Projects Just what we need, Another Model A build

The snow is melting and the trees haven't started to fill in so it's been prime time to spot new peojects around my place. I've picked up a few rigs to flip later this spring and a couple to keep around for a while including this 28/29 A couple. The seller is pretty sure its a sport coupe but its hard to tell since the top is gone and the doors have been cut and welded shut. Over-all its an extremely sold body with all the original floor and sub-rails, the rear wheel well panels are in place and solid but someone welded in metal over the original panels. The seller told me the farmer he got the body from had the body kicking around for around 50 years so its amazing its still as nice as it is.
The plan on this car is just to put some of my spare parts to use and put together a little car for next summer, my '53 dodge is almost on the road for this year after I finish up the brakes.

My list of parts I already have isn't to bad so far, still need to find a frame and an "A" front axle.
- 59A flathead (rebuilt at some point, low miles in a 2 ton '36 truck)
- '47ish pickup 3-spd trans (open drive)
- '39 wide 5 wheels/drums and hydro backing plates
- '37 front axle/spindles and bones (would like to use an A axle but have this one if
I can't find one)
- '37 rear banjo (no bones yet)
- '47 Pickup open drive rear axle

Now I'll add this body to the mix and step up my search for a solid frame and try to put something together. If any of you can give a better ID of the body from the pictures I would appreciate it. Hope to have the body paid for and picked up in the next couple weeks.

 

The short list of parts I need to get going are:
- Model A Chassis
- F-1 cross member with pedals
- F-1 steering box
- Model A coupe top
- Model A doors
- Long ladder bars or bones for the rear
- radiator/grill shell

Feel free to tell me what I am over looking, or contact me if you are in the northwest and may have pieces I might need.

 

And just to be clear, I didn't set the body up like you see it, that's how the seller has it displayed in his yard.

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Very cool! Nice score. Looks like a sport coupe, yes.

 

There could never be enough nice Model A builds as far as I'm concerned. HRP

 

Boy, I'm glad you cleared that up!...my fingers were real itchy on the key board. ...good luck with the build. Rich

 

Ha, it looks interesting from a distance, and hes got a set of wide 5 hub caps sitting in the tires I'll get it home and cleaned up once I get the last of the money together.

 

Will be watching this one. looks like a good start

 

never too many a builds, i'll watch

 

As with my other builds...expect slow and uninteresting progress. When I get something done I rarely have a camera with me and the stuff I do photograph is usually pretty minor as far as a build goes. I'll really try and keep everything updated as I go, but don't be surprised by big gaps of time with nothing new.

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So after looking over the pictures again and noticing the trunk instead of a rumble seat I'm pretty sure this body is a business coupe, not a sport coupe as I first thought. Those who know more than me are free to speak up, as I'm not up on all the less common (in the hot rod world at least) body styles of these old fords.

On other news, I have found a really nice frame locally, which I hope to pick up this weekend and start some mock up....pictures to come soon.

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Man,
You should be ashamed of yourself!!....buying those kids Hot rod!...They were probably racing at El mirage every day in that thing, Until you came along...LOL..If I were you I would leave it as a toy And put it in my front yard for the kids to play in. I been collecting the stuff to build one for my little ones to play in....

 

Ha, I would feel bad if it was a kids play toy... But the seller buys and resells old signs, gas pumps and stuff like that...usual man cave items. He picked up the body cause it was cool, but had no plans to build it into anything. Was just using it for advertisement.

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my thoughts exactly!

 

With any luck I'll be picking up the frame today, should be able to do a rolling chassis mockup this weekend. Pictures to come if I get that far along.

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Picked up my frame today.....I know, a day late but oh well. Its actually very nice, only a couple wavy spots but someone drilled the rivets out of the front cross-member for some reason. That really doesn't bother me since I'll either be adding an F-1 crossmemeber or I have 3/4s of a '42 frame with a really nice X-member still in place. I have been kicking around the idea of cutting the X-member down to model A size. Either way, having the front cross member out of the way makes installing a new cross or X-member in place easyer, plus I might slide the front forward a bit for firewall clearance for the flathead....I have no plans to run a hood and will make something in the future if I feel I need one.

Pictures will be posted soon....my camera and my phone are dead at the moment...powers was out for about 14hrs at my place.

 

ok, its cold, dark and i'm lazy....but I promised a few pictures.....not really the mock up I wanted, but it'll show my parts pile.

Enjoy and throw some suggestions at me...haven't decided which rear to use yet, also don't have any rear bones at the moment.

 

We'll, got the body home last night. Guess I'm building this thing now.

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Picked up an F-1 cross member last night, going to save time and hassle of cutting up the 40's car X-member to fit the model A frame and my open drive 3-speed will bolt right up with a stock mount.

