1320 and The Devil's Advocate

Some talk about budget beaters had me thinking about all the parts I have laying around and what it would cost to build a frame up 1/4 mile beater. Being built with stuff from friends, left over parts or stuff I have had for years. It won't be pretty but if all goes right it will be at Tri State Drag Strip.

Here is the body. 1933 Dodge. I did some horse trading and got the body. No cash. Vickers and myself took a road trip last year to Eastern Ky to pick it up. She's nothing but a shell.

DAY 1
Didn't get much done other than alot of thinking and measuring. I pulled the drop axle out of the rafters and put the spindles and backing plates on it. I had to do a little work when one of the spindles hit the after market axle. Nothing a little finess with a grinder didn't take care of.

Got the spindles and backing plates on. It's funny just how nasty some of these old parts can be.

Day 2
It's nothing new to catch stuff on fire. While I'm doing this stuff I keep cuts and burn marks all the time. Every once in a while when I'm welding or grinding on something I catch some paper or rags on fire. I'm always watching for it. It happens alot. I had my brother out there and he wanted to get pics of me while grinding. He said I looked like I had firework shooting off around me. Today I cought a rag on fire. Nothing new to me. What was new was that it was the shirt I was wearing. Nothing like the feeling you get when trying to put yourself out. LOL. I love hot rodding!

Alot more measuring and thinking about how to build the frame. I am having to fight my artistic side and not do fancy stuff. It's hard for me. lol. Being on a short time frame leaves me with no time to do some things I want to do. But this 33 is going to be nothing other than a stripped down rod to run on the track when we go. So with putting my artistic side away I have/had to focus on making it strong and safe.

The way I'm building the frame is an over kill but I want something that if I hit the wall it's not going to blow apart. I have the layout of the frame done other than the rear kick up. Front cross member is in but I'm waiting on my spring perch to come in the mail. It's not the best way to build a frame. No table or anything but bet ya it's more true than a factory 33 Dodge frame and alot stronger.
She hanging in there.

Day 3
I worked on my kick up on the back of the frame. I may be over thinking the process but I want to make sure it's strong.

The kick up took most of the day and I thought I would get it done but I snagged a piece of metal with my new cut off wheel and it went flying. It yanked the grinder out of my hand while the button stayed on. Funny how you run like a little girl when a grinder is flopping all over the floor. I have had my share of cuts with those grinding wheels. I wanted no part of it. So anyway, no cut off wheel and it's 10pm. Lowes is close. I dropped the frame on the ground and moved the body over. Moving the body by myself was fun. Hanging from the rafter I used the ratchet straps to let it swing like Tarzan.


Because of the time frame to build the car I can't do some things I want to do. Down the road I may channel the body and Z the frame but for now she's sitting on top.

It is sitting close to where it needs to go. I'm going to make the body mount brackets and then the body has to come back off to weld everything up.

Day 4
This has almost been a waisted day. I screwed up and didn't order a spring pivot. Almost everything comes in pairs but for some reason they sell the pivots seperate. After getting my boxes of Speedway stuff today I seen I was short one. I ran to the hot rod shop in Florence but they close at 5. So I called Speedway to get one. I was going to wait and see if the hot rod shop had one but if they didn't that would have left me another day late. fastest it could get here in Monday for an extra 42 bucks in shipping! WOW. It's a $6.00 part. So I went regular ground and it still gets here on Tuesday. Either way this messes me up. I can't get the front end mocked up without it. I was screwed. I started home after waisting my day trying to find one. I called Jim Wethington to see how he was doing. We got to talking about the pivot and he says he's got one, come and get it.............................
Mocking the front end so I know where to weld my mounts for the hair pins.

These cars where braced with wood and not metal. There is very little wood left. After looking at my mounting points and figuring how I was going to mount it I thought why not put the wood back in the bottom? with a 2X6 trimmed to fit it would make the perfect thickness for my mounting points I have on the frame. Took alot of trimming but there is a trimmed and beveled 2x6 just the way it came from Dodge Brothers in 1933. it goes right under the sill plate and sits up in a lip. It's funny just how strong that wood can make it. When I tighten up the screws I seen the body level out in the floor.

Day 5
Again looking for every little thing to make this stronger I flipped the mounts at an angle thinking of the forward force of the car. It also gives me more of a welding surface. Like I said it's over kill but that's what I want.

More of that over kill I was talking about. Not that it will ever do a wheel stand but I looked at this frame as if I was to drop the front end from 5 feet what would break? So some wedge shapes where welded into the front cross member.

I got enough welding done that I was able to take the body back off so I could flip the frame over and weld the bottom. Ripped the front end back off and drug out the frame.

Day 6
Today was pretty productive. Corey came out and helped me move the frame around. It's getting heavy now that it's all together. I had a little more bracing and welding to do but within a few hours it was all done. We wire wheeled the frame to get the big gunk off and then I let the kids have some fun with the spray can primer.




We drug the frame back under the car and started the long process of adding wood blocks to get it hi enough. Another trick that I like is the use of fan belts for hanging stuff. They are strong but will flex a little if you drop the body too fast.

Body and frame coming back together.

I still have to drill through a couple mounting points but I did enough today to bolt the body down.

