I did it!!! I fucking pulled off getting my pile o' junk, my first Model A Hot Rod, to Billetproof 2006!! I decided around the same time as JonnyHotRods (he's got a 30-31 A-coupe with a big Chrysler, too, but he's on the other side of the US of A) to make a goal, and gun for it, and I did it! I've been thinking about how he's been doing everytime I hurt myself and kept pressing for the goal. You guys all build nice cars, and I'd like to say mine is still really rough right now, but it was GREAT!! to get it going. I will get all the important details, safety belts, chop, floorpan, etc, done as time allows now. I would like it to be a decent car. Looks better from a distance! I had been thrashing for three weeks after and around work, and Friday I finally got to test drive it! That first drive was great, it's always a thrill to pop the clutch on a new car. Did some more work to it, and on the second test drive it threw the driveshaft. It has 4.88s, so that driveshaft was spinning!! Seems the little 'keepers' that center the driveshaft u-joint didn't exist/got sheared off, and that let the driveshaft slip and get thrown out. It was just past 5:00, and the driveline shop was closed. I hammered in some u-joints, fabbed up some bitchen' keepers/straps. My buddies Jeremy "millerkustoms" Miller and Dan "Cabbie" Nelson were instrumental in helping me until 5:00 AM Saturday morning going over the whole thing making sure I was going to make it. We wake up at 8 AM, stop to get gas, and head out! The car tracks beautifully down the road! If it wasn't for the Bias-Plys on the front it would have tracked perfectly straight. The suspension is nice, too, better than one of my buddies Deuces'. Not a kidney-beater at all! As we were headed up I-680 some jackass in a Dodge Viper (license plate VIPERIV) shifted down and lost control in front of us. As we were trying to avoid him one of the members of our caravan hit Jeremy from behind and smashed up the back of his bed. Despite that he had a pretty good weekend. As in past years the crew behind Billetproof put on a good show, but I was still buzzing from driving my car. I got to meet Busch and Busch, two really great guys from Nevada! Their Model A is just as nice, and it was cool watching them scoot all over the show. They hooked me up with a hood they thought fit a '30-'31 Model A, because it didn't match their hood, and I think we may have a rogue, because it didn't fit my car either! Anywho, more proof that HAMBer's are the best! I wish I would have run into Farmer, and Randy too, I bought this Coupe from Farmer, but I think I'm going to have go up to the 'Hot Rod Garage' soon, maybe get a picture of it parked beneath the glow of the neon, like the image burned into my brain of the first time I saw it. The drive home was uneventful, and she's cuddled up in the garage at home. Sunday I slept, cleaned out garage, and drank beer and relaxed. It's good to be a hot rodder.
Sweet Ride! I'm still looking for that day you have described - Poppin' the clutch! My goal is to make it to the Pileup! Hope to get a little driving time in before then though, its a long way from my garage in Kentucky to the Pileup!
ah shoot! I thought for sure that was an A hood, you can make it fit right? It was great talking with you, lots of cool guys we got to meet up with, see you around! And if you guys didn't get to check out El Scotto's Chrysler A, man the thing looked great, and sounded great as well. Shook the ground and chirped the tires at every takeoff!
Congrats Scott, I saw you roll in with the helmet on and I almost fell to the ground. Hella funny. Did you drive with it on all the way? Were people freakin? ~Brian
Hey Scotto, it was great meeting you too. You and your buds were class people. That Hemi was sounding badass, man! Just hope you got home without any new bullet holes in the body, haha!
Saw ya' come in with the "lid" on and laughed my ass off!!!! The car sounded and looked great!! Too much fun!! AL
Wow! I wasn't expecting to see this back up at the top again! Thanks for all the kind words. I'd like to say again it's not a "rat rod", it just ain't done!! It was a rolled-over Model A coupe body when I got it, next year I hope all you HAMBers come share a beer with me, and see how far I've come. I'm just a guy with some great friends livin' the dream! The helmet was just a gag until I got on the freeway, and I found it quieted down the open exhaust a bit and on it stayed!
So you have been stuck in Antioch since then? Congrats on the virgin run, can't wait to drag my shit down there next year maybe.
Not gonna make it! Sorry I haven't been posting, but all I've done is work on this car. I tried, but ended up overdoing it and got sick. Working outside in the driveway or on the wet days, trying to get stuff done in the old barn ALL day for a few weeks caught up to me and I ran out of time. Just got burned out and a bit tweaked. Got TONS done, but didn't have it finished enough to drive it down to the show in Massachusetts, and I don't have a trailer to get it there otherwise. I haven't road-tested it yet... Still had a list of safety issues to work out before registering and insuring. I'm still at it, but not as feverishly as I was, trying to get back to some normality. I'm amazed that el scotto did it! It's gotta be a great feeling to have it at the drivable point and have all of that time and energy pay off. .... Soon.... Jonny
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