Posted: 8/18/2026 6:09:26 PM EDT
1931 Model A..it's been on market place all summer. I'm guessing due to the locked up engine..It's all Ford..powered by a torque monster 289... another 289 is included.       |
To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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Originally Posted By USMC2111: As the owner of a car with a 289 Ford, save your time and buy an Explorer roller cam 302. I have a short block waiting to get machined. The machine work will cost less than a complete roller conversion kit. Plus if I feel the need for speed.. 400 hp at the crank..enough for me.  |
To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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Looks like a nice build! I like the suicide door conversion. I’d take a close look at that. I’ve had a ‘29 A 2 dr sedan and a ‘30 A 5 window coupe w/rumble seat. Both were fun. Unless they replaced the wood with square tubing there’s a LOT of wood in A bodies. Check the wood condition and look for rot and door sag. What’s the rear suspension? Best wishes!! |
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Originally Posted By mike4eva: 289s are cool. Especially in lighter cars. Rev happy. You might want to bring a rational friend/family member as it sounds like you are already really emotional about it. I like the paint job!    
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To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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Other peoples opinions on your hot rods are like assholes..... That 289 ought to run just fine in that rig! It ain't no funny car and your probably not going to try to slay the Dragon in Tn. I like it!! 
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SJJ 10/02/68-10/30/2022. It's not something you get over, it's something you get through.
I'm a little crazy but the world's insane.
I'm a little crazy but the world's insane.
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Originally Posted By jjrockbush: Other peoples opinions on your hot rods are like assholes..... That 289 ought to run just fine in that rig! It ain't no funny car and your probably not going to try to slay the Dragon in Tn. I like it!! A stock 289 will suit me just fine...it isn't a race truck.. If the blown engine has some undamaged goodies in it I'll put them in the replacement engine. Other than that..I'm leaving it alone. People will have their opinions on it but unless they are paying for it..... I was in fifth gear and I'm running either 3:23 or 3:73 gears in the rear end. I've never checked the tag. It revs around 2200 rpm at 75 mph. When I feel the need for speed.. 
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To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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funny you should mention that..there is one on market place up here. lol I'm actually going to ask my paint and body, metal fab friend how much it would cost to have him make a hood and side panels. I'm not really a fan of no hood. matching the paint will be pretty much impossible unless the seller has the recipe. lol |
To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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Originally Posted By GlutealCleft: nice looking truck. If it's going to go hoodless, I think it kind of needs a full roots supercharger on top just to complete the look. Not the performance, just the vibe.  Not a good idea on a small block ford. 2X the cost over a SBC. cast crank, 2 bolt mains, requires short distributor and cap. Underdrive the shit out of it and you can get away with the cast crank and two bolt mains. But still not cheap. Stock 289 with a mild cam will be plenty fun on that light weight car. |
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Originally Posted By ScottsGT: Not a good idea on a small block ford. 2X the cost over a SBC. cast crank, 2 bolt mains, requires short distributor and cap. Underdrive the shit out of it and you can get away with the cast crank and two bolt mains. But still not cheap. Stock 289 with a mild cam will be plenty fun on that light weight car. I might ever put it in a local weekly coffee and cars if I get it running before cruising season is over |
To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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it followed me home..I stole it.. it has wilwood 4 wheel disc brakes, c4 corvette IRS, custom built fully boxed frame, fuel cell under the truck bed, c4 trans. the "blown" engine turned out to be water out of 2 cylinders. so it may be salvageable. the guy I bought it from bought it with the "blown" engine. he's never driven it. he didn't know if the engine is stock or if it may have some speed parts. a few things I'm not fond of so there will be some mods done.  |
To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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Originally Posted By ScottsGT: Not a good idea on a small block ford. 2X the cost over a SBC. cast crank, 2 bolt mains, requires short distributor and cap. Underdrive the shit out of it and you can get away with the cast crank and two bolt mains. But still not cheap. Stock 289 with a mild cam will be plenty fun on that light weight car. Originally Posted By ScottsGT: Originally Posted By GlutealCleft: nice looking truck. If it's going to go hoodless, I think it kind of needs a full roots supercharger on top just to complete the look. Not the performance, just the vibe. Not a good idea on a small block ford. 2X the cost over a SBC. cast crank, 2 bolt mains, requires short distributor and cap. Underdrive the shit out of it and you can get away with the cast crank and two bolt mains. But still not cheap. Stock 289 with a mild cam will be plenty fun on that light weight car. Oh I just meant for the "look", even if you underdrove it and ran the boost super low. |
