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Our New Old Car
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At 62 mph there are very few people I will have to engage in conversation.
In RV parks that will be another story, but I’ll have Di participate in the conversation. It was her car. Mine was a 37 Ford 2 door slantback, 60 HP flathead.
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Oh my, me thinks the 37 slant back would have been your first choice.
JIM
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I had two of them over the years besides the original. However when we bought the Ford I was thinking that making it like new underneath was all it would take to make it OK for a toad compared to the 37 Ford with mechanical brakes, bulb headlights, and pretty ancient mechanicals. That is until we started driving the Ford around and realized while it might have made a better toad than the 37 it is still unsafe for real world driving.
But that 37 Ford was a fun car for someone’s first car.
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Another milestone today.
The engine is being broken in. It is a Jasper Engine and it has gotten a good going over. Today its break -in was begun. All indications are good with a sweet sound, good oil pressure, temps good, EGTs all pretty close, and the alternator is making juice. Still awaiting the transmission and an unequivical letter from the manufacturer (Tremec) stating it is approved for towing.
The AC compressor is not yet installed and the power steering pump still has to have the pulley pressed on.
It has break in oil so when it is ready to go it gets a new oil filter.
The water temp sensor was not hooked up. Temps of the block and the exhaust manifold were taken with an IR gun.
Slow but sure we are getting there.
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Jon, car is going to be awsome.
I have a couple of old 3 watt mobile cell phones you can mount one in the car and put a glass mount antenna on the back window.
I know you will want to be in constant contact with everybody back at the RV park.
Can’t wait to see it.
Now if you only had a 1950 Liberty to pull it with that would really be cool. Did they have them that far back
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Impressive, Jon. I’m really happy for you and Di. I also look forward to seeing the finished product!!
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Very nice, can’t wait to hear it and see it..
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Buddy,
I already have the two cans and a string. No need for one of those high tech flip phones.
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Just one word comes to mind Jon…
“WOW”
Diane
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Here is the car Jon is having us turn into his towable old car that is resto-moded for that purpose. My name is Al Morgan and I am with MidSouthern Restoration is Cookeville TN. We restore older vehicles for high end users. If you check out our web site at http://www.midsr.com you will see a large variety of cars that have been completed in our 9 years in buisness. Jon’s car is not much different and when we need help with the “towable” aspect jon will help us deliver what he wants. After meeting Jon in person and figuring out what he wanted ” A new old towable classic” I called FatMan Fabrication for an updated chassis that includes all more modern ammenties. Rack ands pinion steering and disc brakes. The Front suspension is of Mustang II design. The original 50 Ford body will drop right on its new chassis. From there a Tremic 5 speed manual towable transmission was ordered up and Jon wanted a sweet running simple motor. I had an old 302 Ford motor out of a 70 Ford pickup and after running it I decided to core it out for a remanufactured 302 of the same year period. A few new parts were added like the MSD igniton and a new Holley 350 cfm carburetor. Sanderson Headers were added to get the exhaust out. I am not a big fan of CNC’ed parts but I found a company that builds good quality brackets for the Ford motors and they fit. These will hold the A/C pump and powersteering pump.
The Body was in decent shape but had rusted rocker panels. All the old paint was striped to bare metal revealing a other wise nice body. The rockers were replaced and a small amount of body work was completed untill final fit up. Once the new chassis arrives, there will be some fitting issues to deal with. The underside of the Ford will be re-undercoated and the chassis will be painted. The new Tremic and 302 will be installed then the body. Then the car will be painted. Jon will help us with the tow bars and they will be fit for his set up. We are in a holding pattern untill new chassis shows up. Pic’s will follow.
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Progress report……….
The chassis when delivered did not fit. It wasn’t even close. But Brent, the owner of Fatman Chassis picked it up at the restorers along with the car body, took it back to his shop and made the repairs necessary. It was delivered a few weeks back and now the project is moving ahead again.
The 302 Ford engine is bolted to the new Tremec transmission. The engine and transmission are mounted in the frame. A few days ago I brought several tow bars to the shop and we decided which one we will use for towing, and how it will be mounted to the car. We will add receivers welded to the chassis that will be out of sight. The tow bar will be modified so it will slide into the receivers for quick removal when we unhitch.
It is all in the details now. Everything is being checked for fit because once it is assured everything will go together it all comes apart and the painting and final assembly can begin. The chassis is strong and now that we know all the mounts line up we are checking everything including making sure the car will sit at the original height and that we can change tires, the doors line up perfectly, that we have the necessary clearances and that the new front seats, steering wheel (a tilt wheel no less), foot pedals are all in the right spot and that we have thought of everything. It is a big project.
The bottom line however is we are getting close to having a new toad. And with the exception of the body being 64 years old it will in fact be new.
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Jon, this has taken me 7 months to get this far. 68 Beetle Karmann convertible, I am restoring it to factory original however I have to re paint because the paint folks missed the original Lotus White by a shade. This one required a new floor pan, new baggage shelf, huge amount of body work, new engine, transmission, brakes, wheels and tires, as just a partial list. The top installation is above my pay grade so I will sub that!
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Like my Ford that would make a great toad.
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That’s the plan if I can remember where all of the pieces go……….
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