Hey All, I have been lurking here off and on for years and finally got the time and space to start something. This will be a years long project and pretty mundane for most of you talented folks but I wanted to have a place to document the build and get feedback and help. I picked up this little '31 Tudor a few weeks ago. She is a little rough and rusty, but is complete. It went through a "rustoration" many years ago and the metallic red paint is mostly gone but unfortunately still very well attached in many spots. My goal is to get it running and driving and slowly build it into something that I think is cool. It most closely would fall into the traditional hot rod genre, but for now, I am keeping the stock(ish) drivetrain and will hop up the banger a bit before moving on to anything else. Too much for the folks at the Ford Barn but probably not enough for most here. Ha.
Supposedly, this car runs and drives. Unfortunately the 6v battery was very dead and even with some time on the charger it wouldn't come back to life so I still don't know. The engine is free and turns over. More to come on that in a bit. Those with a keen eye will notice some extra plumbing on the carb and firewall. That is due to the addition of a gas fired heater. I was able to remove all that malarky. Some nasty holes in the firewall that will have to be filled at a later date. I plugged the vacuum port on the intake manifold. Did I need vacuum for anything? My car does NOT have wipers.
Okay, new direction... I was planning on keeping the stock engine but its tired and needs a rebuild. Looking at the prices for Bangers vs Flatheads has given me hope to move toward the V8. I found a local engine builder who is a Flathead builder and seems to have a good reputation. Looking at the bits and pieces and adding it all up, I think I can swing that for similar $ to the four cylinder. I want to keep it close to something that could have been built in the late 40s or early 50s. My plan is to keep the mechanical brakes with a lowered suspension a la Eldon, chop the top 4.5"s, stockish Flathead and a 3 speed with Lake Headers and a half hood.. My latest inspiration cars are these two: I have a set of 17" '33-34 wheels that I can use but I am digging the tall skinny 19" look. Anyone running a V8 on Model A wheels? I have started to strip the body. It seems fairly solid with the usual areas having issues. The belt line at the bottom of the cowl has holes and the inner fender wells have some pretty good cancer. The curved roof panels are rotted out above the windshield posts. I will see what lies behind the fender liners as far as the sub rails go. I don't have much experience with metal fab or welding but am convinced that I can patch up the panels and make it presentable. The plan is to get the body totally stripped and patched then remove it from the frame and then start restoring the chassis.
If you want a traditional hot rod, the first thing to be traded out would be the stock A wheels. Use the later wires. Then, the smashed chop you describe and show examples of is not traditional either.
I don't like the chop on the green car, I do like the stance, which is why I included it. Would you consider the chop on the gray car too much for traditional? I have later wheels in the garage, just exploring options and gathering info. Thanks for your input.
Both cars look gray to me. The coupe is a joke. The tudor is chopped middling to heavy, but looks more silly sitting on the stock suspension and wheels. Pretty sure (can’t guarantee cause I wasn’t alive in the 40’s) that a hot rodder would have made suspension mods long before he chopped a top. Top chopping on coupes and sedans wasn’t done til the Russetta assn allowed them to race, late in the 40’s.
Two of my favorite Model A sedans from the 50's But I also kinda like these current "traditional" builds too. This one needs bigger rear tires, but that's just my opinion...
I love these two. I have that last one in my folder of cars that appeal to me as well. (But, I am partial to dark blue) Pretty sure I will end up with the later wire wheels but will toy with the A wheels as an idea. Thanks for the inspiration.
Well, work continues. Most of the body is stripped of paint. This is my first Hotrod and as things go, it's tough to have the completed vision from the begining when you are just learning about all this stuff. So many choices and options and so much inspiration to draw from. It is easy to get lost and then change your mind a million times. That can get expensive as you decide to change direction along the way. I think I have what I want nailed down and then ADD kicks in and I chase after something different. Its a frustrating process but I am getting close to the vision of what I want in the end. I think the last decisions are what grille shell (31 or 32), what colors for body, engine and a few other small details.
My engine builder found a virgin Mercury engine and we are rebuilding that with a Max 1 cam. Kind of wishing I would have done something lumpier like an L100 or 400 JR... I am leaning heavily toward Lake style headers to go with it. I also found an old Edmunds intake. I may or may not use it as the generator mount tabs are broken. Not sure the best way to work around that. Someone mentioned that I could bolt some plates on the side to fix that issue.
Transmissions. I looked high and low for a good transmission. I found an older top loader and a newer side loader. The plan is to put the "new" guts in the old case. Looks like I have a date with a grinder and some synchro teeth on the main gear. I also found a nicely rebuilt shift tower to go along with them. So far I have taken apart the transmissions and am getting ready to paint the old case. With the book from Mac Van Pelt, YouTube and a pile of parts, I am hopefull that I can make something that will work. It is incredibly satisfying to slide the shafts out of these cases. Knowing that they have been there for 90 years and the tolerances are so precise and smooth. I'd love to see the how Ford used to make bajillion of these and keep the close tolerances for production parts back then. I also think about the dudes who's job it was to turn these parts out. Sweating their asses off to make a living for their families at the Ford factories. I wonder what they had for dinner the night they got home after they made my transmission shaft? Did they have a new born kid?