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Originally Posted By wildearp: Leg room . Actually once I got in it wasn't terrible. definitely not something I'd take on a long drive. |
To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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Nice. Hope it's easy to get running. Originally Posted By Striker: All kinds..if you're a midget, not 6'4". lol Actually once I got in it wasn't terrible. definitely not something I'd take on a long drive. Originally Posted By Striker: Originally Posted By wildearp: Leg room . Actually once I got in it wasn't terrible. definitely not something I'd take on a long drive. I was actually going to ask how much room they have. Lot of that stuff isn't great for big guys. I'm fat and just over 6' so I'm out. |
BikerNut:
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
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Originally Posted By GlutealCleft: Oh I just meant for the "look", even if you underdrove it and ran the boost super low. You realize that’s like having a wife with huge titties and never playing with them? I had a SBC with 6-71 under driven 6%. Even at that I still blew head gaskets. But I felt froggy, all I had to do was swap the gilmer belt pulleys around from crank to blower snout. |
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Originally Posted By ALASKANFIRE: Nice. Hope it's easy to get running. I was actually going to ask how much room they have. Lot of that stuff isn't great for big guys. I'm fat and just over 6' so I'm out. |
To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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Originally Posted By fttam: Awesome, sounds like it has some solid bones. 
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To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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Originally Posted By osprey21:  
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To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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Originally Posted By Striker: it does and it has a unique master cylinder that I've never seen before. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/135/756444175_1054094750790066_8669987572504-3816229.jpg Remote power brake booster. |
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Originally Posted By paul463: Remote power brake booster. |
To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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Originally Posted By paul463: Remote power brake booster. https://www.southeastchevyparts.com/products/1955-1957-ford-thunderbird-power-brake-midland-master-cylinder-brake-booster-remanufactured |
To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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Originally Posted By Striker: did some digging. It's a midland booster off a 1955-57 Thunderbird. https://www.southeastchevyparts.com/products/1955-1957-ford-thunderbird-power-brake-midland-master-cylinder-brake-booster-remanufactured Originally Posted By Striker: Originally Posted By paul463: Remote power brake booster. https://www.southeastchevyparts.com/products/1955-1957-ford-thunderbird-power-brake-midland-master-cylinder-brake-booster-remanufactured Early T birds were tight under the hood. I've seen larger dual diaphram boosters like that on older big trucks and school busses that had hydraulic brakes. Cool little rig. How is the wiring? I've seen a lot of cool old car builds where it seems like when they got to the wiring phase of the project they rushed it and got sloppy. |
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Originally Posted By paul463: Early T birds were tight under the hood. I've seen larger dual diaphram boosters like that on older big trucks and school busses that had hydraulic brakes. Cool little rig. How is the wiring? I've seen a lot of cool old car builds where it seems like when they got to the wiring phase of the project they rushed it and got sloppy. What I can see around the engine looks good. Wire loom, no marette connectors visible, a modern weather proof connector on a cylinder that has a hose that goes to the master cylinder. Any idea what it is? I thought vacuum storage but what would the electrical connection be for? I got a break in the rain so a friend and I did some more examining. There is just a bit of oil showing on the dip stick but it looks clean. Tried to turn it over using the crank bolt and it wouldn't move even a little bit. We then scoped the cylinders. 1 and 7 were rusty. 3 and 5 looked good. Did 2,4 and 6 and 4 and 6 were rusty. 6 being the worst of all. I'm going to put the atf,acetone mix in the cylinders and let it ferment for a few days and see if it frees up. Even if it does #6 cylinder is screaming machine shop.. I'm going to scope the second engine when the rain stops. it's still in the box of my truck wrapped in a tarp. |
To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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We didn't get to the second engine but we filled the cylinders on the seized engine with an atf, diesel mixture. We also pulled the valve covers for a look. Like I expected..there are aftermarket parts in it. I'm going to see if I can find out who built the engine.  Meanwhile..does anyone have an idea what this is. It has a hose that goes to the master cylinder "can". At first I thought it was a vacuum storage can but it has an electrical connection and a vacuum canister on the side like one on a distributor, except it isn't hooked to anything. 
