Nice find! And a good start to whatever you want to do. For reference....we just chopped a 31 2dr sedan 4 inches and channeled it 4 and now are running out of head room since we are 6'1". FWIW
Also, the 2 door sedan is the most common of Model A body styles. Wouldn't hesitate to hot rod it. The Model A running gear will sell for enough to pay for a nice chunk of what it costs you to build the car. Looks like a very solid body, so you're not patching rust. I like the stockers, and it's fun to drive a stock Model A on back country roads, but a stock Model A can't keep up with traffic on major highways. Build something you can enjoy driving anywhere. I would keep it stock height if it were mine, but I'm 6'5" and long legged, so I value headroom and legroom. '30-'31 Model A's have more legroom that '28-'29 and way more than Model T's.
I totally agree, but often wonder if some good cars do get hacked by people that don't have the proper skills. NOT directed at anyone reading this, just an observation. Bob
Another Model A restoration bites the dust! Looks like the guy quit when he was close to having a completed car. Pull the body and keep it for a build and sell off the complete chassis to a Model A restorer. That'll net you quite a bit of your investment back (especially if you can get it fired up) and provide some seed $ for the build. No fair doing fun stuff like chopping the top until it's on a finished chassis
Nice find. I was curious as to fenders or no? The previous examples are so fine with them, I have had a few Model A's, fendered and open, and I liked both, just depends on your vision and theme.
Well you could just sell it then you don't have to make the hard decision on a chop or not But if it was me I'd take a little off the top myself and I'd stick with fenders to me a fender less car looks like you couldn't afford the fenders or couldn't fix them , but I saw one with fenders and a chop and the way they did it was great I was looking at the car for quite some time
id sell it to someone who would continue not to many restorable cars around now accidents,the crusher and time have taken its toll on the production number. don't get me wrong I like hot rods but preservable history only keeps getting more and more rare
I swear, this place is getting to sound like my grandmothers knitting circle. The reason there aren't very many left to restore is that most have already been restored. When you have a few hundred thousand restorations resting in garages of 70+ year old owners waiting around for those owners to die you just don't need to "save another one". It's already happening but it will get worse/better that a good share of these restorations will be up for grabs when the heirs either have no interest or the means of maintaining these old relics. Who in today's world can get cranked up about putting down the road at 30-50 miles an hour wrestling a hard riding hard steering no optioned car and be able to repeat this torture less than a dozen times a year. This is why it's now a viable alternative to look for a restored car to start a rod project and not mess with the last remaining rotted twisted examples that seem to capture the imagination of so many on here. When I started doing the hot rod thing (1958) I could go less than 30 miles outside of Lincoln, Nebraska and buy a Model A (and more times than not get it running and drive it home after addressing rotted tire issues) for around a $100 average. These examples made up the bulk of the restored cars that exist today,most restored with a big percentage of NOS parts. Add up the REAL cost of finishing up a rusted hulk to driver status and if your not heavily into self denial you'll see I'm not far off base. Frank
btw im only 19 I just like history is all and rather see some real history that people of future generations can actually see touch and drive. of course im a odd ball who would drive a model a most of the year but salt would eat it up just like it has the rest around here sorry for going off topic but rusted out cars is all we have around here that car in the pics is not even a bit bad but its the OP's car and he can do with it what he wish's
Hi, my name is Tim, I was born in the 80's; the 1980's. I have a fully restored Model A that I restored, stock. I didn't get it from my father or my grandmother. I put a few thousand miles on it each year seeing the dirt roads and gravel of America that few people ever take a second to appreciate. I have a fucking blast getting in my car and doing 45 miles an hour down roads must people in American have forgotten about. I do it a lot more than a dozen times a year. Am I the exception rather than the rule? Yeah. But that doesn't mean you should go piss on my hobby or interests. I get it, this is a hot rod site and I can appreciate hot rods; I can't appreciate people who use it as a platform to disrespect those who chose to take their car/build/restoration down a different path. For information, out of the nearly 5 million Model A's built it is estimated by the two biggest Model A restorer clubs that there are only 250,000-350,000 in total condition (including hot rods and restored). So at what point does the logic of your statement tip the scales to the point of being "oh shit...we better stop before we run out of originals." -Tim
WOW! The car hobby is vast and I hope everyone gets the chance to ride in a pure stock Mode; T, A and B and hopefully modified ones as well. I have a stock 1947 Chevrolet pickup, complete with enclosed driveshaft and it amazes me the amount of folks who have not ridden a stock old car, or truck. Some of my favorite memories are riding in the back of 1917 Touring car, good times I will always cherish, thank you Fred Thompson(RIP). But I feel that building a hot rod out of a restored car only makes good financial sense, besides, our hobby is waning quickly, cut them up! Enjoy your car how ever you want!
Well I figure different strokes for different folks. Some want fenders and some don't. Me, no fenders. Having a frame built as I type. Zed and swept, nothing radical. Have a blown 270 Dodge Hemi waiting for a its home. Chop, well that's up the road. Don't know how much yet? No channel. Thanks for the input! Enjoy reading every ones comment.
Hey 19 year old "OLD TIMER" The car in my avatar sat in a barn waiting to get out for 50 years! I've been driving it all 4 seasons for the last 10 years as a hot rod. It would never have been driven anywhere near the 30+ Thousand miles I have put on in the last 10 years as a restored stocker! Also, It's better to drive on salty roads with no fenders!
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