how nice is to nice to hotrod

here is my dilema, my buddy just purchased a 31 model a coupe, its an all original complete, 55,000 original miles, runner, driver, its an unrestored survivor, everything is there and intact except for the radiator cap which was stolen, and the cloth top which obviously ripped off at some point, no rust only two small visible dents on the entire car. its now sitting in my driveway waiting to be torn down to be turned into a *****en hot rod normally i would be all for it, but the more i look at this a small part of me says it should be kept in this condition. what are your opinions on this. my wife has my camera right now but i will post pictures when she gets home so you can see what im talkin about

 

Pics man pics!!!!!!!!!

 

i know ill get em up as soon as i can

 

There are TONS of stock A coupes all over the place at any given time. The only time I would feel bad ripping intio an A coupe to rod would be if I paid good money for the clean paint, stock interior, rebuilt drivetrain that I was going to rip out and get rid of.

 

I'd say anything that is original, mechanically sound, and would stay that way without trouble for the next 5 years would be too nice to "hot rod". If any amount of it is perceivable as a "project", it is prime hot rod material.

I'm sure there is some gray area there but it's like they say about ****ography, "I know it when I see it."

 

I'll cut it........................Littleman

 

ok these arent my pics these were taken from the internet posting i,ll get better ones later

 

An all original car with only 55,000 miles on it derserves to be left alone. Get a radiator cap, fix the top & drive it. Find out what it was like "back in the day."

 

Rite now it's a parade car, theres enough of them. Hot Rod it out and start some memories!

 

listen to the man... Model As are still pretty common. That one is a great starting point for a hot rod.

 

sounds like the perfect start to a nice hotrod.

 

Its only original once.

 

True that man.

 

There never was, never has been, never will be, one too nice to 'rod.

 

This is one that the guys at Austin Speed Shop did.. It was a pretty much a stock Model A with a pinto motor.. Some Hot Rod parts like a flatty and Dropped and Juiced fornt and rear... And a few inches off the top.. it transformed into a Survivor Hot Rod..



heres the link to pixs
http://www.austinspeedshop.com/rogers-av8/

 

okay heres better pictures

 

heres another

 

interior shot

 

Rod it.

It's your buddy's rig, right?, so of course it's up to him.

I dig it the way it sits but I'd do subtle stuff to it.....for now. Always easier to "do" than "undo".

 

rod it, definitely.

that's not too nice by a long shot in my book.

 

seams rod it is the general consensus, thats what he bought it for anyways so thats whats gonna happen

 

Why not rod it as a banger, and definatley keep everything together i.e. with fenders.

 

Is he leaning towards an A/V8?

 

Not only are they common, but the folks that are nostalgic over these cars are diminishing in number. Anyone that drove a 1931 car as soon as they were 16 years old is now 95 yrs old....so if you say that folks that were 'around' those cars would be most likely to be between 75 and 95 yrs old, it's unlikely that there will be too many guys around that would want to buy it for the memories. There are tons of restored A-bones and tons of rodded A-bones. I ***ume that you are a rodder, so ROD the darn thing, and don't worry about it's originality unless YOU plan on restoring it as a driver. As previously suggested, you could get it running and pot around in it till you have the parts to go the direction you're planning - then you'll have the best of both worlds. I've done that a couple of times, and in fact I did acquire a barn-find 31 coupe from a neighbor's brother. Actually drove it home (fresh gas/plugs/2 recaps) and then cleaned it up and drove it back and forth to work once of twice a week (in Seattle), while I slowly gathered up parts for the conversion to hot rod. Stopped at a Model A supplier place in LFP to pick up a couple of new floorboard pieces (the wood inserts), bumped into the Pres of the Seattle Model A club, and he made me an offer on the spot that I could not refuse.

end of story - hope yours ends satisfactorily also.

dj

 

Cut that *****!

 

I would rod it, I would not chop it, I would keep all the metal on it, I would try to do it super ancient old school. To me a bone stock body is cool, It makes you look at the car harder to see the details that you may not if you just see it chopped.

 

Cut if up

 

That thing is Perfect!!!!
















For a Hot Rod

 

I have seen A's for sale where I think to myself, "I dont think Id have the gut to **** with this thing". The pix you have up..din't give me that feeling at all, looks like a perfect start to a rod.

 

what he said.... It's got nice "patina" on it....hop it up, drive it as you work on it... collect cool vintage speed stuff....even A hopped up banger would be cool in this thing...