Questions on a 33 hot rod

[ggunter]

Hello all, I just finished my Roadster and my wife has been complaining ( well not really, she never complains about anything unlike the first mistake I made that complained about everything. I think she is just a little jealous.),that she wants a car and she likes the 33 hot rod. Sooooo.... this gives me a great excuse to build another car. Having wanted a Cobra all my life I impulse bought some of things that had I done a bit more research I would have saved some money. However I love my Roadster and wouldn't change anything on it. For the Hot Rod I am going with a pushrod small block Chevy, probably a 383, with an automatic from Blueprint. Vintage Air, power steering and I will also get the 8.8" Moser rear from FFR. I will also get the Wilwood brakes form FFR. Other then that can anyone make any recommendations as to what to get, or do, or what not to get or do. I found the whole build process very relaxing (except for body work, my hats off to those guys) I realize the hot rod is a bit more complicated but it's still a car. Thanks in advance.

[FF33rod]

There are two key decision you'll also have to make that are more determined by what you're after in the way of a look than anything else
Fenders - none, bike, or full. Do not recommend none, it's tough enough keeping the paint looking good with fenders never mind without
Top - coupe or roadster (or both). If you do opt for the hard top just fyi gen 2 no longer has an inner liner so it's tougher/more involved to finish off nice.

The 383 is a popular choice and BP is a great source.

Seats - I opted for leather, probably a wasted expense in that I expect to change the seat design and possibly colour so going to end up tossing the original covers. A bench seat is now offered, if you're considering find someone who has done it, not sure how well it sits. I thought I saw comments on fit over the transmission tunnel was strange.

Grill - depends on the look you want, along with if you want to run hood and side covers. Interesting that hood and side covers are now an extra expense. not too surprising I guess, costs have gone up.

I think the Wilwood upgrade is fantastic.

Costs - do you have a budget? a tight one? Be careful - you may not fall into this "trap/attitude" but I found that this being a hot rod I was looking quite often looking (and ordering) extra stuff which really added cost to the project. The extra costs were both in substituting better parts for the FFR ones and in additions - keyless ignition, door poppers, Hagan mirrors, steel braided hoses,.....

Have fun! I wonder if my wife would like a truck or a roadster?
Steve

[narly1]

I agree with Steve. Not that the Roadster isn't a modern day interpretation of the hot rod concept with lots of room for customization (personalization?) away from Carroll's original vision, the 33 hotrod is by it's very definition a CUSTOM car.

So hang onto your wallet tighter than the Roadster steering wheel, LOL.

[cob427sc]

Seeing as though this will be your wife's car, I would look at power brakes.

[NAZ]

A SBC 383 is a great choice and so is an auto trans, it'll free up some needed footbox space. But pay close attention to your choice of converter as you will want a much higher stall speed than most folks realize is needed. Also, if going with the Wilwood brakes I suggest you go straight to Hawk pads as the Wilwood pads have poor cold stopping power.

[wrp]

Electric assist steering

[JimLev]

Have to agree with NAZ and wrp. I used a 3000-3400(?) stall speed converter and the electric steering.
If you don’t want to spend a month or more doing fiberglass repair/fixes delete the top and windows.

[Brastic]

I have both a MKII Cobra with a 89 Mustang motor and T5 and a Gen 1 Hot Rod with a Coyote and T56. Both have IRS and I could not think of driving on the street without the IRS. Even though the Cobra has half the horst power of the Hot Rod, I prefer it on the street. The track would be a different thing. I love both cars and plan on keeping them both for a long time. I should do a write up about both cars because they offer different driving experiences. Before I do that, I need to get the QA1s installed. On new, flat roads, the Konis are OK, on the roads out here in Northern California, they are terrible. The two big things about the Cobra are mirror preferences of mine. First, you can put your elbow on the door. I have no idea why I love this so much, but is just seems like a natural thing to do. And second, the glorious sound of the Cobra side pipes. Ahh, the song of my people.

[ggunter]

I priced out the car from FFR with full fenders, running boards, roof, and hood. Wilwood brakes, A/C, power steering, three link, leather bench seat, the black slotted wheels and tires and everything that would make the car nice for her to drive. (She hates getting in and out of my Cobra, she's 71 but still a hot rod at heart.) The car priced just over 40K and I figure another 16k form BPE for motor and trans. and probably another five for parts upgrades along the way. I spent something like that on the Roadster. FFR seems to be about five months out for deliveries. I'm going to take her up to FFR in the next couple weeks and let her look at the one in the showroom and get a hands on feel and hopefully place the order then.

[JimLev]

Unless FFR added more cars the ‘33 in the showroom is topless. There is a big difference with the top on, you lose a lot of visibility and make it feel like you are in a cramped space.
I bought mine with the top and full fenders, I love the looks. Hopefully it will be registered this summer.
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