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Mary's 40 Ford coupe

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  • Mary's 40 Ford coupe

    I've been keeping track of this build for some time now on another forum, but never posted it here. Guess I might as well so I can get some good advice.......
    I know, I know.......when you get to the drive train part........I'm a Chevy guy, and need to use what I have on hand.....I really wanted a blown flattie but the cost is waaaayyyy too much.
    Last edited by oletrux4evr; January 2, 2012, 10:11 AM.
    Ed, Mary, & 'Earl'
    HRPT LongHaulers, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.


    Inside every old person is a young person wondering, "what the hell happened?"

    The man at the top of the mountain didn't fall there. -Vince Lombardi

  • #2
    I found this car in a junkyard in western Kansas where it had been picked clean for untold years. I’d wanted to build one, and the price was right, so we took the trailer back out there and brought it home. The body is solid, except for some metal thinning on the passenger door and the trunk deck. The belly is very good, as is the frame.

    Mary will be the owner of this coupe. She has been a great partner in all that I’ve done for years and years, and was alot of help while I was building 'Earl', so this is a little payback.

    I have a ZZ4 383 (425hp) for it, and plan to put a stout 350 or 400 tranny behind it. The choice of tranny is not firm……the rear is a Ford 9" posi (trac-loc).

    . I am looking forward to your comments and advice during the build.
    Ed.





    [IMG]http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj154/oletrux4evr/40%20Ford/DSCF0173.jpg[
    /IMG]


    When I brought the coupe home, I got the frame out from under it and sent it to the sandblaster. I plan on POR-15 for it, with a topcoat of chassis black.
    Since I don't have a complete car to work with, I'm going with a bolt-in IFS and rear parallel leaf setup from Chassis Engineering. That will let me bolt it up temporarily, reassemble the car and check wheel centering and other measurements, disassemble the car again, then finish bolting/welding everything in place. Cost is very comparable to a weld-in kit, so I'm happy with that and the flexibility it allows.





    Ed, Mary, & 'Earl'
    HRPT LongHaulers, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.


    Inside every old person is a young person wondering, "what the hell happened?"

    The man at the top of the mountain didn't fall there. -Vince Lombardi

    Comment


    • #3
      Spent most of this week measuring and drilling holes. I am amazed at how hard the frame material is; they made them stout back then…..gonna need a lot of sharpening before I go much further. I am fortunate to have the Ford spec sheet on the frame, so hopefully the temporary location of both the front and rear axle center lines will be close to the fender centers. The weather is supposed to warm slightly this weekend, so I should be able to check that by hauling the chassis out to the body, mock it all up and see. After it fits, I'll finish bolting it all in, then box the frame.
      I am quite pleased with the quality of the kits and instruction sheets from Chassis Engineering, and would recommend them. Good prices too. Both seem to fit very well also, but the frame rails have to be square.
      The 9” came out of a ’59 Ford passenger car. Found a rebuildable 28-spline posi unit that’s not in a WAR case, so will rebuild that a bit later. All in all, it’s coming along as well as my time and budget will allow. More to follow.







      Last edited by oletrux4evr; January 2, 2012, 09:45 AM.
      Ed, Mary, & 'Earl'
      HRPT LongHaulers, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.


      Inside every old person is a young person wondering, "what the hell happened?"

      The man at the top of the mountain didn't fall there. -Vince Lombardi

      Comment


      • #4
        For some reason the site has stopped accepting my uploads......later.......
        Last edited by oletrux4evr; January 2, 2012, 10:00 AM.
        Ed, Mary, & 'Earl'
        HRPT LongHaulers, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.


        Inside every old person is a young person wondering, "what the hell happened?"

        The man at the top of the mountain didn't fall there. -Vince Lombardi

        Comment


        • #5
          Had a nice day, so I loaded up the frame and went out to see how the body was going to fit. Not too bad! Front axle seems to be just right, but I’ll move the rear axle forward about 3/4" to get it centered in the fender opening. Probably make some offset lowering blocks to do that. I also confirmed that I can run much larger tires/wheels. The ones in the photo are 215-65R15s. Lots of fender room. Now comes disassembly, final cleaning, POR-15 and topcoat, then reassembly. I’m still planning on boxing the frame from the X-member forward, to clean up the look and add more strength. I’ll also have to design a tunnel that will fit the TH400. This one is a bit small.
          Work will slow down as I have to paint outside and it’s February, and the budget is a bit tight. More to follow.





          Last edited by oletrux4evr; January 2, 2012, 10:24 AM.
          Ed, Mary, & 'Earl'
          HRPT LongHaulers, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.


          Inside every old person is a young person wondering, "what the hell happened?"

          The man at the top of the mountain didn't fall there. -Vince Lombardi

          Comment


          • #6
            Well, I finally got my back straightened out enough to work in the garage. Finished up boxing the frame today. Waiting on a warm, calm day to POR-15 and topcoat it, then bring the body home. Progress. Finally.





            Ed, Mary, & 'Earl'
            HRPT LongHaulers, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.


            Inside every old person is a young person wondering, "what the hell happened?"

            The man at the top of the mountain didn't fall there. -Vince Lombardi

            Comment


            • #7
              Not much new to report, been busy as heck. Here’s a couple of photos after painting. More to follow, probably after the PowerTour:



              Ed, Mary, & 'Earl'
              HRPT LongHaulers, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.


              Inside every old person is a young person wondering, "what the hell happened?"

