Projects 60's Era Street/Strip Model A Coupe

Brent will do btw your 27 roadster is very tempting

 

I can bring it out in a few weeks.... haha.

 

very nice Brent,
I like the supporting of the column separate from the dash board... really saves on the lower dash flange...
looks rigid, gonna last...

 

Model A Coupe Tube Rear Bumper/Spreader:

There's a story about how this bumper came to be vs what was originally planned. I'll have tell the story, later, along with some better pics.

For now, here's a sneak peek.

 

So so good

 

I've been trying to decide if I want to spend the money for piecrust or not and you go and post this pic! This is a awesome build, I'm getting a lot of ideas.

 

I drove out to pick up the car. We have a few things to wrap up (so we pulled the body) and then it's heading back home.

 

wow! Love it.

 

Love your coupe. Who owns the chopped Corvair?

 

So excited for this to be back in your shop and getting on the street!

 

Hell yea, go Brent!!

 

Model A Street/Strip Coupe - Rear Bumper:

I've always pictured this car with "nerf" bumpers. Until, that is, we made a mock-up. The instant that I saw it, I knew it was wrong for the car. No matter that the trial bumper was too wide and too tall, there was no amount of change that would have made it look "right" on the car.



"We don't want to dork-up a hot rod." is what Ryan said. And, I agreed. They were too much. I've always dug the quirky style but it just didn't fit this car.

I knew I was scrapping the nerf-style but I really couldn't figure what I wanted. I'd even sent a pic over to @thunderbirdesq for his opinion and I felt like I was on the right track in my thinking that "sometimes you have to pass one good idea when it doesn't work."

Back to the drawing board.

I wanted a bumper, I knew that. However, I didn't want to put a spreader bar in and call it good. That wouldn't fit, either.

So, one night I sat on a swing on my kids' swingset and chatted with Ryan about what would be right for this car. We talked about all sorts of ideas, many of which were better off left on the drawing board.

Then, we measured the opening of the end of the frame horn. "What's the largest diameter tube that could be fit?" Our direction started to take shape. When all else fails, we always went back to a term we guided things by early on: "race car shit".

The reason that other bumper didn't fit the style was because it it was too far off from the guide that helped direct this car.

A tube/pipe bumper works. They were seen on so many cars of the era. Many filled with sand, concrete, or lead. (I wasn't planning on that!).

We set on putting in a 2.5" tube bumper. I'm glad we did. It looks right. It's useful (hangs back just enough to protect things). Here are a bunch of pics:


The Buick taillights are safe(r) and the bumper hangs back enough to push on as well as hang back past the fenders.


Close up. A teardrop-shaped tab was cut for either side. A threaded bung was welded on the rearward mount hole on both tabs and then the tabs were welded in place. That way the bumper can bolted through both holes in the frame horn.


Here's a pic of both bumpers for comparison:

 

Awesome build, @-Brent-
I agree- both bumpers were popular in the early-mid '60's,
but the 2.5" pipe bumper looks more racecar-ish while the nerf bar looks more street/showcar-ish.

 

I like em both!

 

I too like both. For me, the nerf bar could work if it was shorter so as not to interfere with the lines and flow of the rear fenders. But if it were shorter - about the length of the tube bumper that you went with, the mounting brackets being located out at the end of the nerf bar would have been tough to get looking right as well.

Another option that I like, would have been a larger, maybe 3" diameter, pipe bumper with pipe cap ends. It would have had the "look" - something you would have seen on an early 60's gas coupe.

 

Both these thoughts were part of the discussion.

In my mind, the nerf had a tighter C and was narrower but even that wouldn't have been right. There's a lot going on in the rear of this car and I believe the bumper would be a distraction. Looking back at a lot of old photos, I realized this just wasn't what I wanted... even though I imagined a set of these bumpers front and rear.

If we went larger on the pipe, which was a consideration, that presented some issues. One is the weight. The frame horns are pretty solid, but a significantly heavier bumper would put some strain on the set-up. The plan was to mount the horns to the body, too, which really helped solidify things.

One thing I like is that this bumper/spreader doesn't pass the frame horns. If I went with pipe, I would have chosen to go a tad wider.

One purpose of the frame horns was for another body mounting point. This also really solidified the frame horns. It took a lot of stress of the cross-member, too.


Where the pair of washers sit, which is a factory 32 mount hole, is where the bolt runs into the body mount.

 

What would have fit for the class it would have ran?

 

Based on the engine setback (and maybe the fenders) this car would be an Altered... barely. This bumper fits both gas class and altered rules... from how I interpret/read them.

 

Front Body Mount Access Hole Cover:

Because my firewall is reversed, the feet angle forward. To mount the body and access the bolts, holes were cut into the feet.



We considered a welded blister and, though it would look cool, it wouldn't be fun accessing the bolts. I figured a flat cover screwed over the hole would do the trick.

Then, Ryan, looked around his scrap and parts stash and found these Tri-5 body mount brackets. You can see the bumped portion he trimmed away.



