Traditional 1951 Ford Deluxe Tudor Coupe

So this is the place for me to post pictures and build ideas for my Traditional 1951 Ford Deluxe Tudor Coupe.

Bought the car on the 25th of August.

312 Y block, Some sort of corvette 4 speed manual and most importantly no rust.

Since yesterday

So far I have broken the engine down and removed the heads. The triple 97 Carb's are living in the bucket of dip. A new radiator has been ordered from summit, along with a complete gasket kit, carb rebuild kits, blockoff plates, 64 292 distributor. Black flake paint and wheel bearings.

I need to get a heck of a buffing wheel to get everything polished up but very minimal pitting on any of the chrome.

Plus a much needed bottle of seafoam to get the intake all cleaned up after a soak and knock some of the crud loose.

Bearings seem to be OK and the oil is remarkably clean.

I am machining the 97 bases for vacuum tonight, and starting to fab up the brackets for the radiator. I am going to flush the cooling system with water tonight.

Might pull the front seat and fix a few of the pleats in the tuck and roll and stuff some foam in the ends of the couch.

looking forward to watching this one. You already have nice cars, so I expect this will have a really nice level of fit and finish.

came here looking for pix...

So stupid host was down.

Not a good picture but a picture.

Not a single stitch of rust.

that is PIMP!

Cool. The 312 must have been a swap right? Didn't those originally come with an 8BA?

Woody wrote: Cool. The 312 must have been a swap right? Didn't those originally come with an 8BA?

312 is a thunderbird hi-po swap. I would have preferred the 8BA Flathead but the block and the ram horns are worth enough that I could get a decent Flathead short block in trade.

Never been a fan of lake pipes, but the rest of it is the awesome!

Keep the lakers, add spats

Plugs are swapped, two were less then finger tight. Distributor has been freeded up, new vacuum advance. Drilled out one of my 97 bases to accept the vacuum advance but did not have any epoxy to finalize everything in place and it was to soft for me to tap correctly.

The 97's are 90% back together. Just need seals from summit and the neoprene accelerator pump seal replacements. Then the neoprene intake gaskets, Then the radiator and it should be back and running around decently. Hoping for a good solid 2 mile drive on Saturday.

Nice.

Damn I hate waiting for parts. I am supposed to have a radiator and a bunch of carburetor bits and pieces. Instead all I did was finish buttoning up the carb bits that I could. Drill the bases them for all ported vacuum and insert the vacuum insert I made on the lathe.

Plus a bit of form a gasket just in-case there is a leak with the insert.

Got any engine pics?

here it is Y block 312, triple big logo 97's, ram horns.

Just so we are all clear the build here is for fun, as many old parts as I can find, no major bodywork, IE what I would have built when I was younger and had no cash.

No hubcaps, static lowered on blocks, bias tires, minimal money. The car only has 57K original miles and it still has its original paint I believe.

Radiator in, Carbs rebuilt and it. Timing set.

Car starts right up. Unfortunately it idles at ~900 rpm, which is not so bad if you have a monster cam it in but book is 650, so looks like I am lapping the butterfly valves tonight and checking linkages.

It also stumbles off idle. Under load, full throttle, and contant load runs just fine. More then likely I need more vaccum then my carbs can provide.

I love this project. Keep the updates coming. I reallllly miss our '49.

Lookin' good!

And it runs, really really well. Got the jetting right on the 2nd go around plus I linked the multi-carb ported vacuum that I drilled into everything.

Idles like a dream, though it took a solid 18 minutes for it to get up to 170 degrees on a 90+ day with the monester radiator that I put in. Thinking now that a shroud might not be necessary.

Going to the DMV to get my paperwork. Needed to be cleaned like nothing else, which is what is happening tomorrow along adding a switch to open up the lake pipes.

So much chrome to polish.

Still need to patch the seat as well to get the interior 100% and looking tidy. Not show tidy but really really good.

Car is fighting me like crazy now. Started doing shakedown runs. Once that is done I can lace the roof, remove the flames then start the polishing. I was thinking next week, now I am thinking next year.

First off when someone sells you a car as 100% on eBay mechanically correct punch them in the mouth as hard as you possibly can. If I had found any rust I would have been back at his door demanding my cash back.

things that I have found wrong so far for future eBay selling reference.

1. The front brakes do not work, IE the lines were disconnected/plugged and what piping was there had illegal repairs done.

A. You Lie.

Now the car actually stops with everything connected, of course I blew a wheel cylinder which was supposed to be new in the back after getting it all sorted out. New brake lines, fully swapped fluid that no longer looks like tar

1. When you say you have been driving the car how exactly have you been doing that with both rear brakes adjusted so tight that they actually smoke. Also both sides had broken springs

A. You lie.

1. When you say the motor runs clean, and there are no issues.

a. You lie

I have ~250 just in carb/motor seals in the car to get it to idle. 200$ for a new radiator for the one with a crack that had been repaired poorly before and hidden by a extra bracket and some paint.

1. Other assorted crap.

a. You lie.

Ready to throw my tools out the window.

You mean to say that you bought a 60 year old car that you didn't test drive and you've found it has some issues?

Weird!

Good luck, looks like a fun cruiser.

Bryce

This may be a pain, but you have a pretty starting point....it will be amazing when you are done

Nashco wrote: You mean to say that you bought a 60 year old car that you didn't test drive and you've found it has some issues? Weird!

I know. But I had hope.

Its actually a little bit fun digging through the mechanical history of the car.

Who ever started the build around 1981 knew exactly what they were doing. Done to the proper grades of bolts.

Who ever did the cosmetic restoration in ~93 did as well.

Who ever did the lowering and hotrod stuff in 2001-3 and patched up a few of the lingering problems needs to be dragged by their ears into the garage and hit with wrenches until they realize that they have the IQ of a jar of spoiled milk.

The last owner just kept it in the garage and never touched it. THANK GOD>

Can you tell me about the 312 Y Block please?

Power? Aftermarket additives? Can it make a heavy car livable, fast, Auto-X able?

Thanx.

914Driver wrote: Can you tell me about the 312 Y Block please? Power? Aftermarket additives? Can it make a heavy car livable, fast, Auto-X able? Thanx.

No it cannot, I mean with enough money it can but its very old tech in a very heavy package.

Y blocks are for looking and sounding good and throwing tons of carburetors on and going to car shows on trailers. It is NOT for racing.

Car now has a functioning front suspension. Plus the brakes all work, and amazingly all at the same time. Also it idles and runs decently,

Astonishingly all the parts were actually in decent shape. The bolts to not so much. Its almost like someone just kept throwing money at the car in the hopes that the car gods would smile.

Also top tip when you are building a car. Where there is a hole in the suspension chances are you should put a bolt there. Like really go look in the pill of crap you pulled off and find it. Did you find it, now shove it in the hole. If it does not fit go find another one and try again.

Drove the car about 50 miles today, there is still something loose in the suspension. Not entirely sure what it is though. When you back the car up there is a shudder from the front of the car and it drives like a dream.

Stomp on the brakes though and it shudders again and you end up in the next lane over if you do not have your hands on the wheel. Will not stop right after tha. Backup and its fine again.

I have been though every single bolt on the car for the suspension. So its the shocks, or some piece of rubber that I cannot see. Also maybe alignment, or the ubolts in the rear or stripped or some other such nonsense.