Projects Building My First Roadster in San Francisco

On May 12, 2020 I turned 27 years old. It was at that moment that I realized that if I didn't take action, I wouldn't have a hot rod on the road before I was 30. I had just finished my Triumph chopper project and had loose plans to put together a Panhead next.

After mulling it over, I knew that it was time to switch gears and finally chase that dream of building a hot rod. Not just any hot rod, but a 1930-'31 Model A roadster.

It's important to point out a couple things here. First and foremost, I live in San Francisco where space is limited to say the least. I do all my writing for The Jalopy Journal and The Rodder's Journal in my closet-turned-office (affectionately dubbed "The Cloffice") and my bedroom is a glorified broom closet. Despite the high cost of living I knew that, with enough scrounging, I could make a hot rod happen. Hey, it's just like a motorcycle with four wheels, right? I had simply run out of excuses. I knew it was time to get rolling.

I've never bought an old car. Not even a semi-old one. That's why when I began my search, I looked to the H.A.M.B. for help. I started a thread here, and you guys told me what to watch out for.

Initially, my plan was to start with a running, driving car. Well, I soon realized that was completely out of my price range for a steel roadster. After numerous dead ends, I decided I needed to take the time-honored hot rod approach and put one together myself. I have absolutely no car building experience whatsoever, so this is a learning process. I'm lucky to have my family in Michigan/New York helping me through this, and a host of great friends in SF who have lent me a hand thus far. I've only had the car for a month and I'm hooked.

So, without further ado, let's get to the build thread...

Here's where it all began. Body on frame, car on trailer, lots of hair on head. It doesn't run and I'm holding the door in place. I'll dive into the roadster's backstory in a Jalopy Journal column in the following weeks.

Note: I know there's a handful of you who are just itching to turn this into a thread about titles, paperwork and similar topics. I've spoken with California Highway Patrol and we're going to get everything sorted out. Thank you for your concern.

 

So what's the plan here? Like so many early hot rods, the idea is to build this car in two phases. First, we'll have a pre-war hot rod with a hopped-up banger and mechanical brakes. Then, once I get a better feel for the thing, my friend David di Falco (@six5monster) and I are going to work together to channel it, beef up the frame, swap to juice brakes and drop a flathead between the rails. His roadster has always been a favorite of mine, and you may remember it from my "Fly in Amber" feature a few years back.


Here's David and his roadster. You can get the full story here. We'll dive into inspiration a bit more later.

So my roadster build started with some grimy but overall solid pieces. The car came from Northern California, so there wasn't too much rust to worry about. There are some pinholes that will be addressed in the future, but it's overall solid. The body had been propped up against a wall for decades, and I was encouraged to see how solid the subrails were. The first time I saw it, I thought of an old whitewashed fence. It looked as if it had been painted with house paint! It wasn't perfect and it didn't need to be. It was a good start.


Dreaming big!

 

With the car in the garage, I was able to take a step back. "Holy smokes," I said. "This is actually starting to look like a car." Here's the first loose mockup.

With the fun and games out of the way, it was time to get down to business. Since the banger turned over, I figured I would hit it with the same strategy that I do for old motorcycles: address each system as individual projects. First and foremost, I removed the Zenith 2 carb for an overhaul.



Other than the spiders (deceased) the carb wasn't too bad. I gave it the full cleaning treatment.

 

Next came the ignition. Once I decided that I was going to convert the car to 12V negative ground, I knew that I wanted to run an electronic ignition. I had good luck with that setup on my last motorcycle project, and I eventually stumbled upon FSI for the banger. The installation was pretty straightforward. Finding TDC with the pin in the divot was exactly like on the Triumph, so that made me pretty happy.
Out with the olde...

In with the FSI!

Next, I scoured the H.A.M.B. and discovered the Full Metal Jacket Odyssey PC680, which should work for both the banger and flathead iterations. Using the stock lower battery box, I created a battery tray. It is insulated with rubber and clamped down so that there is no movement in any direction. The battery box will be painted black.


A little cardboard mock-up.

Fin.

Also, while paint was drying, I made a little panel and detailed the master kill switch to look like bakelite.

 

After weighing my options, I ended up pulling the trigger on a PowerGEN from the fine folks at Powermaster. I installed it along with a new belt. Its slightly larger size required me to customize the lower radiator hose (aka hit it with a hammer) to make everything fit. Also, with a little guidance from @hotroddon I found a source for radio suppression cloth-wrapped wire.

