Model A Roadster body, OG or Brookville?

To me, it's either you like it or you don't. Life's to short for pissing contests about the origen of the body (as long as it's steel, fiberglass is for packers... Of Mufflers!). I'll spend more time ridiculing SBC people.

I worked hard and saved a long time (4years) to finally have some money to buy the parts needed to build my car. I also provided for my family first and am just as proud of that as I would be about fixing a body. No matter what, I'll have my head so high no amount of snobbery would be able to pull it down. In fact, there may be a snob or two waking up to a beautifull view of the sky above them if they waste my time bickering about brookville/Ford parts.

Seriously though, this car will be about the fun of Hot Rodding. It won't be pure in any way but it will be driven!

 

Brookville is not the only company making repro A parts. When I finally get my Model "A" on the road, she will have some reproduction panels. It shouldn't be too hard to guess which parts are new. They'll be the pretty ones. I'm hoping to get the wife some repro parts too. If I can touch 'em, they're real!

 

It doesn't matter much to me. Original steel, Brookville or glass. I don't care. Ya still gotta build the thing. My T-coupe is Ford steel but only because thats what I happened to find at a price I could afford. Brookville or glass are fine with me and both make great Hotrods. Original steel with history or patnia is just a bonus. Some guys fume about only building original Ford bodies, but love silicone tits? Go figure......

 

Henry Ford didn't make all the bodies....Briggs and also Murray did tin work for Henry......now Brookville is helping them!!!....so WHAT is a REAL Ford body???......and fwiw, I agree.....The car in your driveway doesn't mean your shit don't stink.

 

I dont know how many of you guys have worked on a brookville body but,that brown primer can be deceiving I'm working on a 32 brookville for a guy and i had to hammer the door out so far to meet the quarter panel that it came off the inner panel and the leading edge near the cowl was the same. Be prepaired to skimcoat the hole car.

 

being a body man and sheet metal fab guy of many years i would buy the brookville body before bothering with a stock one unless you plan on channeling it or doing alot of custom mods that will become overlapping with the repairs needed.

 

Lehr ... You gotta be kidding !! Who paid you to post this shit ?????

 

Hey I'm not saying that I would rather start with a rusted out piece of shit or even worse fiberglass I'm just saying be ready to put alot of work in it to make it staight,by the way surfer the dude that owns the car is paying me alot to make it nice.

 

I started with a Brookville body and frame and I couldn't be happier. (except for the money spent)
The quality of the bodies is generally very good ( as confirmed by my friend's '32).
The problem with the doors is inherent to the desing by Ford. They just don't have much rigidity and can be twisted and tweaked by hand or over your knee. Dont forget to properly shim the body, else the doors won't never be close.
The door gap "problem" is also seen on very nice original Ford cars. They were not designed to line up as perfectly as on a new car. It will take a good amount of work to get the doors 100% aligned!

Here's a picture of my Brookville A

 

Swissmike...

That's a bitchin MODEL A. Don't call it a Brookville unless someone asks!

Can you give me a run-down on what you ordered specifically? Like Options etc...

 

Debating between a repro body and a stock Ford body? Answer all these questions and I'll be glad to tell you what’s right for you (grin).

We’ll start out with the universally recognized business equation of

TIME or MONEY or QUALITY

You’ll have to sacrifice one of them ‘cause you can only have two. For our purposes, we’ll rate bodies in the following manner:

NOS Ford: Lot’s of time to find, lots of money to buy, as close as possible to a quality Ford product (lots of quality)
Brookville: Minimal time, lots of money, very good quality
Restored Ford body: Little time, lots of money, fair quality but may have some secrets
Ford body with Brookville panels: Some time, less money, fair quality but still may be hiding something.
Old Ford body: Lots of time, some money, low quality
Ruined Ford body: Lots and lots of time, little money, low quality

Do you want to put a perfect body and a shiny paint job?
Do you want a field car look?
Do you just want a cheapo paint job – like real cheap paint, or flat paint?
Are you doing radical body modifications, like sectioning or custom molding – channeling is not included.
Are you doing heavy modifications like channeling or stretching the doors, or smoothing out the cowl?
Are you doing minor hot rod modifications like lowering the seat, shaving the fuel filler or door handles, cutting the tank out and using a ’32 dash?
Are you experienced in metal bodywork and repair?
Do you have experience with OLD or RUSTY metal?
Do you have the facilities to work with metal?
Do you want a standard body style?
Do you want a unusual/unpopular body style?
Are you a vintage Ford elitist?
Will you be embarrassed if you are outed as owning a reproduction body?
Will your peer group care?
Do you have nothing better to do that talk to folks about your car? (It’s all original including the dust under the floor mats, and those are Alex’s fingerprints on the dash…)
Will your car speak for itself?
Do you require that the body have no surprises?
Do you require a complete body?
Do you have a lot of cash?
Do you have a lot of time?
Are you working on a short timeline?

Frankly though, there is a place for any and all bodies - even <gasp> NON-FORD bodies, like Pontiacs and stuff. Even bodies made from sheetmetal like that Aluminum approximation of a '28 roadster with Alvis running gear running around in the UK.

