Thread: Sanity Check - 1932 chassis with 1993 Ford F150 Drivetrain

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As I've stated before, I am looking to take on my first project and I am interested in building a 1932 Ford roadster. I might be pulling the trigger on my first purchases for this soon. Here's what I'm looking at:

• 1932 chassis by P&J. I doubt it matters but I'm looking at the one with the IFS
• 1993 F150 5.0 motor. Pretty sure this is a Windsor
• The C6 transmission from above car E40D

I know that the C6 might be slightly bigger than a C4 but I should still be able to make it work, right? Or is the C6 going to take up too much space inside?

On a high level, can anyone see any issues with the above components?

The C6 consumes more horsepower than E4OD plus you'll give up the overdrive. I used an AOD in mine, there's no way with a small block, basically stock, you're going to hurt the E4 unless you run it with the throttle valve out of adjustment. Especially with such a light car. A friend of mine doesn't even run a cooler! Not that I agree with him but.. the cars are light and the trans are really tough.

I was just remembering, some cars today don't even have a dipstick, the trans are sealed and you run them 'til they drop... what ever that means! 100, 200 , 300 thousand miles?? As long as you don't see leaks, good to go.

You can make the C6 work space wise, and how much modification you'll need will depend on what body you choose. My '32 roadster is on a P&J IFS chassis, running a SBC ZZ4 with a 700R4 behind it (bought a stalled project and the PO already had a brand new ZZ4 & automatic or I would have gone Ford). My body is from Show Me Rod & Custom in Nixa, MO and has a 2" stretch on the interior. I'm 6'2"+, and I don't know that I'd be able to drive the car without the stretch. The Show Me body has a removable tranny tunnel and I had to rework it quite a bit to fit my power train. The foot room is cramped for my size 13's, but works fine, and a buddy who's a few inches shorter fits comfortably. The build thread is "Followed Me Home II".

My '33 coupe is running a Ford 5.0, and I expect you'll be looking at pushing the grille forward on the '32 for clearance, which means an extended hood if you're planning to run a hood; or recessing the firewall a few inches, which is going to affect your foot room. All just part of building a hot rod!

Originally Posted by rspears

You can make the C6 work space wise, and how much modification you'll need will depend on what body you choose. My '32 roadster is on a P&J IFS chassis, running a SBC ZZ4 with a 700R4 behind it (bought a stalled project and the PO already had a brand new ZZ4 & automatic or I would have gone Ford). My body is from Show Me Rod & Custom in Nixa, MO and has a 2" stretch on the interior. I'm 6'2"+, and I don't know that I'd be able to drive the car without the stretch. The Show Me body has a removable tranny tunnel and I had to rework it quite a bit to fit my power train. The foot room is cramped for my size 13's, but works fine, and a buddy who's a few inches shorter fits comfortably. The build thread is "Followed Me Home II".

My '33 coupe is running a Ford 5.0, and I expect you'll be looking at pushing the grille forward on the '32 for clearance, which means an extended hood if you're planning to run a hood; or recessing the firewall a few inches, which is going to affect your foot room. All just part of building a hot rod!

Roger - I cannot thank you enough for your build thread! It was a great read and its, essentially, the same car I want to build since you are using the same chassis and I will also need an extended body (I'm 6'4").

Can you tell me a little more about the adjustments I'm going to need for a 302 5.0? I am about to purchase one (1994 junkyard Mustang GT) but I'd be willing to look at other options if you think that's better. What other engines should I be looking at?

Originally Posted by JimBeam

Roger - I cannot thank you enough for your build thread! It was a great read and its, essentially, the same car I want to build since you are using the same chassis and I will also need an extended body (I'm 6'4").

Can you tell me a little more about the adjustments I'm going to need for a 302 5.0? I am about to purchase one (1994 junkyard Mustang GT) but I'd be willing to look at other options if you think that's better. What other engines should I be looking at?

When you order your chassis they will set the motor & tranny mounts for what you plan to run so it will be ready to go. I can't speak to the 5.0 in the '32 chassis but I like the Ford in Ford approach. I expect you'll be getting a front accessory drive setup to save some space (I used a new one (then) from Rocky Hinge on my '33 and really like it). I had an engine built for it, a 302 bored & stroked to 347 and it's a beast! I wouldn't be surprised if you need to move the radiator forward an inch or two, but I'd talk to Jason at Pete & Jake's about it. He's got just about every detail you can imagine at his fingertips, having seen it all!
If you can manage it I would recommend visiting some shows or cruises, chatting with owners and sitting in a few cars. I did the '33 coupe first ( Followed Me Home, '33 Build ) and was really surprised that the '32 roadster is so much smaller inside! I set my seats back on both, and in the '33 my legs are stretched out while in the '32 my knees are up, right knee against the shifter, and I left foot brake mostly. Running three pedals in the Deuce would be really, really cramped for my big feet.