Been a long time reader on the HAMB and a while back I made a deal on a 1928 Model A Phaeton. It's not gonna be one of those shiny, better than new cars when done because it's in kind of a rough state to start with, haven't been on the road since 1939. The frame has been sandblasted, painted and at the moment the car is in the sellers workshop where he is helping me put the body back together into something that can actually be called a body. The plan is pretty much: Stock A frame. 1928 Phaeton body. Fenderless. Full hood 28-29 radiator shell. 18 inch wire wheels. Undropped front axle. Reversed eye spring in the front and a couple of leaves removed in the back. Model B 4-banger and trans. Mechanical brakes to start with and go hydraulics later on. Progress will probably be pretty slow but I'll post some pictures on how it looks today. Not much to show for yet than a pile of rusty parts.
You have all the good parts that's what counts.Love the look of a "TUB".You don't find many any more.Dont thnk they made a lot to start with.
Good parts, and the seller is an experienced coachbuilder with a lot of knowledge about Model A's so I'm pretty convinced it will turn out ok in the end with his help
Picked up the 18 inch wires I'm gonna use. They are nice and straight, just need some sandblasting and paint. New tires and tubes would probably be a good idea too
I got them included with the car so I have no idea what they are worth. And yes, they are from 1932. I think 33-34 used 17 inch and 1935 16 inch. I like the look of a bigger rim better then the more commonly used 16 inchers.
Thank you, I'm very excited about this since it's my first pre WW2 car. I'm not really into bodywork so I'll leave that part to the seller to figure out so I can focus on the mechanical stuff.
Took an old crooked light bar and made some headlight mounts for the frame. They didn't turn out like exact copies of each other but somehow the angle of the picture makes it look like they are way off from each other but they aren't, I promise The "bowls" are at the same height so I hope it will work out ok once mounted on the car. If not, I'll just heat and bend them some more
Got started on the front spring today, just needs some sandblasting and paint now. Hopefully it will turn out ok on the car.
Glad to hear you like it. Hopefully it will look more like a car soon, and less like a pile of parts.
I have always liked the 28/29 Ford Phaetons and almost bought one about 20 years ago, unfortunately my knuckle dragging neanderthal frame made it impossible to squeeze in between the front seat and steering wheel. That said, they make great looking traditional hot rods, I'm looking forward to seeing the build. HRP
That's why this Neanderthal moved the front seat backwards 5 inches... https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/project-29-phaeton.772795/page-9#post-11001955
Picked up my sandblasted wheels today, ready for some primer and paint. Something special about 87 year old metal that's so clean.
IMO... leave 1/2 the bent bar on each end... it will supply leverage when you bend them... your mounting plate's holes appear to be perpendicular to the frame … the lights will vibrate less if the bolt line is parallel to the frame... the 1/2 bars will make it a lot easier to heat the lower end of the shafts red hot and rotate the cups 90*… I ran a couple 3/8" bolts down through the h/l bar's holes and snugged them in the vice to help hold it while i bend it... since you have cut them flush maybe run a 3" - 1/2" nut and bolt tightened through the cup with the long end down, run another nut onto the end of the bolt, it will help keep the prybar on the bolt shaft... you can now slide a prybar between it and the shaft to twist the cup to being parallel … HIH.
I was thinking about mounting the lights the same they are on the car below. But I hear what you're saying and I will mock them up on my car and see if I need to twist them 90 degrees.
First layer of topcoat on the wheels, a real hassle to get good coverage with all the spokes. Then I ran out of paint but it's getting there. Tomorrows plan is to get some more work done with the body and frame of the car.
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