Category: Model B

This 1932 Ford rolling chassis just begs to become an A/V-8. Here’s how I’d build it -David Conwill @Hemmings

This 1932 Ford rolling chassis just begs to become an A/V-8. Here’s how I’d build it -David Conwill @Hemmings

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Back in the late 1930s or 1940s, if you wanted a 1932 Ford roadster and couldn’t find or afford one, the next best route was to build your own by buying some other kind of 1932 Ford and a 1928-’31 Ford Model A roadster, dispose of the ’32 body and the Model A chassis, and put the remains together. A lot of people came to prefer the combination of fenderless ’32 chassis and Model A roadster body because the less-massive Model A body wasn’t as unbalanced by the removal of the fenders as the Deuce was—plus the ’32 frame helped make up for the visual loss of the Model A splash aprons.

There aren’t too many unloved ‘32s waiting around these days to have their chassis pirated; likewise, few unclaimed Model A roadster bodies. You can buy reproduction 1932 frame rails, of course, but most people don’t care to go to all the trouble of replicating the details of a stock ’32 chassis when off-the-shelf hardware from the street rod suppliers does the trick. That’s why this rolling ’32 chassis in the classifieds presents a unique opportunity to build a period-correct Deuce-framed A/V-8 with minimal effort.

By 1932, the rod-actuated mechanical Ford brakes had gotten pretty good. Still, the hydraulic system introduced in 1939 and used here in its 1940-’48 form is better supported in today’s aftermarket and understood by the modern enthusiast. It also permits lowering the chassis at some point without me

Surprisingly, this chassis is built around a mint-condition original frame, says the seller, “from an original roadster.” That likely means that roadster is getting a street-rod update. It must have been a nice car to begin with, however, as the ad says the chassis was rebuilt in 2006. It was also upgraded at that time, incorporating a 1934-spec Columbia two-speed rear axle (Ford’s optional overdrive up through 1948); a 1939 Ford transmission; and 1940 Ford (Lockheed)-style 12×2 hydraulic drum brakes.

By 1939, even years of development had created a really pleasant gearbox for the Ford V-8. Slipping one into a ’32 chassis like this is easy.

At least two of those upgrades were actually current 1932 technology—just not at The Rouge. The Columbia was available in contemporary Auburn cars, and the Lockheed brakes were already found on Chrysler products. Columbia axles for the Ford were a spiritual successor to the Ruckstell two-speed axles used in Ford Model Ts. The Columbia was controlled by vacuum, rather than mechanical linkage, however.

You’ve heard the line in the song about “twin pipes and a Columbia butt?” This is the Columbia. It’s a vacuum-actuated two-speed unit that was optional equipment in Auburns

The ’39 transmission is really a development of the 1932 transmission. The Model A transmission notoriously does not feature synchromesh, making up and down shifting a more complicated process and considered by some folks to be a step backward from the simple pedal-controlled transmission of the Model T. For 1932, Ford integrated synchronizers on second and third gear. The 1939 transmission has a more highly developed shifter and even better synchronizers than earlier units.

All that means that this chassis is already pretty much state of the art for 1940, aside from the Tacoma Cream 18-inch wheels—but those and their big sugar-donut whites are so nice looking, I think I’d leave them and even build the car around them. If they were on a roadster, then The Auto Color Library indicates it was originally painted Medium Lustre Black or Dearborn Blue.

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1932 Ford Model B Truck Rolls Out of Long-Term Storage, It’s a Fantastic Survivor – Ciprian Florea @Autoevolution

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Introduced in 1932, the Ford Model B wasn’t as popular as its predecessors, the Model A and Model T sales-wise. However, it brought a couple of important changes to the company’s full-size car.

While similar to the Model A on the outside, the Model B was a brand-new car riding on an outward curved, double-dropped chassis. But the biggest innovation was the 221-cubic-inch (3.6-liter) flathead V8. The 65-horsepower mill turned the Model B into the first low-priced, mass-marketed car with a V8 engine.

Granted, the V8-powered version was actually called the Model 18, but it was mostly identical to the Model B beyond the engine. The latter came with a 201-cubic-inch (3.3-liter) four-cylinder unit, essentially an upgraded version of the four-banger that motivated the Model A.

Just like its predecessor, the Model B became a popular hot rod platform in the 1930s, so many of them soldiered onto the 21st century with notable modifications. Many of them were also abandoned in junkyards as Detroit rolled out increasingly more powerful cars after World War II, so Model Bs that still have original underpinnings and sheet metal aren’t exactly common nowadays.

Fortunately, some of them managed to survive the test of time and emerge out of long-term storage as mostly original survivors. This 1932 Model B pickup is one of the lucky ones.

