Projects 60's Era Street/Strip Model A Coupe

I'm really liking the direction that you are going with on your coupe, Early 60s drag cars are what I drooled over as a kid in the early 70s. Looking forward to watching the progress on this one. Wishing you the best on your vision problems , I have been having issues since birth.

 

The mid 60’s drag look is exactly what I went for with my car, and it took 9 years to get on the road . 327, 4 speed , big and littles with a heavy rake . Good luck !

 

Looking great Brent, panel you made to go between dash and windshield excellent idea and execution

 

I'm diggin it so far

 

Lumpy, thanks so much. I'm on the same page as you... as a kid. I did have some dreams of owning a Ferrari, Porsche, Jeeps and even a VW Thing... haha.

As far as my eyes, I'm being proactive. I changed my diet and I do a better job taking care of them. Last eye check-up showed that my eyes were very healthy. That's all I can do, now, is put my health into an optimal condition. I can't control the results, only the actions I take.

I appreciate the well wishes more than you know!

Sounds like a fun car!!! Can't go wrong with that combo.

The plan is to stick pretty close to the mid-late 60's, even with paint. Choosing a color has been a challenge. If you see me paint this thing black, you'll know I admitted defeat and quit trying to find the "right" color.

Thanks, man! It's a little detail that I think makes a big difference (to me).

Thanks, Swade! That's a nice compliment coming from you.... I see your comments on some of my favorite threads so I know we're on the same page.

 

Thanks for posting the build, look forward to seeing it come together

 

Fenders

Finding fenders was difficult for me. I've driven thousands of miles around the west and wasted a bunch of money on fenders but on the bright side - I know a lot more about fenders, now! Hahaha.


Eventually I found a set that were hanging on a 30 that a HAMBer was hot rodding. They looked decent in the pics (they all do...) and we made a deal. I drove down to Big Bear Lake, Cali and grabbed the fenders. The fronts were actually really nice. The rears had some issues. Like I said, I know a lot more now because stuff like this is always teaching me. I didn't take the runningboards/aprons because I planned on running something different... as you'll see.




When I was out at Matt's doing the body wood, I took the fenders over to a blaster. It was one of the last jobs he did before he retired. He was a hot rodder, too. And like just like Matt, he held up the rear fenders and said, "These are going to need some work... probably lots of work." Haha.





However, the fronts were good - really good. Perfect candidates to cut in half. Haha! I'm not joking.








And then the rears...



Because they were going to get bobbed, Matt decided to narrow the fenders and try them out. Problem was, the fenders each had their own issues and the left fender had either been hit or something because it was different from the other and the opening was like an inch and a half smaller. So, we wasted some time and the scrapper got some metal. Live and learn, we ordered repops.



Here are the respective fender mounts. All that was done was narrowing 3". They had both fit their fenders.

 

So, why in the hell would I go and narrow the fenders?

Because of this car...

Many of you known of the Maratta Missile or as it was earlier named, "The Rake" by Frank Maratta.

I had known about this car, growing up in CT (where both Maratta and Dean (the current owner) live) but I'd only seen in it a pic or two over the years. When he located and purchased the car, I reached out to him. I wanted to know it all. The car is very distinct and it made an impact on me.

In my mind, this car is about as bad as a Model A can come and I wanted a little bit of The Missile/Rake style for my own car. The Missile version of this car is a far more imposing hot rod, to me.

 

The Rear View

While we waited for the new rear fenders to arrive, Matt got to work on one of the areas I had planned out many years ago - the rear taillight panel.

The day I was packing up, I took a pic of the layout on the original, beat-up panel.



And here's Matt's mock-up:



And a couple hours later, here's the finished product.





You can see my old, narrowed and beat fenders. The taillights are Buick and the tag lights are NOS Chevy.

 

I like it! Should be mean looking when finished.

I would ditch the Chevy licence lights, they look odd stuck out back.

 

Neat, neat. Subscribed. I like your ideas so far. I see an emerald green body, light green metallic with cobwebbed fenders. I'm with dumprat on those license lights though. They look like the water spouts on the wall of my Grandma's bathroom.

 

Thanks, fellas! Respectfully, I know it will be something folks will love or hate but they're staying. I dig it and when the car is all together and in one color with a nerf bar bumper, I think it will all fit in. One of the reasons I like this era is that some cars got pretty funky and it was okay. Guys were trying all sorts of things. I could play it safe and run a Hollywood license plate light but there's no fun in that for me.

 

Running Boards

Commercial/truck running boards seemed like the right choice. I really love the way they came out. Matt blew my mind when I saw how well he got everything to match up.

 

Narrowed and Bobbed Rear Fenders

Brand new, straight, and raw rear fenders.



Taking 3" out.





Narrowed with a 6" bob.



