Stock rear end with a V8

[Loren]

Back in the late 1950s early 1960s all the pre war racers were deep into middle age.

The old car hobby was getting started. As a little kid I was really into Model T Fords and I had every Floyd Clymer book on them that was in print.

My Dad humored me but he liked Model As so we played with both. The added bonus were the race cars. For years we went to the Signal Hill climb just to hear and see them run.

An old time racer Joe Gemsa took all of his pre war knowledge of what worked and what didn't and built the tooling and patterns for an Aluminum Overhead Conversion for a Model A/B/C (1928-34). They were really quite nice actually. There were some older guys who had several of the pre war designed heads and they got offended that now anybody could own an Overhead. A bitter campaign ensued over the "Purity" of having a car with one of his heads. It got so bad that people he considered friends shunned him. Gemsa finally retreated and didn't come to shows and swap meets anymore. If you saw him and asked about a head he blew you off unless you knew one of his better friends. It was really tragic what happened. The upshot half a century later is all the detractors are dead and a new generation are "discovering" the incredibly rare Gemsa head. These things are now literally priceless.

So while a modern V8 powered engine swap car is not my cup of tea. I know that one day it will be a "Period Correct Hot Rod." It's just not from the period I wish to dwell in.

Los_Control is on to something, the SBC's day has come and gone just like the Cadillac OHV V8's day before it and the Ford Flathead V8 before that.

An old friend of mine told me stories about how he made money racing Model Ts that had an Essex 4 engine swapped in!

I actually witnessed a very well driven very powerful Essex 4 race car at a Vintage Car race in Reno. It was very impressive! (both the driver and the car) I can only imagine a light weight Model T with one in it. So look around and enjoy the view, there may be row after row of swapped V8s around now but one day they maybe Tesla powered.

[Bob Riding]

 Ok Loren...choose!