It is absolutely true. Different cowl, quarters, tulip panel, inner structure is different as well. Why do you think a coupster looks out of proportion when compared to a real roadster?
There's a lot of similar things in those panels, you can use the quarters to to patch each other but the entire panel isn't swappable. The cowl skin is very close but the cowl structure is different from the body line up. The lower door skins can be cut up or in for patches but different.
Can someone call Brookville in the morning and ask what is an even swap on Roadster to Coupe tinwork.? They might know. Bob
I nominate you Bob, Just keep the conversation on steel and don't let them talk about electrical stuff.
I think we all know the answer to that question. In the basic body shell, without the bolt on stuff, nothing is interchangeable. Can it be cut, hammered and persuaded to fit? Anything can, provided you have the time and skill
Much like the latest g***er madness and use of the word "patina", I really look forward to the days when this "real Henry" BS goes away. I know of 3 or 4 Packard coupe roadsters (cabriolet style) that have had all of their wood replaced. I guess they're no longer "real" as well? 99% of the Fords here are nowhere near "real". Just one of those fingernail to chalkboard things for me I guess, and I sincerely DO NOT want to derail the topic.
Seems to me all of this boils down to simple supply v demand... The supply of original 32 steel bodies is nothing like the supply of earlier Model As. There were 108k Model Bs produced in '32 when compared to 1.5M Model As in 1929, 990k in 1930 and 270k in 1931 for a total of @2.7M Model A's. So 2.7M Model As compared to 108k Model Bs... Add to that there appear to be a vast majority (I am NOT in that majority) that appear to prefer the 32 and you end up with a higher number of people looking for the 108k 1932 bodies versus a relatively lower number of people lusting after one of the 2.7M Model A's. The result? Model As are cheap and '32 Model Bs are not. I doubt there is much business in reproducing the earlier bodies while they are so plentiful and cheap. Bear in mind also that the smaller potential audience for repro Model A bodies is reduced further by deducting from it those that prefer original to repro... My Model A that currently sits over at Hilton Hot Rods is pretty solid, cost me 8K as an original car of which I retrieved nearly 6K from selling parts. So, I have a pretty solid original body for @2k. Noone can compete with that, not here in the US and not even in India/China. Thats my 0.02 anyway. Oh, and that Model A with Bob...will be unveiled at the Detroit Autorama in March. PS, nothing here is supposed to indicate original or repro is better/worse. Simply that *I* prefer original, nothing more.
Wex, Great market ***essment. They do make the entire lower 8" for these cars, that's pretty indicative a great market plan too. Out of 2.7m there's a great need to patch them up. Sometimes I have an inner struggle with dismantling a restored complete car, but if emotions are left out- that is the best (easiest, cheapest, fastest) way to get a hot rod on the road. Really it helps fuel the restorers p***ion in two ways. One is that it takes one out of there pool and two, it supplies them with parts to complete their desire.
maybe not build whole cars but doors and decklids would be nice.. those big parts that are getting hard to find in good shape.
How many times do we need to tell you, the only parts that will interchange are the firewall, the decklid, the tail panel, and the trunk rain gutters. Maybe the subrail cross channels, but not the subrails themselves. You'd get lucky and possibly find a similar brace somewhere in the cowl floor area too. That's about 10 percent of a total body. A whole lot more to build from scratch for the boys at Brookville. Even the kirksite dies are expensive. And they don't last forever. I don't see the Model A coupe body being reproed for a decade or more. I personally asked the President of Brookville (the Dad) at the '92 Nationals when they were going to start making the '32 roadster. He said "Never, that would cost us a million dollars". But it did come in the few years after. So who know about the Brookville A coupe?
I don't ever see an A coupe being reproduced in steel. In the next ten years we are going to see an influx of restored model A's entering the market. Its already happening now. Go look at how many restored A's are for sale at any given time on ebay or your local Craigslist. Now imagine that doubled... Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
32-34 Ford truck doors would be nice but the demand for doors probably wouldn't begin to justify the the initial design work. HRP
I've seen so many coupes & other Model A's come on the market in the last few years it's hard to believe there were so many out there, I even had a coupe find me. Brookville would have to make a business case for it, to be feasible. Just as others said, why pay 20k, when you can buy a whole car for less. As stated, very few pieces interchange. Even say if the quarters were the same, by the time you stamp the upper roof, then you would align, weld them together, etc, just not the way to do it.
Anyone have an idea about how Shadow Rods is doing? That's a singular vision and in my opinion it works. The quality is what most dream about with proper panel fit and alignment. I've seen 3 different examples, a raw body and 2 finished cars. All new bodies should be that good.
If you don't know, then how can you say it's far from true? There are plenty of folks who DO know that are telling you exactly what is different, yet you choose to ignore it. If it was easy it would have been done already!!
Ignoring and not fully understanding are two different things. Some side by side comparison of a roadster and a coupster would help. Another note - In the hot rod world There's a lot of things that don't fit exactly, but are pretty close. Just a quick example - 34 truck grill on a model A with model A hood top. Does it fit? Not perfectly but adding a little triange sliver of metal to the front of the hood and it does fit like perfect. So you can't technically say it fits. Another one - 35,37 truck firewall in a 33/34 car- does it fit? Pretty close if you want some extra room in your engine bay of the model 40, need to cut and weld. How about a 32 firewall in a model A? Some will say no way ! But others seem to pull it off.
I personally asked the President of Brookville (the Dad) at the '92 Nationals when they were going to start making the '32 roadster. He said "Never, that would cost us a million dollars". But it did come in the few years after. So who know about the Brookville A coupe? I asked the same question about the 3 window, after they came out with the 32 roadster. Got the same answer (too expensive). Well the came out with it any way. But it seams the early hot rod market is slowing down nowdays. Ago
Like I said before; which coupe would they build.. If 28/29, people would say, "I wish they built 30/31's"... I don't think it will happen...
The trend of bringing back new bodies is here to stay but it simply doesn't apply to those cars that are close or perhaps even 2nd in line. New Deuce bodies are obvious, new 69 Camaros and 68 Mustangs (or are they 69s?), new Model A roadsters and roadster pickups too along with new Model A pickup beds, and of course the 40 Ford coupe. No 67-8 Camaros, no 64-5 Mustangs, and no 70-3 Camaros or Firebirds (in fact no Firebirds period). And while I don't know if they're still viable, 66-7 Nova HTs were (are?) made new. The thing to note about the examples that are available new is their status within the small market they're selling to. There's an even smaller market for the "also ran" cars related to the above examples. 67-8 Camaros don't live as high on the scrotum pole as their 69 siblings and niether do 63-5 Novas. And 64-5 Mustangs? Like the Model A, not hard to find clean stuff based on the sheer number of those produced in their day. I'll freely admit that I don't know the current status of those 60s cars, as in I'm uncertain if they're all still on the market. Rather than rehash the hows and whys of those cars which are being made I figured that what they are and indeed what they were does that on it's own. Quick edit: I'm as wrong as can be on the 60s examples, I shoulda looked em up 1st. My bad... http://www.dynacorncl***icbodies.com/cl***ic2.html
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