Door bottoms replace and filler pulled out of the door.



These running boards should look pretty good plated.



This little area needed some finessing to allow the fenders to fit on the car.



Fenders mocked up.

 

Love them Model A street / strip coupes.

 

I really like the skinny fender look . What style axle are you using up front ? As much as I like my car with a heavy rake the nose up drag launch look is cool.

 

Wow! This just keeps getting better!

 

Floors, Bulkhead and Crossmember Covers

Here's one of my favorites in the build. A bulkhead was important to me. I wanted to separate the trunk/gas tank are from the driver and passenger and I wanted to do it in a way that looked good, too.

I took my inspiration from Willys, early Novas, and other cars that used bracing that divided the spaces.

The floor was done first and then mat was in and out of the car a bunch of times getting the bulkhead to fit to his standards. The car had to be cranked into square with ratchet straps and when it was all braced up and sheeted, it was incredibly solid.


We used some Model A Ford hat channel that's typically used as cross channels. The below pic was when everything was in and "done". I loved it but felt like it didn't look complete.



We trimmed a spare piece of hat channel and added it in. To my eye, that looked more factory... plus it was neat that it was an A.


Then, Matt fabbed a spring crossmember cover. I had a piece on the way to him to make a cover out of but I'll tell you, this one has really grown on me.



When the the piece arrived, he cut it down to size and made a flange for that, as well. It's a replacement spare tire will for a Model A fender.



I like both for different reasons. I'm not sure which one will be used. Which one would you run? I guess I could make it so either could be mounted?

 

For now, I have a 32 heavy and I'll likely run a Super Slide spring with a reversed main leaf. If anything changes, I'll run a WAC Customs axle made by @BCCHOPIT. I like either a rake or the sitting proud but mostly level/flat. I've never been a "nose high" guy. I went for a ride in a 55 (around town) a few years back that was nose high and it weirded me out. I'm tall and I couldn't see much in front of us.

Thanks, Mike! I'm itching to get this thing into a roller. I can't wait to start talking chassis and speed parts!

 

You sure are making progress. This thing is going to be awesome!! Great fab work.

 

With the rest of the trunk looking so nice and original, I would go with the spare tire well cover. The squared edges on the other one look out place, but would go nicely with a set of full aluminum panels.

 

Thanks, Mike! I gotta tell you, it feels good to have this project moving forward.

When I look in the trunk, I picture the bulkhead and the back taillight cover panel (not shown, yet) getting painted the same color of the body. The sides will get panels that match the interior, which will just be black diamond stitch. I like both covers. The squared one looks tougher. It's thinner and lower. The wheel well one looks fancy (not sure if that's the right word) and it's bigger all around.

I don't have a fuel tank yet... that may decide which gets run. Haha.

 

I like the fabricated cover.
If this is going on 32 rails how are you going to make the A subrails fit? And are you going to run A splash aprons?

 

No, this is going on a modified Model A frame. Much like this one:



Though mine will be different. I'm running a front mount and a bellhousing mount. The boxing plates will be slightly inset. Also, the steering is going to be F1, I'm not sure what they are running on this. I've been debating what to run in the rear for suspension - ladder bars or truck arm rear suspension, both of which will be with an A spring. I've been leaning toward truck arms (or I-beams) most recently.

I will be using 31 aprons. We just didn't mock them up when the fenders were mocked.

 

Wow Brent! Can't believe I never realized this thread was so local. Haha
I love it. It's so perfect.
Keep on rollin man!
I'm following

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

Trunklid Conversion and Repair

The decklid was converted to a trunk lid. The bottom lip needed some love.







Finally, a '37 V8 trunk handle was installed. This is a repop that Matt donated. I have a beautiful original for when the car is done. The new metal makes the rest of the decklid look pretty bad. It'll need a bit of body work.

 

Roof Insert

You can see all those holes that had to be filled. When the wood is pulled, they'll get addressed.

As for the insert, I'm not sure whether to upholster it or polish it.

 

Chopped Moldings and Windshield

When these got checked off the to-do list, I knew things were getting close.



The windshield had a tiny bit of rot on the flange that comes off the back of the frame. Luckily, it's not needed the way we have the dash cover made. Nobody would know that it's gone... except you and I.

 

Trunk Taillight Access Panel/Cover and Windshield Screw Removal

I know there will be very little room left in the trunk but I still would like to be able to pack an overnight bag or whatnot in the trunk and I'd like to be able to do that without hitting taillight wiring and such. Plus, it looks a lot cleaner.


Next, all around this car there are broken off fasteners. I still have a few more to deal with...

Here's the screws for the windshield that got tacked and removed.




(Look at that dash detail! I love that.)

 

Nice documentation of your build (love the direction you're taking).