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Projects -Black & White- 1929 x2

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by mbrus, Sep 26, 2015.

  1. mbrus
    Joined: Sep 14, 2014
    Posts: 36

    mbrus

    So the story begins. I'd been hunting for a project for quite some time, and out of the blue I stumbled across a pair of 1929 Ford Model As. The older gentleman who owned the family farm did not seem to be much of a car guy, at one point I made a cash offer but he countered, "Just take all this junk off my yard! The only condition is those things better be done before I kick the bucket." So the deadline was set, and the 1st of September 2014 I loaded up the lifeless cars on to a trailer and dragged them home. My original plan was to only fix one of them, but as things progressed I figured both of them needed some love. Lots of progress is already completed, but I better start from day 1.

    IMG_28491.jpg
    29 Fordor and a 29 Phaeton were now my source of entertainment. So with a 0$ start up cost, dreaming was easy. Everything would bolt together and I figured that the cars of the past were so simple that my project would be cruising in no time. But then when I woke up, things weren't quite as easy. The Fordor was completely made out of now rotted wood. A rollover in this thing would mean weeks of yanking splinters out of places that even I avoid going. I gathered enough wood for a healthy bonfire. So I bought a cheapo pipe bender and got to work.

    before after.jpg

    cowl support.jpg
    twisty comp.jpg

    real twisty.jpg
    Around that time we also scooped up a 1951 Meteor. "Ran when parked, some new plugs and some good gas and she'll go" We've all heard that before. Lots of time later we managed to get the pistons moving and valves were free, but weren't moving on their own. Odd...

    meteor day 1.jpg
    cam broke comp.jpg
    Damn cam was found in 3 pieces. But then I got an idea, a wonderful *awful* idea. The phaeton would be my next victim.
    phaeton+v8.jpg
     

    Attached Files:

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  2. mbrus
    Joined: Sep 14, 2014
    Posts: 36

    mbrus

    The phaeton was completely rotten. The bottom 4" had holes everywhere, 1 of the back pieces was missing, the other was beat to hell. But hey, it's free right?
    slice #1.jpg
    dent comp.jpg
    So a slice and a dice and now 2 doors :)
    Mockup #1
    rdstr 1.jpg
     
  3. mbrus
    Joined: Sep 14, 2014
    Posts: 36

    mbrus

    Back to the Sedan. This is where black and white comes in. Some things are not quite as simple as putting them in a category, some boundaries love to be broken. Hot rodding thrives on this feeling. I'll make sure to tread this line very carefully. To me, hot rodding is a mindset. It's the skill, creativity, and commitment of being able to adapt so many different elements to work together reach a certain goal. My goal is to go fast, and my hot rods better do that. 2 door 50's style convertible vs. 4 door sedan, these cars will be made to be polar opposites, evil twins almost. The phaeton will be jet black and the sedan will be pearly white. The sedan will spread its wings in an off topic environment. I'll continue the build thread as long as possible before the sedan gets too wild.

    So I came to the conclusion that the skimpy little model A frame under the sedan would stand no chance of being able to handle the weight/power I plan to throw at it. So we had to beef up bones a bit.
    frame 1.jpg
    frame2.jpg
    Sedan's front and rear axle out of a 1961 ford unibody parts truck. I built a unibody when I was in high school, and we had to buy an entire truck just to get the tailgate so a few parts were robbed for my hot rod.
    ford 9.jpg
    So I tacked together a bit of the sheetmetal I had, but I was still missing a roof. I believe this car was a "leatherback" because I can't find any evidence of sheetmetal ever seeing the back end of this beast.
    cowl mounted.jpg
    A side.jpg
    So then I was on the hunt for a roof.,
     

    Attached Files:

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  4. mbrus
    Joined: Sep 14, 2014
    Posts: 36

    mbrus

    Back to black. Had to repair lots of rust in the phaeton, lots of fun. These were the first patches I had ever done.
    fitting patch.jpg
    tacked patch.jpg
    patches.jpg
    We also robbed the rear axle out of the 51 meteor that donated the 8BA flathead. I figured the meteor might be a little lonely after we put her back in storage so I went and paid a little visit. But I saw something I liked
    meteor dash.jpg
    That dash was calling me. So unbolted it, fired up the spark machine and made it fit it's new home.
    dash.jpg
    Aha :) now it's got style. And after weeks of searching, I found myself a roof! not the prettiest, but it was also free!
    A roof.jpg

    That's it for now, hope you enjoy!
     
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  5. mike matters
    Joined: May 1, 2015
    Posts: 76

    mike matters

    More please
     
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  6. ROCKER77
    Joined: Jun 30, 2008
    Posts: 515

    ROCKER77
    Member

    Ya sparked my intrest!!
     
  7. Where the hell is all this free stuff?:)
     
  8. waxhead
    Joined: May 11, 2013
    Posts: 1,172

    waxhead
    Member
    from West Oz

    Subscribed. Love the dash. Keep up the good work.
     
