Ive been mooching around the HAMB for years and posted a few projects I got myself involved in, often to the detriment of my own stuff, I enjoy helping folk with there stuff, but it doesn't half distract you from your own desires. Last time I posted here it was the start of a 39 mercury build. a real rough body and a lot of missing parts..Not an insurmountable problem but time space and cash restraint plus other life issues meant that one was on the back burner to long to resurrect the enthusiasm.. A couple of years ago I retired on a modest pension, so decided that the Mercury was a bigger project than i could realistically afford It was also in reality a bigger car than my small garage could accommodate, so I bit the bullet, pulled the running gear and sold on the remains to a real cool fella that works for a well known rod builder i the UK.. so its in good hands with good plans .. So thats the flip or is it the flop ? either way I decided a smaller project ( dimensionally) would suit me .. I have been sitting on a model A frame for some time, promising myself I was going to build another model A coupe but this time less along the lines of the direction I took in the 90s when I went for everything TCI. Im going back to basics and tryig to build with the bits I have managed to gather over the years and some bits ive turned up in recent trades, "work for parts" I was recently helping a friend nail together a 27 roadster on A rails and kinda got bitten by the bug to screw a wee A coupe together .. from junk.. The project began with a rotten set of A rails repaired with the front section from what looked like a home made saw bench power source.. ? and extended with a rear crossmember that I was saving for a rainy day ... This is a quick n dirty effort so no jigs or fancy alignment aids other than regular use of a tape measure and occasional use of a square and a level. The front leg graft went well. I fishplated the join for additional support, and although it wasnt part of the original plan I decided to boxt the frame for additional support ..
I initially considered Z ing the frame but since the rear end was from a 40 and the spring was behind the axle, a few measurements kinda indicated that the Z would leave the rear to low for a full fendered car .. the lower mount of the rear spring would provide the required drop.. So the upshot was it just needed the extension to hook up with the rear spring. The Z in the pic was temporary. It went to the blaster in that form but I already knew it was going to be grafted in on the level.. Off cuts from the frame were used to make up the engine mounts, waste not want not
Having pulled the rear and and running gear from the mercury it was a no brainer that that would be used for the running gear The rear end has kinda been covered, Only thing I have to do there is replace the long wishbones with some shorter ones I have stashed away.. The front end was going to be the Nostalgia Sids one that I used on the Mercury, but I had a superbell spare and for whatever reason I decided to use that with an option to use the proper dropped one later.. will explain in a ater post..
I dropped in te engine and gearbox to see where things sat. Taking reference from loads of info on here and other parts of the internet I settles on a distance of 6 1/2 inches from the centre line of the rad mount hole to the centerline of the engine mount .. That gave me a workable distance for pulleys and rad . Im trying not to spend any additional cash if possible so the plan is to work around what I have, although I did have to make a few purchases to keep in with the traditional style of the build .. trimmed the A crossmember to suit the lower pulley clearance. Engine mounts were positioned about 1/4 inch proud of the top of the ch***is.This gave me just enough clearance for the F100 steering box.
Ian (Redoxide) lives in a tiny little village up in Scotland. What is really funny is when you walk into his garage totally unannounced. He was really shocked when he saw a long way from home Brummie strolling in to see what he was up to. I'll be watching this one with interest, Ian, old pal. Mart.
I bought an F1 crossmember and pedal ***embly off a HAMBER from the adds section.. and had it shipped over .. I had that blasted and measured up to fit the ch***is .. just some minor cutting and it was ready to slide in between the rails .
Now Im short of an F1 gearbox mount so currently awaiting one from VanPelts. Real easy folk to deal with but that will cause a wee delay while it arrives .. Im kinda in the ball park height wise and have the box supported, Im gonna wait untill the mount arrives before I weld anything in permanent.. It would be just my luck to decide things are in the right place ony to find after there welded that they are out by a fraction Patience So while I wait for the mount I decided to trim down the F100 steering box. Its a bit larger that the F1 I used on my buddies T on A rails and the colum is orientated different, but I have it and im determined to use up my junk so its a case of making it fit .. So having used the high tech method of cutting the flanges off with a cutting disc and grinding the rest with a flap wheel before sitting for ages draw filing the snout of the steering box so it resembled a decent finnish and the box was ready to be test fitted in various positions in the ch***is. I eventually settled on a position within the range of the original A engine mounts, Its further back thanI had hoped but its still forward of the firewall and has clearance. I had some Speedway headers from the mercury but they needed a wee bit of modification which I am currently preparing, but in the interests of speed and using up more junk and obsolete Ford bits, I rummaged through the parts stash and rustled up a pair of old cast manifolds that might not be pretty but they sure are nostalgic and they work ! It aint gonna win any beauty contest a couple of issues encountered here .. I set the hole for the steering box sector shaft smak in the middle of the ch***is rail. On hindsight, It would have been beneficial to drop the centre line 3/4 of an inch. Doint that would have allowed for more clearance for the steering box adjuster nut, It currently clears but a wee bit of additional clearance would have been beneficial. If I knew at the time I was going to use the cast manifolds, I could have centred the steering box within the 3 holes Ford put there for the original rear engine /trans mount. and used those same holes to bolt it up.. But at the time I was working with thought of using the headers.. Its only metal and you have to start somewhere. I might move it forward an inch or so and lower it by the same. More for an aesthetic appeal and additional clearance.. It would mean committing to the cast iron exhaust manifold if it were moved forward.. I might make up a small box the same dimension as the steering box that I can move back and forward to find if there is a sweet spot without boring any more holes in the frame .