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Build going in the right direction.. Waiting to see what you do with the body...

 

Ha, me to. It's still in the back of my truck. I can't seen to get the pictures to upload on the app thing.

*Edit....got a picture now.



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Also, I'm going to need door posts(body side) for a business or sport coupe and any other too specific pieces for those models. I know they make the wood kits, I'm just missing all the metal parts they don't reproduce.

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Ignore the mess around the shop....I really need to clean.

I had a couple hours to burn so I did a quick mock-up.







Obviously a long way to go and this is the 1st time any of these parts have been together. Think I have a line on a T spring for the rear but I still need a set of junk A axle tubes to cut the spring hangers off of. Maybe I can get this thing a bit lower, but at least I know I've got ground clearance if I ever want to go off roading.

 

No updates this weekend, but does anyone know of a thread that shows how to install the F-1 crossmember into the model A frame? I have a good idea how i will get it in there, but would like to hear about other people who have already done it.

 

I was going to use an F1 crossmember in my roadster, well i should say was going to build one off a template of one.. but after i looked at it more and more.. i found it easier to just build my own. So heres some pictures of what i did in my Roadster's chassis. Also, if you want a measurement of say radiator holes on the crossmember to front engine mount hole center, to position your engine in a nice spot, i can give you that measurement if you'd like. Just let me know and i'll go and measure it. I have good clearance on the rear of my engine and can just fit the fuel pump mount and oil cap so i think its a good spot.

Anywho, some pictures.

Firstly had the engine and box mocked up, and front mounts were tacked in.



After measuring from under the frame (I used a piece of box section from one side to the other to give me a "bottom of the frame" measurement to use to go up to the gearbox mounting holes) i came up with this.





After a lot of pissfarting around i ended up with this crossmember. I used the front engine mount donut rubbers for the gearbox mounts as well.



This is how it all mounts together. The crossmember is welded in and the box sits on top. I may still have to do something about the center crossmember eventually, maybe hoop the top a little.. we'll see. If yours is mounted slightly lower at the rear you shouldn't have much of a problem at all.





One of it in progress i just found as well.



The reason the original draw up has so many sideways lines, is that i've got the top and bottom of the frame, the underside of the gearbox mounts, and then have drawn a line where the underside of the rubber mount goes and the gap between them.

If you do something like this, it'll all go nicely for ya. The F1 crossmember is good but you still have to modify it not only to fit the frame but also the pedal mounting is slightly off from memory. I just used F1 pedals that mount flat, made a 8mm thick plate thats drilled and tapped for the holes and welded it to the crossmember front face. Pretty easy stuff.

Hope this helps man!

 

Thanks for the pictures and thats a great looking cross member you built.

So no new build updates, but I did pick-up a T spring for the rear and this axle.....the axle is kind of throwing me off though. Can any of you identify what it is from? I dropped my camera and now it won't focus right, so forgive the crappy pictures.















So lets here some guesses as to what this thing is. I first thought a big truck like an AA or BB but none of the ones I've seen have a factory drop. I can say this thing looks massive next to my '37 axle.

Also, I would still like to see some more F1 crossmember installs, I did a search and found a lot of installed pictures, but not much about the actual install and what I need to mod to make it work. Im sure I can figure it out myself but hearing someone elses experiances makes it easier.

 

Small updates, made a little progress in the last couple weeks. Blew the car apart from the mock up and started cutting, trimming and fitting the F1 crossmember, bolted the engine and trans together and make up some motor mounts so I could start fitting the engine to the frame. I'll let the pictures tell most of the story, but it looks like i'll have to do a little clearancing on the firewall around the fuel pump/breather tube.

 

I also cut the doors open on the body, its to bad they are trashed since whats left is in pretty good shape and swing really nice. I peeled some of the tin off of the rear wheel openings, found more rust than i was expecting but its all fixable.









I did finally track down a junk model A real axle to cut up, going to get trimming and fit the spring hangers to one of my banjos...I picked up a '35 that is locked up, Ive got a '38 that rolls great and finally a '46ish pickup open drive rear.







I also get a really nice pair of '35 rear rods... not using them on this build but Ill stash them till I need them, or maybe just sell them.



Last piece im looking to pick up is a '35 front axle and wishbone to use in place of the 38 front I already have. I'll still be looking for a '34 wishbone but i think i can make due with what i've got.

 

Why wouldn't the body make a nice roadster? It looks like it has possibilities. .

 

I considered keeping it as a coupester, but we only have a few weeks of nice weather a year and as a coupe I can drive it when its not so nice. Plus I have 2 dodge roadster bodies to throw together after this on is done.