The video below shows the truck coming out of an old garage with a thick layer of dust and a bit of rust on its body panels. There’s no word as to how much time it spent in storage, but we’re probably talking about at least a couple of decades. Still, the pickup appears to be in surprisingly good condition beyond a few rust spots, weld marks on fenders, and a few dents here and there.

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A Detailed Look Back At The Ford Model B – Jason Collins @HotCars

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A classic, elegant cat that shows sophistication and yet has a mean streak underneath the hood of the car.

Ford is a car brand that has been around for a very long time. The Ford Model B range changed the look and feel over the years. We will be taking a look at the history behind this classic car as well as how it turned into the iconic 1932 Ford Model B which was not a good seller back in the day but nowadays, people cannot get enough of it.

The Ford Model B is a better version than the Model A. They took everything that was right with the Model A, removed all the problems, and thought it would be a good idea to add in a 4 cylinder engine which was a first for Ford.

Ford Motor Company produced two different models with the Model B name, Ford Model B 1904 and Ford Model B 1932.

In 1904, Ford introduced the upscale touring car. It had polished wood and brass trimming. It was built at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant. It was Ford’s first car to use the front-engine layout that had a large 24 horsepower 4-cylinder engine positioned at the front of the car behind a conventional radiator.

It was a 2-speed transmission and the engine was a 283.5CID.

It was priced at $ 2 000 which is equivalent to about $ 57 000.00 today. It was a high-end car that was produced for three years. The sales of the car were slow due to the price of the car and it was replaced by the derivative model K in 1906 which was cheaper for the consumer.

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How to Rebuild a 1932 Ford Model B Zenith Carburetor for a Model A 4-Banger Motor – Ryan Manson @clampdowncomp.com

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Big Improvements for the Little Banger

When Ford introduced the Model A in late 1927, it was remarkably different from other automobiles offered at the time, even Ford’s own Model T. In many ways, it was a clean sheet design when compared to Ford’s previous line. Many similarities abound, but the Model T and the Model A differ in more ways than they are similar. And four years later, when the Model B came along, the story was very similar. If the brass at Ford at the time were learning things as they went, it was pretty obvious that they were incorporating those things in real time. So, it should come as no surprise that as the new models came out, hot rodders borrowed parts for their older Fords. Wheels, brakes, shocks, transmissions, engines, even complete frames were common swaps for the earlier T and A models as better components were introduced on Ford’s latest offerings.

Here are the two carbs, side by side; the Model B on the left and the Model A unit on the right.

One of the early hop up techniques for the Model A was to swap to the larger 1932 Model B Zenith carburetor. Equipped with a similar, slighlty upgraded flathead four-cylinder engine, the Model B Ford was fed by a slightly larger updraft carburetor (1 1/8-inch) than that found on the Model A (1-inch). While that small difference in size may not sound substantial, it actually equates to a 26% increase in area which translates into more air and fuel that can be fed into the A engine. That small increase can yield upwards of 4 horsepower. Another inconsequential sounding number, but when added to the A’s paltry 40 horsepower, results in a net gain of 10%. Not too shabby for the 1930s!

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So-Cal Speedshop SF Flatheads Stage 1 to 3 Mercury/Ford Flathead V8 Blocks

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Stage 1

A brand new Flathead V8 block with a lot of the inherent issues from the original engineered out.


Description

The perfect Ford-Mercury block! Outstanding casting quality thanks to modern foundry technology.
– Brand new, no cracks, no rust. High nickel content steel.

– Stronger everywhere it needs to be with thicker decks and main bearing bulkheads and larger main-bearing caps.

– Mains are aligned honed.

– 3-3/16-inch standard bore.

– 59AB-type bellhousing with 8BA refinements for improved coolant flow. Requires 1938-1948 oil pan.

– Drilled and tapped to accept 8BA or truck waterpumps.

– Drilled and tapped to accept either early (center outlet) or late (forward outlet) heads.

– Factory relieved (won’t accept Ardun heads).

– Bellhousing CNC-machined to fit Ford firewalls without modification.

– Long center head bolts (required) and rear main seal retainer are included.

– Glyptol painted valve-lifter valley, timing case, and crankshaft chamber for fast oil drain back

In their stock configuration and the way French flathead blocks have been sold previously the bosses, casting numbers, and pads for military applications do not fit most Ford passenger car applications without firewall modifications. SF Flathead blocks are precision milled to remove the unsightly “lumps.” Only a pad remains that carries a SF Flatheads serial number. Stop searching for a savable old Henry lump. This strong, high-nickel casting is the last flathead block you’ll ever need! Please call for availability. Truck shipping required. Rate quoted at order

Stage 2

Description

Same high-quality new casting as the standard block plus:

– Original flow restriction in bowl removed and enlarged for uniform volume and increased flow.