Obviously the steering box angle will need to be set before any welding is done to add suitable brackets to mount the box but that will come later. I really need to secure the mounts for the gearbox and secure the crossmember before the other stuff is fixed permanently, but its looking not to bad.. Im kinda stuck with progress for now,Moving forward requires the above additions.. So I cleaned up the cheap body I fell over. It was cheapish but unfortunately it was a special coupe .. Imin the process of making the required bits for the rear roof section and body line.. BUT its all a bit wobbly. Currently waiting on a wood kit from Fordwood for the roof and body needed to get things in the ball park. Had the wood been there and the body less wobbly I would have shored it up with steel, Although this meant spending a bit of cash I kinda thought it was the proper way forward ..
Nice work. Every body here knows I love model A,s . Have fun with it, going to be a cool little hot rod.
Have you considered adding a K-member since the frame is being boxed? Apart from being mandatory here it strengthens your frame with a triangulated support. Plus you'd be surprised how much better the car will drive and handle with the inherent flexing eliminated. I don't know what your roads are like but here they are **** so anything to improve the ride is a bonus.
My coupe frame is done like that, a long long time ago. It makes them A frames very strong. Good eye stumpy.
Looking good Big Boy! Thanks for all your help recently. "Often the less pretty things give the best ride"?? Ooooh! You are awful!! Charlie.
Regards a K member, Im going to hold off until I get the running gear fixed in position. The steering box was a headache and currently continuing to work on that area . When the original centre crossmember is reinstalled I will take my que from that point. Its highly likely that I will add a fabricated C section K member. Its all really a bit in the air since the car is probably going to be to big of a hurdle to get through the registration process.. but you still gotta do what you gotta do .. Ha Charlie, you caught that before I cut it lol..
@redoxide...I have a vision of a Vintage Hotrod winding though the hilly green rolling hills dotted with castles...That looks to be advancing rapidly and looking quite period there... Catchy ***le...
@Stogy 5 build days in it so far, with delays , I also helping a buddy with his 32 sedan build.. Hope to crack on when the gearbox mount arrives, wood kit is currently held up in customs. I bought the F1 bits a few months back, they were shipped to NY and brought over in a contacts container.. Its more planning than building lol.. I bought a another body off a HAMBER, its a bit rougher than the one I tripped over more recently and is probably going to morph into a coupster on another frame or maybee just a porta body depending on the mood and weather ..
A Hammer Hamber...Flop, Cornfield, ******?...just kidding......we have some great Metalsmiths here that's for sure. Oxide your very focused and I really look forward to the journey your sharing here...Thanks and hope all arrives soon for you. You Guys do great Hotrod over there...
Just paid the ransom to release the wood kit from Customs.. Not sure when the other bits will arrive so will gather the clan and rest the body on the frame for now and try to make some progress somewhere.
Looking good. How did the body find you? What made you attack a sport coupe? Just curious as mine fell into my lap as well.
The sport coupe came to me about a year or so ago through the HAMB .. It was kinda cheap but turned out to be kinda rougher than anticipated ( not rougher than described though ).. I was after a cheap body and that one ticked the boxes at the time Its not the one Im using though. I scored another cheapish body that was in better condition, but it was a special coupe .. still work to do to get it more "coupe" like.. I have some repro subrails coming for the sport coupe body. so the plan is to rebuild that one either as a coupster with thinned down doors etc or a 3 window .. but really not giving it to much thought just now as the focus is on the special coupe body for this project.
Keep posting the updates Ian, seems like that's easier to follow progress than treking 60 miles up the road lol!
21 days later .... got my F1 mount from Van P .. 3 days from the USA to the UK and 18 days to get customs clearance hope to resume work real soon..
I'd like to see some pictures of the body going together with that wood kit if you get a chance. I've got a '28 Special in my garage with a stack of wood next to it that I expect is very similar to yours. : ) Looks like you've got some nice equipment in your garage. Have fun. Thanks.
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