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To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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Originally Posted By Striker: We didn't get to the second engine but we filled the cylinders on the seized engine with an atf, diesel mixture. We also pulled the valve covers for a look. Like I expected..there are aftermarket parts in it. I'm going to see if I can find out who built the engine. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/135/20260825_141504_1_-3817089.jpg Meanwhile..does anyone have an idea what this is. It has a hose that goes to the master cylinder "can". At first I thought it was a vacuum storage can but it has an electrical connection and a vacuum canister on the side like one on a distributor, except it isn't hooked to anything. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/135/20260825_140225_1_-3817097.jpg Electric vacuum pump for the power brakes? |
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Originally Posted By maslin02: Agreed. Healthy cam, or routing/install considerations? Originally Posted By maslin02: Originally Posted By paul463: Electric vacuum pump for the power brakes? Agreed. Healthy cam, or routing/install considerations? |
To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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Originally Posted By ScottsGT: They spent some money on those heads. Screw in rocker studs and roller tip rockers. Springs look like an upgrade to probably match the cam. I wonder if they installed hardened seats? I reached out to the guy that owned it before Doug that I bought it from. I'm hoping he can tell me more, like how the water got in the engine |
To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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Originally Posted By Tjcj: Cool truck . If you were closer I would give you the hood that came with my 31 ford . Won't work with a channeled car with a tunnel ram , duel Carbs and velocity stacks That is on my list. I'm not a fan of exposed engines. This is what it will look like some day. 
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To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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Originally Posted By Striker: Thank you for the offer.. That is on my list. I'm not a fan of exposed engines. This is what it will look like some day. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/135/ChatGPT_Image_Aug_23__2026__12_16_07_PM-3819943.jpg No problem. Ever make it to Washington it's yours . Will look great with a hood . Some cars can pull off a hood, others can't. My can't
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Originally Posted By Tjcj: Cool truck . If you were closer I would give you the hood that came with my 31 ford . Won't work with a channeled car with a tunnel ram , duel Carbs and velocity stacks 
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To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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Originally Posted By Tjcj: Guess I don't know how to upload a picture 
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To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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Originally Posted By Striker: You link worked. That is badass. I hope you don't mind me posting it. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/135/Untitled-1-3822279.jpg Absolutely not . Thanks . Yeah it's been pretty fun so far . Looked for a long time for an all ford build . Built 302 , C6 transmission, Ford 9" with a locker . |
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Originally Posted By Tjcj: Absolutely not . Thanks . Yeah it's been pretty fun so far . Looked for a long time for an all ford build . Built 302 , C6 transmission, Ford 9" with a locker . I wish it would stop raining so I can get at it.. |
To say that you are on thin ice would be a vastly optimistic view of your current situation. The ice has melted. You are being supported by the surface tension of water.
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I'm a Chevy guy also . When I was going to build one it was either gonna be a twin turbo LS or a 2JZ . Just to piss people off . But once I determined I didn't want a project to take 5 years because of lack of time , I decided to buy a semi finished one . And all ford just seamed right .
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