This car is bitchin'. You're one lucky son of a gun to have made it through what you did Bull. You nailed it right on the head when you said you gotta live every day like it's your last. Keep on kickin' ass man- I know with Titus' help it'll be a lot easier to get things done- and more fun!
So an update here is long overdue! Titus has been working on the A between his own projects. The man is a machine -- I don't know anyone else who turns out as many cars in a year! I've been making the 2 hour, 110 mile round-trip commute to his shop on Tuesday nights after work to get in Jeff's way and hopefully get my hands dirty. I've called these nights "Tuesday's With Titus" and look forward to it every week! We left off with us doing some shrinking & stretching on the back panel. Jeff put some more time into it, welded in a lower patch panel and also replaced my badly rotted rear main subrail with one from his stash. Here are the results. Still in need of some more hammer & dolly work, but MUCH better Jeff also built a rear spring perch. It will be gusseted and triangulated members added to support the rear crossmember when we pull the body off the frame. Rear shock mounts and shocks were also set up. Front shocks were mounted and wishbone mounts were fabbed off the tranny crossmember. We didn't like the slight uphill slope of the hood, so the front crossmember was sectioned to allow the radiator to drop down. This will be boxed when finished. Then it was time to get busy on the interior. I had a 35-37 Ford Pick-up dash that I had picked up 16 years ago that I always thought would look great in my A. Jeff started by taking a few quick measurements and then cutting away the excess material. After a little more trimming and fitting, the dash was tacked in place. The next challenge is to make the Model A dash rail work with the 35-37 truck dash. We started trimming, but haven't quite figured our how it will all come together, but I absolutely LOVE what I see so far! It's no fun crawling around inside the car without floors, so we decided to do something about that. With some 16 gauge and Jeff's homemade brake and bead roller he whipped these out in a hurry. Then it was time to figure out how to do the rear section. Some measuring, some square tubing, some more sheet metal and Jeff's magic and here is what happened. I forgot my camera the last two weeks, but now the rear floor section is complete, the passenger side cowl patch is done, all the welding and metal work is done on the chop, some of the garnish moldings have been cut and fitted and all of the rotted wood has been taken out of the top in anticipation of adding structure with square tubing. Next week we hope to tackle the front floor section now that my e-brake handle showed up. I'm also hoping to finish the dash. More pics and updates to come! Thanks again to Jeff for helping me realize a 20+ year dream!
Bull, This "A" is goimg to be one sweet hot rod. Looking forward to see it in the final form. Really like the baby blue and white theme. Way cool !
Congrats on your build. I'm glad to see another Hot Rodder able to build his Dream. This is what Life is all about. I have a saying "Your Dead an awful long time". Best wishes with the build.
Your project is coming along nicely. Looks like Titus has the skills to make it happen. Thanks for sharing and keep the progress coming our way. Frank
I'd second that. Look forward to many more posts and updates on both you and your Model-A. Stay well...
Glad I found this thread! If soemone described the color scheme to me, I'm not sure I would dig it- but seeing the color on the wheels makes me think this is really gonna be one classy ride. Can't wait to see more.
So an update to this build thread is LONG overdue . . . Titus took a bit of a break to work on some of his own builds: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=418544 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=433342 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=449960 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=534000 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=549061 (among others I'm forgetting I'm sure!) . . . travel around the country buying lots of way cool cars and parts, work on a few other customer projects, help Stacie with her roadster: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=431312 . . . and help make my new roadster a reliable runner as well: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=456708 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=469452 I also spent some time on my wrecked Tudor: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=275101 So with some renewed energy it was time to get fired up on this build again! The past few weeks have shown lots of progress. . . . some with the help of HAMBer thirtytwo: . . . actually Eric & Titus have been busting ass, but I couldn't help but catch Eric snoozin! This was actually tackled awhile back, but I don't think i showed a pic of the firewall surgery Titus performed. This will be finished when the body comes off the frame for better access. Much time has been spent replacing all of the wood with square tubing. Much of this has been to add structure as the top will have a removable center section.
Titus spent some time mocking up (and fixing) the rear fenders: It was decided that the torque tube needed to be shortened a bit at this point as well to get the wheels centered in the fender openings. The rear will settle a bit with some weight on it too. Either way, we'll definitely adjust the ride height accordingly!
We finally tackled the task of finishing up the dash rail. I LOVE how the dash turned out. I can picture it loaded up with SW gauges and some pinstriping to finish it off . . . Titus also welded the visor on -- slightly shortened and molded into the A pillar:
. . . and that brings us to today . . . Today marked a major milestone in my 20+ year dream . . . the firing of the flatty that has not been started in 20 years or more! http://s85.photobucket.com/albums/k80/MNBullyBoy/Survivor A/?action=view¤t=MVI_4788.mp4 . . . not too shabby for a free motor!
Thanks for the kind words. The plan right now is to get the body off the frame and to the blaster this week. While the body is at the blaster the frame will be finished (finish welded and boxed). Once the body comes back, the frame will go to the blaster and rough-in bodywork will start. The hope is to get the car drivable in the next couple months. I'll drive the bugs out of it this summer and bring it into my dad's shop (www.WrightCountyCollision.com) for final body work and paint this fall. And of course it will get Tuck & Rolled by the Stichbitch!
Sounds like a plan. With any kind of luck I'll be taking the first drive in this car on 4/17. Maybe we'll have to take a rod run to Titus shop for the occasion.
Body is coming off the frame tonight! Oh and, I got a text from Titus late last night . . . "Just about got the suicide doors done." Guess he and Eric (thirtytwo) were having fun last night without me.
Man wonderful thread , You MUST know how great all your buddies feel about you .. It makes me fill alive just reading about the trip all of you are taking with this build. I can't wait for the next up date ..... I would call you LUCKY ,but you have earned everything that is coming your way, Man enjoy the build , enjoy the ride , I know it sounds HOKEY but, LET your friends know how much you love them, because its with love that they are doing this ... GOD BLESS you all..... Its a great thing to have GREAT friends.....
Trust me when I say, I know I am truly blessed and surrounded by amazing family and friends. Without them I would be nothing. I was just talking about it today and am just taken by how people have come together to help me realize my dream . . . blesses only begins to describe it . . .
The Jalopy Journal
