Progress on the Whippet

I made a mount for the battery out of angle iron, I don't have a good picture but, it just follows the perimeter of the battery then has a clamp that goes over the top.

 It's been slow going on the Whippet lately but, I have been able to get a few things done.  The above picture shows the rear panel that I made to tie the rear together.  I made it from 18 gauge.  Its hard to do long bends without a brake but, if you take your time you can do it with some clamps, angle iron and hammer/dolly work.

This is just a shot of the inside of the panel.

I cut down the decklid to make it fit better and installed the taillights. 

I installed a piano hinge on the bottom of the decklid and got some spring latches for the top that I haven't mounted yet.  I am currently working on bleeding the brakes after installing all new brake components from Thompson's Garage and a new 48' ford style master cylinder from Speedway Motors. 

Till next time keep your ears and eyes open for hidden car treasure!

1949 Mercury Flathead Resurrection 1929 Willys Whippet

Once again this is what I started with, a 1949 Mercury 8CM Flathead.  It is a 255 cubic inch about 114 horse power from the factory.  We bought an old farm truck and parted it out and I kept the engine.

I tore it down to where the cam and rotating assembly were still in the block and started cleaning.  2 days of cleaning later it looked like the picture below, with some paint of course.  The water jackets are notorious for building up rust resulting in over heating, so I cut up coat hangers and put them in an electric drill.  I then would spin the hangers while pushing them in and out of the water jackets to loosen any scale that was built up.  It helped to have the engine on a stand so I could spin it upside down.  Then I would tap the block with a rubber hammer and pounds of junk would fall out.

I installed a pcv valve in the valley of the block to help with ring seal when the engine is running.

The engine probably should have been honed and re-ringed but if it isn't stuck it will probably run, so I took a chance and started putting it back together.

I picked up an older Edelbrock Super Dual Intake Manifold to run two Holley 94 carburetors.

These engines run two water pumps so I found the truck style through Napa online.  I already had my motor mounts built on the frame so I wanted to stick with what I had.  I got exhaust manifolds from a 1934 Ford Flathead because they work as a dual exhaust where the merc came with single exhaust.

I switched the block over to head studs instead of bolts because they seal better and are less likely to snap off.  Just make sure yoou get the correct year because they are different lengths.  I found a deal on the Hamb website and found out they were for a earlier year, they still work but the bottom row has a lot of thread showing.

I picked up some chrome wire looms and a spark plug wire kit from Speedway.  This was my first time making spark plug wires and it was actually pretty easy, getting them to slide through the looms was the hard part.

1929 Willy'sWhippet Model A Frame Construction Body

My original plan was to use this saginaw 3 speed transmission from a 57' Chevy with an Offy adapter that you can see in the picture. I would have then had to convert the rearend to an open driveline because it uses a torque tube from the factory. 

But I found a 1946 Ford 3 speed transmission for less than the cost of the open drive conversion kit and it makes it a bit more traditional in style.

The next group of pictures is the process of adding steel structure to the body and basically creating framing for the floor sheet metal to attach to.



I left the center open to allow travel of the torque tube under suspension compression.



I then framed a higher section to cover the open torque tube area.

There is one more stick to put in here but you get the idea.

Of course having the engine mocked up in place is essential to getting the rest of the car's proportion right.



1929 Willy's Whippet, Ford Model A, Hot Rod, Mercury Flathead

Started with a pretty bare Ford Model A Frame

I started this project about 3 years ago with the intention of taking parts I already had, putting them to together and making a rolling project that I could sell and make some coin off.

I made the rear section out of new 2x4 box tubing.  I stepped it up to get the car lower and extended it rearward to use a spring behind banjo rear differential.

I also needed something to occupy my mind that winter, so I rounded everything up and brought it to my garage in October 2009.

1949 Mercury 8CM Flathead

I had an old Ford farm truck that had this Mercury Flathead V8 in it and it still spun over so I yanked it out and started tearing it down.

1936-39 Ford Wide Five Wheels and Brake Drums

I used part of the Model A frame that I cut off to make a rear cross brace and then used c channel from another frame section to make this rear spring perch.

Here is the 1929 Whippet body as I bought it.  I sold it on ebay and I think the guy who bought it died and nobody came to pick it up.  It is a Sport Coupe, it used to have a leather top like a convertible.

New Project, 1933-34 Ford, Pickup, Hot Rod

So I found this 1933 Ford 1.5 ton farm truck in a field next to a road that I used to get to a couple Hess Flowbacks.

Luckily, the owner had a "Posted" sign on the corner  of the property with his name and phone number.

I called the guy and we struck a deal on the price.

I think the flathead is probably no good, we'll see.

This thing is huge, it looked much smaller when it was sunk into the ground and the weeds.

I found this 1934 Ford frame on The Hamb, it's a website that is for old cars.  The frame is in Glasgow, MT.

This is why I am keeping this truck and building it, usually I would have flipped it and made a few hundred bucks.  When I saw what it could look like I was hooked like a crack addict.

This is a picture my sister Tiffany took after I got it unloaded at home.