Projects Tweety's 1930 Model A Coupe Build

Hey guys! A lot has happened since my last post in 2018 with both life and with the car... Want to thank all of you HAMBers for helping me get the car to where it is today. I have always wanted to capture the progression of the build but as you all know time gets in the way. As the body is currently at paint there is no better time than now to do this.

Cheers!

 

It all began with seeing Milners 32 Ford in American Graffiti when I was probably 10 years old. Hooked! Since then my dream car has always been a 1932 Ford Coupe (I even named my first dog Deuce)! One day scanning the local classifieds, there it was... Kind of... Listed as a 1930 Ford but it had the look and I had to have it. Being 26 years old at the time, and financially in no position to take on this kind of project a deal was struck and I dragged it home the next day

 

Ok, I'm following. Looks like a great start, so I am anxious to hear the rest of the story.

 

Looks like a good start, with some history.

 

Taking a closer look at what lies ahead... The older gentleman I bought the car from mentioned he picked it up back in the early '90s. He had plans to restore it, but life got in the way, and the car ended up getting shelved, waiting for its day to shine. As time went on, he realized he probably wouldn't get around to it, so he put it up for sale. I was the first to call, followed by a flood of others (his phone actually died from all the calls!). Being old school, he told me that since I was the first to show interest, I had the first shot at checking it out.

The workday couldn’t end fast enough, and as soon as I was done, I headed straight to his place to strike a deal.

The car had already been chopped and the roof filled before he owned it, but he didn’t have any history on when or who did the work. He did say that the car was supposedly used as a prop in a movie filmed in Edmonton, but I haven’t been able to confirm that yet.

 

Scored a great deal on a small-journal 327 in our local Edmonton classifieds. It's not exactly my dream engine, but at this stage in the build (and in life), it's about as "traditional" as my budget can stretch.

 

A few days later, I found a Ford 8" rear end from a Maverick in the same classifieds! It didn’t take long to realize that luck was definitely on my side in these early stages of gathering parts for the build.

 

@VAPHEAD really came through! This frame is amazing, and his attention to detail is second to none. I was heading down to the Montana border to pick up more parts, and Eric went above and beyond—working with a super tight deadline—to make sure the frame was shipped out in time. Big thanks, Eric! Frames Ahoy!

 

Went on vacation down to Flathead Lake in Montana and found this beauty at the Miracle of America Museum... Perhaps this may be more practical than my original plan for the car... Think Canadian winters

 

First step of my build was to create a vision of the final product. @Coupe-De-CAB beautiful coupe checked all the boxes for me! This was my goal... to create something as legendary as Steve's famous Coupe.



Seriously, how awesome is this car!!!

 

The body was pulled off the worn-out original frame, which, sadly, wasn’t worth saving. It’s now sitting on a dolly that my dad built for me



Out with the old and in with the new

 

There’s a very wicked 55 Chevy lookin for you.

 

First test fit on the new chassis

 

Time to dig into this 327 and see what I brought home... Stay tuned


Stock bore!!

 

This is (was) my dog, Deuce! It’s obvious he was all in on this project and getting excited about the direction it’s headed!

 

Dang, this is going to be a Good one!

 

Nice work! I'll be following along.

 

Like mentioned, I am playing catch-up with this build thread. Please enjoy the photo dump and ask any questions along the way!

It was time to dig in with getting this body straightened out. My dad built me the rolling dolly and I sketched a 2" grid along the surface for assistance with squaring the body... Worked slick and I highly recommend trying it!

First on the list was replacing the rear subrail section and wheel wells.

 

Time to address this 32' header attempt... I imagine whoever chopped the car originally started this and never quite finished it. I love the 30-31 visor and feel that its part of the Model A soul... So up next is my attempt to fix this. Please keep in mind that this is my FIRST ever attempt at any kind of body work or sheet metal welding... HUGE respect to those HAMBER metal masters. You fellas make it look WAY easier than it truly is

 

As with many of us progression comes in waves. Thankfully life happens along the way within these builds and that is what makes the process so special. And eventually a car integrates its way into your life...

 

As you can see, life happened!!... However, the car got shelved for a few years which looking back was ok. It allowed me some time to think about the direction of the build and what my expectations were (and replenish my bank account ) It sat like this for a while and I took on a few other smaller projects.

 

I see by one of the pictures that the Family likes it! It will come, Family First.

 

You will be pleased with that frame. We used the Riley swept frame with our 30 coupe.

 

I'm sure I will, the build quality is definitely top notch! Your coupe looks great, nice job man! Did you install a rear panhard bar? Been hearing mixed reviews about running a buggy spring without a panhard...

 

Great advice!! Couldn't agree more. Thanks!!

 

"When one loyal companion crosses the finish line, they leave behind an open path for fresh set of paws to run alongside us" meet the newest member of the team, Nova.



(Sometime around Fall of 2022) and life has slowed down and inspiration is running hot. Time to dive back in and make things happen!

 

Figured the garage could use a bit of makeover... When the woodworking tools come out, it’s all sawdust and chaos for me. Thankfully, my Dad loves this stuff. No matter what project we're tackling, it's always a good time in the garage with him!!



Not exactly HAMB friendly, but this is his Corvette!

 

Time to fabricate some body mounts and get my fuel situation figured out. For body mounts I used some 3/4" poly that I had available at work.


Now we're getting somewhere! Time to see how this 327 fits

 

Celebrated Dad’s 65th by taking him to Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale! What a blast and a memory we’ll never forget.