 

Kilroy,
I ordered the body (which was $4600 at that time) with the following options:
smooth cowl cover $250
steel front floor $175
rear roll pan $120
lower stanchions installed $150
32 style dash installed $115

I also ordered their perimiter 32 style frame set up for the P&amp;J ladder bars and buggy spring rear suspension. That's a whole other list.
Spend a good amount of time going over the catalog and ask the guys at Brookville. They are very helpful.

This was my first car project and I didn't want to go in over my head. Now I would be confident to take on a project where I had to start with a pile of parts..

 

hey kilroy - just remember if you are going on Duece rails you are going to have to whack the shit out of the rear floor. I would hate to do that to a new brookville body.

I think the original would be a better candidate for that.

Interesting topic. Last night I was grinding bondo off my cowl and wondering - "what should I do - keep grinding, let it alone, am I going to be able to fix what I find? Oh shit - it'll be OK, oh shit - no problem. It'll just take time. Hell I'll just drive it and fix it later. No, I want it perfect. Hell I am going to bed."

I just have to remember, I bought this car because I wanted to learn. I don't think there is much easier body work to learn on than a model A. I learned from the 5000K dollar build post that I was on the wrong track - the lesson was build what you can and like and enjoy.

 

whatever route you choose to go with just have fun doing it, that's what this car thing is all about anyways. if you feel you'll have a more rewarding time resurrecting an old body, then by all means do it. if you'll have more fun not having to stress about metalwork, and instead spend your time making it go,mechanical aspects, and working on the interior then do that. the brookville bodies are damn nice. i can't say that i wouldn't go with one given i had the dough to spend.
it all comes down to personal preference....it really doesn't matter what anyone says, aslong as you are happy when the day is through.
i guess choosing your battles is a good term to use...
bodywork vs. modification. where do you want to spend the majority of the work??
good luck with the project whichever body you choose to go with.

 

Tudor- the only thing I had to cut out was a approximately 6"x12" rectangle where the rear crossmemeber sticks through the trunk floor. This is easily covered by a sheetmetal "hump" (some people use the spare tire section of a fender).

Kilroy- let me know if you want to go the Brookville route and need more info. I'd be glad to help.

 

When I was collecting parts for my AV8 project in the early 1990's, I couldn't find a body that I could afford to fix up. I wanted a nice finished look, not a primered jalopy. I found a Brookville dealer that would sell me a body for $100 over his cost. I scraped up the money and haven't regretted it once. The car went together easily. If anyone asks about the body, I tell the truth. I'm not embarrased.

 

Thanks Swissmike...

If I think of anything else you'll be the first to know.

My thinking about cutting up a body is that a repro body would be kinder to cut because anybody could go buy one but I don't know...

 

Seems kinda funny that anyone would ever be embarassed of a car they built....glass, repro-steel, or origional. If you do the work and you like the car - fuck 'em all.

 

Kilroy - I see what you are saying, but I feel the opposite. If I had a new sweet ecpensive correct non rusty body, I would not want to cut it at all! The original one that had already been molested would be the better candidate for fitting to a 32 frame.

I am confused by swissmike's statement that he didn't have to cut much to fit his a body to 32 rails. Unless the 32 perimeter rails by brooksville are flat to fit the model a bodies.
Is that the case?

Or are roadster bodies easier to fit to the hump on the 32 frames?

 

Hey Kilroy, What do you want? Do you have the time to do the old body? You will have to do a little cutting on the floor but use 32 subrails out back, that helps. It's easier too if you do a trunk and not a rumble. Do what you really, really want and have FUN!!!!!!!

 

I would think the steel that they are using today would be a better quality.
Do they use the same gauge sheetmetal that the originals used?

 

Weeeeeelllll!

I baught the original 31 Roadster body. He threw in a nice original quarter, too.

The downside is that I'm gonna have to "touch" every pannel. The upside is that I get to "touch" every pannel.

It's also a little too wobbley to do C9's frame building technique too. But I have money left over so I might just have one made for me.

I'm stoked!

 

If i could afford it, I would go with brookville, but I can't so I won't right now..

maybe later...

tok

 

Deleted by 38pickup

 

I would say go with the Brookville . . .
Thats just my 2 cents

 

How much do Brookville A Roadster bodies sell for in 2016?

 

Go here and see for yourself https://brookvilleroadster.com/store/bodies/

 

Guess the answer is about $6,800.00

 

Even if you do buy a Brookeville body it will need additional work as I learned with mine and as other folks have posted. Its just that it will usually be a lot less work than you might have to go through to remove and repair the old shit work that has typically been done to a car body made in 1931. I had too much other stuff to spend my time on so the choice was easy for me. Would I have done an original body? If I could find one at a price I could afford and if it was in really good shape, hell yes! Does that mean I will enjoy my flathead powered V8 2014 Brookeville roadster any less when I am cruising around in it on a beautiful day, NOPE! Will still enjoy the hell out of it.

 

I know the OP bought a body already but reading this whole post I thought there is another way to get a body, build one from pieces. Mine is put together from parts, many of them from HAMBers. Cowl and brakes from 54caddy, quarters from Pete, wheels, trans, doors, rumble lid, and one door skin from swap meets. Motor, radiat[/IMG]or, frame, front axle and much more from Mike Bowling. Almost everything needs more work but in two and a half years I'm all in at 1700.00.

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