Projects 60's Era Street/Strip Model A Coupe

Driveshaft Hoop/Loop:

The hoop is fabbed out of 2" x 1/4" steel.





The reason it has that forward jog is to get the hoop in the correct position on the shaft. The NHRA rules from '64, or so, state that the hoop has to be within 6 inches of the front U-joint.

 

Guess we know what is considered to be the weak part of the build... the driveshaft!

 

I don't know what will be the weak link (probably those bellhousing mounts), but if all hell breaks loose and the shaft goes, at least I won't pogo the car or blow the floor apart!

 

Can't be to safe, I seen a 66 chevelle with a scattershield, stick 2/3 of a muncie through the shifter hole in the floor, flywheel came apart, took the starter and everything with it. This was on the street with slicks.

 

Yea, I have two hoops. One at the required 6 inch and another at around 12 inches. My driveshaft is short but they can do lots of damage when things go south. Brent, the bar, brackets and hoop look fantastic.

 

Am I allowed to like the fact it has obvious MIG welds on the panhard and frame brackets like a 60's car would?

I get tired of TIG welds, they lack character and my experience strength in a lot of applications.

 

Good grief! I can't imagine that. The 327 is pretty basic (though I do have a .30 over one sitting in storage that might get the treatment) so I don't imagine anything THAT severe. I haven't purchased a clutch and flywheel, yet, or even done any homework but... like everything else - they have to be thrash capable.

Smart!

Thanks, Mike!

Yeah, you'll never forget the racket they make when something lets go. I had one break on an OT 4x4 rig. It made a racket and put a nice hump in the bed floor.

 

Lots of thoughts in those pieces

 

This build is amazing, so much great fab work and ideas. So whats sacrilegious about using a Hurst stick? Or does it need tweaking which is sacrilegious? There's loads of them, cut it, but I do really like the diamond profile shifter you're using, so much that I may have one in my 40 ;-) (I'm a blacksmith, so forging a shifter would be a really nice link without doing anything really corny like using blacksmith tongs for a shifter..)

 

The sacrilege comment was kind-of tongue-in-cheek. The shifter is a Long's unit and they have their own "sticks" or shift levers. Theirs say LONG on them. So, I just imagine one of the guys from Long shrugging their shoulders when they see a Hurst on there...

But, hey, Hurst makes like a hundred different levers. It's going to happen.

Still, I really dig that 60s, no-name, diamond-shaped lever. Fits the style, I think

 

Model A Frame with 1932 Rear Frame Horns:

Putting frame horns on the back of an A chassis has been on my mind for a long time. I've always liked when guys bobbed the rear horns on a 1932 chassis so they poked out just beyond the body.

Obviously, running a stock, Model A rear crossmember complicates things. Ryan and I spent a while bouncing ideas around on how to overcome the issues. I think we've come up with a good plan; I'm excited to share it as this is something I believe compliments the car pretty well.

This pic is a teaser... sorry about that! I'll get detail pics when it's all together.

 

Good stuff as always

 

...Man that's some mighty nice detailing going on there @-Brent- and Everything looks Rust free and Solid on the Body...the floor panel looks OEM......Looking back to the beginning solid was an exercise in very critical metal addition and subtraction...Nice Hotrod...

 

Thanks, Tim!

That's a hell of a compliment, Stogy. Thank you.

 

Something Different - Model A Frame with 1932 Rear Frame Horns:

Here are the detail shots.


These pieces came off an aftermarket frame that someone lopped off the last 3 feet or so. When I found them for sale, 90-minutes south of me, I knew they were perfect for this idea I had mulling around. The guy had said he was just about to scrap them, which I believe because they were sitting in a pile of scrap in front of his garage door. Haha. Since I was the only one who showed interest, he sold them to me with some other cast-off frame parts for $20. (He did try to get me to haul the rest of the scrap, too.)

After bouncing some ideas around, we decided to run them straight back from the frame rails.


We could've gone two ways: bolt-on or weld. We had some good ideas for each. However, bolt-on won out. Also, because of the shape of the 32 rear frame horns, we had to come up with a transition that looked right. I think Ryan did that well by extending the lip of the crossmember and shaping the front of the frame horn to match.


Does anyone recognize this tab? It's from a Model A radius rod. To eliminate side movement, we put triangulation in and used the same tubing with forged ends as was used with the dash bar and brake reinforcement.


