Golden-Era Hot-Rodding

[David Conwill]

How about an early Chevy for a change of pace?

-Dave

 

[David Conwill]

Or a slightly later model (but still with the four cylinder)?

-Dave

 

[David Conwill]

No? A brass Ford with an overhead conversion?

-Dave

 

[Michaelson]

So, where to things stand with the Plymouth brain transplant? I drive a '50 P20 as my daily driver, and have the 217 flathead as the main power plant.

Once thing folks forget is that those flathead 6's are CRAZY heavy due to all that cast iron block. If you drop in a lightweight slant six, you'll have to change the suspension as the front end will be higher than the back end.

I once suggested replacing MY 217 for a 318 V-8, and my mechanic said it would be a good fit, but even the 318 was lighter than MY engine.

Anyway, I'm interested in hearing how this transplant worked out.

Regards! Michaelson

 

[David Conwill]

Bourne ID put up his latest update on page 39 of the Driving Golden Era Cars thread. It seems things are moving slowly.

A ‘50s Dodge or DeSoto Hemi would make a neat, period swap into Keller-era MoPar, too.

-Dave

 

[David Conwill]

Vic Edelbrock, Sr. and his Deuce roadster, c. 1939.

-Dave

 

[Bourne ID]

I forgot there were other threads on the same topic. The 350 is in the Plymouth and It looks fantastic, nice fit with minimal hassle. The big v8 is lighter than the original straight 6 and for that we trimmed a coil off the springs. Also moved the upper shock mounts to the frame rail, not sure how effective they were in the stock location. My buddy had to custom fab a new clutch pedal assembly to actuate the transmission in the new location about 5 inches forward of previous spot. New driveshaft being cut/lengthened to fit. Spent Last saturday wiring the new battery location to the trunk, cutting some clearance for the exhaust headers in the inner fender panels and fabing up the exhaust pipes from the headers to the tailpipe. A full custom fab on the exhaust including the drivers side header in order to clear the stock steering column. A lot of hours spent just on that, expensive hours. I'm hoping to finish things up this week and have her back on the road! While she's in and on the lift I'm gonna install seatbelts, a safety concession to my wife and kids and not a bad idea.

 

[David Conwill]

While she's in and on the lift I'm gonna install seatbelts, a safety concession to my wife and kids and not a bad idea.

Great idea. Get some vintage looking ones from Juliano's. I linked to the plain lap belts, because they've got the best picture, but the lift-latch style is also available as a three-point, retractable belt like in a modern car.

I've got the plain lap belts in my Falcon.

-Dave

 

[Bourne ID]

I've been fiddling with the gas pedal/throttle linkages for two days now and I think I've finally got something acceptable that works. Seem like such a simple thing until you get to that point and it doesn't work. But I got it working with a few slight modification and then set to work trimiiing the inner fender panels to fit around the new headers and the lower rad hose! Fat motor!

 

[David Conwill]

Here are a few new old ones as of today:

This appears to be a 1926 Ford roadster or touring converted into a “lakes modified” sometime before the mid-1930s. Note that this is a "three springer" - using the front suspension from a non-Ford; a popular setup for hot iron in the pre-WWII era.

This is a 1923-25 Ford touring that was captioned as being from the early 1940s.

This is a 1923-25 Ford roadster with the notation “Pease Bros Ford & Head”. I’ve never head of a Pease Bros head, but there was a lot of speed equipment produced for the T, so it’s entirely possible I wouldn’t have.

This is a speedster, c. 1922, that I believe belonged to race car builder Frank Kurtiss.

This is a T coupe from the 1917-1923 period equipped with accessory wire wheels and apparently a chopped top! The original caption indicated the photo was from the late-1920s.

-Dave

 

[Bourne ID]

Hit the road with my 50 Plymouth last friday..first time in 10 months. Gas peda still not right and scary as hell, she's terribly stiff at idle and then "pops" to mid throttle nearly tearing the rear end off and slapping the drive shaft off the floor boards. Installed air shocks to help stiffen up the rear end but I"ve got to start from scratch on this pedal linkage, the old linkages just arent' gonna work.

 

[David Conwill]

I've got no experience with them, but Falcon guys swear by cable linkages on their throttles. I think Lokar offers a universal retrofit.

Just please, for the love of all that is good and old looking, don't use a billet gas pedal!

-Dave

 

[Bourne ID]

The billet is what Lokar offers and I'd never!! The cable linkage is pretty much the industry standard since the 60's so it must work.

 

[David Conwill]

They don't offer the cable separate from the pedal?

-Dave

 

[Talbot]

Gas peda still not right and scary as hell, she's terribly stiff at idle and then "pops" to mid throttle nearly tearing the rear end off and slapping the drive shaft off the floor boards.

Sounds like a bellcrank going over centre someplace...

Buddy of mine has a hydraulic gas pedal unit from an early drag car - not sure it would give you the range you want though.

T

 

[Bourne ID]

I pulled the cable and bracket off the donor vehicle last night(Chevy Suburban with a 350 that we later found had a cracked block) but unfortunately my buddy had removed and misplaced the gas pedal assembly. I had to modify the bracket a little cuz the cable didn't reach
the throttle arm at idle, but it will now bolt to the top of the intake manifold(as it originally did) and hold the cable clip in the right spot. The cable will then run back and down the firewall but not thru it. I've got to fab up a bracket to hold it parallel to the firewall and then I'll clip to the original pedal arm that protrudes thru the floor/firewall.

 

[Bourne ID]

Hey! what am I missing here? Never mind Figured the pic thing out. Here's a few shot of my car from last fridaynight heading out to a small car show for the first time since last summer. Still not perfect but cooler than my buddies stock 51 Chevy!! Notice the difference in front end ride height, both cars have one coil off the springs and I'm running smaller tires. Full air ride is in her future (looking for a federal grant for funding!)

 

[Bourne ID]

new throttle cable brackets fabbed up and mounted in the Plymouth and it works like a dream. Allmost to easy so I changed out the spring to a stiffer one and it's perfect. Bombing around the city the last two days, keeping within a few miles of the shop, just to break things in a bit. Adjusted the clutch pedal a little and it started sticking at the floor resulting in a "Pop" when pulling out in first gear! A couple of tire screeches and it was back on the lift for another adjustment. Found a grease fitting we had missed at the pedal, bone dry. Put a little adjustment on the spring and added another spring and she works just fine.
I love this car! Goose bumps and butterflies whenever I drive her!!

 

[David Conwill]

I love this car! Goose bumps and butterflies whenever I drive her!!

Plymouth might still be around today if they'd just introduced a 350 cubic inch V8 and a full-synchro five-speed in 1949!

-Dave

 

[Gregg Axley]

Or you'd find more with a U shape at the front of the car....