Thread: Opinions wanted regarding '36 Ford Slantback

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Originally Posted by stovens

It would seem criminal to hack it up and sell off the frame and power train, when one could say find a non runner or body skin and use just that. ... option to keep the stock stuff if you decide to sell it down the line to a purist.
I would hate to see a chop job on this one though, since one in less restorable shape would do at that point, and then your talking lots of internal mods, that will waste the stock stuff in there. JMHO.

But it takes so much less $$$$ and time to make an already nice car they way you want it. besides, How many 40's era cars do the purists need to keep anyway?

Around here, there still are lots of cars that people will not spend the money to restore but are good inexpensive cars to rod. I agree with RC57, that car looks too "historic" or original to rod. I have had the opportunity to buy cars in original condition but stopped myself cause I am a hot rodder. One reason I like our nitch is when you show your car, no one will be deducting points for missing factory mistakes!!

Originally Posted by 41willys

Yep you must be
Old guys alway look back with fondness and try to keep the past alive. It takes us young guys to be daring and different

John

well hey i not saying i would not be thinking all the time i drove it how i could stick one of my bbc in it but i like the out side looks of it i would try to not touching the out side body paint rims and put a wolf in sheeps clothing if i did do any thing to it the kids just would not know what hit them

Things are always changing. There was a time, when I first started working for others, that you could not buy a nice original car cheap. As the years went by, I noticed that the market kept falling on originals from the '20s & '30s. I realized that the generation that remembered when "Dad" had a car like that, was going into the nursing home. The old "supply & demand" was working it's magic! When the number of interested buyers goes below the available cars, prices suffer. I expect the demand for originals to keep going down, and there aren't possibly enough museums to buy them all.

Recently I started shopping for a '49-'50 Merc. They have been popular soooo long, that finding a "solid" builder in a wrecking yard is nearly impossible. Built cars are high priced, and never the built the way my buyer wants it done. The logical alternative is to buy a good original car if possible. If we find one....it's toast!

On the subject of that '36, don't expect to find a large number of buyers for that stock chassis. Vinatage auto restorers are a dying breed.......unless it's muscle cars.

I spent about an hour doing searches for 36 bodies etc... It would seem a stock car is much cheaper to find and purchase than any hot rod projects with the exception of one I came across on the H.A.M.B. that the guy was selling in Sept, then took it off the market, but seems to want to still sell it.
No fiberglass bodies of that style I could find. For what they are asking for it it seems a great deal. The closest hot rod for sale that poped up was 29k. Bottom line, we are hot rodders, and we all have unique ideas as to what we want to do to our cars, so no one of us has the right to tell you what to do. It's a pretty beast....go for it!

I really appreciate all the great tips.

The vision I have for the car would be to drive it 'as is' while I gather parts for a resto-rod conversion with a modern chassis, small block power, auto trans, heat-a/c (gotta have a/c in Florida....lol), etc, etc. I don't plan on 'cutting it up', unless you consider cutting it up by taking the body off the frame, selling the original frame, engine, trans, rear end as a complete assembly and updating the entire running gear and keeping the body as original as possible.

Bob, mentioned options of being a 'distance cruiser' or 'local putt around car', the car I plan to build, whether it's this one or another will be used for weekend cruising as well as long distance driving. I'm in Florida but all my family is in Tenn, I would love to have a reliable car to drive to Tenn on occasion. I can see places like Chilhowie Park and Pigeon Forge as must see destinations again.

Denny, I'm a fanatic about photos, this car would be documented with tons of pics, before, during and after.

Pat, the problem I see with driving it the way it is to see if I like it is, I might not like the way a 72 year old car drives, but with modern running gear, better brakes, steering, big and littles and a few creature comforts it could be the 'E' ticket ride.

Thanks again, Mike

I think it was Bob who mentioned he had a leftover chassis from some project and had no luck selling it. Then he started cannibalizing it and sold it piece by piece. He ended up getting more for it that way than he was asking for it intact.

