Driving around in my newly lowered Sport Coupe, proved to be happy times. I initially, had my concerns about all the suspension parts playing well together. A bunch of old stuff that wasn’t made to work together might not be as friendly as I wanted them to be, but no problems arose… well, no big problems. A quick example… Here’s a nickel’s worth of free info for anyone reading this & looking for tips when utilizing the stock Model A brakes. The brake rod anti-rattler return springs will need to be spaced about 2” away from their stock mounting points. If you don’t do this, there’s a pretty good chance they may want to share the same area as other stuff that is already there. No big deal, and not worthy of pictures… I just merely used some 1” x 1/8” flat bar and made extensions for them. Quick and simple fix so the brake rods would keep on doin their thing, as intended. I wasted no time in working towards rectifying the wheels-of-many-colors situation. I pulled them all off and washed em first. After the cleanup, I was able to examine them and recollected why I had squirreled them away… they were all in spectacular shape! Before I had the tires and tubes installed a couple of years prior to fitting them on the 29, I didn’t know what color they would be, but I wanted to get em mounted up. So, I had blasted each one of the wheels inner hoops and then covered em in primer & paint… no dismounting needed. AH HA!!! I have outsmarted the Gods Of Speed again! Sanding, feathering and smoothing on the spokes, hubs & outer hoops… THAT wasn’t gonna be fun, but how much time could it possibly take? There was no pitting and only very minute specks of corrosion to speak of. I started out thinking I would just smooth em out a bit, ya know… make em look presentable, but the more I sanded, the better they looked. UGH!!! Let’s fast forward a bit, cuz no one in their right mind wants to read about how I kept repeatedly jamming my fingertips into the spokes or hubs & hoops about 2.8 GA-jillion times. And really… intact fingerprints and muscles that are not sore, are waaaay overrated! I will absolutely admit tho, about halfway through the sanding process, I realized that I had NOT outsmarted anyone other than myself! Actually, I probably outdumbed myself by thinking I shouldn’t remove the tires, tubes and bands. Blasting the damned wheels would have been the much wiser life choice! Oh well… Many hours later, when I was finally pleased with the prep, or I had at least convinced myself that they looked good enough (most likely due to the fact that my hands & arms were about to throw in the towel)… I taped em up and shot some black primer. But before I continue with the painting saga, allow me to ramble on about a little something related to the subject. My good buddy, Todd, has some boundless insight about painting. As he sees it, and how it has happened to me more times than I care to admit… If you’re painting something, and everything is going just peachy, you get over confident. Not intentionally, it just happens. Well, maybe not to you – the reader, but I am about as far from a professional painter as you can get, so this wisdom will most likely apply in different percentages to different people… depending on their painting abilities OR lack-there-of. Anyway… You think that you can continue to do a great job, and everything will work out beautifully. WRONG! Me: Let’s take a look at my masterpiece (as I move in for inspection) The voice: Don’t even think about it Me: Man, that is lookiiin good! (as I grab the paint again) The voice: Don’t do it, you know better! Me: It’s flowing so niiiiice & it’s got a great gloss to it (walking around it, paint in hand, examining) The voice: I’m tellin ya, DON’T DO IT! Me: Just one more coat… THAT right there, THOSE WORDS… “just one more coat”! Those words in yer head are the signal that you are about to indubitably ruin that paint job! Because that one more coat that you think is gonna go on flawlessly, is gonna hang at least two huge runs… And that’s only if yer LUCKY! In reality, it will probably be the catalyst for an apocalyptic amount of bugs to kamikaze themselves into your freshly sprayed paint and schools of fisheyes to bubble up out of nowhere! So… never let yourself get sucked into the “one more coat and it’ll look better” philosophy! That is just a sick game that part of you attempts to perpetrate onto your own weak, ill-grounded confidence. OR… you kick ass at painting and everything I just typed doesn’t apply to you. Aaaaaanyway… After the primer, one coat of black paint and two light coats of copper followed. I say “light coats” because I wanted them to not be super bright and to preserve that thought, I lastly hit them with three coats of semi-gloss clear. Here is a shot before the clear. You can see they have quite a bit of “flare” to em. After the paint was dry enough that I felt I could carefully touch them and not leave a fingerprint (cuz you KNOW you gotta touch them waaaaay before you really should), I mounted them back on the car. I know what yer thinking… “Dude, just grab the tire and don’t touch the wheel.” Yeah, I know that… But I also know, at some point, my hand is gonna loose its grip, a lugnut is gonna fall, a herd of white rhinoceroses are gonna run through the shop… something is gonna make me slip and touch some part of that wheel! But all went well. My arms felt like Jell-o, I could now commit crimes without gloves on because I didn’t have any fingerprints to give me away, and the wheels were the color I had envisioned long ago. Time to relax with a nice, hearty beverage. Hmmmm… You always see V8 caps on 35 Ford wires… But that ain’t gonna work for this. Time to do some research. To be cont…
THOSE WORDS… “just one more coat” Thing is . . . ya gotta put the squirter jug down at this point. It takes a some kinda expert shaker to finesse that "just one last coat" thing from a rattlecan. Us pretend painters can usually "fog-on" that final coat by using a real spray gun - just cut the fluid flow down a tad, open the fan spread up a might, and schooch the pressure up a few pounds. Much, much, less chance of gettin' those drools 'n snots that the rattlecans are so good at producing.. Probably'll look so good that while you're pattin' yourself on the back, the lady friend will be begging for you to let her clean up the gun and such. Loved the masking job man,
I have just one question after reading all six pages...in your early years,were you vaccinated with a phonograph needle? ???????
