Thread: Opinions wanted regarding '36 Ford Slantback

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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.