Well, I figured that it's about time to post some pictures of my coupe....in progress. This is a late '31 Briggs bodied coupe. I'm running a 289 / T5 combo with a Winters QC rear. Just got my Hurst cheaters WWW.HURSTRACINGTIRES.COM and parts from Riley Automotive www.riley-auto.com. Here's the picture I always seem to post....
These are both of the car right after I brought it home form my parents. I started on the frame prior to this. I was trying to mock up the parts and see what direction I wanted to go. The '36 bones in this picture were shortened and bent back in the day. I was told they were in a T with a shortened torque tube.
The frame. 2x4 rails in front, pie cut and welded to taper like Henry's rails. Front crossmember is moved in front of the radiator, so the taper is a bit longer than stock. The rear kick up. Rear crossmember in order to clear the Q.C. cover. From the firewall back , the frame is 2x3. Ckecking fit of the body over the rails. Channeled 3", just to clear the frame. A view from the rear.
Initial mock up of the engine and trans. Note the C4 auto. The tranny crossmember was later moved for the T5, as the mount is in a different location. I set the engine up high so the pan won't drag if I come upon a speed bump...or a fuel fill cover at the local filling station. Hopefully this high center of gravity won't hurt the drivibility / handling of the car.
Here's the body mounted on the chassis, rear suspension tacked into place and front about done. The rear ride height is adjustable about 6". Lowest puts the top of a 28" tire just at the top of the quarter panel.
The frame with the rear suspension. '57 chevy wagon leafs cut in half, and four link bars on the top. Makes a 4 link where the lower link is the spring. Axle brackets are 1/2 coil over & 1/2 four link, this is where the ride height is adjustable. Finished motor mounts. Crossmember/ driveshaft safety loop/ battery tray.
Took the body to a friend of mine and had him shoot some sealer on it to keep it from rusting after I got it sandblasted. Really doesn't look too bad now that it's all one color . View attachment 227684 View attachment 227685 Stained all of the wood cherry. Blasted and painted all of the brackets white to match the interior. The exterior will be white as well. I'm thinking something like "vanilla shake" flat.... View attachment 227686 View attachment 227687 Well, that's all for tonight. Hopefully I'll have more in the next couple days...wood installed, body mounted, and the new Hurst tires mounted up. Then on to the steering... Hope you enjoyed these!
Took the body to a friend of mine and had him shoot some sealer on it to keep it from rusting after I got it sandblasted. Really doesn't look too bad now that it's all one color. Stained all of the wood cherry. Blasted and painted all of the brackets white to match the interior. The exterior will be white as well. I'm thinking something like "vanilla shake" flat.... Well, that's all for tonight. Hopefully I'll have more in the next couple days...wood installed, body mounted, and the new Hurst tires mounted up. Then on to the steering... Hope you enjoyed these!
Looks great! Coupla questions- 1. What PSI was it sandblasted at? 2. Did the blasting cause any sheetmetal warpage? Thanks!
Thanks everyone for the kind words. I actually took the car to a guy who blasted it. I considered doing it myself, but he did a much better job.....and I didn't have to clean up the mess. Man...that stuff gets everywhere. He did the large flat panels, like cowl panels, door skins, and quarters, very lightly so they wouldn't warp. Most of his time was spent on the body lines, corners, and hard to reach places. He did inside and out, top & bottom. The flat panels I had already done with a pneumatic sander, so he didn't spend much time there. Not much, but I hope this helps. Kamp
Nice job Kamp! Can you take more pics when you do the header and visor? I'm having a little trouble with mine right now and would love to see how you do yours. Keep up the good work, there's nothing like the creation of another A, right before our eyes.
It's cool that you mention that....I found out that my new metal header panel fits real nice on a sedan header. So, now I need to find a coupe panel to use. The wood header fit pretty nice though. Needed quite a bit of filing and sanding. What are you having trouble with?
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