Without further delay, this is a 1947 Ford Super Deluxe. And no, it does not come with curly fries. In fact, in fast food terms, this 1947 Ford’s underpinnings were the equivalent of a wayward fried cheese stick that fell under your seat the last time you went through the Arby’s lord knows how many days ago. In the frankest terms possible, it was warmed-up technology from before the Second World War.
The basis for which this 1947 restomod finds its basis made its debut six years prior in 1941. Why? Well, it was at that time that the United States decided to join the Second World War. Suddenly, factories building cars and trucks for civilians started building tanks, airplanes, and artillery pieces instead. In their day, the 1941 Ford series of cars and trucks came sporting either a 90-horsepower L-head straight six engine or the ever-present Ford Flathead V8. Service engines in their day, but what Roseville Rod & Custom of Roseville, California packed under this one’s hood dwarfs any engine from the 40s.
It’s a modern Ford Racing engine, a 302-cubic inch (5.0-liter) X2302E Boss V8 rocking goodies like forged steel pistons, connecting rods, and hydraulic roller camshaft and Ford Performance cylinder heads similar to those found on a GT40 LeMans racer. Needless to say, it’s packed with technology the average engine designer of 1947 would call witchcraft. Getting everything to work harmoniously required a nearly full body-off-frame job, stripping the car to its bare body shell without its quarter panels and just the bare frame remaining underneath.
From there, Ford Racing 302 V8 is ceremoniously fastened with custom motor mounts to the stock chassis. Don’t be fooled. This isn’t another Art Morrison frame with a classic body on top. There’s even a chassis number you can look up for yourself. With that sorted, a four-speed Ford AOD transmission was paired to the engine. Why? Because as Brian of Regular Car Review once said, “some call it archaic, I call it durable.” Safe to say, an engine this nice deserves a durable gearbox. This leads to a Truetrac 9-inch diff and 3.78:1 gearing