so franzfrucket is thinking of getting a 49 shoebox, and I wanna help him customize it, but I have zero experiance with them....so I have some dumb beginner questions... (try to keep the newbie comments to a minimum ) First, This thing has the Flat six in it, which dosent seem bad, but you cant find shit for them. What motors other than the flat eight will fit in it with a minimal amount of effort. Also, are the inner fenders different from the straight six to the Flat eight? Second, did they use an open or closed driveline for 49? This will impact motor section greatly seeing as the one we're thinking of is a fordoor, and its not worth putting a whole lot into.... Third, we were thinking of like trying to do something custom like make a grille for it and maybe fucking with the tailights. Is there alot you an do custom-wise with that round piece in the center? Is it best to just leave what it has in there? Taillight wise....we were thinking of 59 caddy's because I saw them on someone's shoebox, and it looked badass...Are the bases of those bigger than the Bezel opening on the ford? Finally, lowering. The rear shouldnt be too hard, but the front freaks me out a little bit. How far can I go without fucking up the steering geometry and overall tire wear. That, and how much are the lowering spindles and proper springs for it So yeah, looks like we're got alot to cover here.
SBC would fit well. I would be tempted to keep the six as I am personally partial to the flathead. Driveline is open and I believe inner fenders are the same for the six and the eight. Chop a couple coils and add lowering blocks in the rear.
Hmmmm ... put a Chevy 292 6cyl. and a 4 speed in it...install a straight axle up front, drop the rear 2", cut out rear wheel openings....and Enjoy!
Helped my Bro with his this last year. We installed an SBC, Turbo 400 and a Maverick rear end, converted brakes to dual circut, kept drums all around and lowered it. All fairly easy, bare in mind, "easy" being a relative term.
John, Not knowing your skill level I'll try to give you some basic advice. If the flat 6 is good keep it in there. A well tuned flat 6 has more balls than a stock V8. But if a motor swap is a must I'd go with a 302/289 or a SBC. Not that it makes much difference, the passenger side inner fender is different on a 6cyl car as it has a removable lower section that allows you to adjust the valves thru the wheelwell with the tire off. V8 cars don't have this. They are open driveline. Customizing the body is up to your personal taste & body skills. I personaly like 54 Pontiac grilles in them but a nice stock grille is in no way ugly. IMHO, 59 Caddy taillights look good in only 1 car, a 59 Caddy. Loose that idea. I think when all was said & done I piad about $580 for the fatman dropped spindles & steering arms. If you cut the coils,2 max., and the wheels lean inward at the top, adjust your camber out to bring the wheel straight again. But there is no substitute for a prfessional alignment job. Billy
I've been doing an awful lot of shoebox research myself lately, but mine has been in the kustom direction so I can't help you w/ the engine. Regarding the grill: see my post on how to build a floating grill http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB1&Number=240134&Forum=All_Forums&Words=floating%20grill&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Old=6months&Main=240103&Search=true#Post240134 For the suspension I found that it would be easier to go w/ new springs rathe than dropped spindles because I wanted to keep the drums. W/ spindles you have to go to disks, from what I could find. 3 inches up front and 5 inches in the rear is a good drop. Jamco http://www.jamcosuspension.com/pages/1/index.htm has the stuff to do both the front and rear. You will need to add 1 inch blocks to the rear though to get 5 inches. "The F-3000 Deluxe Front Coil kit is $279.95 and the F-3300 Deluxe Rear Leaf kit is $339.95. The F-3000 kit is available in a 3" Ride Height Reduction (from OEM Stock) and the F-3300 is available in a 4" Ride Height Reduction (from OEM Stock). Please note these prices DO NOT include any shipping charges and/or applicable State Sales Tax." -message from Jamco Hope this helps, Mytlo
You don't need to convert to disc brakes when using dropped spindles on 49-53 Fords. 54 & up Fords require disc brake conversion. Billy
You could just have your rear leaf springs dearched and rebuilt at a local spring shop. That's what I did on the wayfarer and we did on my friend's '37 chevy pickup. Just tell them the drop you want. It ran about $120 for both springs. Alot cheaper than aftermarket.
