The body is from an ex drag car from the Bay Area. When I get home I'll take More photos of the cage and the interior because it's really well done. It's different. There are ribs going down the body all along the interior. Hold my beer and watch this!
Tagging along on this build,you will probly know some history on your car before the night is over,if i know this place.
Your pic of a really nice looking black A roadster is super,that one indeed cool to me too. As for low,well many now seem to over do the low thing so far in the name of so called "Cool" that with some I think its over done and can't clear the many speedbumps an driveway humps we have. Thats when it stops looking cool to me,at that point were there is no longer a clear space in center of rod between front and back axles of around 3in.=about safe for most bumps,less is to me a undriveible looking rod. There is nothing cool about undrivible,thats the hole point too me
You lucky stiff! That is a very cool start. Wish somebody had given me something like that at 17. Or at 47, for that matter. Now, on to the geezerly advice--which, at 17, you are free to ignore, just as I probably would have. Find out right now what the titling requirements are in your state. Yeah, I know, buzz kill--but this could save you a sh*tload of grief later. In my state, for an assembled vehicle, they want to see a notorized bill of sale on all major components (body, frame, engine, etc.). Ask the person who gave you the body for a notorized bill of sale or gift delcaration. Get something on paper. Do the same when you buy the frame and engine, presuming you get them from a private party. If it's from a business, a regular receipt might be enough. Check the rules. Now, maybe you're already an old hand at this (I got my first car at 12), and if not, perhaps you have an old pro buddy to help you out. Otherwise, my advice is to buy a complete chassis if you can. So much easier to when you start out with all components in place, so you know where everything goes--you can upgrade piece by piece from there with drop axel and etc. I've seen a lot of new guys burn out trying to assemble from scratch. It would be better still if that complete chassis has a title, but that's a tall order. OK, enough of pretending to be your father. Go hit the swap meets and have fun!
Yeah, I know it was free--that's why I called you a lucky stiff! But when you go to apply for a title, your state will probably want paperwork on major components. Mine does. So get a document saying it was a gift. Or get a bill of sale for some token amount. Just get something on paper, preferably notorized. That way you'll be driving your cool roadster much sooner!
I started another thread because I didn't know if everybody would see plus I hadn't posted for a while. I wanted to start over since now the build is finally underway. Hold my beer and watch this!
clark has the right idea get some paper on it before you start spending money. you may save tourself alot of headaches, and moola.
These are the ribs I was talking about. They make me feel somewhat safer but I'm still riding in a damn soda can! Hold my beer and watch this!
looks like that body was rodded or raced at some point in its past. If the body is straight as it sits, I'd leave it alone. Grind that gnarly, jagged stuff off the pipe though. Otherwise you WILL eventually get snagged on it and it will hurt; there's plenty of better ways to get hurt.
If you're set on channeling, get yourself an original Model A frame with good numbers on it. From what i can tell, that body looks like it is already set up for a 4" channel on an A frame. The numbers on the frame can be used to title the car. Make sure you get a legal Bill of Sale on it; you'll need that. The thin ribs look like they're just there to keep the sheetmetal from flopping all around. It's there in lieu of the original body structure, subframe, and wood. I'd leave them be. I'd also leave the vintage cage alone, just clean up the sharp edges. It will make for a cool look when you open the doors and make your car stand apart for sure. Besides, it's part of the cars history (not to mention its structure). Hell, you might be able to run with no doors even! Also, X2 to @dana barlow , 7" of channel and a deep Z sounds like too much. If you want to go LOW, put in a 32 style crossmember from So-Cal, reverse eye springs, drop axle, and consider running later wishbones with the spring hangers on the front or using spring behind mounts to locate the spring even lower.
Interesting frame work,long as none ends up in the way of something you plan doing,seems like far add to stiffen body a little. This maybe handy for sizes as ya work;
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/30-31-model-a-chassis.923904/ Is anyone passing through Nebraska to CA with an empty trailer? This is a complete chassis with engine. Chassis has no numbers but engine does. It has everything. For some reason the link isn't working. Look under "parts for sale" and you'll see it. Posted today or last night. Hold my beer and watch this!
As smooth as those rails look, the number should still be there somewhere. May need to be raised chemically. In my experience though, trying to find the BIG or HEAVY things locally is a better way to go. Set up alerts on your local CL for Model A frames.
Derek (@nelsoncoupe) Nelson - I'm a bit confused by this whole thread ... What happened to the frame, suspension, passenger-side door, decklid, grille shell, etc. shown in these pics from your original thread? ... images from the 17 year old acquires Model A, is in over his head! thread
So the guy who gave me the roadster body sold all the other stuff. There may have been a miscommunication but I thought I was getting everything. Sadly all I got was the body. And the reason I started two threads is because I hadn't posted on there for a long time and I was worried nobody would see. Also I'm not sure how to do anything on the forum other than reply to a topic and post photos. Hold my beer and watch this!
Nothing to be sad about. Just more stuff to gather, NBD. You might luck out and come across a rolling chassis that someone's replacing.
Does anyone know if a roadater body will work on a 29 two door sedan? I may be able to buy a full car for 3 grand, but if I do I wanna build this... The car currently looks like this... Hold my beer and watch this!
Do yourself a favor and buy a daily driver. Doesn't have to be much like a cheap no optioned s10 or Toyota pickup for running parts and daily commute then build the roadster for fun. You start mixing the words daily driver with hot rod or in my younger days race car and it becomes a headache trying to merge the two together. My dad alway said if you want a race car buy "a race car" but have something else to make sure you can get your but to school or work Monday morning. Just my 2 cents..... Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Such a lovely dry sense of humor. I like that. Reminds me of an experience we had around '74/'75. We were out driving in one of the remotest parts of south west Ireland, and decided to call it a day and drive home, so my Dad pulled over to ask an old farmer standing by the roadside, what's the best way to get to Bantry. So the old guy looks up the road, looks down the road and pauses for a minute. Then he leans through the window and says in that defeatist manner, the Irish master so perfectly, "Well for sure, if I were heading for Bantry, I wouldn't be starting from here."
......or turn left at the last intersection. Visiting friends in New Bedford Mass, towing the camper, DW driving. said she...."I'm not sure how to get there from here." said I...."turn left at the red light ahead" After we passed the light... "you missed it!!, why didn't you turn?" "it was green" Never argue....she was right, it was green.
If you are not in love with the idea of building, owning and driving a roadster - believe me, roadsters are a whole different world than closed cars! - then peddling your roadster body will get you a long ways towards owing that sedan. And frankly, starting with a complete sedan is probably a far, far better idea than trying to p iece together a roadster...for a guy in your situation. Give it some thought.
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