Coupes have a roof, yes. Sport coupes (above) have stationary A pillars (what holds up and surrounds the windshield). This is a chopped A version without the top. A coupster is a roadster made from a coupe... by removing the top steel down to the belt line (like yours, actually) and then chopping the window portion of the door and capping it off.
thanks for taking the time to explain..are there folks who keep the upper door intact w/ no intention of ever putting a roof on it ?
Yes, french term, believe its Coo-pay, ie Coupe. Has a roof. Roadster is an open two seater. Coupe, the closed version. Cut the roof off, and you have what is known as...coupster.
Years ago, 2001ish. I designed the equivalent to an A400 with retractable roof on a Model A Sport coupe body. Used angled qtr windows even. Desotos car may even had been part of the inspiration.
Find some pictures of what you like and post them here, maybe we can help point you in the right direction. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
If you have no strong preference go with a Chevy V8, choice of automatic or 5 speed manual transmission. Rear axle from an 80s Lincoln which had a solid rear axle and disc brakes, or maybe from a pickup truck. Most everything else is either IRS or front wheel drive these days. The suggestion of buying a donor car is good. A rear wheel drive GM sedan of the 80s or 90s, or a Ford Crown Vic or Lincoln, or even a pickup truck. I have a 92 Crown Vic 4.6 V8 with 55,000 miles on it that has a rusty frame. Too bad you are so far away. A car like that for a few hundred bucks, will give you thousands of $$$ worth of parts. You could look in your local ads for something similar, an older rear drive V8 car with rust or crash damage and low miles.
For the rear end you need something compatible with the width of the car. In those days all cars had a 56" track width. Full size car or pickup may be too wide as well as too heavy. Maybe something from an SUV. Last time they made carburetor V8s was the mid 1980s. Something like a Chev 350 or Ford 302 would be good. Yes a Buick nailhead, fifties Olds or Caddy would be cool but very expensive and no better than a Chev or Ford. You have a lot of lee way depending on what you can find.
First off, thanks for buying that. Ive been seeing it advertised and its been tempting me to take it home. lots of "traditionalish" rods have later model running gear and rears than just a ford banjo. Id say set a lot of it together, decide what you want the car to do when done, then build appropriately for that. You wouldnt want to build a car to run the strip and put a hemi and banjo in it. Also, no point in a 9 inch ford with a banger motor. Everything has to party together. If you arent already in the know theres a great car scene around here (possibly a big car show at the western complex in denver next week) use the resources available!
Backed outta deal. Rustier than it looked. Thx to those.who.warned me about the lack of structure when the woods gone. I'd have been over my head.
That willys probably was a sport coupe. Enough there to make a very rare street rod, resto-rod, or somesuch that properly done, would've given local chiropractors unending business for a long time. Something that would not only not be seen on every streetcorner, but probably not in every state, much less a national event. Thankyou for not cobbling it up w/flathead ford-type driveline n suspension. Only thing worse would be a r_t__d cobbled outa that. Too bad I've got projects running outa my ears & then some. Marcus...
You probably did yourself a huge service by not jumping on that project for a first ever. It probably would have turned you away from the car hobby forever. Your question was "Where do I start?" The very best answer to that for a first timer is: Start with a running, drive-able project, then make it road worthy, and put some miles on it. The more easy it is to get on the road with a first time project, the better. I might even suggest you start out by buying one of those 40s, 50s, or 60s rides you can drive home. Then you will have an idea what you really want, and a more realistic vision of what you can do. I've seen way too many guys start out with major projects and never get anywhere with them. The next thing you know, you never see them again. This stuff isn't as easy as many of us old timers that have several build under out belts make it look. Its not cheap either. A body, drive train, and a rolling chassis, is probably less then 1/2 what its going to cost to get it on the road, and body work and paint jacks the price up another 10 grand unless you do it yourself, then its probably 3 grand. Gene
Hello, If you want a roadster to look like all of the rest and have the same or similar motor, use a Flathead or SBC. But if you use the fenders, fill in the spare tire hole. You will have to figure out where to put the spare if any is going to be used or handy. But, nothing takes up less space than a AAA auto club card. Once the idea of a closed hood is selected, then any motor you want is available. To be different, make the roadster reliable and innovative. So, with that in mind, in Colorado, you are in an area with high latitude adjustments necessary for some performance. A 4 cylinder won’t do unless it has additional supercharging of some kind. A stock Flathead has power, but I am not sure your daily driving in the mountains is going to give you what you need. But, then again, if you are on the daily flatland portion of Colorado for your road trips, then a Flathead is plenty. Higher elevations to the West of where you live will require more horsepower. Even on our road trip from Kansas back to Denver, our motor needed adjusting as we started climbing the mountain regions. It had plenty of power to keep up with the diesel trucks on Highway 70, but it felt a little under power as we started the climb. Jnaki Whatever your style of driving will dictate your choice of more horsepower. But, don’t think that all classifications of traditional hot rod is Flathead only with no fenders. It means what ever you can use and have fun while doing the thing we all love, road trips. Mountains, beaches, lakes, etc. you just need sufficient reliable power to get you there. Your roadster is unusual and not too many have been turned into hot rods. So, that is not to say you can’t use whatever you want, despite the different choices that are offered here on the HAMB. Hot rod race car look: blackwalls with American Mag 5 spokes… 1950-60 look, whitewalls with painted rims, small moon style hubcaps and trim rings. That covers two distinct styles, whether they are accepted as traditional or not.
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