Thread: 1948 Thames

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..... here'a a picture of "Timmy", my 1948 English Ford Thames 1/4 ct. panel van at a recent Cars and Coffee event in Kernersville, NC ....... at nearly 8 years old he's getting a little "long in the tooth", but he still looks pretty good

He looks nice--are you still doing models???????

I agree. Beautiful ride!!!

Very nice ride and welcome to CHR!

Yep. Good looking ride. I've always liked the tall narrow nose.

Originally Posted by jerry clayton

He looks nice--are you still doing models???????

Yes sir, still fiddling with them. I manage to get one completed every now and then.



How have you been sir?

The Thames looks great Coyote, even better to see you out enjoying it! Gorgeous car!

Originally Posted by oldcoyote

..... here'a a picture of "Timmy", my 1948 English Ford Thames 1/4 ct. panel van at a recent Cars and Coffee event in Kernersville, NC ....... at nearly 8 years old he's getting a little "long in the tooth", but he still looks pretty good

Just love the wee Thames!
The hood appears to be forward tilting.
What's underneath it?

Its got to be around sixty years since I drove one of them, and I seem to remember that the motor itself was off-set to the passenger's side to allow room for feet on pedals. And that motor was a teensy-weensy 10 hp side-valve four cylinder.
So that has got me curious as to what on earth have you managed to squeeze into such a confined space?

Originally Posted by johnboy

Just love the wee Thames!
The hood appears to be forward tilting.
What's underneath it?

Its got to be around sixty years since I drove one of them, and I seem to remember that the motor itself was off-set to the passenger's side to allow room for feet on pedals. And that motor was a teensy-weensy 10 hp side-valve four cylinder.
So that has got me curious as to what on earth have you managed to squeeze into such a confined space?

The engine is a 327 small block Chevrolet out of a 1965 Corvette, Comp cam & kit, MSD ignition, Pete Jackson gear drive, custom shroud built by Alan Shadwick covering a 600 cfm Edelbrock carb, and Hedman headers ....... TurboHydro 350 transmission with B&M clutches and converter ..... 9" Ford rear end with 3.50:1 gears ....... Chevrolet Aqua Blue Metallic paint and all body and fabrication work by Josh Richardson, and custom leather interior by Tim Scarlett ...... ET mags, Michelin front tires and Pro-Trac rears

Looks even better under the hood! (or is that "bonnet"?)

Ever get the chance to use the wheelie bars?

Crikey!
That must've been a mission to get that big chunk of iron squeezed into such a confined area.
Although I note that driver/passenger seats are situated a fair bit south of the B pillar now. That would've given more room lengthways but not necessarily any more in width.
I take my hat off to the bloke that did the job.

Originally Posted by johnboy

Crikey!
That must've been a mission to get that big chunk of iron squeezed into such a confined area.
Although I note that driver/passenger seats are situated a fair bit south of the B pillar now. That would've given more room lengthways but not necessarily any more in width.
I take my hat off to the bloke that did the job.

Those and many other small cars were quite common on the drag strips in the 50's and 60's and many with Hemi's. There was one out of Vista, Ca., I believe, running a very stout flatty called Willies Pie Wagon that I was quite fond of watching run.
Old Coyote's is a gorgeous machine, but I wonder how the engine breathes?

Dig the white boots! 8-)

I remember when you started on here with that in '04 John. ...... another "newbie" .........
All the pics of the work in progress are lost now, you had put up quite a few posts about it.

Originally Posted by johnboy

Crikey!
That must've been a mission to get that big chunk of iron squeezed into such a confined area.
Although I note that driver/passenger seats are situated a fair bit south of the B pillar now. That would've given more room lengthways but not necessarily any more in width.
I take my hat off to the bloke that did the job.

Actually it wasn't as hard as you think. When we got the body off and looked at the original chassis, we discovered that it was warped like a banana. Twenty five years of hard launches on the drag strips had done a job on it. That chassis had been modified on both the front and rear. The only original piece was under the doors and the drivers compartment. Look at picture 1 below and you can see that it was no longer straight. We contracted with Fatman Fabrications in Charlotte, NC to build a new chassis for the little beast ... Picture 2 below. With that chassis underneath, everything fit in place rather well.