Last time i really posted on here, i was in the process of building my simi-rare 1.6 DOHC sedan.. Well my mom passed away in early september, and i sold all of my shit and bought a few toys.. kx250, 400ex and a ton of other fun stuff!
Fast forward a few months..
Me and dad went to a auction that my grandpa was telling us about. and we ended up coming home with a '32 ford pickup. Original '32 frame/cab/doors/glass and a good, original title. It was just a roller. No engine/trans/wiring/steering/interior ECT.. We got a amazing deal on it. $4500 out the door.
Heres the details..
Original Henry ford steel cab/firewall/doors.
Original '32 ford frame.
fiberglass '32 ford grill shell.
Reman Model A bed.
'57 ford 8'' rear axle.
4" drop front axle with a split '32 wishbone.
Pics of when we picked it up..
Once i got it home, I started to really inspect the truck. I knew i had my work cut out for me, as my dad is a engineer and can barely change his own oil. haha.. After going over the truck, there were a few things i noticed that i wasnt to happy about. The frame has been the exact same way since the mid 1960's.. It had been converted to 2 leaf springs, instead of the stock "buggy" style and a million other worthless brackets and chunks of metal were welded to the frame. I started taking it apart to fix other peoples uglyness
After a few hours of working on it.
At that point, i start cutting off all the dumb shit, and trying to get the frame as close to stock form as possible. The Stock K-member and front cross member had been Tourched to hell and back, and were pretty much worthless in my eyes.
Here is a pictures of the "modded leaf spring mount" this was a HUGE pain in the ass
And here it was after i finished cutting it off. You cant ever tell it was ever there.
After cutting all the NON sence and BS off.. I was at a stand still, We need to order parts. and now that i knew what needed to be ordered. I did just that.. The frame will receive a tubular k-member and a new reman front '32 ford crossmember. I bought reman '32 front frame horns since ours are bent, all the material to box the frame in..
I'll be converting the frame back to the "buggy" style and using a '40 ford rear spring (2" drop) along with a rear radious rod set-up. the front will use the current drop axle and also a '40 ford front spring. the truck will be rolling on '40 ford 4x16" front and 5x16" rear wheels. The tires will be firestone bias plys 4.5x16" and 7.50x16" rear.
We bought an engine a few weeks ago. Its not what i wanted, but dad is going for a nice reliable street truck that we can drive anywhere and not worry about breaking down. Its a SBC350 out of an early 80's vette. it made 420-430HP on an engine dyno. the trans is a built 700r4 with OD.
AS of right now, Im at a stand still untill my frame horns come in. Then i can replace those, and square the frame up on the frame jig, and start boxing it in. and getting the wheelbase set..
well thats a quick rundown on what i've been doing. I know im missing a few things, and if you have ANY questions, I'll be happy to answer. I've been dying to get my hands on one these for years. Im excited to be building my own.
Thanks! John
BTW.. Im going for more of a traditional 60's style build.. No ratrod shit
