The "Whatever" Project

[dave.g.in.gansevoort]

Pictures first? Okay...

So first off, notice how clean the shop is? Had to get some neatness in it. Steering is connected and works. Seating position is finalized. Finish welding next, then a floor...

[dave.g.in.gansevoort]

Scanned some pictures today. And one from March for comparison.
Christmas 83, me and a very little ratrodder (his name elsewhere).

ratrodder and me in March. He's still a little squirt. Me, never was...

[dave.g.in.gansevoort]

Just an aside, we didn't move the seat or roll bar between those 2 pictures. Kind of a Laurel and Hardy moment!

[dave.g.in.gansevoort]

Got some new front spindles yesterday. They're from a 49-52 Ford F1 pickup truck.
The new to me spindles are the black set. Left picture left side, right picture right side. These are fascinating. They use the same king pins as 42 thru 48 passenger car spindles and look substantially the same. However notice the right side spindle? It has NOT been modified. There are forge marks on the outside of the tie rod arm end. I thought maybe someone had cut the 2nd eye off, but no. It was made that way. I found pictures online for the tie rod, and it is unique. It has a fixed tie rod end on the right side, with a boss for another tie rod end near the right end. The other end of the tie rod had a short adjuster and a normal tie rod end for the left side spindle. It says to me just how far Ford would go to try to save money, however I can't imagine making forging dies for the spindle was inexpensive. And the tie rod had to cost more than the typical one as seen on passenger cars.

Now they do look similar to 42 thru 48 passenger car spindles, and here's where the difference is. The axle stub is much beefier at the inner bearing. Normal passenger car spindles measure 1.190 inch diameter approximately, these measure 1.315 ( 1 5/16 ). That is 22% bigger, relating to a higher load rating.

And they fit old Ford front axles anywhere from 1928 model A to 1948. So I'm still looking for 1935-1936 1-1/2 ton truck front spindles, but these will work on Son of Whatever if I never find the bigger ones. Here's a couple more pictures:

[dave.g.in.gansevoort]

Engine stuff today. Got the heads to Boyd's for evaluation and if there's life in them, start with them. Discussed the overall build strategy. Estimated weight of the Whatever is 1500 pounds give or take. Gearing is obviously not a concern with the quick change. I have an original Edelbrock Torker manifold that is unmolested. And a Holley 650 dual feed vacuum secondary 4 barrel. Planning on a hydraulic roller cam. And a 3 gear cam drive. It'll have a nice gear whine.

So next, pull old mangy apart! Hopefully I'll find a forged crank. It's a large journal 327, 1968, from a 3/4 ton pickup, so I'm hopeful. Otherwise I'll source a 350 forged crank and just call it a stroker 327

Hopefully I'll be more motivated this week. I've got a lot of welding to do on the Whatever project, and some more fabrication. And pedals! I've still got to design the master cylinders mounting system. And a battery. Anyone got a good recommendation for a battery? I've got room for a reasonably sized battery, say 7x7x10, approximately.

And one other thing, tailpipes. I'll be making headers that tuck close to the frame rails just outside of the engine compartment. And I want to run straight back from the collectors under the rear axle dumping at the back of the turtle deck, so no exhaust gases under the car. Think the exhaust on Indy Roadsters of the 50s and early 60's. So I need mufflers that are 3 to 4 inches in diameter. I'll size the rest of the system around the mufflers, which basically will be cut apart and the guts put inside of the long straight pipes. Well that's the current plan, anyway...

[DanStokes]

A friend in A2 bought a pair of bullet mufflers which I think were 4 or 4 1/2 OD. He then cut the flanges off the header collectors and welded the bullet muffs right in there as they were the same OD as the collectors. So, invisible mufflers! Worked well. Worth a look.

[dave.g.in.gansevoort]

A friend in A2 bought a pair of bullet mufflers which I think were 4 or 4 1/2 OD. He then cut the flanges off the header collectors and welded the bullet muffs right in there as they were the same OD as the collectors. So, invisible mufflers! Worked well. Worth a look.

That's the concept. With a twist. Find some with 3 to 4 inch outer shell and gut them for the guts. Put the guts inside that same size straight tubing that will be everything from the collectors to the tips of the tailpipes. I figure I can form a collector into the end of the tubing and make it slip over the primary pipes.