Aaron, no I didnt get your email. Try jonnycola@yahoo.com Most people spell it with an H and I never get it...Give me a call sometime soon, I wanna make that trade asap. I managed to get 300 without selling anything, so maybe I can owe you or something? With the shoebox..Bleed was telling me that I would be able to put a 51 hood on it, which is a good idea, but then I have to find one....and for cheap I always dug the 53 chevy grilles, but yet again, they're expensive...and the whole theme to this car is going to be....as much as can be done without spending much (which I guess is the theme most of the time for everyone....but this thing is a fordoor so it wont be worth doing too much to) Yeah, the caddy lights seemed cool but its gonna be too hard to do, and it *might* look cool on that thing... I suppose we should just try cutting the coils and see how bad it fucks it up, if it fucks it up. I suppose we could get the special ones, and just put the stockers back into it when he decides to sell it. I guess the motor swap is just planning way too far ahead especially seeing as he dosent have it yet, and this one is supposed to run really well. I figured it would be something to concern ourselves with because I know of a cherry, ford ohv straight six with a three speed that we could get in that car for like, the hundred bucks... I guess I've just been told that you can do alot with a flat six Does anyone have anything speed wise for one? jonnycola
i dont know how cutting the coils would drasticly fuck anything up, lots of ppl here including myself have done it and do giant problems seem to have surfaced good luck tim
I love shuboxes and that's why I like to keep 'em mild. Here's mine with 350/350, maverlick rear axle, flipped spindle supports, cut coils and 4" blocks. I also used a fat Trans-am front stabilizer bar. Made for a fun ride that was quick.
I just dont want to goof up the wear of the tires, or fuck up the front end because I put too much stress on the spindles or the A arm bushings/mounts. I guess the key is moderation He wants this thing as low as possible, but I guess if I dont go to crazy it should be ok. Seeing how you did it, rocky, seems low enough. I think I am gonna be in good shape. I think we just need to focus on getting this thing reliable and road worthy...and worry about sprinkeling sugar on it later. That should be enough work for a while. Like always I appreciate all the suggestions.
yeah there shouldnt realy be any sort of extra stress that should cause any failure, just make sure you get it aligned and mess with the ecentrics and im sure youll be alright
Don't worry about cutting the coils, I'll show you what to do...... I'll also talk to the Cheaters and find out what Pomade you guys need to use. The most important thing about "customising" a shoebox is how you look while driving it. You need to figure out what the Betties want and take it from there. The first thing you need to do is make sure the back seat is nice and comfortable. I recomend covering them in Mexi Rat Rod blankets.......... That way, when you guys go out on "doubles" you can take turns Humping your girls in the back seat. When the blanket gets full of Jizz, you can just go out to the truck stop and get a new one. Good as new. Do what I say, and you guys will "sprinkleling" Jizz on the Betties "tits" in the back of that thing in no time. HaHa Actually, I think it's funny that these kids are customising cars and they can't even get into an R rated movie yet. Cool.
I think you're just pms-ing because the ghetto guys took your shift linkage haha I should find out where the cheaters get rid of their jizzy mexican blankets.....maybe I'll ask carl where we can get some gay black midgets too...then we'll totally fit in. Then we need are some cuffed heans and pompadours and we're set. I wonder if cost cutters can make my fro into a pomp? Now I just need to wait a few years until I can grow some awesome porkchop sideburns. Then the roackabilly chicks will be all over me. Haha everyone seems to forget the fact that I'm just helping on this venture... I've got my own car to worry about, and its not some gay fordoor either. I'll be fucking *my* chicks in the back of the hearse but I'll have to get rid of those funky unknown stains first........or I could put the shag back in that van, and a waterbed too, and I could name it "the sin bin" or the "cherry popper"
There were speed parts made for the flat 6 but they're rare as hen's teeth apparently. A HAMBer was telling me that they were often used in Marine applications w/ the addition of a head and intake and carbs. You can definitely have the head milled a little for compression. Mike Yoder at Kansas customs can split exhaust manifolds so you can run duals. I'm not super familiar w/ a flat 6 manifold, but this may be an option. I would think a little extra compression, a fine tune, and a free flowing exhaust would perk it up a bit. Regarding the springs: How much are you going to drive this thing? If it's your every day ride new springs in the front and rear might be money well spent. It sure makes a difference in ride quality. But old car's aren't supposed to ride well anyway
You could always call it the "Abductor van". I don't know what those stains are in the hearse. Unforunatly there not from me. I'm sure I could put some stains in there, my girl friend kinda likes that thing. After we took that last test drive in your caddy she said with a smile "the back seat has plenty of room!".
haha yeah, feel free to not put anymore wierd stains in that thing. I hope someone didnt like, spill an urn back there or something. It would kind fo suck to find out that someone's aunt flo is all ground up in the carpet. I guess it gives it character. Yeah that caddy backseat is so big you could have an orgy back there if you wanted to. Seeing as I'm probably going to be getting some, I can hook you up with some jizz blankets too. Dont want to ruin that nice semen free interior. So how is the van coming along?
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