Hot Rod Forum banner

A small update on my '35 Build

2K views 24 replies 12 participants last post by  35WINDOW 
#1 · (Edited)
Some of you may not remember me, as about all I do anymore here is lurk (lots of knowledgeable guys here now), but I thought I'd share a few Photo's of how I'm coming along-it's slow going as I can only work on her on Saturdays-nobody seemed to care about my Trunk pictures, so we'll see-if there is no interest in my project, I'll stop posting updates-

Anyway, this is a partial mock-up-the steel front Fenders are finally done, and I filled where the Bumpers would go-turned out o.k. I think. the rear Fenders are from Wescott's, I just bolted them on, and I am very happy with the fit and quality. The running boards are the new Drake ones, and are nicely made. The Grille I'm using is only for mock-up, as I have a new Alumicraft one waiting in the attic-

I ended up buy all new Wilwood brakes, as I needed a Parking Brake and they fit great. Ayway, here are a few pictures-it is up on Jacks, and I didn't stage these pictures, I was just at a new stopping point-

Hopefully these pictures won't come out too big-
 

Attachments

See less See more
5
#8 ·
Yea it does take some time and LOTS of money to finish these things huh? I take it you're up north?? I'm in So. Utah just south of Cedar City, still working on my '32 but I changed out the 331sbc/700R4 for a 508" Cad/400T. Your car is looking very nice, the additional photo's by Ireland shows a lot of work on the chassis. Hope you have a couple more sets of rear tires....you're going to need them with that Musi rat motor!!
 
#9 ·
327NUT said:
Yea it does take some time and LOTS of money to finish these things huh? I take it you're up north?? I'm in So. Utah just south of Cedar City, still working on my '32 but I changed out the 331sbc/700R4 for a 508" Cad/400T. Your car is looking very nice, the additional photo's by Ireland shows a lot of work on the chassis. Hope you have a couple more sets of rear tires....you're going to need them with that Musi rat motor!!

Yes, I am up in Springville. Sounds like you have the same Tire problem with that Cadillac! Thank you very much for the compliment, I sincerely appreciate it.

As for the engine, I right now have enough parts to build a 496 and a 540, but I think I will be dealing with enough gremlins that I don't want to worry about if I did something wrong while assembling the engine. I think I will go the crate route, and I agonized over the Smeding 572, the GM 572/620 and the Edelbrock/Musi 555. I like what Musi has done with that engine-it has enough vacuum for my Power Brakes, runs a vacuum assist Distributor and has a reasonable idle-exactly what I was looking for-
 
#16 ·
Wow, thanks for all of the interest, it makes it all worthwhile! I will give some periodic updates, and now that the body work is starting to wind down a little I can maybe make some progress.

advantessr, I love your T!

454, thanks for the compliment!

Sixguns, yes, all I have used is SPI and I love it-Barry has been a big help-

By they way, you guys helped me in my debate on Radiators, and I went with Walker. Great quality, and it fits well. Thanks to all for their experience/opinions.

I am still having a debate on Hoods-I have a couple of stock Hoods, but am deciding on whether to try a Rootlieb-I am trying to stay with a "Hot Rod" kind of theme, so I am considering on trying one of their louvered hoods. Anyone have any experiences with Rootlieb?
 
#17 ·
Gotta go with Rootleib - brand new, never crinkled steel - plus many different options (ie 3 piece) as well as whatever else you could think of for your own concoction. They are easy to work with. Someone on Ebay wants your vintage hood parts and should more then offset the Rootleib costs.

The photos of mine don't show a hood, but I do have one and it is very well made

Dave W
 
#21 ·
running boards

Hi 35WIndow,

I see you posted about your new Drake running boards. Did you install the rubber? Or did you splurge on the finished boards? You had stated that they were well made. Is the quality of the fit included into that statement? I recently discovered that the boards on my 36 5 window where in much rougher shape than I thought. The bottoms looked really nice, but after peeling back the rubber , I discovered that there appears to be a layer of fiberglass resin coating the bottoms and the tops were textured with some pin holes. Anyway, I am in the market for boards and would appreciated some more info on the Drake boards.

Do you happen to have some pictures that better show your mod to the X frame? By chance was that a kit?