When I was in the powder coating business I discovered that sandblasting has no effect on the tire. Leave them mounted if you want. Course, I didn't put any in the oven with a tire on them, haha. Had a few guys come around that just wanted the blasting. Had old dead tires on a couple of them and the sand made no difference to them at all.
Great read so far... I'll echo what others have written about your abilities with a keyboard! Glad to see another one saved!
Yeah, I hear ya. My blaster is a great and well-used part of my shop, but not big enough to fit a tire into.
Nope, just straight up Henry stuff, ever so slightly tweaked to my preference. Thanks so much for the compliment and GREAT idea on the caps!
One of the best threads I have read in a long time! You sure have a way with words and with a wrench! She's a beautiful Model A and I am jealous! Best to you man~!
Waaay back on the first night at its new house, I started making a list of all the items that I wanted to give a bit of attention to on the Sport Coupe… and that list was now getting shorter! With the new shoes makin it roll better, it was time to figure out some shiny stuff to accent the wheels… or was it? Goin back to my original “story” for the car… What would be available in 1943? Or more notably, what would be attainable for the late-teen owner? Certainly, bare 35 Ford wires would be the most cost effective route. And… during my studies of that era, I have viewed plenty of pics from the 40’s that show wheels without any caps or rings. Just stripped-down hop ups that looked ready to compete at a moment’s notice. We’ve all seen the pics from back then, dreamed of the scenario and romanticized it to hell and back in our minds. Two not-so-old-Fords (for the time) happen to line up next to each other at the stoplight of a deserted boulevard. A few streetlights dotting the edges, throw columns of light down onto the pavement ahead of them. Each roadster pilot keeps the red light in their peripherals, while they glance at each other in unison. After eye contact is made, they both nod… knowing in their hearts, that the other guy is about to lose. Suddenly the red glow from above is replaced with green! Two well-worn leather shoes quickly hammer the foot feeds of both jalopies. The scream from the shabby tires is quickly replaced by the reverberation of the exhaust notes, as the one on the left quickly jumps out ahead! But here comes the other one as he winds out 1st gear farther than he really should. Feet switch places at lightening speeds as the two outside pedals are depressed, released & then depressed again. Shifters are nearly bent by the hands grasping them so tightly on the marbled two-tone colored knobs. Earsplitting RPMs are of no consequence now, as the contest is running even between the competitors! Quickly, another shift is made by both at nearly the same moment of the challenge. The roar of the engines pierce the darkness of the night, only allowing the streetlights a front row observation angle. A quick glance over at each other, confirms the fear that each man feels in his gut. They fly by another streetlight, without a clear winner to be recognized and only one more gear to go. On the left, a smile touches the tips of the drivers parched lips as his foot quivers on the clutch pedal, ready to bring the rath of his high gear upon that poor, unsuspecting fellow. In the other lane, he's got his mind set on windin it out again to put that newly installed gearset to task, cuz he knows his tight mill will shoot him ahead before he shifts one last time… But, the 29 isn’t either car depicted above. Our teenage owner was looking for something faster, lower and better looking... in hopes of directing a few female eyes his way. So, the no-caps-no-rings-route wasn’t gonna cut it. How about, just caps? I tossed that around too. It would be “period” for the build I was after. But, rings have always added just a touch more of a “finished look" to me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knockin the guys that only run caps. Some rods look PERFECT with caps and no rings. I decided to go with four rib beauty rings and '32-'34 Ford four-cylinder truck hubcaps. Why so specific about that? Well, the four banger in the 29 was running quite well and caps with a stamped V8 in them would be false advertising… Kinda like a chick that stuffs her bra… It just ain’t right! The truck caps have a Ford oval stamped in em versus the V8 symbol that we see more prevalently. Here you can see the deep ruby lenses I used in the taillights. When I asked Bryan if he had any old lenses that might be a bit darker than the repops that can be purchased everywhere… He came up with this pair that he had stashed away. I like these much more than the stock bright red and yellow Model A lenses that you typically see. One had a chip on the edge, but you can’t see it with the bezel on it. After a little polishing, they looked great! We are on the road now and lookin decent, but still stuff to do! To be cont… Epilogue: So who won the late night speed contest? The low end grunt in the left lane or the high windin fella in the right? You tell me!
I couldn't resist posting a side by side comparison. You've done an excellent job and I love your color choice on the wheels.
Amazing how subtle the changes are yet how dramatic the results are! If Henry had done this he probably would have sold a couple million more A's. My compliments on an excellent job and a great study in "Less is More". Also a nod to Rolleiflex for the comparison pictures. Well done.
Haha, it does look great, but if Henry had made them like that he probably would have sold a lot fewer of them. They'd have been stuck all the time. Remember the roads then were not the same as now... where there were roads.
Great read. Now I have to go take a serious look at the spring on the Banjo rear in the shed. I'm sure it is T but have never counted the leaves. I traded for the axle over 30 years ago.
Just gotta say, seeing another Sport Coupe on the HAMB is always refreshing.. Definitely subscribing to this thread! Currently saving up to dump my SC on its nuts!
The Jalopy Journal