I don't care much for this front end. It's a little funny. I have these ends that I may change over to heim joints before too long but for now I'm going to run them. The problem is that the hole in the plate that hold them on is bigger than the holes in the ends. I remembered scoping these sleeves out at Sears not too long ago. I grabbed 4 and they fit snug in the hole and the bolt is a snug fit. I had to trim the ends but it was no biggie.

They worked perfect.

I managed to get the front end on it and called it a night.

Day 7
I was hoping to have a roller by today but I ran into some problems. I put the drums on the front and they where drilled for a Chevy. I scraped enough lug nuts up from the other garage to get them on but after I got the wheels on I found out they had Ford studs with a Chevy bolt pattern. Had to go back to Newport to grab a couple lugs nut.
Front end is rolling.

Now for the back. BIG problems. I was worried about the FBody rearend sticking too far out. The car is going to be very low so I thought the wheels would be over the wheel well. I like the look but the rearend is too narrow. I'm 5 inches away from where the car will sit. The body is sitting on the tires in the back. This really messes me up! I can't do anything else untill this is a roller. I have to pull it outside in order to get the engine for it in the barn.



I was so mad I had to come back home to cool off. I could order some moons with a reverse offset?? I just sold a set of ET mags I have had for years that had such a reverse off set I didn't think I'd ever use them. Go figure huh? If I order rims it will put me 3 days back waiting for them to get here. I really don't want deep dish chrome wheels on it either.

These next few pics are not for the weak.
Taped off almost a 6" section.

Shot some white paint so I'm not burning up and smelling the duct tape. Note the crease in the wheel well


From the inside you can see the factory weld. I used it as a guide and sliced it down the seam.

This side had a nasty smash in it. Something hit the back fender and right where the mount is it pushed it up and towards the front of the car. Getting the metal to line up where it was smashed was a pain. You couldn't work them out because they had fractures in the metal. Alot of dolly and hammer work and I got it pretty close.

I only get a few spot welds and ran out of mig wire. You guessed it. It's 1 am and the stores are all closed.

Day 8
She is on all 4 wheels now.

The 1/4 are spot welded in place and will be finished up at a later date. Getting everything lined up is a pain. Working late without sleep leaves me second guessing myself. I used the tape measure so much I thought I was going to wear it out. Checking and double checking everything I'm welding.

I managed to get the rest of that crease out after it was welded up more. I still need to clean and weld up the stress cracks.

The back suspension is not done but will only go up another 2 inches at the most. The tires will be close and a set of taller slicks will be used in the future So the back will go up enough to keep the swell from the slick from hitting them. Pushed it outside so I can get the engine in there where I'm working.

Day 9
NOW IT'S A RAT ROD! 454 of Big Block Chevy Rat! Not sure why they call those other hot rod rat rods for. They either have SBC or 6 banger Fords in them. lol.

Got the engine pulled and in the barn. Spun the 33 around and set the engine in the frame rails so I could start to figure out how to mount it down.

It was cool to have dad out there for a while working. Mid 70's he's still able to out work most men.

I ran into a few problems I didn't think I would. First is the steering. The 454 is so wide that I can't run the steering through the firewall like I wanted. I'll have to figure something out. The other is that I wanted the engine sitting way back into the firewall. To keep as much weight off the front end and more on the rear. I put it where I wanted it and thought it would work untill I got inside. There is no room for the brake and gas pedal the way I wanted it. So I'm going to have to settle with only about 5" through the firewall. Still not bad but it would have handled the 1/4 mile better with it further back.

Made my transmission cross member and got it bolted in. I then started on the engine mounts. That old jack is still coming in handy.


I had plans for a solid mount up in front but it was just easier to use the old rod trick. That's a Pontiac 400 rod. I was going to use some 302 Ford rods I had but I was afraid I'd break them when I get on it. Sorry had too. lol

Day 10


Had to fill in that big hole so I tossed it on the press and shoved the wrist pin back through and then cut it off flush.

I got the engine where it needs to be and fabbed up some brackets that I welded to the frame. The motor and trans are in!
I spent the rest of the night cleaning up the junk on the engine. Power steering, AC and more. Now at least it looks like an engine. Still like to find a bracket for the alternator and ditch that goofy looking bracket. Last thing I did was cut one of the square tubing for my moon tank.

Day 11
Didn't get much done today.


I finished my brackets for the want-a-be moon tank and spent the rest of the day fighting the steering problem. There is just no room. I may have it figured out but I won't know untill I get some bolts for the bracket I made that will hold the steering box. It's close. How close? Close enough that I had to grind a casting lug off the block to get it to fit.

Most of the day was making brackets and stuff. My plazma cutter tip burnt up so it was back to the old way of making stuff. Takes 4 times as long. I should have my plazma tip tomorrow.

Still using that old jack for 1/4 steel plate. It's keeps getting smaller and smaller.

Steering box bracket roughed in.

Day 12
I finished up my bracket for the steering box. Got it where it needed to be and welded it on.


The arm was bent the wrong way but after working with a reemer I clean up one side of the teeth and just flipped it over.
I still need to get the drag link on so I can adjust it where the arm needs to be so I didn't put it on the right way yet.

I had one sticky drum in the front so I went through the brakes and got them in working order. While I was in there I put my steering arm.