Projects My rough '28 special coupe build!

I got bit by the Model-A bug a while back so I picked up this car. It is pretty rough but not too far gone. I was told that it was taken apart and has been sitting in this condition since the 80's. Unfortunately, from what I was told, the missing pieces were hauled off for scrap years ago. I'm just saving up parts for it now as I finish some other projects and make room for it in the shop. I picked up a 292 y-block, a 3 deuce intake, and a T5 to go in it. The plan is chopped, 32 rails, 18" and 16" wire wheels, etc. If you guys don't mind, please advise me on who makes the best fitting subrails, subrail extensions, cowl panels, and wood kit. Thanks guys.

 

I picked up this container today. I'm going to cut the top off of it and set it up somewhere behind my shop. I'm thinking molasses maybe... I should be able to fit all the body panels in there.

 

Subscribed. What are your plans for the coupe??

 

I'm in, this'll be cool.
Great tank for molasses, or citric acid.
I use molasses, and it works great.
If I want to strip fast, I use the purple 3M strip discs.

 

As for now, I'm going to try to bring this old body back into shape. I am going to take it apart and soak the panels to remove all the rust. Then, new subrails, cowl panels, fix the bottoms of the door posts, new door bottoms, quarter panel patch panels, new panel below trunk, and get all the wood back in it. As for the long term plan, I want a open fendered, mostly traditional style car. I have seen people modify these cars and turn them into standard coupes with a metal top, but I plan on keeping it a special coupe, with the leatherback top, chop the top, black paint, 32 frame, Y-block engine, 3 carbs, 5-speed trans. I may run 16" wire wheels in the front, and it already has 18's on the rear. The transmission will probably be the only part on it newer than the 50's other than the rearend. I may try to find a early bronco rearend, but I'm undecided on that.

 

Subscribed! I have a sport coupe on which I'm trying to fit a special coupe roof...


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Subscribed also!!! I have found 2 different threads on special coupes lately. I used Bert's Model A for my wood kit, cowl panels, quarter patches and fender well patches. The cowl panels I got went right in with no problems fitting them in. The wood kit had an excellent fit too. I bought both body wood and top wood from them. I imagine the sub rails they sell are good too. The staff there is always happy to answer questions and will tell you how well the parts fit. On some things they offer two more items and will tell you which ones fit well and which ones do not. Good luck on your coupe. There is a link to my build in my signature below.

 

I was actually sitting here reading your build thread... I love the way your car is turning out, and your frame is very nice. That might make me rethink the 32 rails... It looks great! Thanks for the heads up on Bert's, I'll check them out. Honestly, the rust in my car isn't a big deal, it's getting a nice top on it that is worrying me the most. I have to find the panels above the doors, because mine are terrible. From the way it looks, one of them was off the car and sat on the ground and rotted away. Thanks for stopping in, I look forward to talking to you more.

 

I had some patch panels made for those parts. I replaced every thing from the tack strip down above the doors. My parts were at least there and could make a pattern. My friend that made the patches said lots of hours to make complete new ones. I was on a budget and fixed the ones I had. Keep an eye out at swaps and in the classifieds. Maybe run a wanted ad. Bert's may have some original ones. Call and ask. They are in the middle of moving this month so it may take some time. Check on the ford barn too. Tread lightly over there. Those guys are purists.

 

All the sheet metal except the top pieces are available thru the Model A parts dealers, I've used Snyders Antique Auto with good results. Glad to see people keeping the Special Coupes, I built a 28 ( my avatar) in the mid 90's with a flathead and have a stock 29. I'm building a 30 Sport Coupe with a flathead now, been working on it off and on for years, other projects keep getting in the way.

 

Thanks for the replies. Here's my engine. It's a '59 292 y-block with 113 heads and a Edelbrock 573 intake. I have a truck bellhousing with side mounts and a T5 transmission to go with it.

 

Sounds like a fellow HAMB'ers [Rob Lee] car here in Omaha...it's a 1930 with a Y-block. They sound sooo good

 

That's a good looking car! Everyone says the Y-block is the best sounding engine ever. I was going to use a flathead, but I decided to use something with a little more power.

 

Hey guys, I haven't posted a update in a while so I thought I'd post a pic of some parts I got in this week. All the parts in the pic were missing other than the roof panels that go over the doors. These roof panels aren't perfect but they are much better than my original panels and can be repaired easily.
I have a small scale molasses rust removal test going now. I've had the rumble seat hinges soaking for a week in a 9:1 ratio mix of molasses and water. If the results are good, I will clean these parts next.

