Street Rodders, Need Advice.....

[GA_Boater]

Re: Street Rodders, Need Advice.....

Whats wrong with the wheels? Same ones are on my Dodge Ramcharger. Of course it's a 6000 lb. truck. Some old school Cragars would be the cats behind.

I'm guessing it started as a rolling chassis with the body mounted. Many kitters have a boxed frame option. Your frame sure doesn't look like one of Henry's that got modified. The front suspension looks like either a Mustang II or Vega setup. Have you found out who made the kit?

You got a cool cruiser, Musky. :thumb:

 

[matt167]

Re: Street Rodders, Need Advice.....

Suspension looks fine as does the rest of the car. Looks like a pretty stock Streetbeast frame to me, there quite a bit different from a normal '34 chassis produced by other vendors. IIRC the front brakes are GM Metric, but being Mustang II, you can get anything to fit with the right parts.

Congrats, it should hold up for a long while. If the speedometer is electronic then it was probably programmed wrong and could be reset. If it's mechanical, then you will need to change the speedo gears

 

[southkogs]

Re: Street Rodders, Need Advice.....

Rumble Seat?

Good lookin' ride. I don't know why, but I love the suicide doors. So cool.

... make sure you show the "tuners" who owns the road

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: Street Rodders, Need Advice.....

Whats wrong with the wheels? Same ones are on my Dodge Ramcharger. Of course it's a 6000 lb. truck. Some old school Cragars would be the cats behind.

I'm guessing it started as a rolling chassis with the body mounted. Many kitters have a boxed frame option. Your frame sure doesn't look like one of Henry's that got modified. The front suspension looks like either a Mustang II or Vega setup. Have you found out who made the kit?

You got a cool cruiser, Musky. :thumb:

I talked to a guy who is a street rod guru and knows the car. He said it is a SB. I found a couple items that could be done better, but nothing major. Maybe the builder made changes too. As Matt said, the front end is a Mustang II. Yeah, I don't think ol' Henry in his wildest dreams thought about a boxed frame....lol

Thanks for the thumbs up!

Suspension looks fine as does the rest of the car. Looks like a pretty stock Streetbeast frame to me, there quite a bit different from a normal '34 chassis produced by other vendors. IIRC the front brakes are GM Metric, but being Mustang II, you can get anything to fit with the right parts.

Congrats, it should hold up for a long while. If the speedometer is electronic then it was probably programmed wrong and could be reset. If it's mechanical, then you will need to change the speedo gears

The speedo is mechanical. It may be a bad gauge too since it seems the mph gap is larger as the speed increase. It's not consistent. Thank goodness for the GPS. The gauges say Vintage reproduction. Maybe they're cheap gauges, I have no idea. Didn't research them yet...

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Matt.................

Just booted the boat out of the garage to make room for the '34. Takes up a lot less space than the boat and the '68 GTO I had......

Are there any good forums that would be glasser friendly????????? Also, what about vendors for acc'ys. I think I'll need a side mirror for sure. There just happens to be a huge blind spot with the 3 window. I look out the rear window and lean forward to look out the side window hoping not to merge into another car when lane changing...

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: Street Rodders, Need Advice.....

Rumble Seat?

Good lookin' ride. I don't know why, but I love the suicide doors. So cool.

... make sure you show the "tuners" who owns the road

Thanks! Yep, gotta love suicide doors. No rumble seat, trunk..........

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: Street Rodders, Need Advice.....

I didn't notice the lack of side mirrors. Couple of links:

FATTIES- MIRRORS
Street Rod Mirrors, Model A, Peep - Speedway Motors, America's Oldest Speed Shop
Results for Hot Rod - Street Rod - Mirrors- LOADS of them..

 

[matt167]

Re: Street Rodders, Need Advice.....

I talked to a guy who is a street rod guru and knows the car. He said it is a SB. I found a couple items that could be done better, but nothing major. Maybe the builder made changes too. As Matt said, the front end is a Mustang II. Yeah, I don't think ol' Henry in his wildest dreams thought about a boxed frame....lol

Thanks for the thumbs up!



The speedo is mechanical. It may be a bad gauge too since it seems the mph gap is larger as the speed increase. It's not consistent. Thank goodness for the GPS. The gauges say Vintage reproduction. Maybe they're cheap gauges, I have no idea. Didn't research them yet...

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Matt.................

Just booted the boat out of the garage to make room for the '34. Takes up a lot less space than the boat and the '68 GTO I had......

Are there any good forums that would be glasser friendly????????? Also, what about vendors for acc'ys. I think I'll need a side mirror for sure. There just happens to be a huge blind spot with the 3 window. I look out the rear window and lean forward to look out the side window hoping not to merge into another car when lane changing...

Club Hotrod, and Hotrodders.com are both glasser friendly, both also have some info on Streetbeasts. Hotrodders has quite a bit more info on them along with builders and owners. I'm a member of both forums..

"Vintage Reproduction" gauges came with Streetbeasts kits or as an available product thru them. I don't know much about them but they are probably cheep gauges.. I think some Stewart Warner Wings gauges would look great in it.. Classic Instruments also has nice gauges and Autometer has a few styles that would fit a '34.

You'll probably find a half dozen or so things that you want to change or update but that's just part of owning.. I've built my rat rod from scratch/ ground up and have changed directions 3 times already, and it's still not close to being finished.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: Street Rodders, Need Advice.....

Here's how the shifter works. Took some getting used to......

