Photo: American Gasser
The name Tudor has its origins in a couple of different places. It was the name of a prominent English royal dynasty for a time; it's the name of one of Europe's most fascinating historical styles of architecture and is a realtively common first name in both Eastern and Western Europe. It's also the name of everyone's pal here at autoevolution, Tudor Serban; cheers, buddy! But in America, a Tudor is just an old Ford. Still, this 302 V8-swapped Ford Tudor made by American Gasser in Saginaw, Michigan, is more special than the rest.
In its 1949 iteration, built to be the first Ford passenger vehicle since the start of World War II, the Tudor (Two-Door) was the Fairlane and the Fusion's G.I. Bill-beneficiary patriarch. In the era before V8s became the most desirable engine layout in America, the Tudor was notable for sporting an option for a 3.9-liter Flathead V8 instead of the standard 3.7-liter inline-six. It also had the option of Ford's first passenger vehicle-spec automatic transmission, the Ford-O-Matic, also called the Merc-O-Matic, the Cruise-O-Matic, and the Turbo-Drive, at different points in time.
Well, consider what American Gasser did to this 1955 Tudor as updating the internals to a slightly more contemporary drivetrain with better suspension components. Although, that said, the mid-80s were ever such a long time ago these days. Not that there's anything wrong with the 302-cubic inch (5.0-L) small-block V8 that's under the hood of this car now. But when more Coyote motors are floating around than most people know what to do with, the decision to keep things old school speaks to the build American Gasser wanted out of this old Ford.
It took some real blood, sweat, and tears to get the old motor out and custom-mount the new one in. With a Fitch Go Street throttle body and a Be Cool aluminum radiator helping everything work harmoniously, a car you'd once think twice about taking on the interstate can now ride in the left lane going 25 over the speed limit just like every other knucklehead on the road at 3 am on a Saturday. Funnily enough, President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally established the Interstate Highway System the year after this Ford left the dealer lot.
All this power and torque is fed to a Ford AOD four-speed overdrive automatic gearbox that was a spiritual successor to the old Ford-O-Matic slushbox. With the benefit of an 8.8-inch rear end out of a 1994 Mustang and four-wheel disk brakes front and rear, this Tudor is a solid mix of new, old, and very old hardware. But when it all comes together, it doesn't matter what era all the parts in this restomod come from. It all just kind of makes sense.
Well, consider what American Gasser did to this 1955 Tudor as updating the internals to a slightly more contemporary drivetrain with better suspension components. Although, that said, the mid-80s were ever such a long time ago these days. Not that there's anything wrong with the 302-cubic inch (5.0-L) small-block V8 that's under the hood of this car now. But when more Coyote motors are floating around than most people know what to do with, the decision to keep things old school speaks to the build American Gasser wanted out of this old Ford.
It took some real blood, sweat, and tears to get the old motor out and custom-mount the new one in. With a Fitch Go Street throttle body and a Be Cool aluminum radiator helping everything work harmoniously, a car you'd once think twice about taking on the interstate can now ride in the left lane going 25 over the speed limit just like every other knucklehead on the road at 3 am on a Saturday. Funnily enough, President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally established the Interstate Highway System the year after this Ford left the dealer lot.
All this power and torque is fed to a Ford AOD four-speed overdrive automatic gearbox that was a spiritual successor to the old Ford-O-Matic slushbox. With the benefit of an 8.8-inch rear end out of a 1994 Mustang and four-wheel disk brakes front and rear, this Tudor is a solid mix of new, old, and very old hardware. But when it all comes together, it doesn't matter what era all the parts in this restomod come from. It all just kind of makes sense.
Google News