Oooops! I did it again !!!!

[donsrods]

Maybe 5 years ago or so I bought a 46 Ford tudor sedan at Turkey Run, with the intentions of making it into a daily driver. For some reason, I lost interest in it and sold it to my Son Don a few years ago. He has 3 other projects going and has never done anything with it, except he bought new sheet metal for the trunk floor, rear roll pan, and he also bought a parallel rear spring setup and power brake setup.

Last night I told him I was interested in buying it back from him, but didn't want to buy it if he really was going to do something with it. Today he called me and said he will probably never get to it, so we struck a deal, and I promised to will it back to him when I croak. So, I am now the proud owner of the 46 once again. [cl

My plans are to use the 350 Chevy I just had machined, but to not go with such a radical cam, just one with a little lope to it. I also have a B and M TH350 sitting for it, as well as almost all the parts to put the motor together. I am going to drop the frame out, clean it up and modify the X member to clear the new transmission, and then paint it. Not sure if I will use a straight axle (probably will) or an IFS setup from some company.

I am going to leave the body pretty much as you see it here, bare spots and all. I will probably clear coat it to stop any further rusting. Maybe some American Torque Thrust wheels, and even radials to make it ride better.

While I love my roadster, it is really a fair weather car and not great on long distances (4:30 gears, etc) If I build this one mild, put ac in it and some 3:00 gears, it will make a nicer car to take on longer trips and just to drive around town. I'm heading to the shop right now to check it out, haven't really looked at it in a couple of years.

Don

Here is an old picture from when I owned it:



And one with the hood on:

 

[soltz]

Should make a nice ride. Keep use updated. [cl

 

[Bamamav]

Looks like a solid car. Will make a nice ride. Now you gotta get to work! [ddd

 

[Got Rust?]

For taking a trip, it's hard to beet a SBC in my mind, can fix them anywhere easy to work on ect.
That car looks great with the paint and chrome just the way it is.

 

[Gottkts]

Can't wait to watch this one come together, you do some excellent builds.

 

[maverickmk]

Wow Don, that's awesome. That is going to be a sweet ride. Look forward to the progression and pictures.

 

[kenny c]

looks to be in real nice shape. where do cars like this come from, whats the plan , engine, trans etc, anything with the body, chop maybe?

 

[Sam_Fear]

Hovercars are so cool!

 

[sgtpontiac]

Nice ride Don.....

I think it will be great when you're done with....perfect ride for what you describe......
Sam....not sure anyone picked up on that yet.....

."Hovercars are so cool!" that is funny...[cl LOL..

 

[earthman]

Excellent! I have wondered a few times what happened with it.

 

[bob w]

That's a really nice looking Ford. What's the due date?

 

[donsrods]

Haha, due date ? I've never hit one yet, Bob, so why start now ! I also have never been known to stick to my original plan, I keep changing what I am doing to the car as I go along. Seriously, I would love to do this one sort of quick because I'm not getting any younger plus I am going to leave the hard work (like bodywork) for the future (if ever).

The car came from South Dakota, and hasn't been on the road for lots of years:



The main body is really solid, as are the floors, but the trunk floor is bad, which is why Don bought the new floor kit for it. With Dan to do my welding it shouldn't be too hard to do.

When Dan and went over tonight to look at it in Don's shop, we talked about front suspension and Dan sort of has me convinced to put a Mustang II type front end under it instead of a dropped axle. Speedway sells a Heidt complete front end that would end up costing about what a complete front axle, spring, wishbones, spindles, shocks and brakes would cost, so that might be a good way to go. Has anyone used one of those setups ?

Don

 

[bob w]

I installed a Heidt's MII in my neighbor's '40 Ford Coupe. Nice stuff. They have 3 years of driving with no problems. Sits real low with dropped spindles. Power rack is a little twitchy they say. They have not asked for help with that. Probably a simple fix.

Don, that was my point. We are not getting any younger. That's why I'm building as fast as my tired, sore body will allow.

 

[donsrods]

Thanks for that info, Bob. I probably will go with the manual steering if I do one of these. How do those front ends work that have no torque rods ? I understand that tubular A arms take care of that. Does that mean both upper and lower arms have to be tubular ?

Don

 

[bob w]

Don, I still like the stock MII arrangement with the rods on the lower A arms. Lots of pot holes around here and I like the oem rubber bushings for more isolation. Not many are doing it that way anymore. Elpolako has seen problems with some kits. Check the Pork site or PM him. I think he is okay with Heidts though. The unit I installed has tubular uppers and lowers with stock springs. Tator here on RRR has the open wheel Heidts with coilovers. His works well too. i believe you can use stock upper A arms with the Heidts crossmembers in the Speedway catalog.

I installed a Chassis Engineering Inc. parallel leaf spring kit in the same '40. That worked well too. A friend has that same rear suspension in a '36 Ford coupe. Same good results.

 

[donsrods]

Thanks, Bob, I'll check that out. That is the same rear spring setup Don bought and that I am getting with the car. He debated about buying the composite spring setup but finally went with the stock steel springs.

Today I am going to pick up my crank from the machine shop, it only needed polishing, and I am going to drop off the World Product heads to be freshened up. My plan is to have the motor/trans setup all assembled and painted, ready to go in. Since I have most of the parts it should go together pretty quickly.

Don

 

[42chevy]

That will be a very nice ride.

 

[I-R-POPS]

Smooth ride, killer look, windows, air conditioning, plenty of room, no computer nonsense, good performance. What's not to like?
All you need is somewhere to go and someone to enjoy it with.
PERFECT. Good luck with your build.

 

[05snopro440]

looks to be in real nice shape. where do cars like this come from, whats the plan , engine, trans etc, anything with the body, chop maybe?

The body is perfect just the way it is!!

 

[05snopro440]

I am going to leave the body pretty much as you see it here, bare spots and all. I will probably clear coat it to stop any further rusting.

Here is an old picture from when I owned it:

My concern with clear coating a nice looking car like that is that if the clear doesn't adhere properly to the old paint or bare spots, then you can ruin the entire paint job. On my '46 I am just going to take care of it, try the Rat Wax, and see how it lasts. The way mine is, it's not rusting any more, there is just inactive surface rust on the outside. I have way less paint than you. Just something to think on.