That is the thing I don't really have any ideas that is why I was looking for some old pics or some help. Not sure how it got so sidetracked but it sure did.
This is sorta like "Hey, can you guys design a car for me?", isn't it? Henry's boys (actually Edsel's) did a fine job with the 1st gen Model A. There really is a part that's to good to mess with on some cars. That's one of them. The way it mimics the shell and blends it into contemporary (for the time) coachwork was pretty damned artful. Look to 27 thru 30 Lincolns and go from there unless something whacky and outlandish is the direction. Just sayin...
Not saying build a car for me. I am just looking for some direction. You have never had a creative block? I am not wanting crazy and outlandish like the cowl on the Lil Coffin but was wondering if there was something out there that looked trick. I am going in the direction of a mild 60's show car with this build and everyone knows it's not a Kustom until every panel has been touched. I think I have a idea now but if someone comes up with something better I am keeping a open mind.
It's a famous car...but really...one is just enough. Merctruck...the guys are correct in saying that the 28-29 is already a beauty in the eyes of many! I wonder if something simple like shaving the filler cap and replacing it with a pointed cowl peak be enough? Kinda like were used on some other bodies back then but obviously not the A.
When everyone tries to be different, then they all look the same. I like the idea of a few gauges mounted in it. Maybe you could use some of the pearl inserts like on drum kits in the "cowl" gauge cluster???
On this car its really giving it that look. I said close. Close... Close! Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
How about a couple of long louvers in the sides that match the lower curve of the windshield supports?
You're probably not going to be into this idea, since it looks like you're committed to the open hood and you have a nice motor to show off, but one of the things automakers did in '33 or '34 was to lengthen the hood over top of the cowl. This made the hood longer and made the front of the car appear longer. Yeah, nevermind that idea... how about an engine-turned firewall?
Not quite an A but maybe its the "60s showcar" look you are after. According to Google, its Bill Osiakowski's 1927 Ford Model T Coupe
They're just different characters: the '28-'29 is more mid-Vintage and the '30-'31 is more late-Vintage (Vintage in the sense of "thin-fendered"). The drop in the early cowl and the consequent lower hood are really in the spirit of c. 1925 than '28, but it isn't a bad look. There is still a lot of horse-drawn carriage in it. By comparison the way the '30-'31 cowl continues the higher hood line to the windscreen gives more of a locomotive/ocean liner aesthetic. Cool truck, by the way. It was in fact common over a decade earlier, the difference being that lifting the hood on something like a Bugatti T23/27 would let one look right into the footwell. It made it very easy to get at the back of the dash, i.e. the nerve-centre of the electrical system. Later cars had stepped firewalls that allowed electrical gubbins (often including the battery) and other peripheral stuff to be accommodated above one's feet, besides giving a visually longer hood. I like the idea. Take the hood right over the early A cowl. I like the way that would combine the later hood profile with the early body's A-pillar reveal. Lose the cowl top panel but keep the top part of the firewall to create a compartment between the firewall and the dash. As you say, this would need a hood, though.
I thought that was a really nice car and then I saw the tubes on the cowl and hated it. That one is just not for me. I know there are a bunch of people who like it but not the look I am going for.
How about the treatment that was given the Anderegg Roadster back on the mid 60s. It was sacrilege for that car but would prob be bitchin on yours. A bunch of holes inside and ducting and you could have some cool ventilation.
Yeah either way not a fan of it. Never cared for shotgun scoops. I have one that I use on a new build if I Don't have a hilborn yet. Just never liked them and maybe that's why I don't care for that cowl.
Look for photos of two AMBR winners, the Emperor and the Ala Kart, more smoothing than sculpting They both kept the character of the '28-29 cowl.