Well That's my story and I'm sticking to it...

[dave.g.in.gansevoort]

Tore into old mangy today, finally! Some surprises.
Cast crank! Arrg! Hoping it had a steel crank, so I guess the guy that gave it to me (free is good regardless) was wrong about it coming out of a 3/4 ton pickup. Really clean inside, had had a stock rebuild somewhere in its past. Rods and mains already stamped to keep them where they belong. Haven't measured the bores yet, so no idea if it was bored, or just honed. More on that later.

Head gaskets were stock type steel shim, with no evidence of leakage. No sludge insideso well cared for.
There's the usualbrown haze inside the pan, but really clean there too.

Now this is a 250 hp truck 327 by the numbers. It has the special low performance single hump cylinder heads (well actually 290 casting heads with 1.74 intakes and 74 cc chambers). Regardless they will NOT be going back on. Hopefully the old set of 462 castings are rebuildable, so it will look like a 300 hp 327.

That is if I use this engine because of the crank. There are some options to get me a forged crank, 1-try to find a 327 large journal forged crank (think hen's teeth), 2-get a 350 forged crank and call it a stroker 327 (hey I want to live in the 60s with this engine...), and 3-use a 283 forged crank and my last good 327 small journal block and build a 302. Need to talk with the engine builder to see what path is the most logical.

Almost forgot the picture of the heads. That's the worst cylinder. And its not bad. Oh well, its only money...

[DanStokes]

Logical? What is this "logical"?

[dave.g.in.gansevoort]

Logical? What is this "logical"?

Did I say logical? No, I said most logical! That's like when the 4 of us used to go out for ice cream. We all chose the most logical selection, 3 or so scoops each! Logic said 1 scoop, but nooooo, we had to have 3! Did any one of us need 3? Noooo! In fact one was really more than we needed, but logic said 3...

Okay so not terribly on point! But logically it fits. Sort of...

Boy I miss riding in the big old Ford wagon for ice cream and magazines. Worked out good for us, as Maggie and ME would sit and take their time with the treats, while we perused the books and magazines. And taking Norm, Scooter, and Rob out there with the Crusher.

Yes those were the days

[DanStokes]

Though Nigel the station wagon was a Mercury.

[dave.g.in.gansevoort]

Though Nigel the station wagon was a Mercury.

Still a Ford. Just like the song: ...get me a Mercury Ford...

[SuperBuickGuy]

Did I say logical? No, I said most logical! That's like when the 4 of us used to go out for ice cream. We all chose the most logical selection, 3 or so scoops each! Logic said 1 scoop, but nooooo, we had to have 3! Did any one of us need 3? Noooo! In fact one was really more than we needed, but logic said 3...

Okay so not terribly on point! But logically it fits. Sort of...

Boy I miss riding in the big old Ford wagon for ice cream and magazines. Worked out good for us, as Maggie and ME would sit and take their time with the treats, while we perused the books and magazines. And taking Norm, Scooter, and Rob out there with the Crusher.

Yes those were the days

there is a small drive-in burger stand in Rice Hill, Oregon, where one scoop IS three scoops. three scoops is a pound of ice cream....


*they serve Umpqua ice cream, which is made about 3 miles away... it's pretty darn good.

[dave.g.in.gansevoort]

there is a small drive-in burger stand in Rice Hill, Oregon, where one scoop IS three scoops. three scoops is a pound of ice cream....


*they serve Umpqua ice cream, which is made about 3 miles away... it's pretty darn good.

Now that's a reason for a road trip! We're getting a new Blazer sometime this summer, maybe next summer (2023) Dan? Never know what we can talk the lady folk into...

[dave.g.in.gansevoort]

So which way? Checked out the availability of so called adapter bearings, i.e. thick shell bearings, that fit a small journal crank into a later block. King Engine Bearings used to make them, web site sucks, so I guess I'm going to have to call them. A new forged 3.48 stroke crank will cost about $700 so it may become a stoker 327.. i.e. a 350!

Or, if the small journal 327 block passes muster, and the 283 crank can be turned, then it's going to get a 302. Lots of questions, maybe it's time to get a crate engine...