– Intake ports machined larger and straightened for improved flow.

– Exhaust ports machined larger and radiused to improve exhaust gas flow.

Please call for availability. Truck shipping required. Rate quoted at order.

Stage 3 

Description

All features of our stage – 1 and 2 block plus the following:

– Lifter bores cut and drilled for ease of adjusting lifters
– Grind valve seats open to 1.6 on either intake, exhaust, or both at customer request
– Valve bowls smoothed and polished
– Exhaust ports polished and matched to customer provided headers
– Intake ports polished and matched to customer provided intake manifold
– Rear oil galley drilled and opened for full flow oil filter adapter system

Footnote – The engines have disappeared from the So-Cal site the link now goes to their Flathead page

I’d also suggest watching this thread on the HAMB as it appears a little lively on this subject!

Model B Engine Further Strip down

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Now Christmas is out of the way it was time to take a trip over to carry on with the strip down of the Model B engine.

The engine has been soaking for quite some time and unfortunately is still stuck, so we got to work looking for the source of the problem

Upon removing the main and big end caps things were starting to look quite promising, however as we got to the rear main….

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We found that the babbit had broken up quite badly and as a result would have been very noisy in operation. The white metal has been done previously in a non Ford type manner but this doesn’t appear to be the cause of the failure. Either way the engine needs a complete re-metalling as there is also a cracked big end.

On the upside the counterbalanced crank appears to be in pretty good shape.

Back to the task in hand and we found the source of the seizure, number one piston is stuck in the bore. We gave it a few gentle taps but it remains stuck. So we’ll be soaking the bore for a while and we’ll get back to it in due course. The bores look good so it would appear that it’s most likely carbon and a lack of movement causing the issue.

Next task is to investigate the re-metalling.

 

 

Removing Valves from a Ford Model B Engine

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Removing Valves from a Ford Model B Engine

As part of the inspection of the Model B engine it was found that the valves were seized due to the amount of time that the engine has been laid up.

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With a bit of a two man effort and the correct Ford valve spring compressor and valve guide “knocker” tool the valves and guides were extracted. The guides and followers are in really good shape. Will most likely replace at least the exhaust valves.

Valve guide tool

Valve spring compressor

Removing Valves from a Ford Model B Engine

Related – Model B Engine Inspection

Related – B is for Banger

What makes the ’32 Ford so iconic? | Foose on Design – Ep. 1

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What makes the ’32 Ford so iconic?

There are only a select number of automotive designs that have an almost universal draw, and the 1932 Ford Model B stands near the top of that short list. Whether factory or heavily customized, the ’32 Ford has a gorgeous appeal, but why is that? Chip Foose sat down with a pen and our cameras to share his thoughts about how this 87-year-old design is still relevant today.

What makes the ’32 Ford so iconic?

Related – We borrow the ’32 Ford roadster from the Hagerty ‘library’

More on the 1932 Ford here at Wikipedia

We borrow the ’32 Ford roadster from the Hagerty ‘library’ – Larry Edsall @ClassicCars.com

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We borrow the ’32 Ford roadster from the Hagerty ‘library’

Lately, they’ve taken to referring to the garage where Hagerty keeps its collector cars, maintains those vehicles, and even involves its employees in hands-on restoration projects, as “the library.” That’s because it’s gone beyond a storage facility and mechanical workshop to become a storehouse of knowledge, a place to visit and to learn, to study the evolution of the automobile.

Tommy Fitzgerald, “of most modest means,” reportedly spent a decade or longer collecting genuine parts for the creation in the early 1970s of his ’32 roadster, which was built around an original ’32 Ford frame and roadster body and a 255cid flathead Ford V8 engine.  Many other parts date to that era as well. 

The build also included a genuine S.C. o T. supercharger (made in Italy specifically for American hot rodders), two-speed Columbia rear end, twin chrome Stromberg 97 carburetors, a beehive oil filter, Eddie Meyer aluminum heads, Stellings & Hellings air filters (with the original decals still affixed), the 3-speed transmission from a 1937 Ford with Lincoln Zephyr gears, Stewart Warner gauges with early convex dome glass covers, a Banjo steering wheel, 1937 Ford tail lamps, 1940 Ford brakes, 1932 I-beam front axle stretched by Ed “Axle” Stewart, 1940 Ford hubcaps, 1946-48 Ford 15-inch wheels, and the list goes on. 

Read the article here

We borrow the ’32 Ford roadster from the Hagerty ‘library’

Related – Lew Thompson’s 1932 Ford – from Kustomrama