Hurst Pro Matic 2 shifter - YouTube

 

[matt167]

Re: Street Rodders, Need Advice.....

Yea, I'd just replace the ratchet with a nice Lokar shifter. Ratchets get sloppy over time and that car just doesn't need it.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: Street Rodders, Need Advice.....

I didn't notice the lack of side mirrors. Couple of links:

FATTIES- MIRRORS
Street Rod Mirrors, Model A, Peep - Speedway Motors, America's Oldest Speed Shop
Results for Hot Rod - Street Rod - Mirrors- LOADS of them..

Thanks, GA! Now it's just a matter of finding the "right" mirror. And, having the guts to drill holes. Do most mount them on the pillar?

Club Hotrod, and Hotrodders.com are both glasser friendly, both also have some info on Streetbeasts. Hotrodders has quite a bit more info on them along with builders and owners. I'm a member of both forums..

"Vintage Reproduction" gauges came with Streetbeasts kits or as an available product thru them. I don't know much about them but they are probably cheep gauges.. I think some Stewart Warner Wings gauges would look great in it.. Classic Instruments also has nice gauges and Autometer has a few styles that would fit a '34.

You'll probably find a half dozen or so things that you want to change or update but that's just part of owning.. I've built my rat rod from scratch/ ground up and have changed directions 3 times already, and it's still not close to being finished.

Thanks for the forum links. I'll probably eventually join hotrodders.com. I'm sure the wife will be thrilled. Another forum.....lol

I wouldn't be surprised if the gauges are cheap. They do look good, however......IMO Something that isn't a top priority to change.

I'll probably keep the current shifter for now since it works fine. When it starts failing I'll switch to a different style. Thanks for the Lokar recommendation...

Seems like most of the changes that need to be made are mainly bolt ons. It will give me something to putz with as I move forward....

I appreciate everyone's advice......

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: Street Rodders, Need Advice.....

Here are a couple of vids with semi decent shots of the mirrors. I like the second one a little better with the mirror on the top of the door. Also I think those are clamp on mirrors (3 and 4 inch) like these, no drilling! 4" Curved Arm Peep Mirror.

Low mount, drilling

Second vid in next post. Only one vid per post.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: Street Rodders, Need Advice.....

I think most mirrors mount on the door because the pillar mounting can be real tricky to clear an opening or closing door.

High mount, clamp on.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: Street Rodders, Need Advice.....

I would agree about having the mirrors up top. Probably see them better from the inside.... The second body is the same as mine. So that must be a SB too. Maybe they both are. I don't have the side covers on because they haven't been cut out for vents. If I put them on with no vents, I think it would get dang hot in the engine compartment and inside the car.

Looks like the mirrors clamp to the lip of the door. I think that would be the route to go..

Thanks for the vids and info, GA!

Thank goodness for auto save because I had just lost my post when I went to submit.......:facepalm:

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: Street Rodders, Need Advice.....

Found this interesting at hotrodders.com. He has a photobucket link to more pix. Car sold the same month he put it up for sale. Not sure how close he got to his asking price. Same as mine(some minor differences) except he has flames. Same seats. Must have been part of the package...
1934 Ford 3 Window Coupe with 302 engine

Do these glass ones depreciate/appreciate(like my GTO) or hold steady if well maintained? If the guy got anywhere close to what he was asking, it sounds like he made out pretty well.....

 

[matt167]

Re: Street Rodders, Need Advice.....

There values go up and down with the market, but a fresh build will only be slightly more valuble than one that has been around. Streetbeasts do fall into the lower price brackets often because they are shunned by some groups because they are not 'correct' '34 Fords ( molded fenders, wider grill, and the cowl is different at the firewall ). If you ever wanted to sell, you can probably get the same out of it if you keep it nice..

Oh and yes, I think your seats and interior are standard Streetbeast interiors. Streetbeast had everything available to build the cars right from there site and they came as a kit. Same way many T buckets are built but on a larger scale

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: Street Rodders, Need Advice.....

If it maintains it's value, that's great. I didn't buy it for an investment per say, I bought it to have fun....

One more question for now, where the heck is the VIN??????? On the frame? I checked all over the body and found nothing....

 

[Chris_94_Sprint_TX]

Re: Street Rodders, Need Advice.....

If its a glass kit I don't think it would have a VIN persay but should have some sort of number or serial for ID purposes. However it could have been left off when assembled.

Chris

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: Street Rodders, Need Advice.....

Hey Chris, the title has a number in the vin area, I just thought that would match a number somewhere on the car... The previous owner had no idea...... Maybe there is an exception for glassers......

 

[Chris_94_Sprint_TX]

Re: Street Rodders, Need Advice.....

Depends on the state I think. In Texas, kit cars are registered as experimental vehicles and just assigned a number if I am not mistaken. I am not sure about your state though. Try searching the hotrod forums for a local member or at least a member in your state you may get lucky and they live close enough to come help you look, but, somebody will have a better opinion or possibly more experience and be able to give you better advice.

Chris

 

[matt167]

Re: Street Rodders, Need Advice.....

It depends on how it was titled, either illegally or legally. If titled legally, then it should be somewhere in the door frame as it requires an LEO to come out and attach the vin, just like most states and home built boats. There are street rod laws that allow replica's to be titled as the year they replicate so it's not alarming that it is titled as a 1934 Ford and not a current year 'specially constructed' vehicle.. Your vin should come back to an assigned state if it was done legal, if it does not, than someone fudged the numbers or used a title to an original car