Ford model-T streetrod

..... This will be a long term post thru the winter and on into the summer as weather permits. .....

This is going to be my next project.
It is a Ford model-T that I had started building into a streetrod and it ended up being put into storage back in the early 1990's.
I pulled it out of storage in the summer of 2021 with the intention of getting it running and selling it to raise money for working on other projects.



I have since changed my mind about selling it.
However, I no longer want to use the Hemi engine that is in it so I have pulled that out and I have that for sale.
So this is what I'm starting with now.



And this flathead V-8 is the engine that I'm going to put in it. It is a 1949 to 1953 engine with 1948 or earlier finned aluminum heads on it.
I got this engine from Fred Sibley in Elkhart, Indiana in the late 1970's.
Fred Sibley is well known for building jet powered dragsters and he is in the Drag Racing Hall of Fame.

I haven't checked the identification numbers on this engine yet so I don't know if this is a Ford or a Mercury engine.
If it is a Ford, then it is 239 CID with 110 HP. If it is a Mercury, then it is a 255 CID with 125 HP.
This engine was used in a dragster back in the late 1950's and early 60's. It has a Pro Racing Model intake manifold on it that does not have the boss on the front for mounting the generator onto.



Ordinarily, I would sell this intake and get one that has a generator mount on it but this has been welded on the side of the fuel pump mount so I wouldn't be able to get much for it.
I could smooth the weld down so it wouldn't be noticeable but I still wouldn't want to sell it because I'm not the one who did the welding and I don't know if it can be trusted to not brake back out later.



I also have a stock single carb intake manifold off a 60 HP engine that were made from 1937 thru 1940. This is a shorter manifold then on my engine and they really aren't worth very much.
However, the generator mount on the front is the same as the ones used on my engine so I have cut the front off this manifold.



If you look at the side of the carb mount, you can see a long crack in it so this manifold is scrap anyway.



The mounting holes on the front of both manifolds are the same so I milled the mounting bosses down on both sides of the front of my manifold.



This way, I can set the front part of the other manifold on top of the front of my manifold.
I will weld these two parts together but I don't want to do that until I have the engine here so I can bolt both of these pieces together on the engine to help keep it from warping when I do the welding.





I know ... this seems like a lot of work but these two manifolds aren't worth anything as is and a new one can cost anywhere from $300 to over $1,000 depending on who manufactured it, what style it is and how rare it is.

Besides, this gives me something interesting to play with and when I'm finished, it will look like it came from the factory this way.