Like every year after Detroit I come home wound up.  Excited about hot rods…  and unlike years in the past I came home with a plan a little different than years past.  I came home with a new sense of optimism.

Anyone can build a car, but to build a show car is a little different story.  I guess this is where it starts and stops, the Engine.  Its a 1954 331 Hemi that used to run in a 38 ford circle track race car.

To build an era correct car it takes time to collect the right parts.  I finally located the last piece of the puzzle the weekend after Detroit.  It was a set of six Speed Products “sp” tops to replace the stock Stromberg tops on my carbs.  On the trip down to pick up that red Merc motor we ended up visiting Mark Moriairty…  it was Mark who ended up offering to sell me the last pieces I needed.  Thank God.

I’m running a Weiand Drag Star 6×2 Manifold.  They’re a little hard to find for the early hemi’s as they have special water ports and a remote thermostat housing that sits in the front of the engine.

Here is a pic of the intake and carbs-

 

SP tops look like this:

The SP tops are lower cut and oval-  They really make an engine look period sixties…

and so it begins.

 

 

The newest addition to the flock of engines here in the shop-

This one a 1951 Mercury Flathead.  The guy that we got it from put a small block in his Merc.  He said that after giving it a tune up it ran like shit.  Well… it turned out to be 8 bad Champion Plugs… that right EIGHT BAD PLUGS.  I guess he could’ve avoided pulling it if he’d spent 16 bucks on a different brand of plug.  His loss… my gain.  Its a beautiful motor. 

New surfaced flywheel, clutch and pressure plate, new starter, new gen and new water pumps.  Rad.

  

When we start to build a new chassis for the 34 I’m going to use this engine.

A random update on the 34…

When I first got this hood it was flat as a pancake…

I roughed it out and extended it about an inch 3/4 and it totally changed the look of the coupe.  I like the way it looks with hood sides too it makes the car really flow alot better.