After a couple false starts got going today. I bought this car off John @JRN1967 after answering an ad for his brother's coupe. John was awesome to deal with and had done quite a few upgrades including B cam, head, carb, dizzy and later for 3 speed +overdrive gear box plus a whole lot of general maintenance. I sure was lucky to buy this over a stock A. The body is pretty solid and straight with a little rust in the floor and nicely weathered back paint. Just right for me in many ways. This is how it looked when it arrived in November. My original plan was to keep it as is, drive it a year or so and probably find its next caretaker. When I had it shipped I also had some 750 and 550 Firestones in the container, this morning thinking it was time to do something positive with the car and procrastinating re the 34 I rolled the car out of the garage and had a look how those tires would look on the coupe. Before and after (well sort of, I forgot to buy tubes and now need to see if I can get them here in Japan. Clearly I was on the right path so pulled it into the garage and onto jack stands, with no fixed idea but with @stubbsrodandcustom coupe firmly planted in my mind. As I've got older my tastes have changed and I really love this car and other's like it. I already have another full fendered car and have always wanted a highboy coupe as back in Aus at a minimum you need cycle gaurds and here in Japan you dont so....So with that in mind I made a little progress today towards meeting that dream. I was blessed by having all the fastners but one come out nice and easy and I spent a little time bagging them up in case they are needed later. That does bring to where I need a little guidance please. There quite a few small bolts which I assume bolt the running boards to the splash gaurds. If that's correct how do you access the top of them as all are spinning? I guess I could grind them off if need be but I'd rather unbolt them if possible. Once they are out it appears at some stage they the splash gaurds and running boards were welded together in places so that will be fun to sort out... I want to keep the splash gaurds as like the look and it hides a few things including a 12V battery that's under the floor. Even after an afternoon of hours I didnt really seem to get much done when looking at my pics but Im happy with the progress, with all the rear removed plus some more. I purposely stopped as am waiting on an angle finder which arrives tomorrow so I can measure my current headlight bar and fab mine correctly so couldnt remove the front fenders etc. Most of those bolts are out though so hopefully by mid afternoon tomorrow everything that is coming off will be on the floor and I can start on the lights etc. Well if you are still here, thanks for your interest and any help, guidance , particularly around the running boards and removing the front fenders or even abuse, is most welcome.
Looks like a great start man... Glad my old gal gave you some inspiration. The running board bolts are real finiky, Mine I had to cut off due to way to rusty and spinning. I know that once the rubber is removed from the top of the board there really isn't access to these places either but you could drill a hole to access the bolts better and maybe get a screwdriver in there to jam against the head etc? Tip of the day, the splash aprons will be a bit loose and shake a bit, how to tighten em up, drill a hole down through the subrail behind the door opening and put a bolt pulling the splash apron up to the body, this tightens them a whole lot for sure.
1930 was teething year for ford when it comes to those splash aprons. As you can see they are in 2 pieces along the length of the car, whereas the stubbs car is one piece (1931). You will have cut the running board part away from the apron and grind away the spot welds holding the front part of the apron to the fender. If you can source some 31 aprons, you could unblot the body and raise it up a few inches and switch them out. Cool car!
My suggestion is to cut them off and don't waste time on them. Usually even if you get some of them out they are weakened and often the threads are bad. You could try making a tool that is similar to a chisel but with a slot in the middle. It would have to be kind of thin where you could drive it under the edge of the loosened bolt. It might hold the head while you turn the nut........but probably still not work very well. Nice Project!
Thanks Pineapple, appreciate the description, makes more sense now. I wonder if thats why some guys removed both splash panels and running boards all together on some cars and not others. Ironically Yesterday I spent a fair bit of time removeing bolts that joined the two pieces of splash panel together only to realise at the end of the day I didnt need to. Looks like I will be able to source some tubes today too so once they are here can get the tires mounted. Kind of excited about that Will have a crack at it today and report back, really looking forward to seeing it all apart, hopefully I can get that sorted.
Cheers for the kind words and suggestion re securing the splash aprons, very much appreciated particularly as its the 1st I have heard of that.
Looking at this aftermarket part it appears the long part of the splash apron only has one body bolt through it. Anyone know if that's the same with the stock part?
memory says those slots were to let you slide the aprons out from the body to add/remove shims... and the aprons being welded to the running board... ? ... pick up truck ?.
Pete, You would do yourself a favor in the work and style department to find 1931 splash aprons, Those 1930 ones are a pain and dont look as good.. Just my personal opinion. Cheers buddy.
