my pop’s has had this 28 fordor for sometime and nothing will ever be done with it. I would really like to ditch the sheetmetal past the cowl and build a woodie. I’m a trim carpenter by trade so I could pull it off. I would leave it a patina car because I hate working on painted cars. It’s a really solid car other than the rotten wood holding the body together.
When I was 15 I bought a 4 door Model A for a parts car for my '31 coupe. I always wanted to use the 4 door as a pattern to build a 4 door woodie. But it was way beyond my skill set and budget. Would love to see you build it. But IMO it should be a 4 door not a 2 door like some of builds you see.
It will be a fordor but it will be a phantom being that the fordor Murray cowl isn’t what Ford based the 28/9 woodie on.
That car has to have some really kool stories to tell and it’s Nice that you will keep the stories going
The paint on the 28 is cool. Could you put your carpentry skills to use reproducing the original wood? Then finish the new wood with a shiny coat to highlight it? Salty outside and sweet inside.
I really want to keep it a patina car but am on the fence with a new wood body. I think it would look out of place having dented ole fenders and patina body and then have nice new woodwork. It’s like the wood should have a bit of patina also. The interior would be a different story though being that I would want it to look nice and be comfortable.
Hello, I am sure most ideas have been used or thought of, over time. But, a complete rolling chassis made for a Model A sedan is a start, so one can spend time mating the patina body to the updated finished rolling chassis with an SBC motor and choice of transmissions. One of the chassis frames, suspension, etc already made for a project of choice would be my way to go. Now, since the chassis is fairly complete, mating the body to the chassis and finishing the interior is the challenge. The patina body with a reliable, running chassis/motor should leave you with plenty of style points as to keeping the stock wire rims and new tires. Not only will your car look old, but, if and when folks come up to your build and say... "wow, a cool hot rod," makes it worth while. Even if they walk past because it does not look like the AMBR build, who care? Jnaki We are or were not body shop folks, so our first build had to be fairly easy on a couple of teens. So, when we found our 1940 Willys Coupe, it was in great shape and not running. After a tow home, we spent some time getting it to run and drove it around the block and over to a friend’s house. But, we did not have the money nor was there a company that made complete rolling chassis for our make and model as there are, today. Luckily, the body was not rusted and the interior needed some upgrades with bucket seats, etc. But, overall, had a chassis/frame shop been around with different combinations of finished chassis components all put together, we may have decided to go that route. The time and money spent of upgrading a 20 year old chassis to be safe for daily driving and racing at the drags was a lot of work. Since it was fairly, pristine, we were on our way to finishing our gas coupe for the drags and a daily driver for my brother. The sight of an old “patina” laden sedan and upgraded chassis plus interior would be different cruising around. Now, the challenge is to get the interior to look old, which it is with comfortable seats and upholstery. Using components to make it run and start every time one wants to go on a couple of errands or visiting friends is important. Worrying whether it will start or is unreliable to make a long road trip should not be a part of the equation. No cutting corners to save a buck or two. Top quality components and build. Or, simple out for a Saturday morning coastal cruise along the ocean shoreline roads… with the confidence in your own skills. YRMV Note: When our granddaughter was still a toddler, we decided to get a 4 door sedan. Not only a 4 door sedan, but if one was in the condition of your original photo, plus a great running chassis component with an SBC + A/C. It would have stood our amongst the large SUV forms and still be a hot rod as per our ow likes. We did not have time to build our version, as our granddaughter required our care and understanding. We had looked at several old cars, finished models and those with the idea of a great new chassis + required components for us. 4 doors was a main component, as access to the rear seat without having to reach over a folded seatback to get our little toddler securely in place. But, reliability/safety was the key issue. Her parents told us in so many words that a custom hot rod was not in our granddaughter's future as a daily form of transportation. We got the message.
That car doesn't look too far gone. I'd get the mechanicals sorted and enjoy it. Way less work than re-bodying.
I agree with what Alchemy was saying, save the steel body as it is, just replace the rotten wood within. That'd be a whole lot less work than building a complete woody body but still pretty unique.
I’m a trim carpenter by trade I want to build the body. It’s not about how much work it is. Maybe for some one that doesn’t know anything about working with wood but I’ve been a carpenter since 1988.
That is an unusual paint job...what was the history on it...Your Canvas is my joy to witness... I have to see what you did with Indian Red...
If you like making things out of wood, doing a woodie body can be lots of fun. The joinery can be complicated with finger joints and mortise and tenons or simple depending on what’s fun for you.
I’ve heard from two people in the Sturgis South Dakota area that it was Father(fill in the blanks) car. I’ll have to ask again on what his name was. As far as the paint I don’t know why it’s was done like that. Luckily the white paint is very small on the cowl so hopefully I can do some careful paint removal.
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