1936 Terraplane Help

Unknown

Hello to all who are reading this. My name is Jon and I have 2 1936 Terraplanes. I want to rebuild one of them like a hot rod and the other as original as possible but I have no idea where to start. I have one of them with me which is the worse of the two and I want to hot rod it. I know that I am going to tear it down to bear bones but would like to know a few things first and if anyone could help me I would appreciate it. Can you tell me what model this car is? Can anyone tell me the frame dimensions? I have scoured the internet and found useful information about the car but nothing with dimensions. I am having trouble attaching the pictures but if you click the link it should take you to the HAMB where I have 4 pictures.



http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=286275

Richard E.

The car pictured is probably a series 62 custom brougham. I say that because it has two tail lights and the Deluxe model, series 61 (the cheaper car) only had one tail light. The custom also had the dissapearing wind wing, a voltage regulator and some other extras. Look on the firewall on the drivers side for the ID plate. The VIN will either start with 62 or 61. There is a growing group of '36T owners who I am sure will be happy to help you. I just finished a "body off of frame" restoration of a '36T series 62 4 dr sedan, back to original. Finding parts can be hard for this year, so you may just want to use the worse off car as a donor for the one that you want to restore to original and then decide if you want to hot rod what is left.

Unknown

Richard E. wrote:

The car pictured is probably a series 62 custom brougham. I say that because it has two tail lights and the Deluxe model, series 61 (the cheaper car) only had one tail light. The custom also had the dissapearing wind wing, a voltage regulator and some other extras. Look on the firewall on the drivers side for the ID plate. The VIN will either start with 62 or 61. There is a growing group of '36T owners who I am sure will be happy to help you. I just finished a "body off of frame" restoration of a '36T series 62 4 dr sedan, back to original. Finding parts can be hard for this year, so you may just want to use the worse off car as a donor for the one that you want to restore to original and then decide if you want to hot rod what is left.

I plan on hot rodding the one that I have with me. I think it will be easier and I plan on keeping all of the parts for the one I want to make original.

Uncle Josh

Congrats. I have a 36T also. Original and on the road but could use some work.



Re hot rodding. Are you after power or reliability. Would be nice if you could use a Hudson engine. (The people at the shows will talk with you longer)



The big 6 (30inch block) and 8 (32 inch block) is a tight squeeze, but a Hudson Jet motor (202) is about the same size as the 212 Splasher (24 inch block) and has full-pressure oil and is available with the Twin H carb option.



I wouldn't put too much more torque on that rear end as it tended to shear the ring-gear bolts as it is. Maybe use something stronger and save that rear end and tranny for the stock one. It's a little slow at 4.56 anyway. And save the motor. It's a good one and put out 98 HP when the bent 8 Fords were struggling to put out 65.



Richard is right. The 36 is one of a kind body-wise so don't throw anything away.



To post pics here, hit the 'go advanced' button here, manage attachments, and browse to your pic and upload. Must be smaller than 97kb in jpeg.



These are the only 2 sedans on the road in NY State. The green one is mine and the yellow one Don Lamb's.

Richard E.

Uncle Josh, wow two '36T's in one place, a rare sight. I think that the yellow one was at Auburn for the National in 2007? I acquired a jet engine to hold in reserve in case I think that I need a more modern engine in my '36T. However, I am quite satisfied so far with the performance. I put the 3:50 gearing available from the Railton Club in the rear end. This way I can restore the Electric Hand. I am in the process of doing that right now. I doubt that I could use the '36 trans with the Jet engine. However it is a good option for the car. I even found one with twin H and an aluminum head. I haven't torn into it yet to see what kind of shape that it is in. As I said, I am quited satisfied with the performance. I only have 500 miles on my total rebuild and restoration, so I still don't even have it broken in. Great looking '36T's!