Features Had to have this 31 A! (Update!)

That is one sweet looking ride congratulations

 

Wow great buy, congrats!

 

Congratulations, can't wait to see more pics.

 

Thanks for all the good comments guys. To be honest the only thing i've been thinking about is getting this thing home and documenting as much as I can. I'm going to clean her up and go thru its so its safe to drive doing only whats needed. I want to show it in present state as much as I can. I almost don't want to wash it lol. I know the 50 year old paint and body work hasn't held up the best but they're only original once. I'm sure down the road i'll do a restoration on her trying to use as much of the original parts as I can. But for now i'm going to enjoy her the way she is cracks and all. As soon as I get more information i'll post it. Coming Tuesday I should have a ton more pictures to post. If she looks as good as in the pictures I'm hoping to fit it in the basement in Detroit Autorama and the Cleveland Autorama.

 

I like your plan ^^^...

 

That is a great find. Following this thread waiting for more pictures.

 

That is too cool! Congratulations.

 

very cool

 

I was watching this on eBay, thought about bidding, don't need another project presently, glad you got it, doesn't matter what others say, you did good on the price. Just finished the rebuild my 31 Model A, worked out great, be glad to help answer any questions, if I can.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/31-model-a-hot-rod-restoration.847790/

 

Now why on earth would somebody buy that old thing. It's not a 350/350 combo, it doesn't have disc brakes, doesn't have a tilt wheel, it's not painted a pastel color and it doesn't even have Boyds wheels on it. You got burned buddy.

What it does have is nothing but coooooolness!!!! What a nice find.

 

Does this look like a model A frame to you guys?

 

Looks like a Model A front half with a '32 back half. See in this pic how the front part looks Model A and the back looks '32.

 

Holy cow! I wondered what that lump was. That never crossed my mind it was the 32 frame contour. By the picture I posted it looked too curvey to be a model A frame. It bulges out like a 32 frame does. WOW who ever thought??

 

In the pic you posted above from the rear, you can see the frame rail on the right as it goes up over the rear, it has the same shape as a '32 frame.

 

Yep you can see right here they welded the two together! How bizzaro. Why would they do that?? Guess i'm going to have to ask that question when I talk to him

 

My guess is that the front half of a Model A frame lends itself better for channeled cars...it's flatter and not as curvy in the front. And it already has a Model A front crossmember to get the front end lower than a '32 crossmember. The Model A frame horns are also shorter and look better than the long '32 horns curving down. my .02

 

Man, some of you remind me of the guys who "restore" grandma's 150 year old dinning room table because the finish is a little worn. Not realizing that you are destroying a piece of history by making it look "perfect" and "new". You will never be able to replicate what that car has now. After you take it all apart and back together. It looses it's history. Some of that car hasn't been touched since it was built. Who are you to just go turning bolts and screws last installed when it was new. After it's all done, It will just be a restored car at that point. Not a cool unrestored survivor of 60 years as built by the original owner. It's like repainting the Mona Lisa, sure, you can make it look brand new and perfect, exactly as original. But the one thing you will be missing is that those brush strokes were laid down by Leonardo da Vinci...

Catch my drift?

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I like the car.. A lot. The quality looks like 1950s work when they made it look good unless it didnt show---like the trunk floor.

 

If this were my car, I would:
*wash it and get rid of all the dirt, muck and grime
*get it running reliably...fix any safety issues
*raise the ass end to put the tires inside the wheelwells
*drive the piss out of it
The next caretaker could do whatever they wanted to it after I left the planet

 

There was a pretty bitchin old build blue 32 3w that's now in pieces :-(

I have seen so many cool old hot rods die a horrible death because of the "make it your own guys"

Some of these cars aught to be just respected for what they are ... Or just start from scratch...

 

Looks like that one is indeed passable to stay the way it is.....what luck !! Congratulations man.

I honestly have had some issues with some of the "keep it as is" crowd....but I can't argue here. You got lucky that this one made it that long....and it was cool to start with. It's usually the ugly ones that got parked......to pop up....thirty years later....HEY, HERE I AM......AREN'T I COOL ?? Ummmm, usually NO.

Can't wait for more posts. That car will make you happy.......me thinks.

 

What GREAT find..............................don't you dare change it!!!!!

 

make it mechanically safe and then dont touch a damn thing, you start changing shit and it just takes away from what it is, and makes it look like every other damn "Traditional" hot rod

 

Ok, finally, some updates. The car arrived this morning and couldn't be happier. It is a true piece of history. The battery was dead, but after I jumped a fresh battery to it the car started right up. The engine sounded great. The previous owner said there was a lifter noise that came and went. However, after a few seconds, I realized it wasn't a lifter noise but a water pump noise. So first order of business is to rebuild and/or replace the water pumps. I talked to the original builder and he told me the original engine was a 48 59AB that had been bored and stroked. So I was hoping when it arrived it didn't have a 49 mercury engine, like I had been told. I checked when it rolled off the trailer what the engine really was. Happy to say the original 48 engine still resides. I'm lucky this car still looks the same as it did back in the day, because I found out I'm actually the 4th owner. The original owner started building it during high school sometime in the mid-fifties. It was titled in Oct.6 1958. He finished building it sometime in 1959, an owned it til around 2001. It is still painted the original Cadillac metallic green from the 1950s. However, it was an unfinished red raggedy interior so the second owner re-finished it to its current state. The second owner kept it for 10 years, and sold it to the individual that I purchased it from. What's amazing is that it was never titled after 1958, so apparently the two previous owners never drove the coupe. The original owner is sending me some additional photographs, but here is one during its build.

 

Also here are some pictures of it since arriving

 

Anther thing is the latches on the hood are broke. Trying to find some of these

 

I love this car so much! and a very cool story!

 

Great Find! Happy for you! Hope you have miles of smiles with the coupe!

 

Wow, you are one lucky guy! Time to go buy a lottery ticket.