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Well, first I need to give you a little back ground, so you can understand why I am so enthused about this project. Way back in the mid 70’s when I was in high school, I spotted this derelict model A coupe sitting in a vacant lot In Long Lake, Minnesota, not too far from my home town. It was an old hot rod, the license plate was from 1964. Channeled, no fenders or hood, engine was gone, old white tuck and roll vinyl inside, covered with a layer of moss from sitting outside too long. White wall tires gone flat, and a very faded out dark green paint. It was love at first sight! With some searching I located the owner, but he said not for sale. ”It’s just rotting away” I said, I’ll fix it up! But no, not for sale, ever. He was going to fix it up some day. For weeks, months, I lusted after that car as I sat through my classes at school, dreaming of what I would do with it, and I envisioned myself cruising the local scene with that cool hot rod Model A. I would drive over there and look at it every couple of months, and check in with the owner , but never was it for sale.
As the years have gone by, and other projects have happened, I never have got that coupe out of my mind. I always knew that even though I couldn’t have it, I would build a replacement. And that is what this project is all about, building a car that I have dreamed of for over 35 years! What I envision is what if the guy had sold me the car? What could I and would I have done? I would have put every dime I could come up with into the motor, of course! Everything else would have had to wait. So this project will combine the look of a bucks down kids car with my love for the big Chrysler Hemi, and some common sense stuff that I wouldn’t have thought of or couldn’t afford back then to make it a decent car. And an old school nostalgic look, like that old Model A. It should be a multi-purpose car that will kick but on the drag strip, be street-able for long trips, maybe even change tires, adjust the shocks and do some auto-cross or open track stuff.
About 10 years ago, I found the raw material, a 31 Plymouth coupe. True, it’s not an A, but it’s a little bit bigger, and I’m big, so the extra room will come in handy. Back then, I mocked it up with a 392 and Edelbrock X-3 6 carb intake and took some pics, then the car sat while I was working on other stuff and collecting parts. It looked like this:
In’08 I built some racks to clear up space in the shop, and the ’31 ended up on the top shelf. So to get started, I had to clear the mess out of the way. Sunday after church, Cam and I got started on that, and by midnight, we had the car on the ground.
Last year, I picked up an ultra-rare 8 Carb X-3 intake, and I couldn’t wait to set it on there to see how it looked. I love it!
I really wanted to build a 392 Hemi, but the time and cost involved in getting that done would hold things up, and I have a 426 hemi that is bored and stroked to 484 inches that just needs a little freshening up, so I decided go with that. Last night I dropped it in there and started measuring and fitting stuff and making plans. I want to do something crazy with the intake, that’s why I was asking before about the Hillborn injectors. I set the X3 on top of the motor even though it doesn’t fit, and I love the way it looks.
I am thinking I’ll stick with the parallel leafs in the front and add a sway bar, panhard rod and some good shocks. A 9 inch with ladder bars and coil-overs is what I have in mind for the rear. A good cage and a Spartan interior, some pie crust white wall cheater slicks.
As far as transmissions, I’m zeroing in on a T-56 Magnum, or a Tremec 3650 with the G-force innards that is supposed to hold 1000 HP. I’m looking for input on these trannys, if anyone has experience with them.
With all my enthusiasm for this project, I plan to go full steam ahead and get a lot done as quick as I can.
Joel
As the years have gone by, and other projects have happened, I never have got that coupe out of my mind. I always knew that even though I couldn’t have it, I would build a replacement. And that is what this project is all about, building a car that I have dreamed of for over 35 years! What I envision is what if the guy had sold me the car? What could I and would I have done? I would have put every dime I could come up with into the motor, of course! Everything else would have had to wait. So this project will combine the look of a bucks down kids car with my love for the big Chrysler Hemi, and some common sense stuff that I wouldn’t have thought of or couldn’t afford back then to make it a decent car. And an old school nostalgic look, like that old Model A. It should be a multi-purpose car that will kick but on the drag strip, be street-able for long trips, maybe even change tires, adjust the shocks and do some auto-cross or open track stuff.
About 10 years ago, I found the raw material, a 31 Plymouth coupe. True, it’s not an A, but it’s a little bit bigger, and I’m big, so the extra room will come in handy. Back then, I mocked it up with a 392 and Edelbrock X-3 6 carb intake and took some pics, then the car sat while I was working on other stuff and collecting parts. It looked like this:
In’08 I built some racks to clear up space in the shop, and the ’31 ended up on the top shelf. So to get started, I had to clear the mess out of the way. Sunday after church, Cam and I got started on that, and by midnight, we had the car on the ground.
Last year, I picked up an ultra-rare 8 Carb X-3 intake, and I couldn’t wait to set it on there to see how it looked. I love it!
I really wanted to build a 392 Hemi, but the time and cost involved in getting that done would hold things up, and I have a 426 hemi that is bored and stroked to 484 inches that just needs a little freshening up, so I decided go with that. Last night I dropped it in there and started measuring and fitting stuff and making plans. I want to do something crazy with the intake, that’s why I was asking before about the Hillborn injectors. I set the X3 on top of the motor even though it doesn’t fit, and I love the way it looks.
I am thinking I’ll stick with the parallel leafs in the front and add a sway bar, panhard rod and some good shocks. A 9 inch with ladder bars and coil-overs is what I have in mind for the rear. A good cage and a Spartan interior, some pie crust white wall cheater slicks.
As far as transmissions, I’m zeroing in on a T-56 Magnum, or a Tremec 3650 with the G-force innards that is supposed to hold 1000 HP. I’m looking for input on these trannys, if anyone has experience with them.
With all my enthusiasm for this project, I plan to go full steam ahead and get a lot done as quick as I can.
Joel
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