Latest Vison: 4.5" Chop Dark Blue Body '31 Grill Shell Factory Headlights 1/2 Hood Lake Headers Satin Black Chassis and Firewall Gloss Black Engine w/Silver Heads Gloss Black 17" Wire Wheels 525-550 17 Tires Front, 600-650 17 Rear Minimal Interior, Satin Black 4" Dropped, Stretched and Drilled Front Axle '34 Front Brakes Reverse Eye Springs Tardel Step the Frame at the Rear Black Haartz Cloth Top
Picked up these brakes and Headlights. Not sure if I will use these headlights or the factory. Depends on what grille shell I use.
You recognize the shop eh? He is fun to work with. Hopefully I can pick the engine up from him this weekend or next
I'm throwing this picture in here because it illustrates the suspension, wheel, and tire choices you list in Post #12, except this RPU uses a T rear spring with reversed eyes rather than doing the Tardell frame drop. The T spring will give you very close to the same results without the effort of cutting the frame and modifying the body subrails and inner fender panels to work with the cut frame. Food for thought.
Same truck with 4.50 X 17 Excelsior bias-plys on the front and a reverse eye A spring in the rear with 4 leaves removed. Makes the 6.50 X 17 Firestone rears look a little bigger.
Congrats on your first Model A. I love the direction your heading with it. I chopped my first top last fall on my tudor. I went 4". I think I would have liked the look of 4 1/2" a bit better, but even with my seat almost on the floor I've got to duck down to see the traffic lights. Slightly uncomfortable, might be worth it though... I was an amateur welder at best with no experience on welding sheet metal, just take your time. Its a lot easier to remove more material instead of trying to add it if you do too much! Goodluck and keep posting, I'll be following along.
32/33/34 front axle, maybe others and 32 perch pins will lower the front a little whilst still running mechanical brakes. And as suggested above T spring in the rear. That being said I know others with disagree but with the increase in engine capacity etc, if it was me I would be running bendix front brakes and at least standard juice rears. Its not just about you but the other cars and bikes around you.
I am using the ‘32 perches and have read several threads on the dropped axles and mechanical brakes. (thanks Elrod) I want this thing to be as old school as I can make it and will assess the brake performance with the mechanical brakes. If they aren’t safe, I will upgrade. The hope is that with good parts, careful assembly, and proper adjustment they will be fine. I know there are a lot of opinions on this so I am going to test and see what I find. Thanks for the info and support.
Nothing super technicaly exciting but it felt like big progress to get the body off so I can focus on the chassis for now. Bodywork scares the crap out of me so I figured I would get the frame, disassembled, stripped, straightened and modified so I can get it ready to bolt the suspension and running gear in. How the day started: Progress: And how it ended: Several more hours with the wire wheel and it should be cleanded up for the next steps.
Life gets busy but starting to make more progress. Doing the Tardel Step to drop the rear a few inches. It ended up being 2.33"s. Between that step and a lowered rear spring it should sit nicely.
I picked up the Old Yankee Speed Co AV8 mount kit from Millworks Hot Rods. The install is very straight forward. I did have to modify the stock crossmember as my 31 Tudor crossmember had a funky assymetrical flange around the transmission cut out. When I cut that off, it meant that I would miss one of the bolt holes so I welded in a bit of steel to finish the job. I know its only temporary and there is so much more to do but, seeing the engine sitting in the frame is a great feeling.
Great progress, keep it up! What did that kit come with, the front engine mounts and rear tranny mount?
Correct. Along with a mount to use the orignal A pedals, a handbrake lever mount, a mount for the wishbone ball and a couple of crossmember strengthening bits. You can also get a master cylinder bracket that utilizes the A pedals as well.
I installed the Snyders / Flat Head Teds Floater kit on my front brakes. It certainly isn't rocket surgery but the instructions are horrible and a few pictures are worth a thousand words. So, if anyone is looking for inspiration: My brakes were fully disassembled. You don't need to remove the top pins from the shoes if you aren't taking them all the way apart. This pic shows the parts that you will need for re-assembly. The set of pins with the big heads replace the factory pins and one of the rollers on each side. They mount from the bottom up. A factory roller goes on top along with a new cotter pin. There is a slotted plate included that goes on the backing plate. The instructions say to mount it flat edge toward the top of the backing plate. They have changed the part and I believe the curved edge now goes up. Next the factory wedge bit goes on top of that plate. Everything here is assembled dry for illustration purposes but a nice layer of grease is probably good. Then you put the supplied pin in and hand tighten it from the back. You later tighten this to spec and use a feeler gauge to make sure it has enough play that it can move. The shoes then mount so the new pins with built in washers seat on the plate. Make sure everything moves freely and the cotter pins can't bind up on anything. The flat faced adjuster is inserted into the hole and wound in all the way. A glob of grease goes on the face of that and the wedge is put in place. Finish installing the shoes and hook the bottom set of springs on. The instructions say to do it from the back side. Replace the metal dust cap and you are done. Let me know if you see anything out of line. This is my first time with these brakes and like I said, the instructions are not great.
Slow progress... I got the frame primed and painted. Feels good to have it ready for assembly. It doesn't look like much but I have been gathering bits and pieces and finally got the transmission guts assembled. Many thanks to Wired Customs YouTube channel and Mac and crew at VanPelt's. I wish I had more experience with this stuff before I started. I ended up with an early ('34) case and a later ('46) internals. I was able to grind 4 of the syncho teeth off from each side of the cluster gear and make things fit.
The Jalopy Journal
