Sunday night I blogged a little about Billy Reichenberg's 1951 For Sedan built by Zoomers Automotive of Denver Colorado. This car is a work of art, and has just turned out to be a marvel from the guys at Zoomers. I'm so happy that I can write and publish on Lee's website and I have been working very hard on both Saving Dave Dot Com and Zoomers Automotive Dot Com.
The sleeper special – Billy Reichenberg’s 1951 For Tudor Sedan that has been featured in the February 2011 edition of Street Rodder Magazine. Built by Zoomers Automotive in Denver Colorado, with Lee Bumgardner directing the build, and Travis Kling preforming all the hard work necessary to bring this project to life. This car started out as a bone stock restored 1951 Ford Sedan with an original flat head V8 engine.
Billy’s first car was a 1951 Ford, and wanting another car just like his first ride, he bought the car back in 2002 from an owner in Kentucky. Eventually he grew tired of driving it, with the drum brakes, original steering, suspension, and original engine, which left a lot to be desired, as the car was under powered coupled with poor handling and stopping power.
When it came time to redo his vintage car, Billy brought it to Zoomers, and Billy, Lee, and Travis teamed up with other shops in the industry to build one sweet ride.
The details of this car are that the frame and drive line were replaced with an Art Morrison built chassis and suspension complete with Ride Tech air ride suspension, including a four link rear, and independent front suspension. Power train was upgraded to a Ron Zeller built 1957-model 392-cubic-inch hemi engine with a Holley 750-cfm double-pumper carburetor dyno-tuned to the engine for maximum performance. Transmission is a Tremec TKO-600 6-speed manual, and the differential is a Ford 9-inch fitted with 4.11 gears, giving the black Ford the best of both worlds with plenty of power off the line, and over drive for the highway. Climate controls are achieved with a Vintage Air unit fitted under the dash, with the only modification to the dashboard being the Vintage Air controls neatly inserted into the drivers left side, the vents are beautifully hidden, leading all but the most discerning eye, to believe that the dash has been untouched. Rounding out the list of upgrades to the Ford are a set of Halibrand wheels (16x7 and 17x8) shod in Goodyear rubber (215/70R16 and 255/50R17), a set of four Wilwood 11-inch vented rotors with six piston calipers providing the stopping power to all four wheels.
The body was left untouched on the exterior, yet the floor pan, firewall, and rear inner fender wells required extensive modification to fit the frame, engine, transmission, and tires, allowing the car to be lowered to the ground at car shows, but giving a superb ride on the road. Once the sheet metal modifications were complete, the car was sent to Color Works to be painted by Jeff Showalter and crew. Back from paint the detail work began as final assembly got underway with Lee and Travis using a number of services provided by other shops to give the sedan it’s original look. Upholstery was done by Autoweave of Denver with Lee picking the Lizard skin and vinyl fabrics, along with the correct thickness thread giving the Ford a factory original look. Seats although left original were fitted with power controls. Steering wheel was sent to Quality Restorations in Poway California and sized down by three inches, and attached to a Vintage Series Flaming River column keeping in line with the factory original appearance of the car. Hurst shifter was modified as well so that it would work with the bench seat as well as offer a subdued appearance. Included in the long list of upgrades to the Ford are a set of Halibrand wheels (16x7 and 17x8) shod in Goodyear rubber (215/70R16 and 255/50R17), a set of four Wilwood 11-inch vented rotors with six piston calipers providing the stopping power to all four wheels.
Details and photos on the build can be found at Zoomers website as well as Saving Dave Dot Com’s Auto pages.
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