Another perspective in Tubdom... https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1929-model-a-phaeton-dry-lakes.1227858/ Just for the Inspiration...Different year but a look that crosses the years in style...
Thats it! She's so perfect! Stance, profile, Tires, aprons, colors... I just drooled. Man o Man the Jingle Town Special is so neat. I hope I can do this Phaeton justice. You know imitation is the sincerest flattery.
Bring it on Hamber...Inspiration is a huge cog in the wheel around here...I actually thought it was in better shape but its actually a bit rough around the edges...I'm totally good with it that way as well...It's a favorite of mine...
Well , after a B pillar, cowl and seat hight mock up... I don't fit. I'm 9 foot 17 inches tall (6'4") and I don't fit at all. I need the seat back to move back 6 to 10 inches. Then no one else will ever be able to drive it comfortably. I would like my family/friends to be able to drive it too.
...Perhaps some crafty seat mods might make your frame fit...I'm near 6' and I'm challenged in my Sport Coupe...have you tried come cushion and wood adjusting to play around a bit? chances are you'd be modding the seat anyway...especially if you chop the top...or posts...
One size fits all, well not yet. I have this upside down roll bar idea to support the b pillars and then just run regular old adjustable seats. That or move the seat back way back and do regular adjusting seats in front of it.
When yo u have it all built you may want to at least spot weld those bolts in the subrails so things dont shift. Touring and Phaetons move A LOT
2Blue2 Welcome to the HAMB. Looks like you have a good score in your find and a good start on your project. I will be watching closely as I just got a 29 sedan in pieces. Can't make up my mind if I should build modified or tub. Keep grinding!
This is what I'm thinking for going with no seat back. B pillar support (upside down roll bar idea) isn't stiff enough yet to work. '87 Mustang Seats are mocked up on a pile of wood. Even without headrests, the backs are to TALL for the profile I imagine. Well be needing some short backs I think. Rats ate holes in both seats. So I've adopted a couple of feral barn kitties and now feed em by car under the porch. Only took a week before I saw first dead rat.
Got a chance to go to a private collection of old cars out on some old chicken farm. Was fun to see~ 55chev, 3 t top trans ams, 67stang convert, 2 58 t-birds, and more but all were rusty. We don't call them rusty out here till there really rusty. Guy who showed up behind me bought all 3 Trans Ams. There I bought me a roll bar (street bar) out of Baja Bug. Had to buy, remove, and take the whole baja kit but was only 200$
Month before I got this Phaeton I found the 2nd row Caravan seat in the bulk pickup (yes in the trash). I was able to recognize it from time spent just searching on the HAMB. Took it home and wire brushed a whole cat worth of cat hair off it. Now the barn kitties have been sleeping on it. Seat and roll bar are perfect width to get along with each other and the Model A. Made upholstery holders/covers for B pillar support. Barn kitty has cool tortoise shell markings.
Bars off back of roll bar need some adjustment. Clamped up for nice cut on bottom at the angle needed. Sits right on the sub rails so nice. Found out someone had added 4 inches to bottom of roll bar. I took the pieces I cut off top that the rear bars slid on and pounded them in both sides and did some plug welds. Don't mind it being bolt on but needs to sandwich sub rails while bolting to frame. Sound deadening was folded and still has not relaxed completely. Made some fender supports (grey angle iron) to replace missing. Made a 1 inch square tubing to run across the top of the three panels. Bent it by hand in the equalizer hitch on my truck. Had to do a couple of relief cuts because I could not bend the compound curve good enough. Really stiffened it up. Will hook front of quarter to roll bar for further support.
Mock up of support bars. Here looks a little to tall to ever have the desired tonneau cover. So went a little shorter for better profile. Tacked it with wire feed then hauled it upstairs to stick weld em on. Good ole tombstone Lincoln. Put a plate on bottom too.
A month before Phaeton purchase I found some axles on Craigslist Looks to be more than 4 inches of drop. Other I think is a '37 with its round back spindles.