That turned into this:



If you look closely, you can see a thick steel washer that's flat on the forward-facing portion to secure the each foot.

A rivnut was inserted and after some hammering and fitting, they look neat. It's little parts like this that I'll likely chrome.

 

My only suggestion on the rear spreader bar/bumper would be to put a slight bow in it to match the rear body panel. I did this on my 32 Tudor sedan highboy and it really made it blend better with the large bow to the back of the body. I do not run the gas tank on the rear and shortened the rear rails and run a 2 1/4" tube. Just another idea ?

 

I love the ingenuity that results in little features like this. Wish my brain worked that way! Haha

 

That sounds pretty slick.

This bumper is done. Any changes and it wouldn't fit. I like that it's straight, no frills and does the job.

 

Shocks, Steering, and Brake Hose Brackets - Making it all Work:

Model A hot rods with fenders rule, but, good grief, fenders sure do complicate things.

The fender bracket is where it is, there's really no changing it other than making it conform to the fender. And, since the shock can't be in that spot, it ends up being in the way of the steering hoop. Also, the drop and squeeze we put on the axle didn't help.

The F1 shock mounts were heated and bent to allow the shocks to fit. The shock was now completely in the way of the hoop.



One thing noticed early on was the grease zerk being blocked. I reached out to both @Bass and @thunderbirdesq and they shared some helpful info. We proceeded as planned. I'm thankful for good guys in the hot rod community to share their experience... those two are some of the best.



We sacrificed a hoop in trying to figure out how exactly to make the bend to clear the shock and leave space for the grease zerk. Some guys run 90* zerks but the arm needed to be modified anyway. The first was too tall (and, now, too short).

(You can see that the hoop is raised far too much. It'll clear but the steering would be horrible. This was just a test. We figured we could buy another one (they're cheap) or fabricate the exact hoop we needed.)​

Everything was locked down and shipping was pretty goofy, luckily Ryan found one locally. He stripped the zinc off the new one with Muriatic acid just as I had done to the first one and it was game on.

The new arm was bent to clear the zerk, first. Then, it was bent to match the sweep of the top of the axle drop.



It clears - but barely. At this point, the F1 mount wasn't chopped at all. It was only bent to work with the spec of the shock. Still, with everything so close, we decided to shorten the F1 mounts. That would for sure get everything to clear. It would take a little travel out, but not all that much. Certainly not enough to warrant a shock change.



The brake line bracket might look familiar to many. Again, this is something I had planned for a decade after seeing this bracket on a car at a car show many years ago. I can't tell you what the car was, I just remembered it was a 40ish Ford.



For those wondering, they come from 39-41 Ford cars and 39-47 Ford Pickups and Commercial vehicles. They're reproduced and can be easily found. Except in my shop... I lost one set, only to find it right after I purchased the pair on the car. Haha.


These shock mounts/arms look so sleek when they're bent and modified.


Much better clearance.


And the passenger side...



Oh, you can see we added a steering stop/snubber on the steering arm. I'm not sure how I feel about it. It may get zipped off.

 

Right choice on the bumper, the nerf one looked like it belonged on a roadster or something. Small details on this car is amazing.

 

Excellent detail attention, well done

 

Tailshaft Mount:

This chassis runs a Hurst front mount, Tri-5 bell housing mounts and for added measure, I wanted a tailshaft mount.

The Tri-5 mounts are known to have issues because of their design. They need to be pinned or I'll wreck them like so many others have done already. Also, I've been warned about the material being soft and settling.

It was a no brainer for me, but I'm not an engine mount/chassis design wizard. So, I asked around to a few folks who've built some seriously fast cars (personally and professionally - 2 having lots of experience with Tri-5s) and had some really educational discussions.

This is what we came up with:



The mount is a stock replacement mount, easily sourced from any auto parts store. The cross-bar is removable. So if it's not needed, gives me issues, or just needs to be pulled for ease of getting at the trans - it can be done in minutes.



Mounting bungs are welded on either side. It drops out easy.



Right now, the way it's designed (with the new mid mounts) the mount can be installed with two washers and there hardly any tension on the mount. As it sits, it's an insurance policy. Also, if the driveline angle needs to be changed, it can be adjusted in the rear and front, with a couple shims.

 

Front Mounts (a redo - kind of):

The angle of the driveline needed to change slightly, which was determined by getting the rear suspension fabrication complete/correct. We shimmed the biscuit with a thick washer and it was no big deal - on to the next. But the biscuits don't have the greatest reputation and that shim didn't sit well with Ryan.

So, one day in conversation he said he was going to fabricate something new, based on 55-57 mounts because he didn't like that there had to be a fix for his slight oversight. At some point, he whipped these cups up, grabbed some heavy-duty mounts off the shelf, and installed everything. Now there's no need for shims.



I admire anybody who goes above and beyond.

They came out great, too.

As he was fabbing parts, he grabbed some original Hurst SBC front mount spacers from his stash and made some copies.

 

Fantastic Brent. Very well thought out.

 

A bunch of progress.