Don

Seems a shame to use just the tin for another build, from a car that nice anyways.
Why not just buy a good body since you will no doubt repaint and do up new interior anyway.

Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

I think it was Bob who mentioned he had a leftover chassis from some project and had no luck selling it. Then he started cannibalizing it and sold it piece by piece. He ended up getting more for it that way than he was asking for it intact.

Don

You're close Pops, actually it was a complete (less engine) stock '40 Ford tudor sedan. Just over a year ago I ran ads for a few months trying to sell it complete...................very little interest was shown, and nobody that acted like a serious buyer. I needed the space so changed how I would move it. It's nice for folks here to express opinions, but as noted by a couple, the market is changing as we rodders/restorers age and are not replaced one for one by younger folk. Reality raises it's head. That being said, it's not the end of the world as we knew it yet, some nice old tin still moves at a decent clip. Recently saw a stock '34 ford 3 window with glass fenders go for $39.5k, not bad for an older, advanced backyarder "restoration" without original fenders. The rarer, more desireable cars are still doing okay.

I agree with the guys to leave as is ,why not as we did ,,
the faster of the two belongs to my brother,
the turtle is mine....

Gee, either this thread progressed fast or I did not see it. If I had this car I would install the 4" Merc crank and rods I still have in my shed and add '40 hydraulic brakes. My goal would be to have a sleeper car as in the '50s. The idea was to have an engine that looked stock on the outside but had major internal modifications and of course the brakes are needed for sure. There are two factors here. First such a sedan would likely be passed over by most restorers since sedans are "Plain Jane" models with a preference for coupes, roadsters and the rare cabriolet so in that sense it is just right to rod/modify. However, as the years go by I would be fascinated to just run it as a flathead sleeper and enjoy the time warp nostalgia effect. If you were born in 1970 that is meaningless to you but for me that is exactly the type of car that was maintained through WWII and then dumped in the late '40s when newer models became available and became transportation for my high school friends, although I would greatly prefer a black '41 coupe with chrome grill inserts and wide whitewalls. When you find a rolling rust bucket that is an automatic chance tochop, channel etc, but something this original would have historical value to me although I would put that stroker crank in there. By the way if that block is not cracked that is a rare item in it's own right! I would resist boring and just stroke it with the smallest pistons available to maintain cylinder wall thickness. As I recall this block might have had babbit bearings (up till 1938?) and newer 59AB blocks are an easy subtitute but hard to find so the easy way out would be to just add Edelbrock heads and forget the stroker and just run it and polish it.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Originally Posted by Don Shillady

As I recall this block might have had babbit bearings (up till 1938?) .........

'36 was the transition year. The early portion of the production year were babbit, the latter were inserts. The insert engines were identified as LB models.

I try to avoid the rod it v restore it discussions cuz I usually offend someone.... My experience with the restoration crowd is that they want a primo car for a cheapo price, and bad mouth you forever if you won't sell it for what they consider a fair price and build it the way you want....

So, with that said, I'd say build what you want...as for the original frame bringing any kind of big bucks....forget it....Like Uncle Bob and his '40 you'll probably do a lot better parting it out and selling the pieces....

Personally, I've never seen a car that's too nice to Hot Rod!!! Being in good condition when you start just saves a bit of time on the build..... Other then that, just read my signature, pretty much sez it all......

I say 'Rod it!
If it were missing the motor and the body was full of holes would you restore or rod it?

One of my favorite rods belongs to a buddy in CO. He wanted to get a Dearborn award sooo bad & resto'd a 40 ragtop. He was denied the award by an idiot judge, who wrongly deducted points (politics?).
He was so mad that he went home, lowered it, put on big & littles, duals w/Smitties, & added the most killer hopped-up flattie you ever saw!
Now, that's a hot rod to die for!

IMHO, You have the same opportunity here.