Well its lucky Im not paying myself by the hour.... Learnt a few things today. The running boards and major part of the splash apron are indeed one piece and there is one small bolt inside the car that you need to remove before they come out. Took me a while to find that....... Contrary to advice I read elsewhere you do not need to lift the body to remove the running board assembly nor the splash apron including the part which is attached to the front fender. You do need to pull the front cowl bolts and the two cowl bolts per side inside but that's it. I did lossen a few of the others though which probably helped. For about an hour, maybe longer I thought there was another bolt holding the front fenders and splash apron on and kind of got the shits and got a bit heavy handed with it and with some persuasion the left side came out from under the cowl. Stoked, managed to get both fenders and attached splash aprons off the car. If only I had done that an hour plus previously... Before removing the headlight bar I measured the angle of the headlight mounts so I can replicate that when I fab up the dropped headlight bar. The car is not sitting level on the jack stands so that angle is just relative. I also measured the cowl angle in case the car is off the stands when we do the headlight bar. Will build in a small correction to allow for the 750/550 wheel combo. I would have loved to have kept the splash aprons but am not sure I can be assed seperating all 4 pieces and will probably sell all the fenders, running boards etc as a package lot. One issue I have is the splash aprons would have hidden much including my battery box which hangs below the floor. If I had a trunk instead of dicky seat I probably would just relocate it but it is what it is. To try and alleviate that a little and working with what I have as I think would have happened 'back in the day' I will relocate the horn I have with the car down there, somewhat shrouding the battery box. If I dont like it after a moment its a simple thing to change. Pic below is just mock up as it needs to move forward a little and I'll spin the mount to hide the wiring. All in all it was a successful if not slow day getting things done. Was nice at the back end of the day to turn the rachet to doing things up instead of taking them off and a little bit of mock up with the headlights. Still not 100% sold on using the A model tailights but thats still the plan. Thanks so far for advice and following along
Pete, That fender-less pic without the aprons is Saikou.. Have you considered converting the rumble lid to a trunk and then relocating the battery out back? Looks great so far, keep wrenching!
Looking good Pete, The battery you can make stand out less by installing a piece of sheet metal in the battery boxy to the drivers side and painting black so it blends a bit better, or just paint the battery sticker flat black and it will make it stand out alot less. Sucks about the aprons but you can always get another set repop or orig. from late 30 to 31 and do it later if you want. .Keep up the good work man. Its always fun once you get the fenders and boards off, its like a totally different car... I am looking forward to seeing it back on the ground with the wheels and tires on again... Headlight bar looks good low, I cut my ends off at about 2" from the flange, and bolted them to the frame, trimmed the ends off past the headlight mounts and polished up, then notched the stands mounted on the frame to give me a very even welding area. I like my headlights low for some reason, just looks meaner maybe.
Cool car, I like where you're headed. There's just something neat about an old Model A Coupe-always loved them. Good luck and have fun! ironandsteele.com
Thanks John, to be honest wasn't too sure how you would feel about it as we spoke about keeping it pretty standard when I bought it. Glad you are OK with it and thanks for the words of encouragement. I think long term I will change the rear to a trunk as you suggested, if for no other reason practical use and once done will move the battery. Thanks for the prompt, I had a read of a few threads last night and it doesnt look too complicated.
Thanks mate, I actually gave the battery and its cradle a quick coat of flat black late yesterday and it sure made a good difference. I think long term I'll convert the rumble seat to a trunk and relocate it. Im definetly looking forward to seeing it on the ground again soon too, hopefully I can source those tubes today or tomorrow. Thanks for the headlight bar info too, including the pic and process. Like you I like them low Getting that done is on the agenda for today although I dont have a welder so will have to pop down and see a mate initially. Its actually prompted me to buy a welder having sold mine when I left Australia. Once again thanks for the input and props, much appreciated.
Well have been chipping away at it. Some days it seemed like two steps forward and one back. Silly things like reconnecting the tailights and even though Im sure I did that in the way they came off the running lights/brake lights were some how reversed. Also fitted a little licence plate light with the rumble seat up, it sure looked like there was enough room for the wiring when the deck lid shut, there wasn't.... It wasnt all like that though. I made up some templates for some rather fancy taillight mounting brackets then realised I was over thinking it and just made up some super simple ones. Clearly Im not a fabricator and am using what tools I have with limited experience but they work but looking at it now Im kind of embarressed about the grinder marks but you cant see them with the lights mounted. If anyone has some pointers on how I cam do jobs like that better Im all ears. And this thread is in part all about showing anyone can do something like this with a stock(ish) car. For my 34 I bought some Eastwood products including this rust enacapsulator. Looking at the A I saw I could use it for predominatly aesthetic reasons. The rear shocks got a coat as did the brake rods, some of the frame including where the running board supports were. All in all Im really happy with the product and the outcome. As my wife will be in this car with me I wanted to put some seat belts in. I had ordered 2 sets for both cars and tried to find some that fit a bit better with the car. I managed to find some at Speedway and had them sent out. Installing them was really easy and was described really well in the Les Andrew's book. I also moved the horn to where I had it mocked up. I like the look there and it does go someway to hide the battery. Of course when I wired it up initially it didnt work but I must have done something silly as when I replaced the wiring it worked a treat. Live and learn.... I still need my mate to come over with his welder and do a few small jobs including welding up the chopped headlight bar etc. Once that's done the list is pretty short to have it ready for inspection although that may take some time as the paperwork here is really involved and normally handled by a shop. Fingers crossed we can get it done. Thanks for following along. Im trying to capture how anyone can do something like this as I have quite limited skills and limited tools and there will be little setbacks but you just have to keep plodding along.
