Projects 60's Era Street/Strip Model A Coupe

Looks great! More pics of that cabinet please???

 

I don’t think that’s a cabinet, they’re fancy doors Brent hung. Go on the Garage Journal and it’s all there! Very nice shop that Brent built.

 

Yes, they’re "barn door" sliders, of sorts. They’re from Italy, originally. I stripped them of a decades of lead paint, refinished and repurposed them.

 

Very cool!

 

Model A's...the compact cars of the Yesteryear...they really are pretty small inside...

I'm 5.11 and the Ole Sporty has 2.5 maybe a bit more out of the top and theres only a single rib running across about 3 or 4 inches forward of the forehead...it actually does provide support for the roof too...there is no interior just painted aluminum...but headroom is limited as is the vision forward...I do drive with a bit of a slouch as looking straight ahead sitting back I'm staring at header panel...

I have a stock style seat that I've had 1.5" removed from the lower bench however it could use another inch or more...can't remember what you're using but I suspect you'll be sitting real close to the floor...

Looking good Hotrodder...

 

@Stogy the seats are 66 Mustang seats with sliders. They're not mounted yet so they're sitting on the end of the mounting bolts. I plan to keep the front seat hight about where it is (with a spacer yet to be fabbed) and let the back of the rails sit in their normal mount surface. So, not much difference.

The car has really been planned so I fit as well as possible.

Oh... and compared to T they're roomy!

 

Yeah I really like them T's too...like you said you are building your ride and tuning it which truly is necessary for many depending on height and even leg length...I bought mine already together and I love the bench which wasn't even bolted in when I got it...and me and the Missus found out that first time I hit the brakes real hard......oh it wasn't the brakes......didn't take long to fix that...

Poor Mrs. Stogy first ride in a Hotrod ever and I thought I had the TH350 in 2nd and pushed the shifter forward and no safety neutral it went right into reverse or park and we both went for the dash and wshield seat glued to our asses...

Makes me think about those drives around the field sitting on a plastic milk carton...

 

Mustang seats are pretty low profile, good choice...and the package tray out or trimmed helps get some precious inches

 

Looks great Brent. I know how much extra time and effort taking detailed photos the way can be.

the sliding doors/ window cover are cool but I immediately went to the plug in/ lights built up high! Got a link to the garage journal build thread?

 

Thanks, Tim!

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/a-garage-rehabbed.344305/

It's a long one.

 

Chopping Model A Rear Window Wood (Part 1: Converting a Deluxe Roll Up/Down Window Opening to Standard) :

Hey, remember how I said:

Well, I should have just kept that thought to myself. Hahaha!

Last night as things were winding down at home, I went out to the garage to get the rear window wood chopped and fit into the coupe. I set the top piece in place and no issue, it made sense. When I went to test the lower piece, something was off.

I'll be honest, I've NEVER paid any attention to the details of a rear window opening beyond casually looking at pics or, just recently, looking to see which way the wood is oriented.

Because I was genuinely stumped, I went online to search for detailed pics. Again, this isn't something that a lot of people are chatting about. I made a post here and over on FordBarn and the HAMB came through late at night and confirmed what I was assuming after my searching - this body originally had a roll up/down window.



Since that doesn't fit the plan, I had to figure out what to do. The bottom of the window opening, where the metal has horizontal slots, that's for a window clearance and such.

I want a standard, no frills, back window. I want simple and the most space as possible. I figured I should go about replicating the top side of the window opening.

First thing, I trimmed off some sheetmetal that was spot welded to the bottom flange.



With that gone, I grabbed a piece of 1/8" thick 1" flat stock and cut 2 pieces just a bit wider than the area I was working. I drilled some 1/4" holes and put some hardware in. That way both pieces would sandwich the sheetmetal the same.


(The old, trusty Craftsman/Atlas drill press.)

From there, I eyeballed each end and tried to make them equal (using the slots as reference) and tightened each end. I did this a couple times to get it as close as possible.



Then, I grabbed a bunch of vice grips and clamped it. I didn't think about taking any pics until I was about 80° into the bend. Haha. It worked really well. Most of the bend is sharp but the driver's side must've not been as tightly clamped, it's not as crisp. I'll try to work it into a better bend, but it's not really an issue. It all looks pretty decent, actually.



Now, we're at the point where I can start fitting the rear window wood kit. I'll have to drill a few holes for nailing but that's about it.

 

The wood tech is awesome! A lot of guys know nothing of this. You did a great job for a 1st time wood butcher!

 

Thanks, Trent! Oh, and I've butchered some wood in the past... even been paid for it. Haha.

I was pretty surprised that I didn't really find much on chopping body and window wood. So, I made a post that would have helped me.

I appreciate the compliment , truly.

 

I wish I would have done a post when I scratch built that Vicky wood. We need more info like that out there.

