model A on deuce rails

Unpinched on original 32 rails

 

These are pix from when we built my sons '29 hiboy(steel) on a '32 original frame, we pinched the frame at cowl, & inserted a hardwood gap spacer between body & frame in 1980,----Worked great!!-----Don

 

this A on 32 rails was built 1948-49...

 

Back in the day a real Hot rod was channeled and floor and body notched as required. Just taking off the fenders didn't cut it.

 

I had Gary Maxwell at Blackboard Hot Rods build my frame. He pinched it at the cowl for a 30/31 body.

I did the mini channel. I like the way it looks.

To answer an earlier question the Ionia Hot Rod Shop built at least one ch***is with a notch in the top of the rail.

Brookville Roadster and LRS Ch***is both offer 32 frames for Model A bodies with a flat top.

 

With the help of a couple local Rodders, I just finished pincing my rails.
The plan is to drop the body down about an inch over the frame.
The frame came out nice, but there is a little more gap(horizontally) at the rear of the cowl than I would like to see. I plan to drop the front body mounts an inch and then see how it looks.
Could just be alot more noticeable with the frame four feet in the air.

 

Nice!

 

Hey Ralph, you may want to cut those front chunks of subrail out completely. When I did, I found that the whole body dropped down and fit the rails much better.

 

That looks good Stefan, how are you going to finish out the firewall in front? Also do you have a pic of the cowl from a side view? I plan to keep the stock firewall, so I was going to keep the feet to keep the orig look.

 

I'm going to construct an elbow looking piece to tie into both the new tube subrail and the original firewall. Basically a piece to replace what I've cut out but with less material. I plan on constructing it this weekend so I'll update with some pictures then.

Have you started on that steering box flange yet?

 

pinched

 

i want an A so bad

 

Not yet, I'm waiting till I get the body situated in the right spot, also I picked up a 35 dash and I want to get it mounted before I figure out where the steering column is going to end up.

 

So, I finally found time to tackle the body channel. Stefan, I took your advice and cut the front body mounts and after a couple trys(thought I had it, but had to start over) this is what I ended up with. I still have to finish the drivers side and add the braces back in, but I think this will work. I basically sectioned the front mounts about an inch, then sliced out all the uneccessary metal, moved the original floor mount surface up to the level of the top of the subrail. My floor should lay pretty flat on the subrails now.

 

So, I finally found time to tackle the body channel. Stefan, I took your advice and cut the front body mounts and after a couple trys(thought I had it, but had to start over) this is what I ended up with. I still have to finish the drivers side and add the braces back in, but I think this will work. I basically sectioned the front mounts about an inch, then sliced out all the uneccessary metal, moved the original floor mount surface up to the level of the top of the subrail. My floor should lay pretty flat on the subrails now.

 

Looks good Ralph! I still haven't got around to finishing my subrails to the firewall. I've been too busy spreading my firewall... After looking at it some more this weekend I think I'm going to cut my original elbows down and re-install them which will look better than some fabricated piece I would hack out.

 

I thought about fabing something too, but figured the original Ford steel would be the best. Here's the top view that shows how I moved the flange up.

 

Look great!!!

I picked up a pair of '32 rails for my 28/9 and am really looking forward to sitting the body on them. So here's a ? I have... let's "pretend" the subrails on my body are (now) missing... would it be better to sit the cowl and body on the frame rails and fab my own subrails... or should I (as planned) give MAC's or Brookville $400 of my hard earned dough? Eric (Vaphead) has the rear subrails to fit a '32 frame and I was pondering just getting the back 1/2 from him and fabbing my own from the cowl to just behind the doors. I hate to waste 1/3rd of the subrails if there's no need to do so but if that's the best way to do it... that's how I'd prefer to do it.

In a dream scenario I wish someone would make "A" subrails that went from the cowl all the way to the *** end... (hint/hint)

 

Decker- That's a tough one... If it wasn't for the door jambs that have a large portion that flares out and down I would say yeah just make your own subrails with the combination of Vapheads rear kit. However, because of that area that's exposed when you open the door, a section of square tube would look like hell. You could always resell the back half of the subrails and make some money back.

 

I've got a bit of a newbie question for y'all with experience pinching Deuce rails. Yes, I've searched, but haven't found what I'm looking for.

What is the preferred technique to pinch the frame? I would ***ume you slice/pie-cut each frame rail somewhere behind the cowl, heat it, bend it inward, and weld it. And then repeat the process in front of the cowl, but bend it back outward.....effectively Z'ing the frame as you look at it from above. Does this sound about right or are there other methods y'all prefer?

Also, approximately where on the frame is this work done? I have studied Rolf's coupe (and many others), but in this pic it looks like only one part of the frame was heated. Or was the entire "Z" done in this ~4" long area?

 

I cut mine right at the firewall, and then pie cut about two-three inhes from the front crossmember. then pulled in inward(one side at a time) at the firewall. Make sure you hold the side your not pulling so it does not move at the same time as the other.

 

Thanks, Ralph! That's actually quite different from what I was envisioning so I appreciate you telling me what you did. I didn't realize the second bend would be so far forward, but it does make sense now that I think about it. Makes the bends much less obvious!

 

Thank you for this photo. It's what I've been looking for.

 

Glad I could help. Note the use of bfvg's help when doing this!

 

LMAO

"BFVG's"

took me a second. Thanks man.

 

ok, so how much pinch does a 32 frame require for a 30/31 body to sit right?

i have the frame. it appears the work has already been done. the rear has been bobbed already. all do***ents i've read on stock 32 frames say the width when measured 32 inches back from the centerline of the front axle is 32 inches to the outside of the frame rail. when i measure across mine at that point, i come up with 31.250 inches. 3/8 of an inch on either side. is that enough?

 

anybody?

 

I know the Wescott's drawing for a pinched frame says 30.25" but that's for a 28/29 Model A. Sorry, I would measure mine if I had quick access to it but I'm not goint to be back to my shop for a few days.

 

yeah, i heard that measurement when using 28/29's. 30/31's are wider and people are getting by with spreading the cowl, i was just wondering if 3/8's on each side gets me close.

 

I just went out and measured mine again, it's 30" from the outside of the framerails at the firewall. I pinched a total of 2-3/8th's from a stock 32 measurement. I probably didn't have to go that far though, I went to the inside of the firewall edge, had I gone to the inside of the cowl, I could have got away with only 1-3/4". I did it the way I did because of the channel and the design of my channeled floor/firewall mount.