okayy soo im 19 and last year i bought myself a totally stock 29 model A coupe that was just recently shipped over from california being only about 16 when i was looking for one, at the time i was planning to build someones basic idea of a hot rod ? big wheels at the back no hood and chopped with a huge rake ... but after a few years of looking around model A's in detail and seeing all the traditional ones out there, i finallyy grew up an realised the traditional way was the propper way of how they should be soo my plan is to have it pretty much standard bodywise keeping the fenders an the non chopped look ! , still original paint, lights, grille, interior ect.. but for it to have the right stance with jus some steels an for it to be driven loads like it should ! i started off going for the 350 option .. but after considering insurace and actually being able to affort to run it, i started to sway more to the idea of a different motor .. just until i can get to the age where car insurance doesnt cost more than the car ! so i originally wanted to go for the pinto option but i wanted to do something a little different if i could.. then i started getting to know people that have had p100's in the past and really for the ease of the motor and the cost/performance of it .... it pretty much seemed the easiest option i could go for at the moment heres how the car looked just as we got it home !
we kept the car stock for a couple months but one night dad left the fuel tap on overnight .. and emptied a freshly filled tank straight into the exhaust ... that was then followed by the biggest backfire ive ever seen in my life, it blew the rear view mirror off, flames came out past the grille and blew the exhaust clean open .. i didnt exactly trust the 4 banger after that really probably woulda been okay but id rather be safe than sorry. soo after looking on ebay and finding a suitable P100 for the motor,gearbox and prop it was time to strip the car down ready to box the chassis and sort out the frame .. that job is in the trusted hands of Adrian smith at buckland automotive in bedfordshire
whilst the chassis is at buckland. i took the time to repair the Rot on the body its not much just the basic bottom edge of the body in places
i havent got the chassis back from buckland yet .. but as it stands at the moment its been boxed, had the crossmembers made, all the engine mounts and the parts put in .. basically everything you see there that isnt stock on the car was done there
i know a lotta people are gonna tell me i should have kept the banger ... but nothings ever permanent ? its not impossible to put a banger back in ? ... im just gonna do this my way to see how it goes and in the future.. who knows ?
X2, that K member looks stout as hell. As far as the motor goes, can't see it with the hood on can ya?
Interesting idea - sounds promising. A little 2.0 litre TDi would pull like a train and go better than Henry's old banger. Subscribed.
Chassis looks awesome - great idea. No point in having a car you can't drive. Sometimes look at the SBC in mine and think about changing it for a 4.5 Rover Lump.
Well the motor ive got is a 1.8 litre turbo diesel. Soo it shouldnt be a million miles away from that setup
Pardon my ignorance but what is a P100 ?? Oh and if I've got it right your not allowed to park where you are in your first pic? Also did you tell the chassis guy that you'd be fitting a 392 Hemi later on?
A p100 is a early 90's / 80's ford pickup .. Looks a bit like the pizza planet truck out of toy story ? (best way i can think to describe it haha) and yeaahh your probably right theree .. Wasnt there long though .. A 392 hemi !! I couldnt afford to drive that to the end of my street on fuel ! Haha
All the front end is near enough done now. Minus the shocks an stuff, the front beam, axles and front spring are now mounted. The rear axle is in place. Just needs mounting These are pics taken last night ... Hopefully it wont be tooo long till im ready to get rid of that orange !!
Nice work - the chassis mods will prepare the car for a lifetime of ownership and engine/trans swops. Given that you're 19 it will probably end up running a hydrogen/electric hybrid engine with regenerative brakes and computer controlled active suspension when you pass it on to your grand children in 2070.
Ahh lets hope ! Not the hydrogen engine .. The fact that ill keep it untill ive got grankids sounds good to me !
Hey All, this is actually likely to be the direction lots of people end up going in. Just so everyone looking at this understands how much fuel costs. Today I got back to London (where I'm working at the moment) after spending a week in Fla with the family visting the Mouse and other nearby attractions. (Including Kennedy Space Center - definitely worth a trip, but this isn't a travel blog, it's supposed to be about rods - the hotter, the better. Yesterday, I filled the rentaSUV as I dropped it at the airport, and gasoline in the US cost around $3.58 per US gallon (3.78541 litres), so around US 94.6 c/l. At exchange rates of US$1.00 = GBP 0.622, that makes 87 octane gasoline about GBP 0.588 per litre. Gasoline (called petrol here) is around GBP 1.38 per litre which is 2.21 times more expensive - try just around USD 7.90 a gallon - there'd be blood in the streets! Diesel in the US was just over $4.00 per gallon = 0.67 GBP/litre. Tonight, diesel is readily available here in London at around GBP1.45 a litre, making it 2.18 times more expensive than in the US, or try USD 8.83 per US gallon. Now, for those folks at home in Australia, petrol is around AUD 1.45 per litre (OK, it's 91 octane), and at around parity between the USD and the AUD, that puts petrol in Australia at around $5.50 per gallon, with diseasel at around the same price (give or take). Anyway, not trying to hijack Przybyl28's thread with some OT waffle about fuel prices, the point I am making is that fuel costs really do influence the kind of car we can afford to drive. Diseasel is used in just about every new car here in the UK - including most MB's, BM's and Audis - they cruise easy at 80 - 90 mph and still get 40 - 50 mpg (Imp Gals - geez, this is getting messy - apologies). OK, finally, I get to make a point - for decades, rodders have been using whatever engines and drivetrains are available - well, guess what, here in the UK (and most of Europe), that means diesels in the future, plus they are much more powerful than 1200cc's of thumping fury (that'd be the big block). Diesels are coming - well done Przybyl28 for starting a real trend. (I'm tired now, especially after all that maths - my brain hurts!!!!!) Bye.
Good thread and good to see one so young looking outside the box and getting involved . Workmanship looks the tops and im sure the car will be driven keep at it its looking top notch.
another update ! the shes now on All fours !! with the ladder bars mounted, front suspension and steering all installed, front fender supports mounted for clearance ect..
Im another in the UK that has Diesel power in the truck, it's the only way I could afford to travel any distance from home plus near 40 mpg with a light foot.
whilst the chassis was at buckland .. i took the time to do a bit of "accessory" shopping ... i wanted to recover my original seat with something Period the old fabric was pretty mouldy and giving off a seriously harmfull ammount of dust!! soo after a while browsing the net .. i managed to find a unissued WW2 U.S army tent from 1942 for my seat .. and a bell button off a vintage bus for my starter button instead of a key.
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