Around this time, I pulled off the side cover to adjust the valves, test the oil pump, re-lubricate and re-gasket. I was surprised to see that at some point someone installed adjustable lifters. It only took a little bit of cleaning to get things tidied up.

Part of working on a project that needs absolutely everything is celebrating the little victories. Like getting a radiator cap! That being said, if anyone has an old quail one or a Motor Meter they're looking to part with, let me know.

Although this is a build thread, it's also going to highlight some of the places this project has brought me. I was driving through the Sunset district of San Francisco when I came across an estate sale. Out in the driveway, there was a big bin of old electrical components. I sifted through them casually. After picking out a pile, the guys there asked me what I needed the stuff for. "I'm building my first car," I told them. "It's a 1930 Model A." They didn't believe me. I showed them a picture and, when they realized I was telling the truth, they warmed up. Later on, they asked if I could re-wire their 1957 BSA, which I may do sometime the line for some extra money. Anyways, here's what I picked up.
A note on wiring: All wiring is of the cloth-wrapped variety, correctly crimped and heat-shrunk. Not-so-era-correct waterproof terminals are used in areas that I think may get wet, strangely enough. Out of sight, out of mind...


I cleaned these up later, but you get the idea. Speaking of cleaning, it felt good to finally get the action side of the engine spruced up.



Got some great hardware/components from my new friends at the All Ford Store in Campbell, California.

Also, can't beat the giant Western Appliance sign in nearby San Jose.

 

One of the more exciting parts is that I now have a new activity in my life—perusing the H.A.M.B. Classifieds. On there, I found a great gauge panel that was within my price range and fit the look of the car perfectly. Note that I installed the jewel light from the estate sale as an indicator right in the middle. Works great. On/off portion for behind the ignition switch is in the mail.
Next, let's talk about the seat. Since this is a low-budget build, I managed to find a seat from an old school bus in the "Free Stuff" section of Craigslist. One day on my lunch break, I drove over to Oakland to pick it up.

The sky was filled with smoke from the latest round of wildfires, and the seller was a young woman from Ohio with blue hair. She showed me both of her school buses, the second of which had the seat I was searching for. Unfortunately, it was still bolted down—and I didn't bring any tools. "I can come back another time," I said, trying to be as accommodating as possible. "No problem," she said. "I have tools, but it's a two-person job." Moments later, I was underneath the bus with crescent-wrench in hand as she worked the impact driver from the interior. As I lay on the hot pavement, I couldn't help but smile at how absurd the whole scene must look on that hazy California day. Hey, anything for hot rodding, right?

The following morning, I bought my first real angle grinder. I used it to cut down the seat frame. I'll securely mount it later on. It's not perfect, but it's an era-correct upholstered seat—with seat belts!




(Seat feat. a shoutout to @Kid Rocker)

 

Nobody ever said they had to match to hang them on my wall, did they

 

Thanks! If it can be 1/10th as cool as the "Bachelor Button," I'll be one happy camper.

And thank you @31Apickup, it's a dream come true. I dig your pickup!

 

I'm so excited for this thread. Can't wait to see where ya go!

 

Bitchin' project.
Way to go Kid.
Following.

 

Thank you everyone for the words of encouragement. I have a feeling that this is going to be a very fun learning experience. What I failed to mention earlier in the thread is that pretty early in the build, I challenged myself to work on the car every day with hopes of getting it running in a month. No rushing of stuff, just making sure to keep a steady pace. The main reason was that I was leaving town for about a month and I wanted to leave off on a high note.

So, with the fluids changed, gas tank installed and wiring finished up, I rolled the car outside for the first time since I got it. There was a construction crew working next door, and they couldn't fathom what they were looking at. "It's a Ford roadster from 1930," I told them with pride. When I went to adjust its position in the "driveway," one of the guys walked over and was happy to lend a hand. I told them I planned to start it for the first time in at least 50 years. Unfortunately, they couldn't stick around for the show.

And so, with my camera on a tripod, I decided to go for it. I had turned over the starter the night before, so I knew something was going to happen.



Of all the vehicles I've ever started for the first time, this was the most exciting! Note that the smoke was from all the oil I put in the cylinders to lubricate prior to startup. After running it some, the smoke went away.

 

I can't wait to head down there once the car is up to par. Hahah the fridge story sounds familiar. Anything to save a little money. Did you ever go to Falafel's Drive In when you were there? It's been around since the '60s. The food was tasty—and so were the milkshakes!

 

Priceless Video

Way to go Kid.