. Might ask @bchrismer or check with Sid at www.droppedaxles.com Lots of guys have lowered 40’s with basically “stock” parts.
I had to repair that same area on a 40 chassis I built for a fellow a while back. Wasn't ripped, but thin from crap trapped in that spot. And, a dropped axle will get you down where you want.
A 1940 Coupe does not need to be lowered to be a hot rod. Just repair what you have right now because you have a lot, I mean a a lot to do. It's more than you know. It's easy to get enticed by such things as dropped axles and fancy speed parts. You can always do that later. In my profile pic is Jed's 40 Coupe from the 1958 Movie "Thunder Road". That car is not lowered but it's a cool ass car. It's worth watching "Thunder Road" on YouTube just to see those few shots of Jed's 40. Don't do that. Welding the nuts is a waste of time. If that car had captive nuts, you would still be working on it because they break. It's a pain in the butt. Learning this make me love a '40 even more. The main reason not to weld in nuts is ease and alignment. Each through nut and bolt has a little adjustment. If you weld nuts, the alignment may get off. It's just counter intuitive. Not so fast.... See below. Mission Creep Alert!!! OK....Here's where things can get a little dicey. You have found structural damage. It's not "bad" but.... Truthfully you could probably ignore it and be fine but it bothers me. In my opinion all structural damage has to be repaired. Sheet metal and even some holes in the floor is one thing but structure around body mounts...that's something different. In my opinion this needs to be fixed and fixed correctly which means, lifting the body. This is a "cross roads" for you. You have to decide what you want to do. As far as working space, this project could easily have the footprint of 3-4 cars. If you pull the body, where is it going to go? Since the engine is stuck, the engine and transmission is going to have to come out as a unit. Where is that going to go? Body...front clip...engine transmission....chassis....You can see how it can easily have the footprint of 4 cars. You have to decide what to do. You can go ahead and pull the engine and transmission and save the chassis and body for later. You can pull the body and leave the engine and transmission in place for now. The chassis can act as a "engine stand" with the body off thus saving some space for a time.. As you can see this is a major crossroads. This could easily go from "Getting it running to...frame off..... What I would do.... I would make the space indoors. Nothing stays outside. I would realize that this has gone from a quick and dirty rehabilitation to a sure-enough restoration. I would pull the body and start with the chassis. How to pull the body, how to roll it it around, how to roll the chassis out from under it...that's up to you. I would get it down to the chassis. I would repair (cracks weak places, replacement of areas) the chassis. I might elect to leave the engine of the chassis for now...simply for space and it can be worked on a little on the chassis. Body off actually makes things easier like brake lines, brakes, suspension. You can really do a nice job on the chassis with the body off. Take photos..... Save stuff, even broken stuff. Save that old wiring. All those factory connectors are like gold and they can be repaired and re-used in a new harness, especially if you elect to build a harness. Good Luck and have fun. p.s. Flathead v8s can lock up in two places.... 1. of course the cylinders and rings. 2. the valve train will lock up a flathead. If it's "locked up" in the valve train, you can remove the cam gear and the crank may can be turned. Also, it could be locked up at both places.
The Jalopy Journal
