Technical Lost and don't know where to begin

Build your library before you build your car. Get all the information you can on the subject and read each book from cover to cover. The Tardel/Bishop book as previously mentioned is a good one. I would sit down and try to find a finished car of your body style that you really like. Browse through all the old hot rod and rod & custom magazines until you find one. Once you find something that you really like then you have a model or an image to start building your car towards. With that image firmly in your mind now you want to start at the beginning. That means frame rails, front, rear and centre cross members front and rear axle ***emblies and of course choice of drivetrain components. It is a lot easier when you have a goal in mind to work towards.

 

Tear it all the way down, bag and label everything well, when it sits for a year after you've lost interest, I'll come buy it for 1/4 what you paid.

Just ****in with you, get it running and driving as it is, even if it's yard driving, then get it on the road. You'll learn alot, then keep reading, then start collecting 32 frame parts.

Not many people have driven a stock 30 coupe, I havent. Take that opportunity before tearing it apart. You might like it more than you expect and change the direction/era of your build.

 

Do not worry about all those that tell you what direction to go. You only have to please yourself, but definately get it running and driving as is as you make your own plan what way to go with it. I do love stock cars but hotrodding is not about stock now is it? You may even find someone that would have done most of what you want as far as body and frame that would trade just to keep it stock and put you ahead on your build once you find a direction. Just so many options make sure it is what you want. Good luck with your build.

 

Me too, but can you imagine the carnage? If these guys are bunching up over rodding a Model A coupe, how much would they cry if it were something even semi-rare?

 

Look around you...clapped out pile of rust Model A bodies needing repro panels fro everything below the door handles are expensive. Damn few solid ones at any price. Then go to Hershey...slightly tired or grade B older restorations are surprisingly cheap. A great many of these were started from solid cars...

 

I support getting it going then modify.

Figure all the parts you tear off will be resold to get other cars going, its not like you're gonna s**** model A parts.

 

Ok---porkand****** ---what does LMFAO mean? 3windowlarry solved WIP (thank you, that one was driving me nuts) As for the model A in question, nice car to start with, looks to be complete. I've subscribed to this thread so keep us posted. Enjoy the build. BILL RINALDI

 

Laughing My Fricking **** Off
he could have been ROFLMAO Rolling On Floor Laughing My Fricking **** Off

 

No **** it means "laughing my ****ing *** off" I was raised by ruffians what else can I say.

When I was working in Mexico I had a family working with me that had a gaggle of kids and they were from a religious background. One of there children was Downs Syndrome (they were all ****oloid to me before Steven). They had some very religious visitors one time, and Steven came walking out of the brush holding a small Blue Racer. I reached out and slapped his hand without thinking and said in a stern voice. "Steven put that f. . .king snake down." He put his arms out for me and as I was holding him and explaining that some snakes could really hurt you I overheard his mother saying, to the visiting people, "yea he is is a little course, but he wouldn't let anything happen to my children."

Too damned old to change now I guess.

 

Nobody's mentioned cost yet. Can you afford your project? If this is your first foray into hot rods, after you decide what you want to build then try to figure out the price of all those wonderful parts in those catalogs. Add it up, double it and add another 10 % and you may come out with a finished car. Don't even think about your own labor, that's just gonna cover the hard costs and subbed out stuff like paint, interior, etc. See that truck in my avatar, got it nearly free, figured I could build it for 10 Gs, nope triple that and It's not my first goround, so anticipate every thing before starting, and you may find its better to sell that to a restorer and pickup someone's unfinished project for cheap.. Good luck, Ralphie

 

Sorry, I was giving the cleaned up version, didn't want to offend someone, you know.

 

Be sure to think about the paperwork early (there is a ton of information in the archives, much of it incorrect). Do you have a ***le for your present project? Talk with your local DMV (and get names and take notes). Remember if you are going to buy a reproduction frame it won't have a VIN number stamped into it and it is illegal to do it yourself. You should also add your general location to your profile as some answer will depend on your general location. Good luck.

Charlie Stephens

 

Well I got an answer for those offended but it is along the same lines and Steven and the snake and I have used u my bad word allotment for the day.

By the way Steven never got snake bit I can't say the same for myself, but when it happened he had the appropriate vocabulary for the situation and was the first one to tell his mom and dad that I had been bitten by that freakin snake. Fine young man, I wish I knew more people like him.

 

I built my first Model A hot rod back in the 70s when I was teenager. I knew nothing about building a hot rod, but what I lacked in knowledge and skills, I made up for with confidence that I could do it. I went around ac***ulating swap meet cast-offs (like split wishbones at a time when "everyone" was switching to the new-fangled 4 bars of Pete & Jake). I drove the car to the NSRA nats in 1976, entry number 1998. Good memories...

 

First cars are the best hands down, the mistakes, the victories. all good.

You maybe screw a thing or two up along the way and it costs a little bit, money or time or both but education isn't free and it is priceless.

 

First and foremost have a plan as to what you want and how your going to use it. Plan on long cross country trips using freeways dictates drivetrain choices. Like the looks of severely chopped or channeled hotrods yet your 6' 5" tall, you'll grow to hate it or redo it by the choices made. Have a plan, make mistakes, have fun.

 

Boy does this thread bring back memories of where I was two years ago...

My input for what its worth, be a realist in terms of what you can get done. There is a reason eBay is full of unfinished projects...

If you want a '30 on deuce rails you better have fabrication skills.

My priority was HAVING/DRIVING a finished rod and so I switched to getting someone to build it, best decision I made. That was best for ME, might not be for you. Either way best of luck. Check my sig thread for more details on what happened.

PS: the discussion about starting with a complete car...my input, do it. I bought a nice complete car for just north of 8k, sold the motor, fenders and other parts for $6500 and had a nice body for $2k. Battling a rusted out body to leave better cars for restorers is a personal decision but not for me. There are a LOT of them out there.

 

LOL....LMFAO.......FTF...... Jesus, I think Facebook has invaded----WTF?

 

The "easy" way is go with a ch***is like this http://hotshoehotrods.com/a-plus.html There are a few shops doing these. You don't need to cut the body up and save yourself a lot of head banging. And there is still plenty left to be done. Model a on 32 rails from scratch to be right isn't easy for a first build.

 

wip is "work in progress". And that is what 95% of our cars are because once it's completely done you will probably start again on another one. At least half the fun is in building.