This is the end of the picture dump. Car mock up looks like this now. Front axle mocked up (poorly), body just sitting on frame, and rear just sitting on the leaf spring. Head rests gotta go, as do the 14 inch rims. Can't fit calipers. Machined rotor surface still taped up on Dodge Dart rotors from spray bombing. This old gal finally has a nice Arse!
The best part is now my family sees a car. Maybe they'll start thinking that Dad's building a car under the porch isn't so crazy. One by one they have come down and had a look at her. Mild skepticism is turning to mild amusement.
Play "Happy Music" while your out there working on it .... they will know for sure your having fun and want to join in.
I love this idea. I really am having fun. My daughter has been helping some, at my encouragement. Been doing home improvement all last year and have been trying to teach some painting and finishing to her. She has painted much for that (not so exciting). She has been painting on a few pieces of furniture and car parts with the spray gun and spray canned many more for me. I prep, she paints with out complaining and has been a good sport. She is now finding little projects of her own to paint. Here practicing Japanese 'Sho Sugi Ban' or burnt cedar finish on these floor boards (very exciting, its on fire). Probably won't make it into final car but still fun to do something together. This Model A has good leg room with seat way back and none of that pesky transmission and shifter stuff in it.
Phaeton door skin bottom patches arrived recently. Door are in much better shape than panels that attached to sub rails. I cut the patches down and am just replacing whats needed. Spent most of my 'Hour Rod Time' trying to build a new bottom to go behind patch. I'm getting there. Some PB Blaster got both latches going but still can't remove from doors. Letting screws soak longer. All the hinges have suffered some tweaking it seems. This poor ole rusty car. Its a little intimidating to post my crap. So many threads have amazing beautiful metal work. I'm such a hack by comparison. Oh well, on with the shade tree body work. Back Yard Style!
Worked on doors some mores this week. One had the hinge brassed on crooked to get along with its nail for hinge pin. Rear doors into primer. I think the original color was Kawanee Green? Not sure.
With all the wood for this car missing in action. It needs much supporting inside. This thing is like a soft beer can. Got some these heavy wall 1 inch square tube 'X's left over from buddies rotisserie restoration project. Set about making some of the needed supports . Cut them apart and bent them in the trucks hitch again. Worked pretty good. Fab them with some plate, angle, and strap. These three pieces bolt to the sq tube on top of the three rear panels. Installed!
The top part rear panel feels good and strong. Friends stepping on it kind confidence The bottom not so sure... eight #10 screws is it? Is that enough to keep it from flapping in the wind at 55mph? Hmmm Made bottom of bracket big so maybe I can add some more fastening. Maybe some 5/16 through the flange of sub rail? My triangle patch having any resemblance to the 'all seeing eye' on back of dollar bill is purely coincidental.
Took roll ball out and welded angle iron brackets on it. Above^ I liked how the Caravan seat fit between the roll bar on initial mock up. Had to surgically remove this arm rest tumor from beneath the skin for this. I just hacked it out with death wheel. The next day my friend says "Why didn't you just unvelco and slide seat cover up?" With my enthusiasm un~dampened by my own stupidity. I took seat back and hung it on the roll bar. Now hinges here giving me a sliver of trunk space behind. My plan for bottom is to fit; frame, suspension, seatbelts, batteries, gas tank. amplifiers, speakers, sub woofers, tool box. and mufflers in the 6 cubic feet of space under the bottom seat. Well at least dreaming of it. I figure this is pretty close to the perfect profile height.
Daughter has that look of "This could really happen and I could drive this" (just got learners permit) Has her paint clothes on as she just painted the third door. Didn't turn out so great. Was just getting the hang of chasing the wet edge across the panel when we ran out of paint. Best way to learn to paint is to just do it. Door and dash rail she painted is in pic above.^ Not so shiny but loving her help. Found some spent brass wedged in a door.
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