Early Ford V-8 Club Forum

EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Howdy, from a 'new' 47 Super Deluxe owner

Reply to Discussion | New Discussion << previous || next >>

Posted By Discussion Topic: Howdy, from a 'new' 47 Super Deluxe owner -- page: 1 2 3     Funeral Director 10-14-2021 @ 10:02 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 14 Joined: Oct 2021 Greetings all, I am here purely by happenstance, having been given a very tired 47 Ford Super Deluxe, or better put, what remains of one. There are some decisions to be made and I thought I had better consult some folks who are 'In The Know'... Chiefly, do I keep this car, or pass it on and, IF I keep it, what do I do with this thing? I've a fair amount of automotive experience but none with the flatheads (and wanting to play with a flathead V8 is precisely what got me into this predicament in the first place). The photo shows where the story begins. Cheers, TJ kubes40 10-14-2021 @ 11:00 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 3366 Joined: Oct 2009 Pass it on. It's a parts car, albeit a decent appearing one at that. Not worth much as it is and not worth much even if fully restored.... Mike "Kube" Kubarth 37RAGTOPMAN 10-14-2021 @ 11:40 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1940 Joined: Oct 2009 hi Funeral Director It looks like a car you could learn with, by taking apart and selling the parts, all depending what the owner wants for it, and you would to have it moved and a place to keep it, buy a turn key car, have a person that knows car, check it out before buying, there are some great deals on this web site, in the CLASSIFIEDS my 2 cents 37Ragtopman Maine Funeral Director 10-14-2021 @ 2:14 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 14 Joined: Oct 2021 Well, I've been in the vintage vehicle crowd for some time although my focus has been almost exclusively former military vehicles so I know what it would take to do anything with this. Heck, I just wanted a Ford flathead V8 to tinker with and ended up with the whole car; a happy circumstance because it is presently supporting my front yard Halloween display. After that, I'm not sure where we're going with it. The car cost me nothing except my labor to pull it from its grave so...... carcrazy 10-14-2021 @ 2:41 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1582 Joined: Oct 2009 The car looks pretty rough but saveable if you are willing to put the money and effort into it. If you got the car for free and you have a place to keep the car while you work on it, go for it. Do you know how long the car has been setting? Do you know if the engine is free (can you rotate the crankshaft by hand)? Once you have determined that the engine is free, you can do all of the things required to bring the car back to life. I would tackle things in the following order: connect a good battery up to see if the engine can be cranked and turned over by the starter motor. Change the oil and filter of the engine. Connect a fresh fuel supply from a remote gas can to the fuel pump inlet. See if you can get the engine to start and run. If the engine is a runner, you can then change the coolant, transmission and rear axle oils. See if the car's hydraulic brakes are working. If they don't work, determine the cause and repair as required. Change all of the fluid in the brake system and bleed all of the brake wheel cylinders. Use DOT 3 brake fluid. Adjust all of the brakes. Drop the fuel tank and take it to a radiator shop to have it cleaned out and checked for leaks. Install all new fuel lines and hoses. Take the radiator to a shop to have if cleaned and repaired as required. Replace the radiator and heater hoses. Take off the front hubs, check the front wheel bearings for wear, repack the bearings and replace the grease seals. Adjust the front wheel bearings. At this point, you should have a driver and you can focus your attention to the rest of the vehicle's needs like tires and other items. This message was edited by carcrazy on 10-14-21 @ 2:44 PM efv8CofAAdmin 10-14-2021 @ 3:49 PM reply profile send p.m. Administrator Posts: 411 Joined: Feb 2016 I want to see more of your Halloween display. How about a story for the Club's magazine, the V-8 TIMES? Web Administrator Funeral Director 10-14-2021 @ 4:51 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 14 Joined: Oct 2021 A story about the display? ....or about the car recovery? Insofar as the car goes, it's pretty awful and quite frankly, not what I want to spend my time and money on. As you can see, I have presently found a purpose for it in its current condition. There is a thumbnail plan in place for it, however. It was always my intent to salvage the engine from it and the engine is equally awful, having set there, relatively open to the elements, with the heads off, since 1962. I have no misgivings about it. It (the engine) is probably going to be as terrible as they come. Still, the engine is a good candidate as a practical learning experience before delving into the OTHER flathead V8. As Yoda said, "there are always two." ....and maybe three!!! In any case, I am in the beginnings of salvaging the second V8 from a '49 that was 'customized' (and I am using that term VERY loosely) into a ute. Tell me where you would like to begin this story. There are plenty of pictures, believe me! This message was edited by Funeral Director on 10-14-21 @ 4:59 PM Funeral Director 10-14-2021 @ 8:50 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 14 Joined: Oct 2021 I've been doing Halloween on a very large scale for many, many years, including one very large Haunted House....and not the warehouse style efforts that are popular nowadays but instead, a real, gothic house of 2nd Empire architecture. This is the first year I've added a car. Most of the ironwork you see in these settings was build by me. Not plastic. STEEL. Anyway, someone asked for some pics, soooo.... Here's the tip of a very large iceberg. Enjoy. Funeral Director 10-15-2021 @ 6:17 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 14 Joined: Oct 2021 I think I'll title this next segment, 2021's Little Halloween Horror Story, or When Life Gives You Lemons.... First of all, I've become a bit of a gear head over the years. I happily dabble in anything mechanical that is set before me so, if I stray off topic here, please forgive me. I am also among the unwashed heathens who can appreciate a rat rod with the same joy and vigor as a 100 point restoration. To say I am unfocused is an understatement. The flathead Ford V8 has always been on my bucket list, it being the archetypical street rod motor. It represents so many of the important directions Ford took us in those early years when the automobile industry was gaining speed and traction. Thus, I am equally interested in stand-alone engines (having it actually mounted