New here and fairly new to the hot rod world. I absoutely love Model A's and somehow wound up with 2 project cars. I started with a 31' Fordor slant window sedan and was slowly working on it here and there. I wanted something I can drive in the meantime so I found a ratty used 31 Coupe with a nice sbc350 and custom chassis for sale. I brought the car home a few months ago and started making it more road worthy. Unfortunately I have really high standards and before I knew it, the car was completely disassembled. I was also in the middle of building a shop so getting started was slow but I am fully in the swing of it now. The plan for this build is a traditional style with a lot of modern drivetrain performance. I want to sand the body down to bare metal and just clear over it. I like the dents, dings, and bullet holes. The chassis and drivetrain will be spared no expense or labor to become a work of art. I'm looking forward to a loud and rowdy little hot rod. Once done, I will build the sedan into a more of a comfortable traditional cruiser that the whole family will fit in. This is how is looked when I brought it home. Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
I pulled the engine and tranny. The tranny was pretty much shot, so I will drop a new one in later. I tore the motor all the way down to inspect everything. There were a ton of issues with the body mounting and the channel, so the body has to come off also. Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
Had to take a break to get both cars moved into the new shop. It's quickly turning into a dedicated hot rod shop. Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
I didn't like the triangulated 4 link rear suspension. The upper links sat above the chassis and on top of the rear axle. The forced the floor to be raised way too high. I am 6'4" and the head room was lacking. I have decided to ditch the entire rear suspension. I will be switching to a Pete and Jakes ladder bar setup with coilovers. Withe the channelled body hiding th rear suspension I figured it wouldn't matter if it didnt look traditional. I have been spending a little bit of time here and there on the body also. Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
The 9" axle has been gutted and cleaned up. I am going with a Strange Engineering 3rd member replacement with 3:70's and a posi. Also stepping up to 31 spline axles from Strange. I need to clean up the block for paint but some AFR aluminum heads showed up to lighted the weight up a bit. Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
And to catch up to where I am now. I have another sbc350 that is planned for the sedan. I bolted up the old tranny and dropped it in for some mock up. I also set the body back on the chassis. I am going to stretch the wheelbase 4" to give myself a little more room. I'm ready to start mocking up the new rear suspension and axle. I feel like I am finally done with the teardown and the rebuild can start. Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
It was, I'm not really sure what the previous builder was thinking. The axle was not centered squared either. Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
I don't have many updates lately. I am in north Texas and the mild snowstorm we had kept us freezing and out of power for 4 days. I finally got back into the shop yesterday and got some more work done building the new floor in the body. I'll get some progress pics in the next few days
Finally, a little bit of an update. I was able to get the Pete & Jakes ladder bar kit installed in the rear and the axle set in place. I didnt get it quite right so I have cut the left side mount off the axle to make it right. The mounts on the front cross member are off by 2° from side to side. It made one side sit more outboard on the axle than the other. Not a huge deal but I need to get it perfect. Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
While I am waiting for my machine shop to cut me another axle bracket I decided to add gussetts to the front crossmember. Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
Most of the little fab work I am doing right now doesnt add up to much in photos. Once the axle is set again I can start mounting the coilovers and making a panhard bar. Should be more updates soon. Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
Been a bit quiet. I was getting frustrated with some things so I took a few weeks off from the build. I had an issue with some measurements on the chassis so I had to step back and rethink some things. Got it all worked out finally and got some worked knocked out. Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
I got the rear axle mocked up with the Pete & Jakes ladder bar kit. I used a 34' kit to get the dropped crossmember. I had to have my machine shop cut me out some new axle brackets to fit the diameter of the 9" housing. I was then able to put together a rear crossmember/upper shock mount. I am pretty happy with how it came out. Now I just need to get a panhard bar done. Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
Now the rear axle is temporarily assembled and the body is back in place so I can plan for engine placement. Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
It's just where they fit the best with the axle brackets that I already had, they were planned for a different set up but worked here also. I really didn't do any figuring...haha. I also wanted to keep everything mounted below frame height. If it drives weird when I am done it's easy to change.
looks real nice! post some pictures of the bracing you have for the body please. I am curious to know how you did it. is there bracing welded to the body? are those cross beams welded to the frame? im building a roadster and wondering how builders are attaching the body to the frame. thanks
Some great work going on there, maybe some longitudinal bracing on that ladder bar crossmember. What size heads did you get ?
I placed some 1 x 2 box vertically on top of where the floor was cut. I welded it to the cut section of the floor and the door sill. The floor dips in the front so I boxed it in with sheetmetal to appease my OCD even though it wont be seen once done. The crossbraces notch over the lateral supports and attach to the pillars to tie it all in. Once the engine is mocked up I will cut the center out and build a tranny tunnel. It's actually a pretty mild channel because I am 6'4" tall and I dont want to lose too much space. Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
I do plan to brace forward from the crossmember and incorporate a tranny mount into all of it. I got the AFR Enforcer as cast heads. I don't rememver what size they are right now, I'll have to go look it up. Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
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