THSCC Forums

Just curious if any other club members have a passion for old vehicles with modern drive trains besides us?

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SPIN or WIN!
there's no glory for going slow.

I own two of said beasts. Both still under construction, but the '62 Chevy stepside truck will be done in the next couple months. Ramjet 350, Art Morrison frame, Ford 9" rear end, etc. Very massaged body.

'31 Ford Model A coupe. Crate Ford 351W, Art Morrison frame, 9" rear end, etc. Both vehicles have original steel bodies and titles to match, but very little else is original. I will likely sell the Model A when it gets done, though, because I have a more interesting project in mind that's along those lines, but mo betta. The truck will never get sold as that was my great-great-grandfather's truck. The only reason it's a hot rod now is that a family member let it get just too far gone to try to restore. Anything *can* be restored, but it wouldn't have been any more original than it is now, to be honest.


--Donnie

Yep.

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~ RallyX VP 2009 ~
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'92 Prelude
'76 Celica

I can't afford one but I love looking at them!!!

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Todd Breakey
STS 42 - 1992 Sunburst Miata
Dammit!
"You souldn't play leap frog with a porcupine. You might get hurt." - Eliza

I have a 1960 Ford Thunderbird that has been in my family since '61. It has been restored but sitting for the last 5 or so years. I need to go through it and get it running again. For now it sits in a garage in North Raleigh...











I don't really plan to hotrod although I do appreciate that type of thing as well. This was my grandfather's car and the car that my parents dated in. So part of it is tempting, but at the same time origina (for this one) is fine.

As some of you may have heard we are building a street rod truck to pull the race trailer. It is a 1956 Ford Panel truck. We bought it in NM in basically drivable condition, drove it home in fact, but have since then torn much of it apart and are redoing it to my standards. It had a Chevy 400 engine, 6 speed T56 tranny out of a 93 Camaro LT1, Ford 9" rear, disk brakes on the front and drums rear, AC, 6 way power seats and new electronic instrument cluster when we bought it. Since we have had it we have installed Toyota power steering box, tilt steering column, Power boosted brakes, hanging pedals, electric windows and cowl vent, remote controlled door locks with Miata inside door handles, filled the glove box and ashtray doors in the dash, added a lower dash extension and center console. We have also torn out all the old wiring and doing a complete rewire and adding lot of electronic goodies.
There is no rust in the sheet metal, but there were some significant dents in the fenders that were bondoed over that I have stripped and straightened, frenched in LED repro 99 Caddy taillights, LED backup lights, smoothed the firewall, filled about 100 extra holes. I had to rebuild the hinge mounts inside the pass side rear door that had been sprung and torn loose.
If anyone wants hands on experience in street rod construction (think American Hot Rod or Overhaulin) I don't mind anyone coming by and watching or lending a hand. In fact I have had several forum friends travel from out of state just to work with and learn from me. I started building hotrods as models at 12 and the real thing at 15.
What we started with:

_________________
SPIN or WIN!
there's no glory for going slow.

Jeb, that's a sweet looking 'bird!
I recently had to pass on a 37 Chrysler Airflow in near perfect unrestored condition. My friend that bought it did a tune up, put in a new battery and drove it home! The original paint buffed out to a factory shine. I just didn't need another project and altho I appreciate them greatly are not into old restored cars, and it was too perfect to hot rod!

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SPIN or WIN!
there's no glory for going slow.

Wow, this thread is a two-fer! Love the Square Bird, Jeb. Does it have the 352 or the 430 "Special" V8? Either way it's "an Olympic-caliber sprinter and distance runner". I didn't make that up, it's right there on page 69 of my copy of the "Buyer's Digest of NEW CAR FACTS for '60", published by Ford Motor Company. My maternal grandfather must have gotten it when he bought his 1960 Fairlane 500 (pages 30-31), which had the optional "Thunderbird" 292 V8 (not actually offered in the Thunderbird) and A/C!

Now father would love to see Donnie's Model A when it's done. His father moved the family from Lillington to Durham in 1931 after the Harnett County schools closed due to lack of funds during the Depression. My father and two of his siblings rode in the rumble seat of the family Model A, and his parents and two youngest sisters rode in the front seat. Dad related this story to me when we are inspecting the cars at a local hot rod show 7 or 8 years ago.

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Art McDonald
Premier Amateur #518
2008 Dishman Cup
Pivot Cone Snob

Rodney is a waxer (but in a good way)

It has the 352. The only thing that is not factory original on it are the hubcaps and the fender skirts.

Praise to Donnie for putting something besides a freaking SBC in his '31

I am a rat fan(Look at the SciRocco ) but doing vintage rods is WAY out of budget.

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RedLanternRacing, builders of the fastest cars in last place.
Success is not an option.
1981 Scirocco, "Vera"

I *hate* it when people do that. But I did do the "bad" thing of putting FI on it. Holley Projection system. Damned ugly, but should be driver friendly.


--Donnie

That's the whole point of hot rodding, you build YOUR car they way your vision sees it. I have been a fan of the SBC since 1955 (my first car was a 55 Chevy), and have built more of them than all the other makes combined. Likely by next year my SB will be sporting EFI as well. Ford made the best bodies, Chevy the best engines IMHO so our truck combines all the best! Had it not already had one in it, I have a spare 350 waiting in the wings.

_________________
SPIN or WIN!
there's no glory for going slow.

Nice car Jeb. They didn't make them much uglier than that!!

I like the truck Chuck. Can't wait to see it pulling the Soli

Donnie,

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Todd Breakey
STS 42 - 1992 Sunburst Miata
Dammit!
"You souldn't play leap frog with a porcupine. You might get hurt." - Eliza

Putting a SBC in a period looking rod is done because it is easy. There is nothing wrong with that but it is not very interesting. Most Hotrods are built for rather than by the owner, another reason for the SBC. Any shop can get a brand new one in a crate, motorfreight to the door.
But if you go with an early Chysler Hemi, a flattie, or other period mill, it has to be built. More work and there are fewer guys that know what they are doing when it comes to the older motors.

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RedLanternRacing, builders of the fastest cars in last place.
Success is not an option.
1981 Scirocco, "Vera"

It is easier than some other engines true, but it also cannot be beat for power to weight, ease and cost of modifications, dependability (try getting a replacement waterpump for a flatty or a hemi on the weekend in E. Overshoe AR) good looks, aftermarket support.
You can get just about any engine including brand new flatties delivered to your door, but unless you are building for someone else with deep pockets, most self respecting hot rodders would not buy a brand new pre built engine, there's no fun in that. Personally I'm not into "period" anything, I'm building a contemporary hot rod with a purpose other than to sit next to in a park or parkinglot on the weekends. More in the style of Chip Foose than Boyd Coddington.
I could not see a flattie or even a smallblock Ford engine pulling my enclosed trailer.

_________________
SPIN or WIN!
there's no glory for going slow.