Projects The " No-Sí " coupe - 31 model A

Damn. Ok. Sorry to hear that. I'll see you when I see you

 

Channel and rear crossmember.

 

I edited some pictures so you don't have to twist your neck. For some reason the camera will take a picture and when you upload it, it will be turned 90 degrees?

 

Looks like your making good progress. Sorry for your loss.

 

Hey thanks Rusted! I'll be back on it Sunday or first of the week. The funeral is down in Nederland Tx just outside of Beaumont where Howell's sheet metal is at. I think I'll stop in and see if I can strap some parts to the roof for the model a.

 

I know there are a lot of negative threads on here and elsewhere about Howells Sheet Metal in Beaumont, Tx. I was nervous about ordering from them for that reason. Because of a death in the family I had to go to Beaumont this weekend so I decided to stop in and meet Ryan myself. The guy was extremely nice and went out of his way to help me out. On Friday I bought as much as I could that would fit in my tiny Kia hatch that was already loaded down with wife, baby seat, stroller, luggage, etc...and I was beginning to think I was going to miss them as I headed home full of parts. Ryan gave me his card and cell phone number and suggested if I would like to come back on Saturday (when they're closed) to get a deck lid skin and strap it to the roof. That was awesome! I took him up on it and he took the time to show me around the shop with his collection of model As and Ts. He leveled with me that things have been hard with a slower economy and the hurricane coming through the area. He needs some extra hands and a good cleaning in the office, I know how that feels. I didn't know that he supplied all the big name companies with patches and fire walls. At least they are made here in America.
On a good note, something that they have not advertised yet, they are now carrying a boat load of parts than just metal.


Good then...now I have a deck lid, window surround, rear body panel, patches, door latches and hardware, grill shell, and hub caps!
And my Socal mounts showed up so I can get the rear spring mocked up and build me a frame! Woohoo!

 

Nice!!

 

Cut the rear crossmember off the A frame and mount the T spring in. I simulated some weight load and found I'll be good with a 4" step. Tomorrow I plan to start on the frame.

I put the grill shell up on the front and eyeballed how much to chop it. I have a 21" mudstain radiator that I used for mock up but it still needs to come down a few more inches. I'll be asking to see what you guys think once I'm at that stage.

 

before...



After...

 

Cut the rails to length and stacked them with 2x4's top get our 4"drop. We made a pattern of the front frame horns, cut the sides out, added the horn section, and wrapped the top and bottoms around it. The horns are a little to wide and plain so we'll address that tomorrow. Thanks to Wade here at the shop for giving me a hand.



Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

Killer Coupe!

 

Hey thanks! Itch'n to ride this thing.

Should have the frame rails, cross members, and motor mounts done tomorrow.

 

Started prepping the back for the rear cross member before I called it a day.

 

Fitment of rear cross member

 

The front frame horns were to fat and bugged me, so this morning me and Wade cut the first 16" off the bottom with a pleasing sweep. After plating and grinding the end result looked so much better. It took a lot of time but it was worth it and I can sleep better at night.

 

Once the rails where done we locked them down to our rack and squared things up. 6-7 degrees was put into the front cross member to help with the spring. Everything looks great and we decided to let it cool through the night so we can get the suspension on tomorrow.

 

Today I gusseted the rear cross member and then was torn about what to do with the front. I'm using a cheesy looking speedway front cross member and to me out sticks out like a sore thumb. I thought about using the original one off of a frame i have but it's been hacked and plated. So I dug around in my parts pole and came up with these brackets. I can't remember what they came off of but they're plenty stout and look pretty cool on the frame. I plan to finish them off tomorrow so that i can move on to setting the drive train and suspension.


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Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

Been working... tig'd in some gussets.



We have a roller!

 

We put the body back on the frame and set the motor back in. I used the ch***is engineering style mounts and biscuts.

 

Tri-power set up was put on the motor so I could get the grill shell down to where I wanted it. Radiator wound up being about 20" tall and I couldn't find one on the shelf, so I'm having Bill's radiator shop in Plano make me one. They are one of the only good rad shops left in DFW.

 

Pete brought in some 16" rims with an overall height of 29" with tires for mock up. I'm thinking I will go for an 30" to 31" overall height with 16" 40 style rims on the back. I'm pretty happy with the front as is. Here's how she sits...

 

I used a mudstain tube cross member as a starting point for the trans mount. On the mudstain the bar goes across the frame rails right at the motor mount area. I had to shorten it a bit, add the trans mount to it, weld a few tabs to the frame, and had a bolt in mount for nuthin. I did put some money down for a Pete and Jake's rear ladder bar set. The kit is great! and for the price it was hard to beat making one since I'm trying to get on the road asap.

 

A 31 Studebaker gas tank was laying around the shop so I threw in the trunk to have a look see. Pretty sweet! me thinks. I turned the tank around a bit and it sounded like all the baffles were rolling around inside. So I'm going to use the dimensions and make an aluminum tank from scratch.

 

I decided to run an open top for now. I guess until I get caught in a storm miles from home...Just like the way it looks. A top was on the shell when I got it and it looked pretty rough. After a few minutes the the air hammer it was off. Good thing to as it was held down with some pop-rivits and covered with old bondo.

I plan on getting all new wood with a little varnish and what not.





So what do you guys think so far?

 

Looks very good . There is a thread Ill get the addy and post it here on the roof metal,but the installer would have liked to do a fabric roof.Your in a hurry and he was satisfied. The roof they bought fit so well. It was like throw it and it fell in place.

 

Looks great! Nice taste.

I think your correct about needing the rears to be an inch or two higher.

Flatty

 

Thanks guys! The rear arch will be filled a bit more with taller tires. Also the body will come down an inch and the suspension will go up one when I replace the reversed eye spring with a non-reversed. I have one inch spacers under the shell to let me see a final rake.

 

Looking good!