Thread: 39 Ford (Coast to Coast) Rebuild

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Hello everyone. I left the introduction in the new member area, so I'll save all of you the boring details of myself. This is a Coast to Coast kit that was assembled in the late 90's, to early 2000's. A good friend of mine picked it up 2 weeks ago and started feeling a few strange things while driving. Being a sucker for punishment, I agreed to take the project on. Being a engineer, I thought alot of the details left alot to be desired. So I can make it better! For a high dollar build back in the day, it is in pretty sorry shape. Tag along for a fun rebuild!

Thanks, Justin

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There are problems, lots of them. The initial build was ok, but it's what was added after the build that has me worried. The odo shows 7900 miles on it, but I see ALOT more than that. From what I can piece together, that car had a carb on it from the start. Fuel injection was added somewhere along the line, but the mechanical pump is still on the engine. Probably because the frame is in the way of removing it. Engine is running very lean due to a kinked fuel line. Front end is worn, a caliper is leaking, along with both axle seals, A/C bracket is bent, (from poor welds) Steering shaft is supported by nothing more than the header, and the list goes on. I need to go through the entire car for the new owner. He plans on taking it on a few longer trips, so it needs to be right. I'll include pictures along the way to see if they help anyone, I hope they do.

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First time every seeing a build - rebuild . This will be interesting .

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Originally Posted by bluestang67

First time every seeing a build - rebuild . This will be interesting .

.

Yes it will. I just wish he would have taken me with before he paid asking price for it. I wont post what he paid, but you can search the ebay auctions to see if you want. It didn't come cheap. But I suppose you couldn't buy the parts that make the car for what he paid. I will say this, this is the difference between the 40K and the 80K hotrod.

Any chance you could add some text between the picture files to explain what we're looking at, and what problem the picture is showing?

Sure, I think I have this entire picture thing figured out. Sorry about the confusion. I don't want to repost the pictures, so I'll go down the line. The next set of pictures will be better explained.

1-3. It's really hard to see. But as the brackets bent, they added washers to align the brackets for the belts to align properly. I'm still researching to see what will fit between the fenders. They already notched the fenders to fit the alternator, but I would like to go to new/complete system. I need to fit power steering in here.

4. Shows the LR brake caliper. The rear calipers are the parking brake type, there isn't a parking brake on this build. Like any GM caliper, you need to actuate the parking brake to adjust the caliper to bring the piston towards the pads. Since this has never happened, the rear brakes were not even working. The pedal was really low. The owner wants a "big brake kit" installed, so these will be upgraded.

5. This picture shows the condition of the dust boots on the front ball joints. All of them look melted, and the joints themselves are loose. All new front end parts will be replaced.

6. This picture shows the axle seals leaking. The flanges for the axles are bent, I'm still trying to figure out what caused this. Either way, new bearings and seals will be installed. (maybe new shorter axles)

7. Just shows the gap between the header and the exhaust pipe. The exhaust can not be fully drawn up to the header due to frame interference. (both sides leak pretty bad) I'm pretty sure I'll have to fabricate a new exhaust system.

Sorry about the lack of explaination.

I'll leave it here for the night, my wife is telling me it'd time to eat. After careful measuring, I think the axles are a touch too long causing the seals not to be drawn into the housing. Time for new axles.

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Welcome aboard, and i feel for you and the new owner... I've had to fix up a few screw ups on guys cars that they bought thinking they were getting a really good deal. That is until you starting taking things apart and showing them and watching the blood drain out of their face... looking forward to all the the things you'll fix for him...

Dang, definitely some corners cut on such a high dollar build to begin with. Seems like this happens more and more. This will be a sweet ride once again!

Originally Posted by autotec

Sure, I think I have this entire picture thing figured out. Sorry about the confusion. I don't want to repost the pictures, so I'll go down the line. The next set of pictures will be better explained.

Thanks! Looks like you've got a lot of work ahead of you! For the record there's no need to re-post the pictures. Just hit "EDIT POST" at the lower right and you can go back and add spaces between attachments, and put as much text between as you want. There's a "sticky" thread at the start of the Shop Talk forum that explains how to post files, or how to do images if you want more in one post - http://www.clubhotrod.com/shop-talk/...tml?highlight=

For my new '37 Oze build, I chose stainless steel manifolds from Speedway, rather than headers. No problems with frame clearance and running the pipe is straight forward, but the collector location made the steering shaft setup more complicated.

I'm already seeing problems with torn dust boots and the car is just being assembled. I need to find something better.

There's a little info on the Street and Performance website, showing the build of a '39 Coast to Coast.

Welcome to Adobe GoLive 5

Thank you Dave, I will look into that build. I don't know why Coast to Coast call it a 39, I see more 37 in it.

Originally Posted by autotec

I don't know why Coast to Coast call it a 39, I see more 37 in it.

In '39 they had a "Standard" and a "Deluxe". The front of this Coast to Coast model appears to be patterned after the "Standard".....1939 Ford Standard Coupe

Originally Posted by randyr

In '39 they had a "Standard" and a "Deluxe". The front of this Coast to Coast model appears to be patterned after the "Standard".....1939 Ford Standard Coupe

This is why I join forums, every day I learn something new. Thank you.