in trying to find my way to building my "first hot rod", I had this vision of a Model A slightly lowered, chopped and channeled and something a bit quirky but not to rad rod'ish and sort of traditional that I could drive in summer, rain or shine. I wanted wide fives, a desoto hemi with a McColluch supercharger and a Halibrand quickchange only becasue I like the look So i went out and bought a Halibrand 301 Champ and a McCulloch VS57 and the wide 5's. Then it sank in and i really started to evaluate what i was facing and thought this is going to take for ever at my current skill level. So I took a step back and thought what could I "easily" put together. Not knowing anything about the 4-banger scene I thought maybe I'd just find a running model A ch***is and body and get something on the road sooner and if I like the scene and learn some skills i could always add the hemi, qc and blower later. I found a complete running (allegedly in 2017) original 1929 Model A ch***is and am starting the project there.
Wow, that’s jumping in with both feet.Hambers jump right in.. I’m a mopar guy myself…welcome to the greatest place in hotrodding…Hamb family get this fellow going in the right direction….
Here's a thread by @J.Ukrop for you to read: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/posts/14435433/ His hotrod evolution is fascinating to follow. Good luck on your journey.
"Here's a thread by @J.Ukrop for you to read: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/posts/14435433/ His hotrod evolution is fascinating to follow. Good luck on your journey. I've been following that and a few other threads once I understood what i was looking to do was called a banger. It seems no ideas I have are original and that someone has or is already doing it.
these are similar to what I want as an out come. stance and lakester of the first one patina of the second pic
I have the 17" and running ch***is and it's all dis***embled to be blasted and painted coming soon. Will try and see if the motor runs. p.s. looking for a 1928 or 1929 coupe body near Vancouver BC and leads appreciated.
Don't feel bad about that, folks have been hotrodding cars like yours for over 90 years. How many new ideas can there be left undone?
This is a smart way to do it, start simple and modify it from there as you learn. If you get your coupe running and driving with the 4 cylinder, you can always build another A ch***is separately (frames are cheap) and swap your body onto it later. And then you'll still have a running A ch***is to do something else with (26-27 T bodies are still fairly cheap and fit on an A frame, or maybe some kind of speedster/boattail could be fun).
Exactly how I did mine bought a body bought the ch***is and off to the races! Build thread is probably somewhere in the depths of the H.A.M.B.. If your looking for a body we got the Coastal Swap meet coming up at the end of May in Abbotsford that you may be able to score.
Thanks and the swap meet is already in my calendar so if anyone else from the area is going there to sell bring all those 28-29 coupe bodies you’re hoarding to the swap please. LOL
There is a lot to be said for the keep it simple theory. Sometimes we tend to overcomplicate our projects to the point where they slow down to a stand still. That said, I do have a 56 230 Desoto Hemi in a basket, as short block and a lot of pieces. that I am going to load up and haul to the Tri Cities swap meet in Kennewick on May 7. The engine needs a complete rebuild and most likely will have to be bored but comes with clutch, bellhousing and 3 speed overdrive trans. It's on my "never going to come up with a project for it" list as is a 66 396 in similar condition that I intend to take too. I'm working at cutting the Stash down to just what I have for the actual projects I have.
and dropped my axle off to be lowered at Victory Rod & Custom in Nanoose Bay BC *** pic isn't my axle just of the jig that Jeremey uses to bend them ***
Your project sounds much like mine. I started gathering the parts (a few flatheads, transmissions, wishbones and axles) in hopes of building an AV8 roadster. I pretty much had two or three of everything in the drivetrain area but I wasn’t making progress on putting it all together. Finally I lucked into a roadster in an estate sale that had received an amateur restoration years ago. I am a couple of weekends away from having it on the road which will give me something to putt around in while I build the ch***is of my dreams. Once the ch***is is completed I can swap the body from one to another. The next headache is that I picked up a couple of Dodge hemi motors this past year and I need to decide if I want to build a Flathead powered roadster or a Hemi powered roadster. My birth certificate tells me that I probably won’t have time for both.
i purchased a single carb downdraft intake from Synder's and was wonder if any one has seen one of these mounted with a lake type exhaust?
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