Last Hemi Model A Coupe update for now....Made it to the Lonestar Roundup!

that looks awesome!! i like how they used to color in the tiny white lettering. like blackie gejians(sp) shish kabob special from around 53

 

Love it!! Looks great!

 

I love it when guys post bare chassis pics. The chrome wheels look great.

 

Hokey smokes, those 16" chromes are the berries. Just my opinion, but I wouldn't run dust caps... unadorned, they give it a sinister street racer look.

But, if you had too, how about some Chrysler dog dish caps ?

http://hubcaphouse.com/shop/specials/hhss09.jpg

 

Damn dude, you make it look easy! Very very nice! I'll have to agree w/ Reggie on this one. Prolly the nicest Hot Rod I've seen in a while.

 

I agree with others above, the wheels are right just the way they are, no caps or spiders. I tried but couldn't find 4 straight unpitted ones worthy of the chrome money. Very nice job.

 

Mikael, it is copper/nickel/chrome. I asked the same question before I gave the guy the wheels.

And I agree with you on the getting laid part!

 

HotRodPro, bitchin' like all of the other cars that come from the Burroughs.

 

Wow that looks Sweeet man. Can't wait to see more.

aaron

 

Hopefully this thing will have a fresh coat of primer for the RoundUp, but my day job has been keeping me from getting as much done as I'd like.

 

I like the chrome. Seeing your car come together is making me feel like a slug over here.

I gotta get a fire under me and get back on mine.

 

beautiful work

 

Me and my buddies are workin on it. We have a 48 ford sedan, 60 ford pick up, and a 31 model a we are trying to finish befroe then. My truck is a little farteher along that the other two . But that doesnt matter I am still going to help these guys as much as i can to make it. Going to be alot of long days and sleepless nights. Its all worth in the end.

 

I spent the last couple of days sandblasting 76+ years of rust off of my Model A Coupe body, one piece at a time. I've got some patch panel work to do now, but I'm really more concerned about making the body fit the frame properly.

Anyway, here's a picture...it's actually starting to look like a car again!



It's hard to capture in a profile pic, but the rear tires are actually perfectly centered in the wheelwell arch.

Since the deuce frame is curved, I'm going to end up pie cutting the bottom of the cowl...and also notching the lower rear valance to make the flat-bottomed Model A body fit. The stock '32 gas tank is going to complicate things a little bit, but I'm pretty sure I can get it to come together and look nice.



I forget how many louvers are in the decklid skin, but there were initially only supposed to be 6 rows and not 7. I was pretty pissed when I went to pick it up from the louver guy, but now that the dust has settled I think 7 rows looks pretty decent.

I'm going to be using a '32 Ford 5w Coupe/ Sedan header panel above the windshield. I've mocked it up already and I think it's going to work great. For now the windshield is just sitting in the hole, but when the header is installed it should fit a little more nicely.

I'm undecided on whether or not I want to fill the top and run a 'fake' insert on top, or if I want to run a real '32 style insert. I'm definitely not going to wrap the canvas down to the driprails like the '29 Coupe was originally though.

At any rate, it looks way better with the header above the windshield (not shown here):



The Hemi is in the machine shop right now, I just got the radiator and driveshaft back, and I'm working on getting the brakes plumbed. There's still hope that I'll be able to drive it to the Roundup!

Thanks for looking....

-Brian

 

You are on your way to an awesome ride - good job - I can't believe your not going to use the visor!

did you widen those rear rims? are those chromed 40 wheels? they look kick ass.

Rear wheel looks great in the radius. Bitchen for sure. Too bad you can't see the K member in the frame -

 

My friend, that IS a hot rod.

Very nice work Bass.

 

Nice lookin' rod, man, nice.....

I bet it's real nice and warm down there too

Flatman

 

Damn.... just, damn.

Switch on the afterburners and get that done by Austin.

 

Looks great Bass, and I think the rake is going to be dead on once the Hemi goes back in.

 

your car makes me drool. it looks great. keep up the good work!

 

I like the build... it rocks, and all the details are awesome...

I'm waiting to see how the '32 header works out. I do not doubt your skills, or design-eye... but this, I gotta see.

On one hand... it's all wrong, and does not have the historical perspective that all of the other components and aspects carry, aesthetically...

But on the other hand, who gives a shit if it does! If it works... it works! Who cares about "historical perspective"... this is how rods like the PPE and Rudy's truck make an impact on our hobby. Guys go out on a limb, do something different, and are inspirational to us all.

I'm cheering for ya man...

Sam.

 

Absolutely exceptional....

 

Daaaang!

What a beautiful machine.

G.

 

Looks sweet, Bassman...

I vote for filling the top, then use a fake insert. The you don't have to use the wood slats, and that gets you more head room.

...and strenght, and no leaks !

I should have done that on mine...

 

Hey Bass, its really coming along.............freakin' great man. Please let us know the story on the wheels and tires. I'd like to know the sizes if you don't mind. Keep on truckin' man, I hope to see you in Austin.

 

I'm stoked for you about this car. This hot rod is going to be bitchin'!

The DOTD gets a little more serious every year. I think this may up the ante a bit. I'm gonna have to get going to even hope to hang with you and Jimmy, with your fancy HEMI's.

 

Not bad at all... Is that Sam's sedan beside it?

I wanna check out that chrome the ol boy does in person. Might have to get his name/number from you.

 

Thanks Sam...I really like your outlook on things.

Yes and no. There is one example that always comes to mind every time someone questions the laid back posts and '32 windshield. Granted, it's not totally the same application, and mine's not an all-out race car...but it is a Model A with laid-back posts that was done in the early '50s. I've attached a picture of the Chrisman Brothers Coupe.

Exactly! It's hot rodding...anything goes...right? Well sort of. When you constrain yourself to the idea of a TRADITIONAL hot rod...well that's when the unwritten (and sometimes written) hot rod rules come in to play. I try to stick to them, but sometimes you have to break 'em to keep it interesting.

In my eyes, this is a car that could have been built in about '55 or '56. The only thing (to me) that dates the car externally, are the Buick drums. But you could get those on a '59 Buick, so I'm letting that slide since I really like them.

On a related note, '28-29 Model A Coupes have been for the most part unloved through the history of hot rodding. Undesirable. Forlorn.

I can count on my two hands the '28-29 coupes that have been prominently featured in major magazines. I've got plenty of theories as to the reason why, but you guys can probably figure that out for yourself.

The thing I disliked the most about my Model A was the visor. It's a big, bulky, ugly thing when you sit it next to a '30-31 visor. I could have just put a '30-31 visor on my body, but it wasn't meant to be. I stumbled up on a pretty nice '32 5 window winshield frame at a swap meet, and that got the gears in my head turning. What you're seeing here is the culmination of sorts of nearly 5 years of head-scratching, napkin sketches, and mock-ups.

I was planning on just fabricating some kind of header to go over the windshield, but I'm really lucky that HAMBer 'hammeredabone' stepped up and offered to sell me a rough '32 header.

I leaned the posts back about 8 degrees to work better with the '32 header. I'm attaching a picture of the in progress door frame to show what the changes look like.

Thanks for the kind words, everyone.

-Brian

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=94714

Click here and scroll down to about the middle of the first post for wheel/tire sizes.

Thanks...

 

What's the overall diameter of the rear tires-- how tall are they? ~33"?

R.e. fitting the body around the Deuce gas tank, will you cut out the lower rear panel and reweld it up higher, or just cut it off where it meets the tank, and weld in a new flange?

Beautiful work, by the way.