Hot Rods Another Model A Coupe Build . . . . The Underachiever

i need help from the wiring experts or anyone who has done this, I'm having a hard time finding a place to mount the Flux Capacitor in my time machine . . .



alright enough joking about dated 80's street rod technology


this is my take on the time machine


my plan for this build is Post War style, late 1948 early 1949, its going to be super basic with no over fabrication. i really want to try and capture the look of something a High school student could have built in shop class or something a guy returning from the war would have built to go fast at the lakes on a budget.

i have been working on this for the last couple of months, progress has been kind of inconsistent but i am finally starting to make some real headway on it and i decided it was about time to start a progress thread so you guys could ridicule me haha. it a 31 Coupe body i have actually had for a few years now, i bought the body and frame off of chopped50ford. he is the one who boxed and stepped the frame. it feels good to see this one start to come together, i have been planning it and gathering parts for sometime now, my camera took a sh!t so i lost a lot of my pictures but enough about that here is what i have so far . . .


Part 1

the body was a really nice start, doors opened and shut like a dream. someone in the 40's or 50's flattened out a 55 gallon drum and used flathead screws to attach it to the roof, i'm assuming it was done to stop water from leaking in, i plan on leaving it just the way it is.


Norm did a great job boxing the frame and it was a good foundation to start with and it already had Tardel style mounts for a flathead so that made things a little easier.



i bought a 53 8ba with merc heads out of a pickup, it was really dirty but when i pulled the heads and pan i was amazed to see how clean it was the cylinders didnt even have a ridge and everything looked brand new. so after rotating it to make sure nothing was binding and that all the valves were opening and closing properly i buttoned it back together then proceeded to clean all the rust and dirt off of it using a wire wheel. a quick coat of semi-gloss black and thats all she wrote. im using 48 car water pumps from speedway to make mounting the engine a breeze.



i found a good 38 tans and decided to use an F1 crossmember and pedals which worked out really nicely. it takes a little bit of trimming and pie cutting to make it fit but once its in mounting the transmission and pedals is a sinch.





its amazing what a little cleaning, sanding and painting can accomplish . .

 

Part 2

time to chop, after some serious studying of model A chops i decided 5 inches was the right number to get my proportions where i wanted them.

measure, measure, measure, and measure again . . .






cutting time, i came up with a simple solution to being able to lift the top off and on myself, not the most sophisticated approach i know but it worked well for me. dont forget to brace!!!





more cutting and fitting and its getting closer










all tacked together . . . there's a lot more work chopping a coupe 5 inches vs 4, you have to do much more cutting and adjusting to get all of the posts and body lines to look line up, the extra work is worth IMO.

 

Part 3

well this is how it looks as of sunday, im really liking how its coming together. the wheels and tires are just rollers im still trying to reach a decision on whether to use wires or discs. also still need to get the eyes reversed on the rear model A spring to bring it down a couple of more inches. tons of work left to do but its finally starting to look like a hot rod.









thats it for now, as you can see i am horrible at taking pictures as i go along but i am trying to get better at it, i will try to update atleast once a week as i make some more progress.


Erik

 

Looks good! I'd vote for discs.. Are you planning on keeping the stance like that?

 

I think that stance is nice....
Come chop mine =)

 

it's looking great erik!!!!! dont forget to let me know when you decide not to build the desoto. i'll make sure it gets put to good use.

 

5 inches is the best chop on these IMO.

Looks great man. keep it up and you'll have it running before you know it.

 

What ever you do, dont mount the flux capacitor right above the fuel cell. Dont ask me how I know.

 

Most passenger car flatheads came with a flux capacitor. It can be found just behind the lenticular obfuscator, next to the center main cap. Most early owners didn't use them because they assumed that because "everything that can be invented HAS been invented", there was no reason to visit the future, and nobody in there right mind would want to travel back to the time when folks had to actually WALK.

