T-Bucket build? Or rat style jalopy.

Exactly my reaction. That pan had no water in it when I dropped it, but must have been full at some time and froze.
That's a healthy portion of cast for that large of a crack. It's about 14" long. No broken rods or any sign of impact damage.
Now I'm not sure if the crank is good, but will get it out and have it checked. If that and the cam are good, then maybe the added cost of the extra parts won't be so bad. Biggest letdown is the amount of time I spent with the two broken head studs. The valve train had to be removed anyway to get the cam out.

 

Can't say that I'm surprised. I vote find another donor motor.

 

Well, call it a learning experience and move on.
We all have those moments.

If you could find a real old timer he might be able to successfully weld it for you.

 

There was no way to spot this crack without the pan off, it's not visible on the outside.
That being said, I didn't see it when the pan was off and I was head down, ass up trying to see inside with a flashlight and bifocals.
I have the 8BA block. I'll set it in the sun tomorrow and use a flashlight to check it over. However, gonna do some math tonight and see what one from fleabay would cost, shipped, that actually turns. Gamble that it's not cracked as well... Ordered the "How to rebuild and modify" book yesterday.
On a side note, the cracked block is in the driveway now and I can work on the body for a bit.

 

Ya know, the webbing below it is intact, maybe it can be welded. If the bearings are still in line, why not? It's only 14" long along the inside, and who knows how deep. In an apocalypse, I'd go for it and run it as is.


three survivors, factory original.

So the 8BA block does not appear to have any major cracks, but it does have this nifty deformation in the cast on the front main bearing. I thought it was just schmutz, but no, it's cast material that is raised above the bearing surface. Maybe it can be machined smooth, the bearing material just sits in it. Speaking of, front and center main bearing caps are the same. The rear is entirely different of course..

#6 rod bearing was cracked.

And just for fun, Ford 239 next to a HD 883

 

Nice that the shmutz holds the bearing in place. I always think it's kind of funny how the old engines had this kind of stuff from the factory but still ran forever.

 

Other things I noticed is the 8BA block is missing 7 of the cylinder sleeves.
Has no original main bearing caps or studs.
Uses a different oil pump idler gear and cover.
Has no oil pan or bell housing.

Otherwise everything else was being replaced anyway.

 

Blocks are on hold for a bit, maybe later this week, maybe later this month. I want to see if that book has any insight before I plunge further down this rabbit hole. It may be much cheaper to buy a clean running engine from the East coast and have it shipped to Fastenal where I can pick it up. Or drop a Predator V-twin in it.
So moving a bit slow, some minor progress while I think about way too many aspects of this.
Btw, both sides have varying degrees of being a complete rusted mess, neither is better than the other, car is unsurprisingly far from straight/square, so a pattern for one side is not quite the same for the other.
Start with that bit that kicks up on the back. This side is there and straight.

This side has none of that.

So I made them match.


The inner and outer shell on both sides had separated somewhat so I clamped it and pulled it in half inch to 1 3/4" from 2 1/4" where it started. That made both sides look better overall and stiffened the tub a bit. Tacked in place and will be covered. Using flux core on this rusty thing as gas is not playing nice with it.

Started peeling back the sheet metal on the bottom. Used a die grinder to separate the welds to the actual body and just folded it back, it's now cut off at that fold. I can't remove the entire sheet just yet as the bottom portion of the body under the doors is so rusty it may fold in half or just separate. So baby steps with that.

Some pics were not taken, but that back section was trimmed up and spent some time with a hammer and drift to flatten out the bumps and factory seam for whatever mess I make of it later. For now I have welded the top edges of the doors to the body, no pics of those welds just yet, they're not done. You don't have to be a good welder, just a good grinder. I used ratchet straps on both sides and brought the tub together tight to the edges of the doors, then clamped and beat into submission.
We got a roller.

Hoping having the doors welded at the top will keep the body squareish. Tape measure said it was close after pulling everything together. I am thinking maybe after the bottom patch is on, I can weld the doors shut from the inside to the patch itself and keep the edges of the doors unmolested.

Between running my business into the ground, and this, not much gets accomplished. It's just me and the dog, he holds down the fort while I'm out.
Plan tomorrow if I'm not too busy is to get that back section filled in, or at least make a piece for it, and then work on the sides under the doors. It will just be a patch with a fully visible edge and some kind of Frankenstitch weld to hold it in place. Or maybe bolted/screwed/glued to the sides. It's gonna be a rat rod.

 

Looking more like a rod every day!


What are the ideas for frame/suspension/steering?

 

Great question. I don't know.
Hoping that will just fall into place after I get a rear axle, set the tub on blocks for height, figure out engine placement, etc. Front axle will prolly be the Ford straight beam, there is a ton of aftermarket support for those.
Would like to make the frame myself.

 

In order to wrap the patch under the body, the bottom needed to go. Was left with this. And it was very flexible at this point.

Patched in the missing pieces with some 16ga to match the original.

Tacked the patches along the bottom.

Folded the patch over the door sill and tacked in place front and rear.

The rear should flatten out nice and tight after it's trimmed up and folded over the corner. That's the goal anyway.

The front is a bit different, considering 1-2 pop rivets to flatten it out, and a legit bolt in the front since the holes are there. Super quick and easy, looks rat and can move on. The body is thin here and will melt like butter with the welder.
Or, I might remove the bottom welds and try to massage it into place a bit better. A few hours possible.

Just having those two sections tacked in place stiffened up the body better than the sheet metal bottom did. I gotta think about the next step with these, I'm too far along to screw it up and have no idea what I'm doing.

 

"I'm too far along to screw it up and have no idea what I'm doing."

 

I really hope paint helps to blend it all in. Gonna go for a ghost/antique paint finish, black with silver smear. Or maybe yellow with black smear. Black hides imperfections better though.

Made some bendy foldy strips to secure the sides and just tacked it at the bottom since there was fresh metal there.

Meh, I'll replace the Phillips screws with some old timey large head slotted screws in the hopes it looks like they should be there. Pop rivets or weld would have worked loose, melted, and prolly look worse than this. It is what it is.

three sections left to do something with, these are gonna be the most difficult with all the compound curves and notching. Might have to get some whiskey involved and send it.

 

Following! I really like the look of the screws in there. Pulls the look of the new metal together with the old stuff. Can't wait to see more progress!

 

Thanks! Appreciate that. Still gonna change them to slotted screws. If I can find them with the large diameter head, they will do a better job of spreading the load.
Last bit of bodywork then the dentist gets his turn with me this afternoon.
Trying to lose the jagged edges and not use Bondo.

That crack will prolly stay, no real way to smooth it out.

 

The large head screws are called a "truss head".

Got to McMaster Carr and search, they have lots of materials and styles with the slotted head.

 

I think the local ACE carries these, thanks!

 

It needs some Lokar pedals and a Lecarra steering wheel.

https://lokar.com/

 

Put a bunch of superfluous rivets on it. Paint the nose olive green and smear black grease on top of that. Leave the door stainless, but maybe add three or four decals to signify successful bombing runs.