Projects 60's Era Street/Strip Model A Coupe

I'll cast my vote for Diamond Pleated too... In white to match the chassis and stripes.
Although, whatever you decide, I'm positive that it'll be Awesome, Just like the rest of this build!!!

 

I vote diamond pleats as well - white vinyl, black stitching to contrast with the black paint and white pin striping..

 

I think white diamond pleated also. However polished aluminum would be race style cool as well. Whatever you decide I am sure will be great on the car. My coupe's roof was filled back in the day with a piece of a nomad roof with the ribs ,It's pretty unique .

 

What's the overall theme in your mind's eye? If it's a drag car, then clear anodized aluminum, if it's a street-show or street-racer style, then something (diamond tuck? one big ol' honkin' diamond? a Tony Nancy sea horse?) that matches the interior.

 

Oohh sounds like white diamond pleated insert and whitewall pie crust slicks! That sounds amazing!

 

Id stick with the stock style top insert and black walls if you're going for a race car look. The white diamond pleat insert and whitewalls is too much of a show car thing.

 

Thanks, Sleeper! I think that's why the creative stuff in my life takes so long, I am always daydreaming and running through ideas and such. I do appreciate the kind words.

Nitro, in my mind this car had to be a thrasher. Though, when it comes to what I'd like to do to finish it, I've waffled a bit. Originally it was choosing a color because I had people in my ear telling me this or that... but black is what I like. Some of the cars I like best have been black. It's mean, I like that.

There are car's that have had a lot of influence on me over the years:

Maratta's Missile, which started out as a show car called "The Rake" but I feel that it became much more refined when it was commissioned for race duty.




McMullen's Roadster, I love that it was well put together and that it was a multipurpose roadster. It was driven on the street, the track, and it was constantly evolving.

John Davies Model A Coupe, a car that had absolute attitude. It's rake, chop, fenders, wheels and tires... all of it combined created a car that had that bad-mother-effer presence.



Cars like Stone, Woods, and Cook's Willys when it was the Black Widow and so many other cars of the era.



The car is being built to thrash. The body won't be perfect. I'll make it better but I don't want to strip away some of its battle scars. It will be panel pinstriped, tastefully, inspired by cars like Tom McMullen's Roadster and Sheldon Schmidt's 34 and so many others through the 60s... the style is so simple but it stands out.

So, I lean toward I guess what would be called street/drag cars. Many of the gasser era cars I love had showy elements... especially as the era progressed through the 60s. While some aspects of the A will be simple... like the interior upholstery will be just black diamond stitch and stock, black '66 Mustang seats. I'm not going to go crazy. I'm keeping the upholstery as minimal as possible. There will be chrome. It's not a crazy list of parts but there's enough that I need to start a chrome fund. HAHA.

When I would look at 60s era pictures, I'd never look at just As or just coupes or drag cars. I looked at everything. There are details in the car I've stolen from Willys, from tri-five cars, I've loved, from a couple of customs, gas era cars, show cars, and so on. I'd argue, too, by looking at the 60's Style Hot Rod thread or magazines of the era, I think everyone else was doing that, too.

I wanted a car that touched on all the 60s elements I love. So I don't have to build a 40 Willys coupe, a 55, a 63 Corvette, a drag car and a show rod.

Dangggg... sorry that was so long! Long story short, I think I could pull off either a nice tight diamond stitch (black so it blends in and NOT padded) or polished aluminum (I hear the heat is intense).

 

Dumprat, what's the rule... white walls go inside, right? Haha. I'm not a whitewall guy... except for those cool double-white street tires.

I like that idea, too. I'm not a big fan of too much white where it would stand out. Since all the white on the car will be pretty minimal compared to the black.

 

Ha never noticed that!
I could never run whitewall tires. Mine would be all streaked and greasy in a week.

 

I knew there was a reason I liked you!

 

Brent I hesitate to clutter your awesome thread but I hope you may dig these. I snagged them from the Traditional Images...


Your forefathers.

Credit: owners/photographers/previous posters


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Ok, so supposedly I'm subscribed to this thread, but I hadn't seen it since maybe page 3.

You've built an awesome car, and I hope to find the build again soon to keep up.

Devin

 

Thanks, Devin.

I have been watching a lot of metalworking vids and getting some tools together. It's got me excited to getting some of the rough areas worked out.

My shop is so cold, though!

 

bead roll a diamond pattern in the top insert.

 

You could use polished stainless like a lunch truck!

Joking aside, I think that is a fantastic idea. Maybe in 16ga aluminum and give it a good brushing after would be a nice look.

 

I'm probably just going to polish it.

 

You’d be really surprised what a a few basic hammers and Dolly’s can do.

its something that the more you do the less you think about it and just let your intuition guide you. Things that took days to get right after a while you can knock out in five minutes.