"if you ain't been to Kodiak, you ain't been anywhere"

dj

 

Hey! Be the first to French that HAMB medallion! Think about it!
If the potentiometers on each side of the Wheatstone bridge in the drive circuit are properly adjusted, the FC will just happily float right where you put it in the car, needing only minor re-adjustment if you drive more than 6 degrees of longitude from original setting point. Keep toolbox latched, or you'll find everything you own stuck to the damn thing.
Be sure to visit coin dealer and pick up some vintage $$ before traveling...I once was almost arrested when I handed the Ford parts guy a 1996 ten dollar bill in payment for a set of new deuce fenders.

 

thanks guys,

i am also having trouble getting my Generator to produce 1.21 jigawatts of power . . . maybe you can help me with this Bruce?

haha, i'll leave the Frenching for the customs, besides i have mine glued to a magnet and it could affect the elctrical field of the FC

 

You need some tech here...the generator can't do that on its own.
Traditional way was pretty simple. We useta order 2 three acre sheets of aluminum foil (light duty, the thick stuff wrinkles) and 2 three acre sheets of Saran wrap. Stackemup alternating (this will require your entire hotrod club to do neatly), then line up everybody on one of the long edges and have them slowly march forward while carefully rolling the stack. Take the resulting roll and slide it into a gasoline tanker trailer with one end cut out. Run wire from "Batt" terminal on regulator to one aluminum layer, ground the other. Affix trailer to your coupe. Generator will charge up your new capacitor enough for roughly one time trip every half hour. Try not to get into trouble during that half hour...you won't be able to get outta there before the sherriff arrives!

 

Usually the flux capacitor comes with a mounting bracket, but I found that the bracket loosens up over time, but if you use something like plutoneum bond under the bracket and on the mounting screws, it will fix it fine!

 

Little known fact that a Stromberg 79 (inverted flow updraft carb OEM 1942 Henway), ACTUALLY in fact was a flux capacitor when marketed for export...Very rare..I found one ,in a box ,along with a near new turboencabulator....They both fit next to the Model A annular synthroid valve with a small mod to the bases

 

Hiboys rule. Thanks for not channeling it to the ground. Keep us updated on the progress.

 

Man, nice chop. Looks great!

 

Well ALRIGHT! Looks like you'll be picking me up for breakfast on Saturday!

1.21 jigawatts did you some good! That's it, I'm coming over... or wait! You work much faster than me, so you need to come over HERE and get ME caught up! **SIGH**

Lookin' good brotha'!

 

Bruce do you something none of us know, do you know about the FUTURE, you are starting to freak me out! I wish I'd never left the hospital!??

 

DUDE! You have the Turboencabulator and you haven't shared until now! How DARE you!!

 

Hey whats not to like about this 31.

 

Good work on the 5in chop i did mine 6 and its a lot of cutting and fitting and pushing and pulling to get it right but worth it in the end. As for the ride height it think it looks prety good and you can make it like a lakes car... Just my opinion Keep up the good work

Oh yea let me know when you hit your welding trigger 5million times. haha i never thought there was that much welding involved.

 

I like to mount them from behind but then again some people think I'm perverted. Normal people semm to prefer the missionary position.

 

Any pictures of "said" Flux Capacitor?

 

Try using Lithium Crystals!

 

Great work on the coupe. I still think of that car; and seeing the pictures confirms why.

Like an old girlfriend who got away.

The chop is perfect.

 

lookin sexy...you've got an eye for the right stance my friend...

 

Sweet! That thing has got the right look alright.

 

Nice coupe. I like the chop also.

But I can't understand why you guys are fooling around with flux capacitors anymore. everyone knows they were a pain in the a$$ and switched to Mr. Fuji. No need for adjustments, roads or 88 mph. Unless you're trying to keep it old school and traditonal then I understand.

 

I think the Mr. Fuji conversion is a little too new for this era of build. If I know Erik well enough, Plutonium is definitely the preferred fuel.

 

haha you guys crack me up,

all kidding aside i am starting to get really pumped on this build, every time i walk in garage it puts a smile on my face. theres a ton of work left to do but i am making some good progress, i have my steering box pretty much sorted out as of today. and i have started to mount my pedals and will hopefully start to get my brakes sorted out tomorrow.

thanks for all the compliments guys!