This may be heresy, but...

[erock5000]

As the title reads, this may raise a few eyebrows.

I'm considering building a '33 Hot Rod, but I'm really more of a '32 fan than the '33. I can see from the product literature that the body is 3" wider than a stock '33, plus I can tell from the photos that the floor, door sills, lower engine compartment side covers, and firewall are different than most street rod bodies. So my question is this: has anyone considered or heard of anyone using a different body on the FFR hot rod chassis? I found a 32 3 window body that comes without a floor or the wood inner bracing typical of most 'glass street rod bodies - this looks like it would be the easiest one to use as a starting point.

Aside from the basic dimensional differences, I'm wondering if the door and trunk mounting points, firewall location, etc are the same or close enough to work with minor mods, or if this is a bigger headache than would be worth the effort.

Thanks,
Eric

[xatudor]

Have you considered just changing the grill to a 32 style grill, this would be the easiest way, especially if you don't plan on using the running boards or engine side covers.

[Carolina Hot Rod]

interesting thought. Don't know where you are located, but you need to go somewhere to see a chassis without the body to see how difficult it would be. Depending on your talents, just about anything can be done, by I'm sure it would not be easy. I have at times thought how cool it would be to have a 57 corvette body on the hot rod or the roadster frame. but I'm sure it would surpass my skills to make that happen. I will be starting a 33 build in a couple of weeks in Aiken, SC. If you are somewhere near, you are welcome to come look.

Matt Arns

[Arrowhead]

The issue will be the upright grill of the '32. The '33 grill works on this frame as it's sloped back at quite an angle which allows room for the front suspension. If you mounted a '32 grill in the same location but straight up and down, it would make the hood extremely long and out of proportion.

One of my favorite sayings "Just because you can doesn't mean you should"

[myjones]

As the title reads, this may raise a few eyebrows.
I'm considering building a '33 Hot Rod, has anyone considered or heard of anyone using a different body on the FFR hot rod chassis?
or if this is a bigger headache than would be worth the effort.
Thanks,Eric

Eric
There has already been one pick-up made from it and one just the opposite where Glenn put a vette driveline under his and one by Ira where it's all bimmer underneath. Mine and one other have a modern hemi and there are others with old hemis and even a turbo V6 out there. The one constant about the 33 is that the buyers are more likely to push the envelope so don't expect very many Heresy type comments, you will mostly get the go for it IF your skills are up to the task.
DB
Hemi33

[erlihemi]

I haven't run across a "production" fiberglass body thats an "easy" bolt on. Such as Willy's, plymouth, etc. Not sure the 32 nose is aesthetically correct per arrowheads post. I have considered the 37 ford nose and making my own hardtop. If I were to stumble upon a particular late 40's coupe I might be convinced to radically modify a steel body and mount it on the stage one kit. Anything beyond that I'm not ready to divulge, but later 30's to 40's coupes have potential due to the wider body.

[erock5000]

Thanks for the input everyone. The 32 and 33 differ in a lot more ways than just the grille, so that's why I was wanting to use a 32 body rather than try to modify the 33 body. The overall width and door sill heights would be a challenge, but not insurmountable, I wouldn't think. Interesting point about the grille and hood length though - it's hard to tell from the literature how closely the grille is mounted to the front a-arm brackets. It seems like the biggest headaches would be the some of the "smaller" dimensional differences, such as the firewall location, door and deck lid hinge mount locations, etc. I'm starting to think it may not be in my best interest to reinvent the wheel at this point.

[erock5000]

Nice build!

[erock5000]

I'm on the north side of Atlanta, so you're only a few hours away. Could be fun road trip... Thanks for the invite!

[David Hodgkins]

One thing you need to know is that the '33 is an interpretation of the '33 body style. It's longer, lower, and wider. The chassis is a modern tubular steel space frame, not just two frame rails. And has been mentioned, the angle of the grill does serve to mask the front suspension, which completely different than a "standard" '32 or '33.

"Standard" chassis:


FFR chassis:



The overall "starting point" look:



That being said, who knows what it would look like with an upright grill? I'm thinking it would have to be a custom one though, because once again, you're dealing with an overall custom shape, not in the original proportions.

Also mentioned above, modifying these cars is definitely NOT frowned on, so if you have a vision and the skills and/or money to make it happen, I say go for it! Maybe a modern interpretation of something like this?:




PS Welcome to the forum!

[ehansen007]

That green one is sweet! Still love the hot rods. My next one will be a rat rod for sure. Yes, I said it. THE NEXT ONE.

[In33anity]

The '32 Cowl is much narrower and a much tighter radius at the flanks. I started with raw castings for a Hallock Windshield designed for the '32. Took a considerable effort (read dozens of hours for two of us) to get it spread, filled, ground, ends milled and hand filed to get it to fit, but ultimately it did! But I was not looking to build a '32, but rather a Hallock style windshield for the '33.











Similarly, I'm running a 4" thick intercooler in front of a custom radiator and needed support from underneath for the weight. I integrated a pair of Brookeville '32 repro frame horns. I spent a lot of time to get the front slope to look like a continuation of the top FFR rail from the profile view. I kept the FFR '33 Grille and a 26 degree slope back. The horns also provided a convenient mounting point for the front bumpers I bent up. The FFR '33 is really a great platform to build it however you want and there are dozens of examples on the two forums of incredible craftsmanship, but be careful of the can of worms you open up as one thing always needs to another and be prepared to just hang on (much like the child's book "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie it'll ask for a Glass of Milk.") I'm very close to getting mine done sans bodywork and still amazed at how much time each remaining detail is taking.

[erlihemi]

Gotta have a good supply of milk n cookies for sure!