I think you’ll really enjoy it. Just keep in mind it’s only metal. You can knock it around for a long time before it’s trash. And even then you can just weld a new patch in if you have to.

Also, be patient. Some times I think the fact that I can only sneak in 5-20 minutes of hammering is a blessing. It keeps you from frustration, keeps you moving slow and steady, and also forces you to step away from it for a minute.

perfect for someone who is always busy.

keep us posted!

whats new?

 

And if you can find gloves with a padded palm for the dolly hand buy them!
I did a roof chop a few years ago and my left wrist is still screwed!

 

Did a little chopping to the hood top.

Before:


After:




Sorry for the vague pics. I snapped a couple pics when I put them in the shop but couldn't stick around.

I wanted to trim it close to the bead and fold a hem so it looked finished. I love how it came out.

More details and better pics later.

 

Way better! It’s always bugged me how a 30/1 hood top doesn’t line up with anything. The 28/9 lines right up with the cowl split.

also works along side your clever fender and running board modifications really well.

 

I think that will look great. I looked for quilted stainless out of curiosity and it's pretty easy to find online. But looking at it, I think you're going to want to make your own panel. The pre-made stuff looks like it will be resistant to putting a crown into. I was pondering whether a shrinker around the perimeter would do it but I don't think it would do a good enough job to be up to the standards of this car.

I'm excited to see what you come up with!

 

@patmanta though it might not look like it with all that's going on, I really do subscribe to keeping it simple.

Practicing the restraint to stick to the plan, idea, vision, era, etc., takes discipline but it has become one of those things that I use a lot in life, now.

With a plan, the car kind-of tells you what's right when you come to details that aren't nailed down, like this one.

 

Same here, thats one of my pet peaves!

 

Oh hey Brent JeeperG here. We'll definitely have to go for a cruise sometime.

 

Taking lots of notes. Subscribed!

 

Chopped Model A Hood Top:

When I see Model A hoods with the sides removed, the lower portion below the bead ALWAYS catches my eye and not in a good way. They fixed that in 1932 as the hood sides go all the way up to the bead.

This hood is the one that came with the car. It's in pretty decent shape (still needs a little TLC). I don't plan on running it 100% of the time. But, if it's going to get a hood, I knew I'd have to trim that piece off.

The sheet metal shop that I use, a big old-school commercial outfit, their shear and brake were too big. They didn't want to wreck the hood. So, I had to find a Plan B. After a while of striking out with folks around, I figured I'd just handle it on my own. While I don't have a shear or brake or a bead roller with a tipping wheel, I still had tools to get the job done. It wouldn't be all that hard to cut the steel and with some clamps, some steel, and a hammer - I could get it sorted.

Then, one night I shot Chris Davenport a text. I wanted to see what he thought. Could his brake get me close to the bead? We chatted on the phone (thank God for old-school folks who like to talk on the phone!) and he said, he thought he could pull the edge/lip of the brake off and it would get us close. Bingo - that's what I needed.

Chris's shop is now located 75+ miles north of me but the drive is not all that much longer than driving to his old shop, which was closer but still an hour+ drive south with bottle-necked rush hour traffic.

The first thing we did was cut the hinge loops and hammered them flat.



We put some marks, and put the hood in from the back, eyed them up on the sheer and I stomped them off.



We zipped off the original hem and nipped off the corners so there would be no overlap.

Here's where I didn't snap any pics. Haha. We just got to work and BSing. Chris pulled off a section of that face/lip on the brake and we slid the hood in until the bead hit the brake's edge. We were able to get it close to a 90.

That was plenty for me. I figure I could go home and hammer it over but we were catching up after a couple of years and Chris had this tool he wanted to try out to fold over the hem. It's a door skinning tool. It was still in the box and he hadn't used it yet.

We hammered over the 90 a little bit and ran the tool over it and it ended up how you see it.





The shadow makes the gap look more pronounced but a few minutes tapping it with the hammer and it will match the rest of the hems. Before I do that, I want to strip the hood.



In the pics from the earlier post, it's hard to see the area under the bead. It's about a 1/4".

 

Seeing the hood on in the garage wasn't cutting it. I needed to step back and see the whole thing.

 

Don’t know why I stopped getting notifications on this. Man that’s looking killer!

seeing it sit outside I can just imagine it replacing the green coupe in two lane black top or pulling in next to Milner at the pump.

that things got attitude for days

 

looks fast, just sitting there...
reversed A firewall lets the small block anything settle in nicely...
I also like the trimmed lower, outer edge of the hood top...
that 2" that hang down below the beltline is the thing i like least about a '30-'31...
go brent go !

 

I just read the whole thread Brent. Bad ass coupe!!!! Nice job!