I've been on this site searching for a car/truck to work on for some time. I finally found a Model A pickup near my home. It's all there, but in kind of rough shape. I think the owner and I may be able to get together on a price. I promised myself that if I ever got back into cars (I hot rodded in the 60's) that I would build a roadster. Since roadsters sell at a premium, I was wondering if it would be a good idea to cut the top off this old pickup and wind up with a roadster pickup. I see where people cut sports coups and coups into roadsters, so I think it's possible. Would it look good, or is it a bad idea? I guess the other options would be getting the truck back into shape and trying to trade up to a roadster some time in the future, or just fixing up the truck and being happy with what I have. I've met some die-hard restorers and they would probably kill me for messing up this antique.
Dream it....do it. If you have the ability. If you don't, then dream it, but drive it. As your driving it you could learn how to do it......more fun that way. Good luck!
If it's yours do what you want....you'll hear that a lot here on the HAMB. Having helped a friend turn a toyota into a roadster p.u., I say fix it up and drive it. I am a disciple of the K.I.S.S. principle.
...it's fake....it's not real....you can't do it!....it's sacred to cut a Ford up... Blah Blah Blah!! You'll hear a lot of this on the HAMB Yeh it can be done and it can look good. Biggest thing you have to remember is thinning the doors. Doors on a closed car are a lot thicker for gl***. Roadsters have thin doors. Here's my old RPU. Started out as a closed pick up. Now I did a lot and tweaked quite a bit. Clark
cut it. lots of A's out there. build what you want. i've seen it done and when done by a skilled craftsman look cool!
I have seen several of them done that way (coupes to roadsters, hardcab pickups to roadsters). Almost all of them looked terrible. I have a better description in mind but it is not suitable for a public forum. Go to a street rod show (a national) and there will be a few of them so you can form your own opinion. In most cases the doors are too thick and the cowl/windshield area lacks the smooth flowing lines of a real roadster. By the time you overcome these two problems it would be easier (cheaper)to start with a real roadster (or roadster pickup) body. After saying that, the one Clark shows looks good. He may be one of the few exceptions. It would be good to hear him expand on what he did (eg roadster cowl?) and show a few pictures of the cowl and doors. Charlie Stephens
A agree with Clark,,if you have the skills it can be done and look good but without the imagination and skill it can look like,,well,you know,,, You can always build the truck and keep your eyes open for a roadster pickup body,,and just swap body's later,,just a thought. HRP
I just saw this,,why not sell what you have and start with what you want? HRP Check this out,,, http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=519645
It is possible to pull this off but there's more to it than just cuttin the top off. I made a rdtr p/u out of a tudor sedan. litterally every part had to be modified to have it look right. Those who tell you to sell the closed cab are leading you in the right direction. You can buy the needed pannels from brookville pretty reasonable. The other thing to concider is when it comes time to sell it, you'll have a much larger group of people interested with one that's built as they expected to be. Ron
I saw that. Phenomenal deal. I wrote Pete cause I wouldn't have all the cash until after the holidays. The pickup is just down the road. Don't know how much shipping would be from Boston to Ohio, but I'm guessing not cheap.
If it were me I'd go with the origional RPU listed above. Unless you have gobs of skill and the proper tools it's always better to start with what you want to end up with vs trying to alter an existing body to differnt specs.. I don't see how you could do better than the one listed but a quick check with Brookville would make a comparison and then you would have facts to make a decision. BTW, Brookville products are first cl*** and worth every penny of the price, saving you untold hours of work. Frank
i like this truck, i have an RPU project, i'm sure someone would be happy to trade your cab for a RPU cab.
If you cut up a closed cab, Save Every Piece because closed cab pickups are so desirable and so hard to find. Some one can use your cut off pieces to make a closed cab. I have to say, it sure seems like a dumb idea to cut up something so desirable.
When I started my old RPU (28) I looked for a closed cab PU but I couldn't find one in 28-9 or 30-1 so I settled for the RPU! I kinda agree with the why cut up something that is harder to find? Look for 28-9 parts they are cheap and easy to piece together, the rear of the RPU body can be a Touring center section or they are simple to make up if you have the cowl and doors. Doc.
sell that closed cab and put the $ towards a brookville body. youll have a lot nicer ride than a butchered up body...
Don't cut it up! Like most have said sell it and look for an rpu...it's yours and you can do what you want with it but if you are looking for advice...don't cut it up.
Nobody reproduces the closed cab pickups yet, which makes them desirable. If it's a '31 as you say, if it has a factory steel roof or a wide bed - it's a rare and highly prized piece for Model A restorers. Check out exactly what it is before you think about putting it under the knife. And as others have said, there is always Brookville....
It's not a big deal to cut the roof off. It's acceptable to chop any model A. So what's the difference? Don't worry about what others say. Whatever floats your boat. I personally would be looking for a RPU. I've seen some good deals out there. That one in Boston looks like a good possibility. It's about 8 hours away, but could still be had. 16 hours round trip plus borrowing/renting a truck and trailer (***uming you don't have either) would be far less time and maybe money invested than cutting the roof off a closed cab and makeing all the little details work. As mentioned, there is a lot more work than justing hacking the roof off. Whatever you decide, best of luck! Keep us updated. Any pics of the truck you're looking at locally? What part of Ohio are you in??
Another one in the cl***ifieds. Just a body, but looks like not much work is needed. And delivery could be available. It's in Connecticut. Maybe a nice holiday road trip? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=530789&highlight=roadster+body It's also available as a complete vehicle with frame and parts on Fordbarn for $5,500. http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17953&highlight=roadster There are a few others on Fordbarn as well. Check out the swap meet section.
There's also last refuge hotrods inc, much cheaper. Sell me your closed cab, and use the proceeds s for a roadster body.
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