Well my tubes turned up yesterday and I was able to fit the wheels but it was bucketing down so I couldnt get it outside, today the weather was great so before/after pics. Then removed the hood to see how it looks and bata boom, I think that's the look. Need to finish off all the remaining chores with the biggest being the rusted out trunk floor. Looking at it now I'd love to give it a 6" haircut but will get to that next year I think and hopefully enjoy it as it is over the coming summer.
Looking great mate! Big changes! Thanks for your integrity in terms of showing us the warts n all in the story, it's real & as you have said, it doesn't put a build like this beyond the average joe. These cars are supposed to be for our benefit & so many feel like they are beyond their abilities. There is so much pretension in this trad rod scene, the thing that drew me in was because it was an achievable 'in' to Hot Rods & was a reaction to the high end billet scene that was main stream all those years ago when it -the trad scene-really kicked off!
So on the hood, they drilled it to hold it closed, looks like an early anti theft system... weird for sure. So on the fronts instead of bolting it down all around, I utilized the bolts in the rear that hold it down to the cowl, and the fronts I made slide pins, they go right under the radiator support where the grill shell attaches. The pins have springs on there to make sure they stay forward and keeps hood secure for sure. Ill try to get you some photos of it.
Been chipping away at it some more. The footwell in the trunk area had some rust through whihch I wanted to address. Im not experienced in cutting out sections and welding in new ones so tackled this by initially cuttiing out most of it to give me much better access. This has also given me some material for small patches I need. The access made it a lot easier to grind out the old 'riverts' and remove the remaining pieces. Once that was out I went down to the local steel fabricator to buy some sheet. I had hoped for 1.6mm but he didn't have any in stock but did have some 2.3mm. As this was the trunk floor and a relative small size the extra weight was negliable and added some strength, particularly as will bolt it in, not weld it and it is flat with no beads in it like the OEM part. I had him cut it to size 470mm x 940mm as my cutting skills are marginal at best. It cost me about $40, not cheap but much cheaper than a replacement panel from the big vendors, which I couldn't source here even if I wanted. I prepared then painted any surfaces that mated together and with very minor trimming it dropped and I bolted it in using the existing holes. I sealed the edges with silicone on the bottom to fully seal it. It looks gloss in the pics but is a matte. Im happy with the way it came out and both sides were painted with the Eastwood paint I used above. I've been using that paint in many places as I go. Goes on easy and should protect the car over time. I've been chipping away at a few things, some just aesthetic, simple jobs, some a little more involved. Based on the look of the inner 1/4s Im thinking at some stage they have been repaired and it was left a little unsightly now I removed some panels. I have zero interest in stripping the area to see what has happened previously so a quick spray and that is sorted. I've done quite a few areas like this. That large hole in the wheel well will get patched today using some of that old floor. I've been in and out of that trunk area TOO many times. One of the best things I did was remove the rumble lid so I can get easy access. One of the joys of working on a stock height car is the ease of getting under it and working on it. One of the challenges for a short guy like myself is getting into and out of he trunk. This helps Finally got the licence plate light relocated with a little saga, not sure why but that one little job has fought me so many times. Just one of those things. I'm not happy with the location of the HAMB plaque so that will be relocated lower. I put it there to cover the incorrectly drilled holes from my 1st attempt at mounting my taillight light My mate is coming over this morning to weld up my dropped headlight bar and a few other small jobs. Then a bit of of work over the weekend including changing all the fluids and I should be ready for the inspection. We are still apprehensive how that will go but fingers crossed it will be fine. Thanks for following along and all and any comments, advice etc is always appreciated.
Cheers Paul! If and when it gets done it will be 6" so appreciate the pics. Quick update today. Nothing exciting, just trying to work through my task list when I can doing things anyone can do. When ever I buy a car I like to swap out all the fluids. So today flushed the radiator and refilled with coolant. Drained and replaced engine oil. Tranny and diff will get done tomorrow. Probably didnt need to buy 2x 5gallon drums of engine oil though..... (Had forgotten I had ordered one on Monday and ordered some more yesterday) Bugger. Removed the old vaccum wiper motor as there isnt a vaccum port on the intake manifold and I dont have the line to connect it. Really simple to pull it off. I had one of those generic Speedway electric motors on the bench (link below), destined for the 34. Only had to enlargen the hole a little and drill another for the mount. Easy peasy. Dry fitted it to measure how much to cut off the mounting threads and wiper shaft and the dremel made quick work of those. It was super easy to fit to the Model A but in doing so you cant open the windsheld. I think I'll remove it once the car has been inspected so I can open up the windshield and use it on the 34 as intended. One of the big avantages of the one I used is it has a switch on the back of it so it only needed power and an earth. Easy simple jobs anyone can do.... https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Universal-Black-12-Volt-Electric-Windshield-Wiper-Motor-Kit,2999.html
The Jalopy Journal