 

Chopping Model A Coupe Rear Window Wood (Part 2):


Back at it.

First thing, I spent a minute and fixed the bend that didn't match up quite right.

Then I got after fitting the window wood.

Here's how the top joint fits. Since I was shortening, I figured I would make it fit all the way in the joint.



I laid it in and marked it.



I pulled out the table saw for this job since the pieces are flat and way easier to work with.

When I got the top section set, I refit it and laid out the bottom. Then it was pass after pass on the saw.



Chopped vs full height:



I tested the chopped piece on the other side of the frame and it was close enough to copy.



After both pieces were done, I sanded the lap joint sections with 150 grit and test-fit everything. If you look at the upper lap joints you can see how there's no gap anymore but they are a tad too long.



Close up. The header portion and the side pieces were taken over to the bench and the contour was marked.



Now we have another detail that nobody but us will ever see. Hahaha.



And mocked into place:



Before I can make this all final, I need to address a few pinholes in the chop and a little ticky-tacky weld stuff that got missed. All simple stuff for another day.

 

If they own an A Bone they'll have to learn or farm it out as there wasn't to many parts in my purchased Kit that didn't need rework even though it wasn't chopped...

I was actually thinking of Henry's crew on the line...there must have been chips and curls everywhere...in fact I figured there must have been wood specific department and I'm sure they were really busy...

Back window wood looks Awesome @-Brent-

 

Progress continues to inch along:

I couldn't find the screws that came with the wood kit but luckily I found some old wood screws in my hardware cabinet.



As I was assembling the frame on the workbench thought came to mind that I probably shouldn't glue and screw this thing together so permanently without a check because it might not fit.

But, in a rare moment, I didn't dwell or triple check, I just ran with it.



After it was all done, it popped in like I was seasoned pro. I'm thrilled with the way the wood is coming out.

Now I need to figure out those pieces below the 1/4 windows.

 

Awesome

 

Nice! Wood requires more patience than I usually have, because there is no welding it back together.

 

Perfect!

 

Tonight, I put in an hour or so getting some random things done.

The lower block/spacers that allow the bracket that connects the B pillar to the quarter window wood are done. I put dowels where the bracket screws may come close or hit.



There's only a few things wood-related left to do.

I drilled 3/32 nail holes, 8 holes to match the top.



Here's some paint that was on the A at one point. I had a CJ7 that was a similar blue.



One of the next projects is figuring out my shifter offset and height. I found this old, bent, and well beat-up Hurst offset shifter stick. I think the offset is probably the best it can be but the bend and height are wrong. The shift knob lands just under my knee when in reverse... haha.



It had to be ground down to fit before I could bolt it in. Then, I cleaned up the threads and threaded on an old truck knob I had. I'm going to mess with this a bit, clean it up, and bend it so it's straight up from the second bend.



I'm still going to run the diamond shifter stick and I have some plans for that. I need to get some gas for the torch to bend some bar stock for an offset bracket.

 

@-Brent- The stick and its placement in the cab are paying great homage to the era of the build - love it

 

Looks great.

 

Looking good.

I’m very green when it comes to real wood work. So to clarify you’re drilling a hole then inserting the dowl- press fit or glue?- in spots where a screw may land. Is this going to give it better bite when you screw into it compared to an untouched spot?

 

I glued my dowels.

It doesn't give better bite but in the case of these spots, there would be screw heads where the bracket mount screw would go. It's an old way to fasten a joint.

Originally, Ford used dowels in their quarter window wood, too. (Ford's joints on the quarter windows were tongue and groove with dowels inserted.)

Here is an original:




On the other areas of the quarter windows I put dowels in to both fasten the joint (where it was chopped) and at angles in the corners to prevent screws pulling out.

 

Oh ok I “see” it clearer now. Thanks man

 

your long past it but for someone just getting to the rear window...
i set mine up to be locked all the way up or unlocked it drops about 4", for some flow-through air...
dead bolt and a hockey stick...

 

Greenline Stewart Warners have always been my favorite. I've been keeping my eye out for a tach with a cleaner face to match the others. They pop up often but they're always at a premium.



Recently, I saw an eBay ad with a 8k Greenline sitting, partly in a chrome Sun cup. They were accepting offers, I made a fair one and it arrived in my mailbox today.

Not wasting any time, the tach was pulled from the cup and mocked up.



Before:



After:

 

I've been working on parts of the wood kit before I can seal it. More on that later. However, I wanted to keep the dust out of the shop, so I rolled the car out to work on it.

Afterward, I blew off the dust and while the kids were playing in the yard, I mocked up the taillights and license plate lights (now that I can access them).

Throughout the day I had been chatting with a pal and he said I needed to step back and give an overall pic of the rear of the car.

It's a neat shot, so I figured I'd share.



A progress update will come soon.

 

Love the taillights, not a fan of the tag lights. My 2 cents.