Thread: Project "Left Overs"

Tweet

Wow, that first picture came out really small. Anyway, I wasn't going to see all that work he put in go to waste, so I set it aside until I got my 23 and then my 27 out of the way, knowing exactly what I wanted to do with it when I did finally get around to building it.

In about 1970 I built a 32 roadster pickup. I had no money, two kids who were about 6 months old, a wife, and a burning desire to have a hot rod. Sounds like most of us, I bet. So I scrounged up a 39 Ford and robbed the frame, found a 32 pickup body for $ 15, and a built Olds engine and Cad/Lasalle transmission for $ 175.00. Out of those parts I built that car, and actually got it running enough to drive my wife and kids around the neighborhood before the cops would show up. The car I am going to build now is kinda, sorta, a recreation of that car.

For the engine I have another Olds, this time a 30 over 394 that we built originally for the 39 Dodge pickup I had at one time. We built it about 4 years ago, maybe 5, and a couple of years ago I decided to scrap the Dual Path transmission that was behind it and put a Bendtsens Transmission adapter on it so I could run a more modern TH350. I think that was a wise investment, even though the adapter was $ 1000.00. I just didn't trust that old 64 Olds transmission, plus it weighed a ton.

Here is the engine I will be using:

Don

I originally put the rpu body on the frame we had built for my 39 Dodge, and it actually fit pretty well. However, I gave the frame away when I sold the Dodge body and will now have to build a new frame for this one. That is actually better, as I can custom tailor this frame to the way I want the car to sit.

The reason I said not everyone will like, or get, this car is because I am going to leave it semi rough. The body had great original patina and I may even prime the back portion and paint it with a brush. I want it to be as close to the one I built in 1970 as possible, only better mechanically and structurally. (I've learned a few things in the past 40 years. )

In the next week or so I plan to start laying out the frame, and will post some pictures of that process. Don and I are going to head to the pick and pull yard soon to find a suitable rear end to use. I pretty much have the rest of the car, including the entire front end (4 inch Superbell, SoCal hairpins, 40 Ford brakes, etc) I just got two new front wheels from Coker yesterday, and already have new wheels for the back, left over from the Dodge project.

Here is the final look I am shooting for. This is when it was mocked up on the old Dodge frame. It will probably sit a little lower this time, but essentially should be similar.

Thanks for looking.

Don

I just found this old picture in my computer. It is a badly worn Polaroid shot of the rpu I built 40 years ago. Man, I loved that car, but could never get it inspected in Pennsylvania, so I dismantled it and put the engine in a 40 Chevy coupe I had. Always wanted to build another like it, so this is my chance to do just that.

Don

I told Dan you should call it the Hand-me-down Hot Rod.................but he said he got too deep in your knickers selling/trading to call it hand-me-down!

Yeah, I didn't exactly get this stuff "free." Along the way I kicked in a few parts for their projects, so I guess we are kind of even. That's the problem with 3 of us sharing the same shop..........it's hard to keep track of who owns what.

Don