Projects My `28 AV8 Roadster Project -- Completed!

I bought this car as a stalled project from a friend of mine on 12-06-10. He'd done some nice work to set up front and rear suspension, lightly channeled the body (2 1/2"), had the flathead rebuilt, and pretty much gathered up all the needed parts and components to finish the project. But something happened, and when I approached him -- for about the 10th time -- to sell out, he agreed! It had sat in his shop for 3 - 4 years and I think he had simply lost interest.

I figured I could put it all together pretty quickly since just about everything I was gonna need was in a big pile in the floor of my shop. Not! Since late 2010 I've sold a house, bought a new house, built a shop, had some surgery, and so on. As they say...life happens It's now been almost 3 years, but I'm finally at a point where my roadster is about 99% complete. I'd planned to take it out for the first time at Revolution -- but that obviously didn't happen. So here's a few pix to show how the project turned out.

It's a no-kidding 1928 roadster (date stamped on the gas tank and Sequence # on the title confirm it's provenance), lightly channeled over the original frame, with 85-hp flathead rebuilt to stock spec's, 3-speed top-loader, torque tube, `34 rear end, `40 Ford brakes front and rear, `35 Ford wires, `41 Pontiac gauge cluster, and a cut-down `39 banjo wheel. Cowl steering is a modified `32 Ford box. This is NOT a period-correct build, but with few exceptions .... no component is newer that WW II. It's a car that "could have" been built in 1941 since just about everything used in it's construction comes from the `20's and `30's.

Here 'tis:

 

Just a few more pix ... and then I'm gonna stop!

 

no dont stop

 

That..........is *$#%#@ awesome.....nice job...

 

Cool Gary! Where's the hood?

 

Thanks, Kid! How about a couple of "before" shots of what it looked like the day I brought it home? That pile of parts is only a portion of all the extra stuff I got on the deal. I actually assembled a second body -- and sold it -- which cut the cost of my investment in
half!

 

Hey Louver Guy,
The hood is still in my shop for two reasons: 1) I decided I liked the look without one, and 2) I forgot the front cross-member had been moved forward 2" so I could run a mechanical fan and not cut the firewall. (Stamp "stupid"on my forehead!) But your great louver job is now only waiting for my next Model A project ...

 

Very nice. To me, this is what a hot rod should look like. I hope my '26 turns out as nice.

 

Very cool!

 

great job--has the look for sure

 

That car is perfect. Love it!

 

That's real nice, love it

 

Thanks guys ... appreciate the kind words. I really built the car to satisfy only one guy -- me -- but having others comment favorably means a lot nonetheless!

 

Looks great -- well done

 

What's not to like? Very Nice

 

Very cool roadster, love it!

 

nice work ...nailed it

 

Garry.. how did you get so much room between the front of the seat and the front door post? I have a 30 roadster and I can hardly get my foot into the car. Looks like you have ample room to enter and exit! Nicely done..

 

Beautiful! It's on my bucket list..

 

Starting with an actual pile of parts, in my opinion all the right ones, and building the roadster shown, to say job well done hardly seems adequate, but WELL DONE!

A picture of this roadster should be added to the (traditional hotrods) sticky, showing examples of what a true THR is.

 

Cool roadster

 

That about covers it. Damn nice build.

 

Very nice, I know it draws a crowd.

 

You could put a picture of this one on the cover of Bishop's book How to Build A Traditional Hot Rod. Well Done!!

Frank

 

awesome lookin hot rod.nice straight body work!

 

Thanks again for all the kind words ... I really, really appreciate all of them.

For AOJO: The room between the front of the seat and the front door post was most likely the result of a happy accident. I'm a pretty small guy, so I just built the car to fit me! Seat (non-traditional) is really a center seat out of a 2000 Plymouth van on homemade risers ... but I sat in the car lots to figure out exactly where the seat, in relation to the clutch and brake pedals fit me best. And as an added bonus, the seat tilts down to give me access to battery, fuel tank, and a bit of storage.

For Fab32: Any reference to the Bishop/Tardel book is an appropriate one. My copy is getting pretty thumb-worn, because I read it cover-to-cover many times, and then referred back to it for specific cues at every stage of the build. Perhaps most importantly, my friend Paul Hutchins gave me my copy when he learned I was planning a pretty traditional build. So ... thanks Hutch!

 

And for OKK1950: Thanks! Moving the gas filler cap from the cowl to the tulip panel was probably my biggest personal challenge in the body-work department. And the paint job initially turned out like SHIT! Fortunately, the clear coat was a heavy one, and once again a friend came to the rescue in the person of Nick Haley. He did a ton of wet-sanding and buffing, and eventually completely repainted the deck lid, in order to salvage a botched paint job. And there's still more sanding and buffing to be done.

 

Looks great, nice job!

 

Great looking roadster for sure. I love the stance. Besides the light channel job and dropped axle are there any mods to the chassis to get it lower? Also what size tires are you running? Dont be shy with the build pics if you have them, your car is sweet!