in an automobile is entirely optional) which brings us to the matter of one particular 47 Ford Super Deluxe. Now, my interests lie primarily in former military vehicles. I have several, including an early production 42 Ford GPW (but not a VERY early production, mind you). Whether I own THEM, or they own ME is a matter for some consideration. It was actually this interest that put me on a collision course with this Super Deluxe. I became involved in the removal of a derelict Dodge M37 truck from a fella's property, chiefly because over the years I have amassed the time and the equipment to get that sort of thing done. The M37 is another story unto itself because it resisted every effort to move it (not to mention that it was surrounded by a small army of other derelict vehicles). So, while I was there, I could not help but notice that tired, awful looking '47 Ford sitting several yards away. It was clear that Mother Nature was busily trying to reclaim it....and it was not out in the open. It HAD been out in the open when parked in '61 or '62. Now, it was in the woods and because I am easily distracted....well, let's just say that I had to look it over during rest periods. The woods provided protection from the hot Texas sun and I was not in there to be a busybody. I was there for the shade. But, to quote Ronald Regan... "Boys will be boys." Now Frank is the fella who owns the place and despite the fact that he is well over 80, he is a fella who doesn't let his age get in the way of things. Frank would occasionally come out to see how we were doing and provide us with some direction on the matter of where to put the other derelict cars. Conversation turned to personal interests and since the 47 had what was left of a flathead V8 (the heads were absent), those engines also became a topic of conversation. Frank set the hook in me almost immediately and offered the car to me (gratis!) along with ANOTHER car; an absolutely ruinous 1949 Custom with the next generation of flathead V8 AND overdrive (WooHOO!) I am 1/2 a Realist and 1/2 a Dreamer. The Realist in me bade me to politely decline being involved with those old Fords in any way, chiefly because were were having a real struggle with the M37, and it was hotter than the surface of the sun and everyone involved was pretty knackered. After all, I was looking at one car that was deep in the woods (which also had been parked there BEFORE there any trees) and another car with pretty substantial tree growing up through it! The last thing I needed was THAT kind of trouble. Well, we finally got that M37 out of there using brute force and absolutely no finesse. It's brakes were completely rust-welded to the drums and friends, M37s have BIG brakes. It was that success that inspired the Dreamer in me to reconsider taking on the job of claiming those old Fords for myself. Yes, there are certainly easier cars from which to harvest a motor but the price was right (actually, Frank had me at 'FREE' because I am a notorious cheapskate) and at my age, one is also looking for interesting experiences and the stories that go with them. Those old Fords checked both boxes. So, Frank and I discussed the matter further and I said, YES, and officially laid claim to them. To be continued... Funeral Director 10-15-2021 @ 6:57 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 14 Joined: Oct 2021 Since the M37 had been sitting down in the earth without wheels for many years, it was fully locked up and incapable of rolling. We would have to come up with a method by which the wheels could be restored to motion. Initially, it would be dragged away in the hope that the wheels would eventually break free and begin rolling on their own. This did NOT happen, by the way. Well, the dragging bit did...but the rolling bit, DIDN'T. Enter one of my favorite military vehicles, the M561 Gama Goat. I call her Dirty Gertie. Before we go any further, let's get the old joke out of the way because I know someone is going to bring it up. (Don't spit out your coffee..) Yeah, I'm a man who loves goats. The M561 Gama Goat is a monster. With true six wheel drive, it's a REAL beast and it doesn't take NO for an answer....certainly not from a wretched M37 (which is a monster in its own right because it's so darned heavy). After much preparation, such as getting it up on a set of very petrified wheels and tires (one of which was wholly flat, never to be re-inflated) Gertie dragged the M37 out of the ground and over to another part of the property. The M37 fought back with great vigor but as I said, Gertie is a beast and she got the job done very handily. I love my goat. She's a pip! But, we had to get those wheels rolling in order to get that M37 up and onto a trailer. I have winches that are quite capable of getting it up there whether the wheels are turning or not. The fellow who was to be the recipient of the M37 would need the mobility that only rolling wheels can provide. So, I came up with a plan that would make Archimedes proud. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking but in short, one of the chains is anchored to a pickup truck that has been made immobile with wheels fully chocked, etc. The other chain is the pulling chain which is hooked up to (you guessed it) Dirty Gerty. Gertie only had to lean into it and each of those wheels broke free of their rust bonds and reluctantly began rolling. What has any of this to do with the Fords? Well, you might have noticed that part of the '47 is parked BELOW ground. Yup, when the time came, we had exactly the same trouble with the '47 as we did with the M37 (except the '47 actually came with wheels whereas the M37 did not). And so, with the M37 out of the way (and actually rolling) we were able to turn our attention the the removal of the Super Deluxe... Stay tuned! Cheers, TJ This message was edited by Funeral Director on 10-16-21 @ 8:49 AM

<< previous || next >>

PAGE: 1 2 3

NOTE: YOU MUST BE A REGISTERED USER AND BE LOGGED IN TO POST (and reply to) messages in this forum. If you are a first time user, please click the CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT in the masthead above to register and Log In. After that, all you do is LOG IN to enjoy using this site.

DISCLAIMER: The V-8 Club does no independent testing of any of the opinions, thoughts or suggestions presented in the website on the Forum, in the Tech Tips section, or any section. A reader should consider the website to be a forum wherein differing solutions to a particular set of circumstances may be discussed. Ultimately, the selection of an item for an individual's vehicle must be based upon the independent study of the vehicle owner in consultation with people in the hobby and restoration experts.

EFV-8 Club Forum Home | Back to Home Page | Contact the Webmaster

Copyright © 2009 - EFV-8.org
Powered by < CF FORUM > v.2.1