Putting an ear on the outside was something I thought would help reduce some side-to-side movement. There's a lot of flex in that crossmember. It was added after the triangulation, and it did help remove movement noticeably.


The last piece added was this crossmember reinforcement gusset. This took a bunch of flex out of that area. Ryan kept the gusset as shallow as possible, so it works but also allows for space as the spring settles and such.

 

Are you going to run a 32 fuel tank?

 

I've often thought about the rear crossmember needing a gusset in an A frame - good to see that you guys pulled this one off so successfully.

This build looks better and better each time there's a new post, thank-you for sharing you dream with us @-Brent-

 

No.

I should've mentioned what the actual plan is. Rear horns stop just pass the end of the body and we'll make a nerf bar bumper.

Something kinda like this:

 

Beefy!

 

Until the flexibility issue presented itself, I hadn't ever thought of it.

The gusset helps because the other side is boxed and corner-gusseted. The gusset tying into that helps, a lot, but there's still a little flex.

The back of the body and the frame horns will tie together with a body mount bolt on either side.

They'll support each other and I assume any movement will be gone.

 

Rear Spring Perches on Pontiac Axle - Finish Welding:

Inching closer. Dime by dime.

 

Rear Shock Mounts:

While most things are shut down, the A continues on.

(Side note - I hope YOU ALL DO THE SAME. Whether it's a hot rod project, home project, health, gaining a skill, starting a business that solves some problems - I hope you do something that has you and your family ending up in a better spot when this whole thing clears out. I don't want to derail my own thread but I did want to put that sentiment out.

I've made a huge pivot in life and business since the outset of this debacle because I refuse to let this hurt my family economically. It's stressful but it feels better than sitting around being a victim to circumstance.

Rant over - back to fun stuff.)

With the rear crossmember beefed up and the frame horns all set, we turned to the upper rear shock mounts. They're fabricated from 1/4" steel and tap tube. They're beefy.



Next were the lower mounts. This idea was from Ryan. He had saved some rear radius rods that he'd gotten from @bobbleed to use for a chopper springer front end.



A little clean-up showed these Ford stampings. I've come to learn from @Tim that these stampings are all over. Many different parts have them. I've been around old Ford parts for a long time, yet somehow this info escaped me. So, I'm sitting over here like a kid thinking, "How neat is that?!"



The seam was welded.



Again, another piece of tap tube was used so the shock mount stud could thread in and would be replaceable should there be a need.



Once everything was welded in. The Monroe shocks were mounted. The rears are Monroe 33183. I spent a few hours searching around to find shocks that would fit our set-up perfectly. A big plus was how inexpensive they were.







The view from the back.





Next up, we'll see the 32 heavy that @thunderbirdesq worked his magic on.

Keep well, everyone!

Best,
Brent

 

Very cool

 

Perfectly executed building skills and foresight, enjoying this build

 

That's a hell of a compliment. Thank you.

 

Best frame horns ever! I like the last couple posts, way slick

 

Thanks, Trent! Things are really starting to come together. It's surreal.

I'm really looking forward to getting it home so I can finish it. There's still a bunch of the plan left.

 

Here's something neat.

One of HAMB's talented artists, @Tim , did a neat time-lapse on Instagram that was inspired by the coupe.

Check it out: https://www.instagram.com/p/B99zCSlHnS3/?igshid=ua0zsvuj5jvy

 

Little sneak-peek:

Taking a short break from work and I figured I'd post a small update.

Here's the axle with its standard drop. Initially, I figured I'd keep it this way as it would get me a little lower than an A beam.


Seeing the placement of the wheel and the stance change got me thinking. The overall look was improved when the wheels were pulled in. I've always loved the heavy axle and wanted to keep it in the car.


I'd chatted with @thunderbirdesq about a plan for the axle. We wanted to drop it and get it as narrow as possible. We gave him a target width, and he worked his magic.


It is uniquely shaped. I love it. I think it will fit the vibe of the car, well. Along with dropping it, Andy fixed/set up the camber.


It's 2" over stock, so I'll likely run the reversed eye on the spring.


The spindles were sent over to a buddy of Ryan's to get cleaned up. When they came back, and the crud was cleaned off, he noticed some torch marks on one of them. Luckily, I had another set so we'll get the spare cleaned up. Then it's onto setting up the front axle, steering arms, and shocks.

 

Metal Art Indeed...Hotrod Nasty Good...

...And some moving ink...Cool