1932 ford coupe

IndianapolisRacer said:
The majority says to keep flathead at this point,all well and good however this car will never keep up with my fellow EVille Iron Club members on a rod run 65 t0 70 is really pushing it especially on those 90 degree + hot summer days . I can cruise all day at 55 but they leave me behind.The 8BA has 2 Stromberg 97s + Offy heads and a Columbia 2 speed .At this time thinking of a new aluminum trailer and pulling it !
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Only 55? I can run 65-70 effortlessly in my stock (except milled heads) 59A. Yes, I have overdrive, but you have a Columbia so presumably same result.
 
I wish I had a dollar for every Chevy powered "street rod" we have blown past on the highways and byways of the southeast in our Flathead powered cars. The funniest part is that these ******* cars have blowers, big cams, big carbs and all sorts of aftermarket innards. All that to conform to some silly ideal that "you have to put a Chevy in it to make it run". That had to be one of the biggest lies ever foisted on a certain segment of the population. Those always seem to be putting around in the slow lane.

I say keep it a Ford, make sure your ancillary components are in good condition, gear it properly and "let it eat!"
 
Bassman/NZ said:
Only 55? I can run 65-70 effortlessly in my stock (except milled heads) 59A. Yes, I have overdrive, but you have a Columbia so presumably same result.
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I agree. I can cruise all day at 60 to 65 in my basically stock '35 fordor w/221 engine, 0.030" over, milled heads, and 3.78:1 rear gears. Now getting stopped at these spesds, in a real panic situation, may be a different story :).
I would tell my traveling friends to slow down a bit, or maybe find new friends :D :D
 
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Even a 85hp flathead will run highway speeds in a 32 and definately fast enough to kill you. The 32 with a flathead will handle better than one with a garbage truck engine and as an anned bonus, parts fit properly.
 
Do your own thing is what I'd say, mine is Ford 302 powered,& while I have a ready to go flathead & prefer to lean toward the traditional when up dating, the f.h. will find it's home in another 32 project.
 
What do you want the car for? If its for show and occasional cruising on slow weekends then the old flathead would be good for that. But if you intend to actually drive it a bunch then the Chevy would make more sense. Could you go to the local Autozone in West Podunk and get a broken part for a Ford flathead engine? No.
If it were mine, I would keep the flathead in in because you never see an original 32 with a flathead anymore. I wanted to keep the original in my 34 but it would cost too much to rebuild so I put a Chevy in it. I guess you could hot rod the flathead for more get up and go. Streets are too dangerous in most places if you are underpowered and have marginal brakes.
EDIT: I missed the part where you have the engine modified. In that case, I say run the flathead by all means. Cool factor out of sight. Sell that Chevy engine to a Chevy restorer.
 
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34pickup said:
What do you want the car for? If its for show and occasional cruising on slow weekends then the old flathead would be good for that. But if you intend to actually drive it a bunch then the Chevy would make more sense. Could you go to the local Autozone in West Podunk and get a broken part for a Ford flathead engine? No.
If it were mine, I would keep the flathead in in because you never see an original 32 with a flathead anymore. I wanted to keep the original in my 34 but it would cost too much to rebuild so I put a Chevy in it. I guess you could hot rod the flathead for more get up and go. Streets are too dangerous in most places if you are underpowered and have marginal brakes.
EDIT: I missed the part where you have the engine modified. In that case, I say run the flathead by all means. Cool factor out of sight. Sell that Chevy engine to a Chevy restorer.
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Serious question: When you decided to "upgrade" to an OHV , why did you choose an engine that is produced by Ford's arch rival? I think Ford had built about 10 million OHV V8's that could easily power an early Ford. Just curious as to why a Chevrolet is the "default" choice?
 
Henry Floored said:
Serious question: When you decided to "upgrade" to an OHV , why did you choose an engine that is produced by Ford's arch rival? I think Ford had built about 10 million OHV V8's that could easily power an early Ford. Just curious as to why a Chevrolet is the "default" choice?
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Because it fits.
 
Because a chevy is the easiest to install. You can bolt a v8 chevy into most early ford with store bought adapters and most not have to cut anything.
You seem to have a real issue over anything chevy. How about a model T engine with a chevy head?
 
I didn't choose the Chevrolet V8,the original builder initially built car with modified flathead and 39 transmission with 2 speed rear end. And then he purchased a totaled 1957 Chev.with a power pac engine and intended to install it in the 32 even purchasing the Hurst kit but never got around to it.2 years ago I purchased both cars at the same time.
 
Even a totaled '57 Chev will have value to the tri-5 community. You might be surprised what your totaled car is worth . . intact.

The rest is a no brainer. Nothing makes a prettier sound than a healthy flathead. Why would anyone switch. The chebby motor would probably break the Columbia.
 
If the car has survived this long without having the chevy swapped in, why do it now? A 1932 ford with a warmed over flatty - especially backed up with an overdrive (columbia) axle, is a pretty sweet combo.

Numbers matching Chevy stuff, even in a totalled car is very sought after by the chevy buffs. (I would guess).

It sounds to me like you were very lucky to be in the right place at the right time to pull off that deal (don't know the details). What I'm trying to say is that is something that doesn't come up every day.

Mart.
 
Mart said:
Because it fits.
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Well I have three early Fords in the shop right now as I write this. A '32 window, a '33 Sedan and a '34 Cabriolet all with abc/ auto drive lines. The butchery to get those so called "made to fit " chevrolets is an absolute sin. The width of the turbo 350 and or Powerglide trans obliterates the K and X members on those cars. They fit like crap. The dizzy is buried in the firewall on all three of those cars.

The short deck 8.2" Ford is more narrow than any sbc and the C4 trans is tiny compared to the fat bloated gm slush boxes. The dizzy is up front. It's 100 lbs lighter. The challenge is getting a short water pump (easily available) and matching pulleys.

I think I'd rather source some proper components than hack the backbone of my chassis out.
 
skidmarks said:
Because a chevy is the easiest to install. You can bolt a v8 chevy into most early ford with store bought adapters and most not have to cut anything.
You seem to have a real issue over anything chevy. How about a model T engine with a chevy head?
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I'll give you a little food for thought. I used to sell mostly used early Ford parts at a large swap meet here in Florida on a monthly basis. I consigned a batch of '60's chevy parts once. There were all kinds of guys scanning over those parts checking " numbers" to make sure it complied with their "pure" gm muscle car was not bastardized by the wrong parts.

That struck me funny if only Ford could muster that kind of fanatic loyalty maybe 95 % of the early Ford fleet wouldn't have been screwed up with all those cheesy gm parts sourced from the junkyard.
 
Oh in the end I will,just searching for opinions,I did run the car at the Newport Hillclimb last year on Sat.but was told if I ran on Sunday it would be disqualified because front and rear tires were different sizes.
 
Sorry I should have said a chevy is a real simple fit with a 39 transmission . guess the Ardun guys were butchers that helped cause the abuse of so many early fords.
 
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