1936 Ford Project

[Paul Payne]

Inspired by the Pierson Brothers 1936 3 window Ford, which set many records at the dry lakes, and was later chopped and customized, I began with AMT's 1936 Ford and used an original issue chopped top. My intent was to create a high performance hot rod that would also incorporate much custom body work, but would by no means be considered a "lead sled"! The engine will be a late model flathead incorporating Ardun heads, the blower from AMT's 1957 Chevy, and side draft carbs or fuel injection, since I don't want anything sticking through the hood. The next step was to open the doors, which will be hinged suicide style. A Monogram grille will be used, since it has a much more accurate "tuck under" at the bottom as compared to AMT's grille. The hood sides will be molded to the fenders and body, with bulges fitted at the bottom to clear the very wide Ardun heads. The fenders will also be relieved for this. The rumble seat will be converted into a trunk. Fender skirts were cut from sheet plastic using original skirts as templates. The rear bumper will be a tube, wrapping around the continental spare, and incorporating two small bullet tail lights as well as the license plate and club plaque. The trunk will hold gas and oil cans, tools and a tool box, etc. The interior will feature a stock dash with added gauges, tuck and roll upholstery including the head liner made from 1/8" half round styrene, and a seat from Revell's 1932 Ford 3 window coupe (a very cushy seat). The running boards were removed and new rocker panels fabricated from sheet styrene and pinned in place with brass rod. Material was also added to the bottom portion of the front and rear fenders. I wanted a pontoon look for the fenders, similar to the 810 and 812 Cords, and last iteration Auburn Speedsters, designed by Gordon Buhrig.

Here are some pix so far:

I discovered that the carbs and air cleaner would stick through the hood, so the engine will be reworked with a side draft inductin system which will fit under the hood.

Edited September 10, 2010 by Paul Payne

[Steve Keck]

I think you may want to re-enginer those door hinges before you get any further in the build.

[Paul Payne]

I think you are right! Much too saggy!

[Sixties Sam]

That's going to be a cool car, Paul! Nice work so far. I would hinge the doors forward, though. Just my preference - I'm not a fan of suicide doors. Got a color scheme picked out?

Sam

[Paul Payne]

The color will be dark maroon with a black interior. The dash will also be maroon.

[David G.]

You have some very interesting ideas, it'll be fun to watch them develop.

[Paul Payne]

Re: 1936 Ford Project

Guys, I fianally got some more things done- been concentrating on the chassis, steering, rear axle placement, a low profile induction manifold to fit under the hood, and reworking the floor pan to fit a new firewall.

Here is a picture of the induction manifold- ribbed center section with side draft ends. Not sure if I will go with mechanical fuel injection or side draft carbs.

Started drilling out some styrene tube for fuel injection- very rough so far, threw some silver paint on the ends to check the look.....

Poseable steering with a comparison shot to the unmodified kit dropped axle- still need drag lonk connection, steering arms, and tie rod- not sure how to route steering through the engine compartment, not going to be much room with the exhausts- thinking of pitman arm and drag link with a Schroeter steering box behind the dash dropping down through a chain drive on the firewall to the steering column- more darn engineering!

[Edit Tags]

Edited October 24, 2010 by Paul Payne

[Paul Payne]

Here's a comparison shot of a stock chassis and modified chassis- exhaust removed, battery box removed, engine compartment frame rails reinforced, rails here cut back to (hopefully) clear the exhaust pipes, and the chassis floor pan ribs removed.

Shots of the interior- package shelf and divider panel cut from interior shell, will be glued to body with filler pieces added between the divider and rear of door openings. Floor was sectioned almost 1/4" at transmission tunnel and floor board kickup to fit the new filewall and (hopefully) clear the big transmission. Seat is from the Revell 1932 Ford 3 window coupe- these were very plushy seats!

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Edited October 24, 2010 by Paul Payne

[Paul Payne]

Shots of the new firewall and an overall shot of how the interior will look in comparison to the exterior. The seat will have a filler panel on each side between the ends and the divider to eliminate the gap you see.

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Edited October 24, 2010 by Paul Payne

[Danno]

Interesting build.

Following along ...

[Dennis Lacy]

This is a very ambitious project! You're doing a lot of cool work, though. Typically, 1940's era customs were all looks and no go, most of them having stock or nearly stock engines. The Pierson Bros. '36 was probably only one of a handfull that would give a typical street roadster a run for it's money back then. That being said, I dig your "best of both worlds" approach! I also give you props for taking a blade to that rare body shell, I wouldn't have!

I'm looking forward to seeing you progress on this project so please keep with it and keep us posted.

[Smart-Resins]

Looking great so far! Nice work.

[Paul Payne]

Well, the project is on hold for a bit, in fact it is packed away ready to be moved as I start a new job. I have been in Alabama for 7 months, but am relocating to Elmira New York. I will be 3-1/2 hours from Erie, where my wife is, and about the same distance from her family and my 93 year old mother in central PA. Once resettled, out will come the project. I figured out the rear suspension, also decided, at least for now, to use the side draft carb induction setup in AMT's 57 Chevy, where I got the blower from. I haven't decided whether to mold the headlight buckets into the fenders or let them float. The sheet metal between the grille and hood still needs a lot of work to blend properly, and I may need to lengthen the hood a bit to acommodate the Monogram 1/24th scale grille.

Everyone, have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[Edit Tags]

[Smart-Resins]

Elmira hey. Not that far from here. Maybe a hour at most! Cool. Good luck on the new venture of work. If I can get a better car somewheres and the main thing, better on gas, hopefully I could travel and find a job. Some day soon maybe? I look forward to any updates on this beast!

[Paul Payne]

What a long strange trip its been........ We are now living in Indiana, and the project is still a project! Still working on figuring out door hinges, how the exhaust will clear the frame, how the hood sides will clear the front ends of the Ardun heads, and how final assembly will go with a multi-piece body. When I make more progress I will try to post some pictures. In the meantime I restored a glue bomb AMT streamlined go kart with Norm Weber's help. I hope to post a few pix of this too. It's good to be back after way too long.

 

Paul

[Jantrix]

After seven years Welcome back.

[Paul Payne]

[Paul Payne]

Added some update pix- the chassis is now rolling and the engine is mostly done except for the drive belts. The carb manifold is still loose so I can add fuel lines and carb linkages and route them to the fire wall after final assembly. I am discovering that breaking down construction into smaller, specific projects helps me focus and actually make progress- never too old to learn!

 

 

Paul

[Paul Payne]

Well, it's finally done. Overall, it captures what I wanted to achieve- a smooth, 40's style custom with a powerful engine under the hood.

[Modelbuilder Mark]

Congrats on getting this one done! When you look at that 2010 start date, it certainly qualifies as a long term project!