I came across a photo of a coupe owned by HAMB member cruzr. It's the '30/'31 Coupe in the photo below. I copied it from a thread that is about 10 years old. I sent a PM to cruzr with some questions about the car, but haven't received a reply. I appears he hasn't been active on here since June of 2019, so I hope he's OK. Anyway, I have some questions about what he did to get the awesome stance of his coupe, and a few other questions about how it's built. If you know him, or are familiar with the car, I'd appreciate hearing from you.....or cruzr. Thanks... Lynn Here's the car.....awesome!
Bitchin. Love the way the suspension (radius rods?) flow with the frame and are painted to blend in. Best looking non-32 framed A I have seen in a long time.
http://www.myrideisme.com/Blog/model-a-hot-rods/ I met him off and on over the years but haven't heard from him in awhile.
When "deconstructing" photos of finished cars to copy their stance, I always try to find a good reference point. This coupe seems to have the front end setup so the centerline of the wheel is even with the top of the frame rail. And the outside edge of the hubcap (anyone have the OD of a 48 Ford cap?) seems to be level with the top of the frame in back. Mock up your frame with those benchmarks and see how you can make the suspension work in those parameters.
Thanks, everyone. One of my questions is about the front crossmember and suspension. I know from one photo he posted that the front spring is mounted off of the wishbones. I wondered if the front crossmember is set back to maintain the stock, or nearly stock wheelbase. To me, it doesn't appear to be longer....at least not 3" or more like I'd expect if the crossmember wasn't moved back. Also, just looking at the car, the hood appears to be stock length, doesn't it? Another set of questions would be looking for rear suspension and frame "Z" details. Lynn
1oldtimer.....thanks for the link. Great write-up. Unfortunately the details of the suspension, front and rear, weren't covered in detail. There was no mention of whether the front crossmember was moved back or if the front spring is in it's original location and mounting it off the wishbones just pushed the axle out and lengthened the wheelbase a few inches. To me it doesn't look particularly longer, but what say all of you? Lynn
Thanks for the link. Very interesting article. We had talked about his coupe along with him sending me a couple of pics of it several years ago when talking about his Olds.
Randy posted threads on the mods he made to that coupe. Use the search function here. He's on FaceBook these days.
I did some more searching through cruzr's profile to try to find answers to my questions. I found a couple front end photos that perhaps someone who is familiar with tiny details of the forward section of Model A frames can see something that I don't. The question remains, has the crossmember been moved back to maintain stock Model A wheelbase. Obviously, the frame horns have been bobbed and my gut feeling is that the crossmember was relocated when the spring was installed on the wishbones in a "spring behind" fashion. I've included a few photos that I found. Some of them are quite small, and I don't know how to re-size them. Maybe someone will see what I'm missing? FWIW, From cruzr's posts I suspect the hood top is a stock length Model A item, but again, I could be wrong. Thanks, in advance! Lynn
He bought the car with that set up and did quite a few cosmetic changes. He sold it about 4 years ago and now has a nice 55 Chevrolet wagon.....PM me your number and I'll text him to call you....
Basically a Rolling Bones type front end set up, only using a Model A frame instead of a Deuce frame. One of the slicker Model A Hot Rods on here. Using a Model A frame instead of doing the usual Deuce frame swap to achieve a low stance.....should be done way more often, IMHO. The rear probably has a modest Z in the frame for lowering it.
@lake_harley Lynn....Got ahold of Randy using his new number...I had an old number so the text was for nothing.... He said he was going to call you....
Irish Mike.....I got a call from Randy yesterday afternoon. Thank you for making that contact possible! Randy was very willing to share information and construction details about the car. He followed up with more photos and a copy of the write-up from one of the magazines it appeared in. Some of the photos he sent were some I had found searching, but a couple were unique. One thing I found out is that the front crossmember, which he thought was a fabricated piece, was setback to maintain the wheelbase even though the spring is mounted off of the wishbones. Also sent a drawing that showed a 7" kick in the rear which on the drawing appeared to be measure from the bottom of the frame rail to the top of the new frame extension which was needed for a spring-behind rearend mounting. I plan to really study the photos I've accumulated to store the details in the old grey matter. I have a tentative plan to pick up another 30/31 Coupe body and frame. I sold a project car yesterday that I had for sale for some time, so maybe it's time for another project. I'd be a happy fellow if I had a Coupe in my garage that came close to the look and stance of Randy's. Lynn
View attachment 4686784 Lynn, When you visited with Randy, did he mention the purpose of the external beehive oil filter - in addition to the stock spin on filter? Thanks, Joe
No, no mention of the beehive filter housing and although I noticed it I didn't even think about asking. I've wondered too about the engine placement. It looks to me to be mounted a bit higher than SBC engines are typically located in Model A chassis. Looking at a good, straight-on side view of the car, it appears the pan rail is about even with the top of the frame. The front of the pan rail might even be above the frame level by a bit. Isn't that higher than a lot of Model As? Lynn
Thanks, assume it has some function but can't imagine what....washer fluid in an A?? I'm assuming he used taller mounts to use the stock fan and avoid using an electric.