Hey Guys, It's been awhile since I've been on here, but I'm finally working towards building a fenderless, highboy, 1935 Ford pickup. I have seen many of these go wrong, and don't want to cruise down the same avenue. The goal is to have a very traditionally done, finished rendition of the Rudy Truck. The first thing I looked out for was the wheelbase, and that most of these builds have a stubby wheelbase that, IMO, I'm trying to avoid... The question is, could the wheelbase come in some, or is it okay where it is? The Rudy Truck has a 112" wheelbase, and mine is sitting at 116". I'm not sure how far back my motor will sit, so the 116" wheelbase is just a starting place. I'm having a hard time picturing it without the grill shell and engine installed; thought I could get some feedback from the community here. I'm looking for some honest feedback.
Looks to me like your engine could move forward a few inches as it seems kind of far back from where the radiator will be?
@AVater Yeah most definitely. It's got a 8BA sitting on the rails, I've got a 59AB that's gonna be sitting in there in the next few weeks. The bellhousing casting on the 59AB coupled with the adapter for the t-5 will definitely shove the motor forward some.
I've been avoiding pushing the wheelbase back to avoid making the truck look too scrunched up, like where the stock axle would be, but I'm torn. Don't want it looking like a sand rail
Hi All, Decided to get the Flathead in and go from there. The engine and front crossmember will be pushed back two inches from this point, but starting to look mean.