An a ch***is and body with a B motor with some trinkets would be about as pre war as you might find. Pre 39 means mechanical brakes but there are thousands of stone stock Model A Fords with mechanical brakes doing Model A tours all over the place every year.
Just got caught up on this thread. Love what you want to do. Everyone has given great advice. T roadsters are the cheapest Ford body, A frames/ch***is are plentifully, most service parts for 1926-1941 Fords are available. With a drill, torch, cut off wheel, grinder, and a die grinder you can get a lot done. A welder helps too. Ebay is expensive, Marketplace has some good affordable finds, instagram pages are dedicated to parts, the H.A.M.B. TOO!, and Matt from Iron Trap has a lot of parts at reasonable prices. I'm almost finished with my build. Tried to get it done for $4500, but it will be closer to $6500. Although mine is more of an early 50's build, with a few tweaks it could have ben a prewar build. It is 100% possible to have a traditional hot rod on a budget that is simple and fun. My best advice for cost is buy the bare minimum, do your research, ask questions, and don't be afraid to keep the body unpainted for a while. Get it built, get it running, enjoy it for a minute, and perfect the shiny bits later. Short builds keep you energized. Long builds can burn you out. The pic of my roadster was built in 45 days. It started as a swapmeet find body and an A ch***is that had been converted into a hay wagon. All it needs now is a couple mechanical things to get ****oned up and I will be driving it before the end of summer. Good luck and HAVE FUN!
Exactly. Mechanical brakes would be my choice to keep the build ‘true’, but the ch***is already has un-plumbed juice brakes on it. I need to do my research here. Man that’s a good looking roadster. Lots of guys understand my approach and have done it before, so sounds like I’m in safe water. I essentially need a body, a T rear spring, a drop axle, and a few speed goodies for the banger. I’ll pay a premium for a good T roadster body since I’m not a sheetmetal man. I could never start with yard art! And I just can’t do Facebook. I understand I’m handicapped by doing so, but it’s not good for my soul.
This is in Michigan. I have bought from him before. Good guy. Cheap start if it's your style. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/24-t-roadster.1272525/
Any further progress? Lovin it so far. I built my 33 pickup as a guy would after coming home from the war. The newest part was the '49 ford dash and I cheated on the transmission for practical purposes.....used a T-5. I bought a rusted out 40 Ford running ch***is and used motor/brakes, master cylinder and a buncha small parts for the build. Was a blast to drive.
Oh… there’s been some progress, Rocky! See… Achievable Pre-War Supe Job Build We’re moving right along. And that’s a great looking truck!
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