I have been noticing that an original henry ford model A coupe (1927-31) are all around the same price point..$3500-4500...and in really nice, workable condition to the novice builder. why is that? I mean thats awesome... but, there are repros out there starting at $6000 and up...thats model B repro territory. I think a nice piece of original henry ford to start a project is an awesome starting point. don't you??? there just isn't that much of an excuse, in this department, as to why you would go with a repro body. that said, let us know your opinions as to this...but please, non of this "fiberglass is****" sort of debate...thats not the question nor the debate. (God knows we kick that topic like a dead horse around here) BTW...we all love picture thread, so feel free to throw em' up!!!
Or a really nice fiberglass one in that range... Aint gonna happen..... Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
I would go with a repro model a brookville just cause it would save alot Of time with rust repair and i dont have alot of experiance in that department. Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
It's just nicer to start out with a bran new steel and you can buy a repo body already chopped so why wouldn't you pay a little extra for one.
I think one thing to consider is you are comparing original coupes to repro roadsters. That's a big difference. Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
You raise a good point, even though all the bodies you pictured are a stretch for the novice builder. Although a person buying a repop would need basically the same skill level to finish one of those out as well. I have always thought of the A as one of the the most affordable hot rod material out there. Lots of running driving coupes and sedans for under the 10k mark. Even some nice restored examples can be found for a little more. I just don't fit in one all that well even though I love them.
Right... and not just coupe/roadster... but comparing REPRO to original. I prefer having an original to start with even if it's in need of a lot of work. Not that I wouldn't own a brookville bodied car, but..... I'd take a patchy, scratchy, used up, old, original body over one any day.
I didnt know the model a was made in 27....Carter made a valid point of comparing apples to oranges. Honestly I am waiting on a real henry A roadster. sure I could go repro but what is the fun in that?
A friend bought a nice '28 roadster recently from a guy who bought it to sell and make money. The guy is a old hopt rod parts dealer... so it was priced to make money, yet sell. Anyway... he gave $4200 for it. It was missing a door. My buddy then bought two '28 doors for $500. So, for $47 he has a very nice '28 roadster body... far less than a Brookville. Why are Brookville's so popular then? For a few extra grand... people are buying something they THINK they don't have to weld on. They are also buying something "new"... and to some, that equals "better". I think if you also consider the that you can have it at a set time, and don't have to hunt for parts, or hunt for the body itself... coupled with the fact that you don't have to deal with any panel replacement or rust... the Brookville's are attractive to some people. Different strokes... which I can see the benefit of both. Sam
New steel wont have hidden repairs under years of paint, rust issues, layers upon layers of paint, thinned out steel, ect. What you see is what you get. How many of us have bought a car, or took in a job stripped it down and QUICKLY found out it wasnt quite whate we thought it was? Well, some people cant do the repairs themselves, so those repairs soon equal a LOT more money.
What's surprising is they've been realitivelly priced like that for the last 25 years or so. Whereas a new Toyota Truck went from $7k to $17k.
Are complete cars that hard to find? I have no shame in taking a decent but not excellent car and selling off what I don't need and building a hot rod out of it. Pay around 6-8K for a good car, sell of the stuff you aren't using and have everything you need for 4-6K, I am talking garnish moldings, fuel shut off valves, subrails that you can't see thru, window regulators. I have let go of a couple that I felt were too nice to mess with. Others would think my coupe and tudor were way too nice to mess with.
A Brookville RPU is like 6500 bucks, until you add up all the other***** you need to make it a complete body, I am not even talking fenders. IT gets over 10K in a heartbeat.
Wow, it only took an hour and 10 minutes for this thread to become a mute point. Well done. Carry on.
For guys like me, with ZERO metal working skills, the repros are a good thing. Would I prefer original steel? Sure, but mainly for bragging rights and for****le purposes. And even the bragging rights are over rated. I have great admiration for the metal working guys and the people who can afford them. But repros are always a great alternative. Trust me, there's a few repro owners claiming gennie and not getting caught.
He pretty well hit it right on the head. That nice old $2000 A coupe body can real soon become a $10,000 A coupe body if you have to pay someone else to do all the body work on it. Sit down and figure out what it would take dollar wise to have one of our better HAMB Hot rod body work pros take one of the A coupes in the photo of the three above and chop the top four inches and get the body slicked out and to the point that it is ready to go to the painter. That is with all the inner structure done so it can be painted and bolted on the waiting chassis. Sometimes it comes down to what is time and cost effective especially if you aren't able to do all of the work yourself.
Wouldn't it have the "soul" of the hard working men and women at the plant or where ever repops are made?
Kinda meant as more of a question...... but was thinking more of a history, been around, good times bad times kinda soul
I hope Brookville comes out with a 30-31 coupe when I'm at that stage. I don't have skills nor the patience to learn them to re-do an original, and it would cost way more for me to have someone else do one than to go re-pop
thank you...lol everyone here has a very good obvious point...especially when it comes to getting the body to be as good as a new one...but its still an original. well anyway, I guess the bragging rights have something to do with it. and I get the whole "SOUL" thing...but it could be a creepy "SOUL"
<HR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #e5e5e5; COLOR: #e5e5e5" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and****le --><!-- message -->Quote: <TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset" class=alt2>Originally Posted by codeblu Wow, it only took an hour and 10 minutes for this thread to become a mute point. Well done. Carry on. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> It's moot. <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->__________________ And if we stop talking about it, it'll be mute. Model A's cheaper as original steal? nice!!! Original steel? I'm still amazed at how cheap complete, stock running Model A's are. For years guys have been buying stock or restored A's and part them out to get a complete body. Then they sell off the stock chassis, etc. to make back some of their start up money.
Oh, you're not so smart. It's moo...because cows don't really have opinions. Thank god they made millions of Model A Fords.
I went with a Brookville roadster body because everything I looked at was junk and still priced stupid. I wanted the whole body, not the upper 2/3rds of it. I`m very happy with the body and although they still take some work to use, it cut three months off my build time. The only downside is the repro body had no****le but my frame came with one.
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