  9. T-DeWitt
    Joined: Aug 16, 2012
    Posts: 293

    T-DeWitt
    Member

    We all like FREE!!!!!
    Looks good so far.

    Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
     
  10. YES, where is all the free stuff? Looks like you are starting off great.
     
  11. mbrus
    Joined: Sep 14, 2014
    Posts: 36

    mbrus

    Thanks for the support! As for the free stuff... I think being young helped me out a bunch. I was 19 when I started this and I think that the some of the older folks just want to see the next generation interested in this old junk :)
     
    lothiandon1940, 302GMC and volvobrynk like this.
  12. That's great that they are supportive.We need more young folks in this hobby.
     
    volvobrynk likes this.
  13. Bandit Billy
    Joined: Sep 16, 2014
    Posts: 12,287

    Bandit Billy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I'm laid up for a few weeks and living extemporaneously through guys like you. Please keep it coming.
     
  14. mbrus
    Joined: Sep 14, 2014
    Posts: 36

    mbrus

    Roughly Mid October 2014 I was working with a construction company building a shop waay out in the boonies, overlooking a coulee. It just so happened that on truss day I was scampering up and down, and something at the bottom of the coulee kept glimmering at me. On lunch break I nabbed a co-worker's binoculars (standard car/deer hunter equipment) and stood up top the trusses, and sure enough there must have been at least 50 curvy cars staring right back at me. o_O Fast forward the few longest hours of my life and I was standing there in the middle of a 1950's car graveyard. :) The old farmer first seemed quite skeptical of some kid wanting parts, at one point he had a Model A coupe himself but it was stolen right out of the hills 3 years prior. but I explained my situation and he seemed quite enthused and said I could take what I needed. So the next day I went back with a generator and a handful of zip disks and whacked that roof off.

    mangled sides.jpg
    Little rough, and I was not aware of the size difference between the 2 door and 4 door.
    wrong.jpg still wrong.jpg
    Doh!
    and then.jpg


    extras.jpg
    tacked.jpg tacked 2.jpg
    Now she fits :)
     

    Attached Files:

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  15. mbrus
    Joined: Sep 14, 2014
    Posts: 36

    mbrus

    Back in the RPU department, we sent the 8BA to the machine shop to check it all out for cracks and what not, so I decided to try to teach myself a little metal working. One of the pieces behind the door was quite rusted (the other one, not pictured) so I cut it out and used some random tools to get the bottom line like the other one.
    fancy patch.jpg

    Welded and smoothed. Sorry, cellphone pics.
    smooth patch.jpg
    Then built a sub frame.
    sliced.jpg tacked.jpg
    raw sheet comp.jpg bent.jpg

    working from the doors back I began to recreate the 2 door back end. It was quite small, so I decided to stretch it out 5"
    gap.jpg
    Then I purchased myself an english wheel for 300$, and crushed a few fingers. Kind of morphed some steel too.

    wheelin.jpg
    The upper body line was different between the two pieces, so I had to find a way to blend the side to the back.
    Made a template out of 1/8" plate and hammered the sides over for depth. No shrinker or stretcher here so I had to make slices along the small side.
    template.jpg blending.jpg
    tacked on

    P blend.jpg
    so far semi successful, I'm happy :)
     
  16. mbrus
    Joined: Sep 14, 2014
    Posts: 36

    mbrus

    The sedan was getting a little jealous of all the attention I was giving to the convertible, so I decided to even it up. I used the same method of cutting the 2" into the side of 2x1 steel tubing to make the floor structure/ sub frame. The sheet metal (doors, cowl, back end, half the roof) were completely tacked together at this point. tack welded the hinges to my pre-fabbed door frames and to the hinge support. Now I had to use my mangled roof pieces to try and make something.
    torch.jpg
    Relief cuts
    unnamed.jpg P roof2.jpg
    short comp.jpg
    P roofcomp.jpg
     
  17. mbrus
    Joined: Sep 14, 2014
    Posts: 36

    mbrus

    Then got distracted once again, the phaeton's firewall was quite ugly. The rest of the car looked pretty decent so this was bugging me.
    mangled fw comp.jpg
    FW tacked.jpg FW.jpg
    and windshield posts
    holescomp.jpg
    And a little later this arrived. The machine man had his fun, the flatty got a slight over bore, new pistons, valves and guides, and a custom ground cam.
    shiny.jpg

    The the that's all folks! Thanks a bunch to all you hamb guys, all the knowledge and skill I saw right here taught me more than I could imagine. 3 months prior to this point I had never bent sheet metal or put in a patch. I owe a beer to you guys.
     