Thanks, JimH
 
#22 ·
Jim,

I did buy the finished Boards (they were vulcanized to Steel)-the fit and finish is very good (actually better than I expected), and I am happy all around. It appears that they punched holes in the steel so that the Rubber could ooze through and secure itself.

These are the only other pictures (other than what is in my Journal) that I can think that I have of the X-sorry, that I don't have more to share. Yes, it is mostly a kit from Heinzman Street Rods and a few stock pieces-
 

Attachments

#24 ·
35, you are looking good, coupe, that is. You cut your inner fenders about the way I did my 36s. You may find you have been too close on your tolerances and may want to open it up a tad, especially if you try to shoe horn a big block in a crowded small block area. The extra weight may cause the UCAs to bump the inner fender. Also, I doubled the metal around the opening using 18 ga about 1 inch wide. Reversing the channel in your X member is the way to go if you are modifying the center section. I have seen rectangular tubing used to replace the original X and that works very nicely when it comes time to tweak the tranny and running the exhaust. My truck is very much like your set up and it is a pain in the butt to change the governor on the 700R4 which I had to do a couple of times to get the set up I wanted. And that is a great looking grill just for mockup. If I were you, I would not let it get out of my garage until I am satisfied with the Alumnicraft that is in the attic. If going with an aftermarket hood, I would get a guarantee that the after market hood would fit the Alumnicraft grill shell.

Keep up the good work and keep the pics coming!!

Jim H, If you have a decent sheet metal shop near by, just get them to bend a 6' U channel for you. Measure the depth of the X member where you think you want to open the center section up too and make the top and bottom lips the same as the x member. You can seen enough of 35 Windows x member to see how to build them together. Reversing the channel to look outwards is important to give you more room for the tranny, but don't open it up so much, your exhaust crowds the power brake booster, if used and the master cylinder if under the floor. You want to tack in a fairly heavy piece of angle iron tieing the outer frame rails and x members together so they do not move when you cut them for the modification. You need two-one in front of the front cut and one behind the rear cut. I can't tell if 35 used a lap joint or butt weld, but a lap joint would be better, in my opinion.

Trees
 
#25 ·
trees said:
35, you are looking good, coupe, that is. You cut your inner fenders about the way I did my 36s. You may find you have been too close on your tolerances and may want to open it up a tad, especially if you try to shoe horn a big block in a crowded small block area. The extra weight may cause the UCAs to bump the inner fender. Also, I doubled the metal around the opening using 18 ga about 1 inch wide. Reversing the channel in your X member is the way to go if you are modifying the center section. I have seen rectangular tubing used to replace the original X and that works very nicely when it comes time to tweak the tranny and running the exhaust. My truck is very much like your set up and it is a pain in the butt to change the governor on the 700R4 which I had to do a couple of times to get the set up I wanted. And that is a great looking grill just for mockup. If I were you, I would not let it get out of my garage until I am satisfied with the Alumnicraft that is in the attic. If going with an aftermarket hood, I would get a guarantee that the after market hood would fit the Alumnicraft grill shell.

Keep up the good work and keep the pics coming!!

Trees

Trees,

Thank you for your input, I hadn't thought about fitment issues with the Alumicraft grille. I will contact Rootlieb and see what they can tell me, I don't want to make a $1000 mistake. I will be running a 4 piece Hood either way.

As for the inner Fenders, you have a very good point, and while I was measuring and cutting them I was trying to consider how much lower the car would sit-it looks like I am close to ride height now, so I will have to be careful there (thank god for adjustable coil-overs).

I really like your doubling idea-yesterday I was looking at Ebay and there is another '35 for sale-he has boxed the A-Arms in (although it is a MII suspension, not a Superide like mine), but it looks like maybe a good idea-(please look at this, tell me your opinion :) )-
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford...6?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item2c5bfb7256#v4-32

Not sure if i need to do that, but it would keep the water out, and it would also be a doubler of sorts. If not, I will double it-I have purchased a bunch of Aircraft Riveting Tools (squeezes, bucks, etc.), so that would give me an excuse to use them :D .

I'm hoping that I can fit a 4L80E in there-I'm looking for a used one to try and use for mock-up, so we'll see-I hope I don't have to do major surgery to the Floors or Frame, as that is done. Thanks for your input, I am glad now that I posted this on here, you may have saved me a bunch of work and money :welcome:
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top