Thread: tin-man has some questions, it begins.....

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Roger, Thanks I will do that. Here is another observation, I have seen builds advertised for sale with an exterior gas tank along where the rear bumper is. Does this present a safety issue, say in Arizona where the summers are brutal? My concern runs along the line of with a half full tank there would be a lot of gas sloshing around and fumes would build up and when taking the cap off the tank, whoosh, extreme hazard. Are my concerns valid?

Cheers, John, AKA, tin-man

“.....why would somebody ever even consider putting a Chevy engine in a Ford? .....and then the fight began.....”


Ahhh Yes, the inevitable engine discussion.



The power train is a BIG factor in hot rods and subject to a lot of individual tastes, preferences, and passions. Hot Rodders go to great lengths to try to make their car stand out from the crowd and it’s something that becomes more difficult to do when you pick a popular body style that might have 3-4 examples of at the same show or cruise.

There are couple things I would take into consideration when looking for/building a rod. The first would be do I want a closed or open/semi open engine compartment. The second would be the general theme of the car....is it going the high tech route or a more traditional/conventional direction. Especially in an open engine compartment the engine of a hot rod makes as much of a statement as the body itself

As far as brand preference, hot rods start out as pretty much a blank sheet of paper. Although it would probably not be MY first choice the SB Chevy has a place in non-chevy hot rod bodies. Generally speaking when Hot Rodding really took off in the post WWII years, Hot Rodders used the old the old formula of grab a high performance (relatively speaking) engine from a late model wreck and stuff it into an old light weight body. Cadillac, Chrysler and Buick engines were popular as they were some of the first modern post war overhead valve engines, but when the SB Chevy appeared in great quantities starting in 1955 it became a natural due to it’s small size, light weight and availability/price (there were a lot more chevys out there to be wrecked than there were Cadillacs). . A first gen small block Chevy in a Ford Hot Rod is pretty much an accepted fact of life and generally speaking not really looked down upon........it’s just been done to death.

. As far as the high tech cars the more modern and lower production the engine the better. High performance versions of Fords Modular engines, Chryslers 3rd Gen Hemis and of course GMs LS engines go well in these types of cars and properly installed and set up provide miles of trouble free driving.

I personally think going the traditional route provides a few more options, such as Ford Big and Small blocks, Chrysler Hemi and Poly engines, Buick nail heads, Cadillac engines yes and even the Small, BB and W motor Chevy’s. Regardless of other peoples thoughts, the old engines properly set up can provide as many trouble free driving miles as their modern counterparts.

Regardless of whether the car is going high tech or traditional it draws more attention if the engine is not considered cookie cutter.

Just a word of caution here, when looking at the engines I would definitely stay away from engines that have been dressed to look like something it’s not, fake blowers, injector stacks on anything or Hemi, Ardun and the new trend Oldsmobile valve covers on small block Chevys. They are easy to pick out and generally not highly thought of.

I just looked at the thread and see Uncle Bob beat me to a few points (AGAIN ) but I’m too lazy to retype this.


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I'll take a shot at the gas tank question. The short answer is it would not be a problem as long as it's properly vented and not overfilled. The tank can either be vented thru a vented cap or a vent line to a filter of some type. Overfilling any gas tank in the AZ summer will definately end up putting gas on the ground.


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Amc 343,390,401

Like Mike says, any gas tank is going to see the ambient heat, so it has to be properly vented. Of course the tank between the frame rails gets direct radiant heat, but with proper venting it's not going to be any additional risk. For me it's more of an appearance issue. I like the cleaner look of bobbed frame rails in back (no, it's not my plane) as opposed to the OEM tank, especially on a highboy.
'33 & Funk 019a.jpg

Apart from appearance, the OEM gas tank is totally exposed in a rear collision, but others will argue that having it in the trunk is worse. Mine's trunk mounted, but I did put a solid bulkhead between the trunk & passenger area to at least try to delay the fire path....

You guys are the best and I really appreciate the advice, so here are a few more questions and I do hope I am not wearing my welcome thin, here you go:

Are the 32/33 3 window hi boys considered a safe car with a BB in them? What is the average wheel base of these models and would they be subject to the trailing throttle spin outs like the Cobra is? Most of the builds I have been seeing for sale have an automatic transmission, is this just a convenience or is there a reason for this application?