  18. mbrus
    Joined: Sep 14, 2014
    Posts: 36

    mbrus

    My apologies, been away from the computer for quite some time. The engine is a v8, only sliced half the plastic open for pictures. Within a few days my dad and I assembled it all up. For now we'll run it as is but we have plans for a 2x2 or 3x2 carb setup. Holley 94 vs strombergs? hop-up recommendations would be appreciated.
    Flatty.jpg
    There were still lots of issues with the body. The back piece I tried to save was cracked and about 5" too short. The only option for me now was to attempt to weld a new piece to the bottom.
    gap.jpg
    wheelin.jpg tacked.jpg
    damn.jpg

    It still fit a little bit funny but now at least it was something to go off of. However the bottom body line simply stopped, not cool
    stoppedcomp.jpg
    tacked.jpg beauty.jpg
    template.jpg beauty2.jpg
    Ta-da! roughed in at least. At this point I wasn't all that educated as far as traditional goes, and being as its a first hot rod build for my father and I, we opted for the easy route and ordered parts from speedway. Next build will be old school, promise :)
    chassis.jpg
     
  19. Excellent work. HRP
     
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  20. mbrus
    Joined: Sep 14, 2014
    Posts: 36

    mbrus

    Back to the sedan! I ordered bear claw latches because the original latches were no longer existent. But the doors weren't swinging yet so I had some work ahead of me. The only way I could figure to make it work was to physically weld the hinge to my steel doors frame and to the door support. Strong, but the only downside is no adjustment.
    weld.jpg closed.jpg open.jpg
    This day made me quite happy so I sat inside and made a bunch of vroom noises until my imagination ran out.
    After a little bit I decided to build some roof support
    back fit.jpg notched.jpg curved.jpg
    flappy2.jpg
    Question, how do people fix the glass in these? Does the frame come apart or should I just bring the whole thing to the glass shop? Thanks in advance! more tomorrow
     
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  21. Atwater Mike
    Joined: May 31, 2002
    Posts: 11,625

    Atwater Mike
    Member

    Hah! Free Model A's. Hmmm...Exactly how I started! (1955: $3 body, '31 Cabriolet) Had to move it by Saturday, no friends with pickups, or trailers. I was 13, and on my own.
    Loaded the body onto a rolling '36 Ford frame with friends Jim Rose and Eddie Burkhouse. A tramp was looking for some pliers to open a handle-less faucet for some water...we helped him, and he helped us lift the body onto the frame, which we pushed home. (2 miles...)
    Many 'elders' helped me through, because I was young. And polite. And eager to learn.
    Kudos to you, this is a serious bunch of metalwork you have attacked.
    Bless your Dad for jumping in. I lost mine at 12.

    Soak the heck out of the screws at the windshield frame corners. (P.B. Blaster) You may have to drill the screws out, use Mechanics' Left Hand Drill Bits.
     
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  22. scrap metal 48
    Joined: Sep 6, 2009
    Posts: 6,079

    scrap metal 48
    Member

    Wow!! Great work, for what you had to work with.. Keep it up...
     
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  23. What's better than having one Model A build going?

    Having two going at the same time!

    Very enjoyable thread, can't wait for more. Very cool.
     
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  24. mbrus
    Joined: Sep 14, 2014
    Posts: 36

    mbrus

    Thanks for all the support, guys. Its greatly appreciated!

    At this point I was tired of looking at rust all the time so I rolled it outside and ground the whole beast down to bare steel
    uphigh.jpg
    I found a few minor blemishes, but whatever was still there was quite solid. The bottoms of the doors were rotten, so I cut those out and patched them up. No pics unfortunately. So now I had sat in my fordor, but the ex-phaeton seemed sad not having any bones under it. A few nights working like hell and I made some progress,
    assembled!.jpg tranny.jpg
    It's a 3 speed column shift. Hooking it all up will be interesting. Then I lured in a few friends with free beer to come give me a hand lifting the body on and dropping the engine in. Reminds me of
    calvinandhobbes1.jpg
    20 year old car guys are suckers for free beer :)
    engine.jpg
    enginedash.jpg mockup.jpg
     
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  25. The37Kid
    Joined: Apr 30, 2004
    Posts: 30,629

    The37Kid
    Member

    What a nice pair of projects, I can relate to the Fordor, you are making progress a lot faster than I am. Bob
     
  26. AHotRod
    Joined: Jul 27, 2001
    Posts: 12,216

    AHotRod
    Member

    Well done...they are coming along really well.
     
  27. slv63
    Joined: Aug 4, 2008
    Posts: 151

    slv63
    Member

    Looks good! Do you still have the back pieces of the phaeton?
     
  28. Looks like you have excellent building skills as well as an artistic eye. I am sure you will have both of them done before the old codger kicks the bucket..;)
     
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  29. mbrus
    Joined: Sep 14, 2014
    Posts: 36

    mbrus

    No unfortunately the other piece was missing when I got the car, so I had to make do with this one. I'll keep my eyes open if you're looking for one!
     

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