 

For those of you who have never used molasses to remove rust, here is my Molasses test. This stuff is nasty, I can't believe the funk growing in just one week. I'll give these rumble seat hinges one more week before I pull them out and see how they look.

 

Glad to see you found some parts you needed. They look better than the ones I started with. when it comes time to start putting in the wood and so on let me know if I can help with any pics. I did get my coupe on the road for the Hill Climb. I haven't worked on it too much lately but will be starting on the top and interior shortly.

 

Your car looks great. With all this rust, and missing parts, I will definitely need help with some things.

 

The molasses ain't rocket science.
Pull those parts out, blast em with a pressure washer, watch in amazement at the rust come off, and because there will probably be some rust left, throw em back in for another week. Repeat process, untill rust a gone, then neutralise with baking soda.
They flash rust, before your eyes.
It's all petty easy stuff, and works great.
I did a bunch of stuff, and never bothered with getting ratios correct. Worked a treat.

 

My small scale molasses test is working great. I am going to go ahead and start building my tank so I can get started soaking body panels this summer. Here are some before and after photos of some pieces I soaked for two weeks.

 

I didn't think about needing to neutralize. Thanks for the tip. I used this stuff on these parts and it takes the flash rust off quickly.

 

I had never thought about neutralise the molasses either ,just pressure wash and dry quickly then treat with a phosphorus rust inhibitor. Etch prime ,then any double skins you can't get to do what ever it takes to get some etch in there using your imagination.

 

I saw this cowl and sub-rail section for sale on Facebook, so I made a 5 hour round trip to pick it up last night!
This cowl is a lot better than the one on the car! I'm happy with this purchase!

 

Cool build. I've never heard of the molasses thing. You reduce it with water?


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Use hot water about 10 to one. Takes a long time to work but it does work. There are several You Tube videos on this.

 

I reduce it 10:1. It takes forever, and it stinks something terrible. But, there's almost no work involved. Right now I have a 5 gallon bucket of the stinky stuff brewing. I plan on mixing up enough to do some body panels soon. I picked up some '56 f100 brakes and I put the hubs in the molasses for around 3 weeks. I don't need them right away, so I wasn't in a hurry. There are a few black spots left in some pits, but I wasn't going for perfection on these hubs. It helps if you pull the stuff out and wire brush it every few days and flip the parts around. Leaving them to sit in the same spot for the entire length of time usually leads to some stubborn spots. I just left these and walked away for three weeks. I finished them off with some phosphoric prep and etch. The backing plates go in this week.



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Here's the post I made a few years back. Not sure what kind of molasses you're using but I used 'feed grade' molasses. Picked it up at a local large animal feed store. $12 for a 4 gallon jug. Mixed it 7 parts water to 1 part molasses. Didn't stink at all and did an awesome job!

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/rust-removal-the-miracle-of-molasses.557996/

 

I recently picked up some carburetors. I have three ECG carbs, and Three ECG-6 carbs to choose from. I've also spent a little time repairing bolt holes in my intake. They were originally 5/16, but in years past they were drilled to 3/8, then stripped again. I repaired the 3/8 holes with helicoil inserts, and used some Dorman 3/8 to 5/16 studs to keep from opening the holes in the carb bases to 3/8. I drilled a hole on the drill press through some flat stock to help me hold the bit straight, and an old EZ-GO golf cart steering rack spacer made for a perfect tap guide.


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I know It has been a while since I posted an update. In May 2018 my shop burned and I lost everything but the shell of this car. The car was sitting right in front of the shop and I almost lost it. I lost some paint off the rear quarter panels and trunk and one of the rear tires was burning when the fire department hosed it down. I lost the Y-block, intake and carbs, all the garnish moldings, the panels above the doors, and several other pieces I had bought for the project. I have spent the time since getting a new shop built and trying to get back in gear. I’ve got the car in the new shop now, and I’ve bought some JW garage 32 rails, Steadfast MFG rear sub rail kit, new rear body panel, several patch panels, more garnish moldings, a pair of 55 291 Deaoto hemi engines, and a complete 40 Ford chassis for the x-member, suspension, and brakes. I’m currently trying to decide on a transmission. I have done some rust removal on a few pieces, and I pulled the body off the frame and pressure washed it inside one out before putting it in the shop. I hope to start posting a few updates soon. It will be slow with trying to finish the shop, and with other projects I have going, but I’m headed in a positive direction!

 

Just found this thread and was reading along following the progress, WOW! what a shock to see the fire! Hope nobody got hurt, looking forward to the progress. Bob

 

Oh my, so, so sorry about the fire. But it sounds like you are well on your way to a nice build. Still subscribed! Gary