I am about to begin the process of turning my previously restored Model A into a late '30s style hot rod. I am wanting to use as much of the stock parts as possible. I bought the '29 back in August, it was restored over 30 years ago by the original owners son. It is still very presentable both inside and out however the engine is/was another matter being a complete basket case. I have found/bought a very nice engine out of a '30 that I am going to use, it already has a "B" head but it is otherwise a stock engine as far as I can tell. My 1st step is going to be installing the engine and then address the suspension and stance, in front the plan is to use a '33 thru '36 axle, reversed eye top leaf and the removal of #2, #3 & #4 leafs. If my calculations are correct, it should give me about a 4"drop. In the rear I am going to use a reversed eye Model T style spring, possibly removing a leaf or 2. I have a set of '34 Studebaker artillery wheels as well as a set of '35 Ford wires, I am leaning towards using the artilleries with 6:00's in front and 7:50's in the rear. O.k., now I am open to suggestions! I would like to hear from those that have done something similar, pictures would be a big help. I have done several searches and found the threads by doctorz and So-cal Tex but both of those were done with dropped axles. Pictures...
You are starting with a nice car, and it is a good initial plan, should be drivable quickly. You could check out Shane's (from Baileigh)build on here, it may be inspiring, and his car was much like yours when he started Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Just in case you didn't know, I think you will need adapters if running those artillery wheels on Model A drums
I'm redoing a 29'as well. I'm keeping mine original. Keep us updated on your progress! Looks like a nice car!
Well, it's been a while since I have updated this post. Engine is installed with lightened flywheel and V8 clutch, Float-a-mount's in rear only, Tattersfield intake and single large logo Stromberg 97. Finally got to hear it run yesterday and it sounded really good. I need to get the carb rebuilt, replace stock mechanical distributor with FS centrifugal advance and finish up the fuel line and linkage. Then on to getting the stance right. I am waiting for the reversed eye main leaf that I bought from Chassis Engineering to be delivered. I will assemble the front spring without #2, #3 & #4 leafs, should give me close to 2 1/2" drop. Decided to go with the '35 16" wires instead of the artillery's. I don't have the '33-'36 front axle yet, so will stay with the stock one for now. Still need to order tires from Coker, plan is to use 6.00's in front and 7.50's in rear. Next step will be to drive the shit out of it for awhile, at least until after the Stray Kat 500 in May!
Well, got a little more done over the weekend. Waiting on Uncle Max to get my Stromberg 97 back to me. I haven't got a lot more to do to complete the first stage of its resurrection! Clutch adjustment, rewire lights, modify front spring, finish painting the 16" wires & finish putting interior back together. Still have to order the FS distributor & tires from Coker.
Right now, the stock rear end. My main objective has been to get it drivable by the 1st of May. I have a '38 V8 transmission that I'm going to eventually install and will address the rear end at that time. Suggestions?
Well, it's been a couple of weeks since my last post so here's the update. I have the rebuilt 97 on, a big thank you to Uncle Max, he got it back to me in about a week and the cost was spot on. He even gave me a discount for being a hamb Alliance member. Got my FSI distributor in, it runs good but still have to do some tweaking on the carb adjustments and the timing. Installed seal beams and got all the lights working, clutch is adjusted and got my new Firestones mounted and installed. Got the reverse eye main leaf in and removed #2 & #3 springs. Almost ready to drive!! Here's some pictures...
Yes I had, thought about having Okie Joe do it but changed my mind. I am going to put a '33 thru '36 front axle under it. With the reversed eye main leaf and the 2 leafs removed the stock '33 - '36 axle will give me about 4 1/2" of drop total. All I have to do is find one. Glad you like it...
Looks really good. You already have the model T rear spring in it? I have a '25 model T spring in the back of my coupe. No reversed eyes. The 2nd leaf removed an changed the 1st leaf to a model A stock one to use it as a spacer. The T spring is a bit narrower as the A, so the 1st A leaf is a spacer to keep it in the crossmember right. It dropped my coupe 2.5 inches in the back. Front is a 4 inch dropped axle with stock spring. This is how my stance turned out with 6/16 in the front and 7/16 in the back. I don't know if you can go much lower than 2.5 or 3 inches, cause at some point the wishbones will hit the frame. With 2.5 on mine it still works, but I think the sedan is heavier in the back than a coupe.
Thanks hollenteufel. No, I still have the stock 'A' rear spring in it. Current plan is to use the 'T' rear spring with the 'A' top leaf, I want to drop the rear somewhere around 2 to 3 inches. What year spring should I be watching for? B.t.w., you've got a nice looking Coupe!
Thanks about my coupe. I used the 1919 - 1925 T spring from snyders. It's the T 3824-A7 with 8 leafes I used. http://www.snydersantiqueauto.com/leaf-springs
It's an area where they used to produce bombs. The house where the bombs were loaded was surrounded by those things. I always thought it was some kind of bunker but it was for safety. If something exploded, those things had the effect, that the explosion goes up in the air and didn't affect the houses in the surroundings.
Hey Jim, found your thread! I haven't been on in awhile, yep, behind! Lots of good convo here, soking some of it up. You driving her from home to the 500, or trailering? One of the things that have concerned me, now that I'm going to be going banger, is travel speeds and getting run over by the Ice cream man. Input?
Morning Chris... The plan is to trailer it up to Bartlesville. I had thought about going with a T5 but that would require a lot of modification, I liked the idea of having an overdrive. I also looked into using the later model Ford truck transmission, it's a 3 speed with overdrive but these are very, very hard to find and require a lot of modification also. I settled on using a '32 thru '39 transmission, I picked up a '34 trans at a real affordable price, it's not going to help with the road speed but it will give me a syncro'ed transmission. I will most likely change the ring and pinion to get a little more out of it. Mitchell makes a real nice overdrive conversion for the A, either a od transmission or a aux trans but they're pretty pricey. The trans is around $1300.00 and the aux trans is $2300.00. I haven't put the '34 trans in yet, I still have to get the adapter ($500.00). I plan on doing that after Dewey. I still might go with the Mitchell transmission and sell the '34, it's going to require more thought! The best that I can figure is a good running engine should be able to cruise at 60 mph with bursts upward of the high 60's
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