              The man at the top of the mountain didn't fall there. -Vince Lombardi

              Comment


              • #8
                Had a rainy day, so I spent most of it fitting the under-floorboard brake booster and master cylinder, then started with assembly of the frame.
                In the first photo, you can see where I elected to weld the upper A-arm supports to add more strength. This kit from Classic Engineering bolts in with 48 bolts, most of which are 3/8,with a few 5/16, all grade 5. I replaced several with chrome buttonheads for appearance. There are 12 on the bottom of the frame that can’t be seen. Pretty stout!



                The next 4 photos show the IFS from different views.









                And finally, another straight on photo. Tomorrow I’ll add the steering rack and swaybar, and hopefully check the engine/tranny for fit…..

                Last edited by oletrux4evr; January 2, 2012, 10:29 AM.
                Ed, Mary, & 'Earl'
                HRPT LongHaulers, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.


                Inside every old person is a young person wondering, "what the hell happened?"

                The man at the top of the mountain didn't fall there. -Vince Lombardi

                Comment


                • #9
                  Time to mock up the engine and tranny.




                  Pretty good fit, but will need some modification if I’m to use the attached 200R4. I’m setup for a Turbo 350, and after I look at the ratios and get some opinions, I’ll decide which tranny.



                  A little lower angle so you can see how well it sits down into the frame. Finished ‘till after we get back from the PowerTour!! Leaving a week from tomorrow.

                  Last edited by oletrux4evr; January 2, 2012, 10:35 AM.
                  Ed, Mary, & 'Earl'
                  HRPT LongHaulers, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.


                  Inside every old person is a young person wondering, "what the hell happened?"

                  The man at the top of the mountain didn't fall there. -Vince Lombardi

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I have found that smaller uploads will make it OK, hence all the 'editing'.........
                    Last edited by oletrux4evr; January 2, 2012, 10:33 AM.
                    Ed, Mary, & 'Earl'
                    HRPT LongHaulers, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.


                    Inside every old person is a young person wondering, "what the hell happened?"

                    The man at the top of the mountain didn't fall there. -Vince Lombardi

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Got a couple of days to work in good weather, so went out and lifted the coupe. Here’s the underside before cleaning:



                      After dispensing with a couple of wasp nests, the wire-brushing began. I am still amazed at how good the metal is on this old car.







                      After cleaning, a good coat of POR-15. Good day so far!

                      Last edited by oletrux4evr; January 2, 2012, 10:37 AM.
                      Ed, Mary, & 'Earl'
                      HRPT LongHaulers, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.


                      Inside every old person is a young person wondering, "what the hell happened?"

                      The man at the top of the mountain didn't fall there. -Vince Lombardi

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        After letting the paint dry overnight, went back today temporarily mate the body to the frame and bring it home to start the serious work. There was about 1” to 2” of dry dirt in the floorboards, doors, and trunk pan. Remarkable how it preserved the metal in the dry Western Kansas climate. That would have been a recipe for totally rusted out in another location, I’ll bet.







                        I’m pleased with the engine clearances, even seems to be plenty of room for the distributor. Looks like block-hugger headers though. Don’t think I’ll need to do anything to the firewall except smooth it and fill all the holes.





                        Home and unloaded. Two very good days. More to follow.



                        Last edited by oletrux4evr; January 2, 2012, 10:41 AM.
                        Ed, Mary, & 'Earl'
                        HRPT LongHaulers, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.


                        Inside every old person is a young person wondering, "what the hell happened?"

                        The man at the top of the mountain didn't fall there. -Vince Lombardi

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Had several rainy days over the past month, so I spent some of them working on the firewall. I had decided NOT to go with an aftermarket smooth firewall….I’m sorta old-fashioned and like the one Henry put in it. Started with the usual stuff; hammers, dollies, weld and grind. Fill, sand, prime, sand, prime, sand, fill, prime, sand, re-weld….you know the drill.









                          I’m satisfied with it. Now for the body…..
                          Last edited by oletrux4evr; January 2, 2012, 10:44 AM.
                          Ed, Mary, & 'Earl'
                          HRPT LongHaulers, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.


                          Inside every old person is a young person wondering, "what the hell happened?"

                          The man at the top of the mountain didn't fall there. -Vince Lombardi

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            You might recall that the upper passenger door skin was really thin, with a lot of swiss cheese. I bought a door top from a guy in Illinois some time back, and started fitting it today.



                            After some serious measuring, I got out the trusty sawz-all and attacked the door. Looks kinda funny, doesn't it?





                            After more serious measuring, lots of grinding, and making double-dog sure the inside door handle would still fit, it’s ready for welding.



                            Last edited by oletrux4evr; January 2, 2012, 10:51 AM.
                            Ed, Mary, & 'Earl'
                            HRPT LongHaulers, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.


                            Inside every old person is a young person wondering, "what the hell happened?"

                            The man at the top of the mountain didn't fall there. -Vince Lombardi

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              The trunk deck has some serious cancer in the upper corner, both in the supporting structure as well as the swiss-cheese skin....



                              I have a spare deck that has damage in the same are, but I’ll rebuild the support structure….the skin is fine. I’ll fix the inside, then cut, match, and weld the repaired corner to the original deck.





                              Came out better than I hoped. After sandblasting, I’ll do the transplant.
                              Last edited by oletrux4evr; January 2, 2012, 10:59 AM.
                              Ed, Mary, & 'Earl'
                              HRPT LongHaulers, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.


                              Inside every old person is a young person wondering, "what the hell happened?"

                              The man at the top of the mountain didn't fall there. -Vince Lombardi

                              Comment

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