OK that's it, its coming up 11:20pm Tuesday night and I gotta go to work in the morning. Hey, I only got 39 more days to go and I get to hang up my cap for the last time. Light the fire, put on the coffee, tie a yellow ribbon round the cactus, cuz this old fart is headin' home........ yaba-daba-doooooooooooo.

Cheers, tin-man

Originally Posted by rspears

Like Mike says, any gas tank is going to see the ambient heat, so it has to be properly vented. Of course the tank between the frame rails gets direct radiant heat, but with proper venting it's not going to be any additional risk. For me it's more of an appearance issue. I like the cleaner look of bobbed frame rails in back (no, it's not my plane) as opposed to the OEM tank, especially on a highboy.
Attachment 53288

Apart from appearance, the OEM gas tank is totally exposed in a rear collision, but others will argue that having it in the trunk is worse. Mine's trunk mounted, but I did put a solid bulkhead between the trunk & passenger area to at least try to delay the fire path....

Roger, Good points, I had not considered a rear end collision. The picture above: frigging awesome, now that be the type of fine lookin' piece of workmanship that's ringing my chimes. I saw a few of these at the Barrett Jackson event in Scottsdale and was hooked. The field is narrowing. Cheers, tin-man

I think the '32 is 106" while the '33/'34 is 112??

The 1933 revision of the car was substantial, especially considering how important the 1932 change had been. For its second year, the Ford's wheelbase was stretched from 106 in (2692 mm) to 112 in (2845 mm) on a new crossmember frame.

My '33 is pushing 425HP in a SBF stroker - can't say about trailing throttle spinouts as I've not pushed it hard on a road course. My steering rate is a bit slow with the Vega box & small wheel, so it's a cruiser & straight line fun car for me. Mine's a 5spd stick, just what I wanted. Automatics are easier to build - no clutch linkage/hydraulics, and no worries getting three pedals in the small floor area once the larger tranny hump is in place. Plus lots of people simply like the convenience of an automatic. I like playing with the gears.

Tin-man

I would like to add to Bob's reasons for a chev engine over the ford---It had a lot to do with transmissions as Chev you could get 4 speed and ford didn't use it til 62--

The 33-34 car is 6 inches longer than 32 and mostly thats cabin room

Take a look at my gallery here(and on ClubCobra) of the builds there and also on here under latest uploaded pics???

Many details between 32,33,34 builds will be similar with the longer cars having more cabin/trunk room
Check out the fuel tanks and side exhaust(cobra type side pipes on the 32)-that 32 has 540 cid BBC with computer controlled 4l80 trans--

Originally Posted by tin-man

Hi Bug, I recognise your signature from CC, really cool, err, read your comment and here's one back, does that mean hot rod builders would put a Ford engine in a 57 Chevy classic? Yep, this has got to be the right place OK, seems I just read..... ''cause I can, man, 'cause I can." Cheers, John, AKA, tin-man

Never seen a Ford in a 57 Chevy but I have seen a 57 Chevy with a 340 mopar in it before.
Whatever floats your boat is what I say. It's yours, build it however you want.

IMHO what gets/got most newbs, and some vets, in trouble with the Cobra replicas is a 90 inch wheelbase and way more power than their cajones were accustomed to. Something about God giving us only enough blood to run the brain OR......................

I had really three choice as where to put my gas tank in my '31 Ford - well actually four if you want to consider the original style '30-'31 Ford, and with 10 gallons sitting right over your lap. Trunk, inside of the splash shields or modify the frame to accept the '32 style tank and my choice. I figured in the event of a rear end collision, I would be better off with that fuel behind me, at least giving me a chance to get out. As far as a trunk mounted tank - not much room in a '31 and have any useable space. I really dislike the polyethylene side tanks - think scrub line - and they are actually below that imaginary line.

DSC_0030.JPG
Trunk.jpg

The wiring mess has since been corrected, but this will give you an idea of the lack of room

Originally Posted by Bug

Never seen a Ford in a 57 Chevy but I have seen a 57 Chevy with a 340 mopar in it before.
Whatever floats your boat is what I say. It's yours, build it however you want.

Hmmmm. I have a '57 Chevy, and I really prefer Ford Engines...............

There you go Dave. No restraints to building hot rods.

Here ya go tinman
32 and a 33
32 is a 106 wb and 33-34 is 113