I'm well aware of what can be done with stock A parts. I'm very familiar with Kris Elmer's roadster, which used all A parts front and rear. The point is, Model A parts are plentiful, and you are insisting on running the early stuff, there is more than enough stuff out there that is primo for very cheap. This car is not one of them. As rotten as the sheetmetal is on that car, the suspension components are likely to be heavily pitted and damaged. But to each their own - everyone has to learn first hand about this stuff.
GRAB IT!!!!!!!!!! Smart to ask about a vehicle that is out of your range of knowledge/interest. At $700, within walking distance from home that is heck of a deal. Personally I think you may be locked into it with the story about the son in law being killed and it set aside for him. Flipping it for a quick profit would be a bad move IMO. Post the sled ride photos when you get them. Good luck with it.
You gotta show him cash. It's worth the $700 but no more. I would offer $500 & settle somewhere in between. There is a lot of work there & if you aren't capable of doing it yourself than that thing is going to cost you a lot money to make right. Me, I wouldn't let it pass even if I had to pay $700.00 but I like to negotiate.
Thanks for all the replies. I'll try to get dash pics this weekend. We've got 6" of snow right now so I'm not sure how it is sitting. The guy has a ton of '50s Fords (no shoeboxes, sorry) and 3 or 4 59 Edsels. He told me yesterday he paid $600 for it but he mentioned there was another cowl there but I don't remember seeing it. I know of a Tudor body that is 28/29 that could be had but is missing the cowl. Maybe I'll see if it is worth while and try to get the coupe and the cowl. Von Rigg checked it out last year after I saw it and he said it was pretty thin. I doubt he'd have a reason to make that up because he was looking pretty hard to find one at the time. I'll look into patch panel prices, etc. before I make the call. I wouldn't be in to flipping it. If I pass, I'll pass it on to one of you. I've gotten PLENTY of PMs on this thing. Aaron51Chevy is first, just so everyone knows.
I too think that it may be more work than its worth....the time and parts need to make it useable would probably buy you a nicer start.
I think Snyders has an online catalog now, or you can ask for one for Free. There are as many or more repo parts than they have for AD Chevy trucks. A subrail and wood kit will be your first step in saving that body.
My 2 bits. It looks to need a heck of a lot of serious bodywork, not the easy kind. I do not know your skill level. Some guys on this board have saved some real basket cases. Your time is worth something. I don't see "something for nothing" here.
I'm no Jim Sibley, I'll admit that. I'm not looking for something for nothing but I don't want to get nothing for something! I've already had that. I just want to make sure this corpse is worth dragging home as a start. I don't expect to be driving it for quite a while but I also don't want something that is a pile of dog crap that should have been left alone to start with. Like I said, if I pass, I've got a list and #11 is waiting patiently!
Take a look at this site and see how the body it totally blown apart for restoration. This is bascially what you would have to do to this one, it's just not as easy as putting the body on the frame and starting to piece everything together. If you want to do it right the body would have to totally disassembled/fixed then put back together again. Your time is free, the parts aren't. Here is a picture of my Coupe coming home after 15 hours on the road, the next picture is pretty much the way it was taken out of the pickup. http://idisk.mac.com/forever4/Public/pages/quartersbefore.htm IMHO
Aaron51Chevy and I spent some quality time at the yard today. We've decided it is best for someone else to take this on because it is beyond our abilities. The subframe is shot, the doors are pretty much swinging rust. The cowl looks pretty good as does the roof. The frame is very nice and we suspect the body doesn't belong to the frame, it still has paint on it but the body doesn't touch it in most places. I've PMed a couple of guys about the car to say they can jump at it if they want. I'd love to have it but the funding and time needs to be spent on other projects right now! Thanks for all of the input and knowledge gained over the past week or so. I'm now bitten by the A bug and can see that it WILL happen eventually.
That sucks for you but its cool that you passed it on to someone who may be able to use it. Keep us posted please.
Mr. Danimal, I was hoping you would grab that car...man were we excited for your new project. Keep us posted on this site as to how it turned out. If you didn't purchase it, hopefully a Hamber did. We'll keep an eye out for more posts on the subject. RGV
With as much rust that is showing,just think how much is not. I wouldnt think twice about walking away from that A-model. Its not even a parts car. The engine would be a boat anchor for sure and if water got into the trans,you got 2 boat anchors. Here in Michigan RUST RUNS DEEP. If your wanting a A-model wait and look for a better deal,even be willing to pay a bit more for one but at least something to work with. Go back there with a rattle-can of white paint and write R.I.P. on it, then give it a couple minutes of silence and walk no trot away. I have had a couple that i wish i had laid to rest. U-will sleep better. Just my 2 cents. ossajoe
I was told that the 30 and early 31 had the same firewall, and only the late 31 had the recess, and that the late 31 also had a different steering column drop, not welded to the underside of the fuel tank, because some had cracked at the welds and leaked. an old guy that was into restoring Model A's told me this. Dan
Yup, that was my thinking. I want a 30-31 model a coupe BAD, real bad, and Dan really wanted my 49 truck. I thought the stars had aligned. However that poor body is really hurt. The lower 3 inches is gone. There is nothing but one tack holding the cowl to the rear body, it's basically in two pieces. The entire front subframe is gone. In the rear the subframe is sagged and rusted through so the rear trunk area is sagging down. Someone with a jig and more skills then me could probably bring it back and hopefully they will but it is way too much for me to tackle right now.
Aaron has summed it up nicely. A jig is what you need and a good amount of time and patience. If one of you cat's want it, PM me and Paypal me (plus cover the Paypal fee) and I'll go get it until you figure out how to get it. I could keep it here for a little bit but after 30 April, I get the car and keep your money!! It's the least I can do!!!
Wow Dan it looks like we know where your heart is. I did not know Aaron offered you a truck also. Again, thanks for offering it up to HAMB members and if you or the kids ever want another 54 let me know and I will put you in touch with my neighbor.
Yes buy it, if you decide not to build it you will have great trading stock 700 is a good price 1500 a bit rich .Try, model a sheet metal, for patch panels. many suppliers.
I won't go past the $700 point! It'd be just too much. I need to clean the frame off to verify the VIN stamp so I can get a MI title for it before I go any further!
Dan, when your 70 years old and looking back on your life this will stand out as one of the best decisions you ever made. I've looked at hundreds of model A's and that one is in the bottom 2%. All of these guy telling you to buy it either are drunk or letting their jaws flap in the breeze. I can't believe anyone who has taken a hard look at the pictures you posted and thought what they were looking at was anything more than yard art (ghetto yard art at that). Stick to your guns and let this one pass. Frank
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