New Toy....

[crazy steve]

Well, not a toy. I've been wanting a hot rod for years and wanted to 'roll my own', but the realities of my physical limitations finally sunk in so I broke down and bought a 'finished' car....





It's '47 Ford coupe for those not old enough to know , with the 'usual' mods. Powered by a later 302 Ford/C4 with a 'standard' Mustang 2 front suspension and a 8" rear. Very solid and straight, don't care for the 'resale red' paint but the gray tweed interior is a keeper. The only real minuses is a lack of AC, radio, and even a heater. The no AC was a drag bringing it home, as I bought it in California and they were having record-breaking temps while I was there (100+ ). Driving with all the windows down at 70 mph is not the same as riding a bike! Now that I'm in the much-cooler PNW, the first thing on the agenda is a heater and radio, down the road is an injection of more power and a manual trans (and the AC... lol), then a repaint. But all that is in the future....

This is why I haven't posted for a few days. But I'm not abandoning either this board or my XS11s, this is in addition....

[jjz28]

Very, Very nice! I am jealous.

[IanDMacDonald]

A true beauty! Nice score Steve!

[donebysunday]

More pics please, interior and under the hood, maybe underside of suspension too ? ? ? What were the stock colors back then ? Black, ebony or charcoal, would have been an even warmer ride home !!!!!

[natemoen]

Very nice! What's it got for brakes?

Vintage Air is kind of the standard go to for hvac in old stuff, and if you do it right you can do both heat and air at once and just be done with them both!

Now I expect to see you at the Back to the Fifties car show in Minneapolis MN on the 21st!

[crazy steve]

More pics....









No pics of the undercarriage, it's too low! And I'm not ready to show the engine, it's obvious this was a 'driver' not a show car... It's just your basic 302 Ford with some rather oxidized aluminum valve covers, a Edelbrock manifold and carb, a chrome air cleaner and some somewhat messy wiring.

The dash is out of a '41 Ford, and is on the 'to do' list. I've already bought a '50 Mercury dash for it which will have to be narrowed to fit. You can't see the speedometer (very small and hard to read) for the steering wheel. The steering column is hung too low, another item that needs attention. I haven't had a chance to see how much work that will be to fix. The '41 oil/amp/temp/fuel gauges don't work, that why there's gauges hung under the dash (they do work... lol!). No place to put a radio in this one unless I start chopping on it (it's still totally uncut), I'll leave it alone and sell the dash to somebody once I get the other one in (that square plate on top of the dash is where the stock one went; nobody makes a 'bolt-in' for a '41...). The rest of the interior is great, whoever did the upholstery did a very nice job. The front seat is like sitting on a couch at home...

Like I said, a Mustang 2 front end (Fatman Fabrications version I think) with tube a-arms, 11" rotors and GM calipers. Might have dropped spindles, I won't know that until I get it on a lift. Ford 11" drums in the back with parallel leafs; the transverse springs are gone. Some sort of chrome GM master cylinder/booster under the hood (or maybe aftermarket; hard to say). I'm going to try to contact the PO and see if I can find out what parts he used. The guy I got it from was a dealer, he bought it and drove it a few years but didn't have any details (he also never transferred title, used dealer plates on it the whole time).

Drive great, runs cool; never got over 190 even running it at 70+ in 100+ temps. Don't know the rear gearing either, but it's not too low; I got about 17 mpg on the trip home. That's a SWAG, using the mileage of my Mustang as a comparison as the 72-year-old speedo reads rather slow... I intend to have the Merc gauges 'upgraded' before putting those in.

It needs a bunch of 'finish/detail' work, but it's mostly just cleaning up some work done by the PO. The paint is probably the worst of it, looks like a 'home job' and has more than a few flaws but looks good from 10 feet....

The question everybody is too polite to ask.... I paid 16K for it which may have been a bit high, but coupes bring a premium and it wasn't easy finding one that's Ford-powered. I couldn't find a spot of rust or rust repair, so that was a big plus. Other than new paint (and whatever mods I do), all 'issues' are low-dollar fixes that I can do at home. I'm happy!!!

[crazy steve]

Oh yeah, I intend to do AC, but will wait until I get the other dash in it. Stand-alone heaters are pretty cheap ($300) and easy to install, you don't need AC around here all that often....

[ESJr1642]

That, my man is a pretty sweet ride!!

[Jerry]

Very nice! An enclosed HR is on my Bucket list, don't know if I'll ever get one but I like to dream...

[T99Ford]

Super cool man!! And good on ya for buying one that stayed true to Ford all the way. The cross breeds really annoy me, even if I understand the reasons behind them. Looks like a ton of fun in your future!

[crazy steve]

And good on ya for buying one that stayed true to Ford all the way. The cross breeds really annoy me, even if I understand the reasons behind them...

That was pretty much a given for me, as I'm a pretty dyed-in-the-wool Ford guy. That 'vette-powered Jag I own always bugged me...

[fredintoon]

- - - That 'vette-powered Jag I own always bugged me...

Hi Steve,
if you'd ever owned a Jag powered Jag, now that would have really bugged you.

[donebysunday]

Love it !!!!! Some graphics over that red ( if it's clean ) could change your mind about the sell it red ? ? ? ? Maybe yellow and orange dragon flames blended into the red, very lite ? On second thought I like the sell it red, maybe some black accents ? Oh hell you know best !!!!!

[Aches n Pains]

Now that is really nice. Very envious.

[DGXSER]

Very nice Steve!! When I was 16 I looked at a 48 Chevy, had sat in a farm field for a LOONNGGG Time. Yours is MUCH nicer looking. Very well done interior from the pictures. I like the older looking dash in them, as opposed to a customized dash with 2010 gauges and such, keep that 40s styling sort of thing. Not sure I would stick with that steering wheel, maybe paint the interior hub or something to break up that metal to go with the rest of the interior. JMO

I am seriously digging on the rims, they fit it perfectly I think. That suspension should do well for you. They have the stance pretty nice on it.

As to the red, maybe its just the pictures, but it looks almost orange its so light. I like red, but I am into more of a deep dark red, like I painted on Ruby. Whatever color suits you of course is what it should be.