En route to me from a collector in Hershey PA- - - -a 1940 Ford flathead engine that's going into a replica of a dirt rack race car my father built back in the early 1950s. 32 Ford frame, straight front axle, Ford Banjo housing rear end, and a 3 speed top loader transmission from the late 1930s. The body is a fiberglass replica of a 34 3 window coupe produced by a friend's shop in Texas. It will be painted and set up as well as my memory permits- - - -I was a pre-teen kid the last time I saw it, and no pictures of the car can be located to use as a reference. They outran the grandfathers of some of the current NASCAR crowd with that car- - - -running on a methanol and Hydrogen Peroxide fuel mix!
The body is still in the mold- - - -should be finished in a few days. It's the same as this one Marty Robbins ran in Nashville in the early 1960s. He used to get the front end aligned at Dad's shop frequently.
Most of the "resto-mods" have a belly button Chevy engine ("Everybody's got one!). This one will have an original style engine and running gear, although it won't be as highly modified as the one the original car had. There just aren't enough flathead engines still in existence to push the envelope the way they did back in the late 40s and early 50s. I'm about to inherit a big stash of flathead engines and parts from a guy who is in his early 90s now, and he doesn't want the stuff to go to scrap when he passes on. Maybe my son and grandson will keep the "family tradition" going- - - -5 generations of us so far.
Love it, looking forward to progress pics. My Dad was an old school mechanic, I have his '50 Olds with the original 303Rocket, still purrs like a kitten.
Yep, also Orville Heard (our driver and body man), L.J. Hampton, Coo Coo Marlin, Nero Steptoe, John Thoni, Crash Bond, Bob Reuther, and a bunch of others. Ewing Bass ran a shop that was one of Dad's competitors in the 50s. In the early 1960s, Ray and Charlie Binkley both worked at the family shop. (The Tune-Up Shop on 6th. Avenue South). I built engines for some of the Fairgrounds Speedway racing teams in the 1990's.
Yep, also Orville Heard (our driver and body man), L.J. Hampton, Coo Coo Marlin, Nero Steptoe, John Thoni, Crash Bond, Bob Reuther, and a bunch of others. Ewing Bass ran a shop that was one of Dad's competitors in the 50s. In the early 1960s, Ray and Charlie Binkley both worked at the family shop. (The Tune-Up Shop on 6th. Avenue South). I built engines for some of the Fairgrounds Speedway racing teams in the 1990's.
That's cool. Grandaddy and Ewing were good friends. His shop was on Charlotte, or just off it I think. I hate I wasn't around to see the racing back then.
Love it, looking forward to progress pics. My Dad was an old school mechanic, I have his '50 Olds with the original 303Rocket, still purrs like a kitten.
I've also got an Excalibur roadster kit car under construction- - - -It's going to be running a 1961 Cadillac 390, a Turbo 400 transmission, and a Toyota Supra independent suspension rear end.
I run a 239 ci, flathead in the 52, there fun but different. Starting out around 85 hp, run it easy. The french ford division, built flatheads until the late sixties, as industrial equipment power. Parts are available and many interchange, with the original automobile flatheads! Enjoy your project, sounds interesting.
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