im sorry but this is funny as hell!!! is this were they got the idea for ron burgandy? lol .... all jokes aside, awesome build....F@$K IT!!!!
Yeah, I guess I should clarify; I don't plan to have it completely finished before the Revolution. There's a lot of things that aren't coming along as fast as I'd hoped. The engine is at the machine shop, the final frame that I plan to use is still a work in progress. It's just to get it driveable and to set a deadline. I don't really know if I will have it ready for the show. It certainly won't be a true AV8 by then. Sorry if I misrepresented that.
Got a late start today, so not as much accomplished as I wanted to. I'll get an earlier start tomorrow. As far as the front end goes, I should get started on the swap to the dropped axle and Lincoln brakes. I know I have a lot to set up as far as the steering is concerned, and might need to seek out some help with that, so the closer I can get it to ready in a timely manner, the better. I need to find someone with a torch and rosebud setup too, so I can bend the headlight mounts how I want them.
Ok, I started today by working on the running board mount removal. I think maybe along the line one of the rivets was a little loose, so a previous owner decided to weld up the mounts to the frame. It's being a pain in the neck to remove. I guess I needed some practice removing rivets and welds without messing up the base metal of the frame too much. Anyhow, it was kicking my butt, so I decided to move on to the front end work. The front end I'm going to use is part of the setup I got for my T Coupe. Lincoln brakes, etc. I disconnected the brake lines that were on the A juice brakes, and found absolutely no fluid. So I guess I have a complete brake job ahead of me too. It's alright though. I'd rather find that out inside the garage than driving. Anyhow, I dropped the wishbone and axle assembly, and rolled it out. I then installed the extra wishbone that I have, and I'm ready to hook up the dropped axle. That's enough for today.
It's been a while since I've been able to get out to the garage for any stretch of time. I had previously been working on the actual AV8 frame for the car, by removing old rivets from the A frame rails and crossmembers that I have. Between that and collecting some parts when I can, it hasn't resulted in a whole heck of a lot of progress. That said, over the past week or so I had been trying to get the car rolling in an effort to drive to the Roundup. Today's work kinda killed that plan. The stock model A axle is 37" from spring perch center to spring perch center. The forged dropped axle from SoCal that I have is 34" from spring perch center to spring perch center. So there's no way to hook up the stock wishbone to the axle; it puts the spring 3/4" too far forward. Anyhow, I wanted to see how it sits with that axle and spring set-up, so I disconnected the wishbone and dropped the car to the ground. It got me excited, but there's nothing I can do to get it driveable for now.
You could just drive it with the stock axle then change it out for one that works afterwards.. Talk about bringing a thread back from the dead. Just about a year and a half. Good to see you haven't thrown in the towel on this one!
I'm not dead yet, just parts collecting. I'm doing my best to make this car worthy of going into the Traditional Hot Rods section of the site. I've picked up a good 32 front wishbone, a couple sets of 32 pedals, a 32 heavy front axle (undropped yet). I really need to find someone local that can weld up the frame for me. Now that I've got all the front suspension parts collected, I can do a mock-up for positioning of the Tardel 32 style k member that I have. That should define the engine position, right?
Hi everyone, Dave's wife Janet here. It's been a few years since Dave worked on the car. As some of you might know, Dave had some serious health problems, including diabetes and a series of heart attacks. I'm very sad to tell you that he passed away on Feb 24th of last year. He was only 47. It's taken me this long to reach out; as you can imagine, it's been hard. But he's also left behind a few hot rod projects in various states of repair, including the Model A and a 1957 Ford Truck. I'm hoping to find a reputable auction house to help me with his estate, and maybe sell off some of these parts. If there's an appropriate place to ask for that here, let me know. Also, this may be crazy, but I'd like to finish out Dave's Model A the way he envisioned it. He was so close, and he pretty much documented his whole process here (although I kind of wish he'd taken color pics, so I could see how much rust there was 7 years ago compared to now!) I know there are mechanical issues I can't fix (like the brake job). Somebody told me that there are garages that will consider doing something like this as a "memorial build." If so, I'd be willing to share any sale with them once it was done. I'm not married to keeping the car, but it would mean a lot to me to finish it in his honor. He had just gotten the headlight mounts he wanted, and his nephew and I have been trying to CSI out what it was he wanted to do with them. But it would help to have some hot rod traditionalists who knew what the $%&# he was talking about weigh in. And, I'd like to say "thank you" to the members of the HAMB, and especially to Ryan, for making this a place that meant so much to Dave. He was very shy, and I think he really longed to socialize more than he did with the hot rod crew. But I know that being able to connect with the community on the message boards meant a lot to him. Thank you for being part of what helped keep him going.
@Nevala66...Condolences to you and the family on the loss of your Dave...I hope you can fulfill your wishes going forward once you feel up to it. As you said far to young... There is nothing quite like driving an Old Hotrod...its a primitive escape...perhaps you have with your Dave in better days. You could consider other avenues for selling these items such as right here. Perhaps someone close may help in valuing the items. Regards, Stogy
Prayers and deepest sympathy from here. Hoping all works out for you in your endeavor to get the roadster finished.
Thank you everyone for the kind words... @Stogy, we did get to drive this old Model A once around the block before Dave started modifying the body. It was like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, we had dogs chasing us down the street and barking cause they couldn't figure out what was making that noise! Pretty bouncy springs in the seats too!
Oh and re: selling, here's a list of what he has just for the Model A. There's also a model T body, a couple flathead engines, wishbones, grills - he really did collect a lot of parts. I am more willing to part stuff out. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1929-ford-model-a-roadster-av8-project.1010878/
Well, you know what they say... tell the universe your plans, and then God laughs at you, or something like that? Anyway... no sooner had I posted this than a guy who came by to buy my old riding mower, asked what I want for the Model A. So it looks like I may be selling sooner rather than later. I hate to part with it, but I could use the money and if he makes a decent offer, I'll probably go for it. If there's anything in this list that you want to call dibs on, speak now: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1929-ford-model-a-roadster-av8-project.1010878/
Hi everyone, Apologies for the late notice, but I did find an auction houes, and I just found out myself that the auction for Dave's car stuff is happening - TOMORROW! January 26th at 10am. The guy who wanted to make an offer on the Model A didn't work out, but Bobby O'Neal of O'Neal's Auctioneering, did. There are a lot of parts, the Model A, Model T body, a flathead engine and engine hoist... I would love to see some HAMBers take these home. https://www.auctionzip.com/Listings/3225858.html If there's a better place to post this, let me know. Thanks Ryan, and everyone, for the good thoughts. I wish I could keep these, but I think it's time to face the reality that I don't know how to rebuild a Model A and I can't afford to pay someone who does.
The Jalopy Journal
