History Please HELP! 31' A Coupe Barn Find Drag History A/GAS

I have been a member of thehamb for 8 years or so now but have been on here long before that but have never really posted too much. I need thehambs help! I recently purchased a 31' Ford Model A Coupe and hope some members would know it's past. It sat in a garage in/around NYC untouched for 49 years. From what I can gather it was raced in the late 60's/70's up and down the East Coast. The car is the CLEANEST model A coupe body I have ever seen. Zero bodywork, zero patches, everything is as per Henry. It has a mid 60's 327, edelbrock crossram with dual carbs, powerglide trans currently; with a 4 speed with it/ansen ****ter shield, Olds rear, vertex magneto, late 40's front end with juice brakes, aircraft harness, vintage rollbar, all custom vintage interior and guages, MH Racemaster original slicks, eelco tank, from the looks of the setup the car was running on alcohol. I've tried to do some searching on the internet but haven't been able to come up with much. I also have a steel 32' 5w and another chopped 31' A coupe with a flathead and am having some serious issues deciding which one to let go!

Does anyone know any history of this car? I had also heard it may have raced at Middletown NY but not sure if that's true. I had posted in the traditional hot rods section but this forum seems to be a lot more active.

Thanks in advance!

 

Cool find,hope someone can help.

 

I don't know the history and if I recall I did comment on a different thread earlier today. if not I am having deJavu for damned sure. LOL

if you would allow me just judging by the hand pump on the eelco tank I'll bet it was injected at one time and the pump was used as a primer.

 

Hahaha yes it seems this forum is a lot more popular.

I do agree, that was my thought as well with the pump. Someone had commented that A/Gas wouldn't be injected but maybe it ran in multiple?

Does the late 60's/70's seem in line for this car?

 

My thought would be early '60s to mid '60s. Maybe fuel coupe given the setback and no front fenders and no interior. Up to the mid '60s if you raced NHRA gas coupes had to be street legal up to the mid '60s or have the look of being street legal.

There is an interesting thread on fuel coupes that you may want to take a look at let me see if I can find it for you.

Ok disreguard the interior comment I noticed that it does have an interior. injection was legal A gas.

This is not the thread I was thinking about but it may be of some interest to you:




http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?

Here is another one maybe post in both and see if someone recognizes the car:
http://jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/gas-and-fuel-altereds-rules-and-pics.971509/
t=306543&highlight=compe***ion

 

Very cool would love to see it. I was given thinner fibergl*** front fenders and also another set of headers that exit above the rails so it appears the car did have the front fenders with these headers when raced. Someone did a full custom interior, door panels and rear panels are still there, but the headliner and vinyl insert were hanging and I took them out.

 

Don't loose 'em maybe they can be repaired and reused.

 

Amazing find, Chris! Love this car. Will put the word on the street for you (via my blog), and will consult some of my Long Island drag race sources. Wish me luck - I'm goin' in...

 

Watching

 

171 A on the window would be a clue........

 

My buddy grew up at the Middletown track in the 60s. I'll see if he recognizes it.

 

Try going to Dover Drag Strip.com. Pretty sure someone would recognize it. It`s worth a try.

 

Nice find! I saw that pop up for sale and it was gone quick. I was drooling over the pictures in the ad, but your photos are much better.

 

Cool find

 

Cool find....and as far as what hot rod to sell...NONE!

 

Thanks for all the kind words and appreciate the help, really liking the car. Plan to fire it up in the next week or two. I already washed it up a bit but don't plan to change anything on the car. I have the fenders and brackets and was told it was raced with the fenders on, but if I decide to leave off I may swap for the over the rail headers. I also am trying to find any old pictures or details about it.

If I did decide to sell, any idea on rough estimate on what the car would be worth?

 

I'll give ya 25 dollars for it. You'll have to loan me a few bucks though. LOL

I couldn't fathom a guess as to value but see lots of cars that I wouldn't buy going in the very high teens and twenties.

if I kept it I would plan on a quickie paint job the color that it is now. I wouldn't try and make it purdy like a modern show car because race cars used to get painted on Friday night before they rolled out for the Saturday Night Special but a quickie to get it looking like it probably did. I would spend a lot of time with the body in general unless you find a bad case of rail rash. LOL Just a quick scuff and squirt.

That would do two things for you get it back to race trim and control rust.

 

I'll give you $35. All kidding aside, It's worth $5000 upwards. I gave $5000 for my avitar (that's how it looked in 1967) and it wasn't as complete as what you have.

 

I don't recognize it but that doesn't mean too much. One thing I know is that fuel injection did not make it "A/G" you could run carbs in any gas cl*** or injection. The car appears to have been carbureted from day one and the hand pump used to pressurize the moon tank, I see no indication of any injection ever used. I realize that a hand pumped tank does not work well if at all for carbs but maybe it didn't work for the guy that owned it then. Secondly as was stated the engine set-back looks like more than 10% which was the max for gas cl***, two seats were needed for gas which leads me to believe it ran in the altered cl***. And as far as fuel coupe goes I doubt it. It has what looks like a Jabsco Water Puppy for a water pump and all that plumbing looks original to the period of the car, an injected car would have had a fuel pump on the timing cover, belt driven or off the magneto from the pictures I see no indication it ever had one. I'll keep looking through my pictures though.

Pat

 

Ok here's the latest. I've been in touch with the former owners son in law hoping for more info. The car was owned by Michael Crugnale and raced in Middletown in the late 50's/early 60's. He was part of the Road Rebels from Brooklyn NY.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

He also sent me a picture of this, and they also have his original leather jacket.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Unless that SBC's four-by-half, (352") I can't get my mind around the pounds-per-cu. in. rule.
A/Gas was how many pounds per inch? (relative to NHRA 1964)

This 'A' body doesn't appear to have been 'gutted'...other than firewall, package tray, and footwell sheets. That would make it a 'welterweight' in the g***er ring.

 

5#/cu.in

Pat

 

@A****er Mike we can know that the block is a mid '60s 327 but we have no way of knowing how much has been stuffed into it.

 

Whoever told you that A/G had to be injected is an idiot.

 

A/G was 5.0-8.99lbs per cube in 64&65 and was 5.0-6.99lbs in 66

 

If you use the 64 weight breaks and common SBC ci...

331---1655-2975lbs
327---1635-2939lbs
301---1505-2705lbs
292---1460-2625lbs
288---1440-2589lbs

You also have to remember that at small tracks you didn't have to be Doug Cook or Robert Balogh or George Montgomery to win...simple builds and weight in the right places were what counted.

 

There were actually people who one big in the gas cl*** ranks that didn't have important names. Does anyone know who owned the Wappid Wabbit?