Finally!!! Almost 2 years ago I sold my '29 Coupe with a plan to use the money to build a rod with a back seat so that my two sons could start hot rodding with the wife and I. Not surprisingly, before I could pull together the parts I needed, life kicked my bank account's ass and the money from the coupe all but evaporated. Well as much as it sucks some times, if you look on the bright side, being in the Military and leaving your family behind can have one significant benefit. You keep getting paid, sometimes a little extra, while you are gone for months at a time and if you play the finances right you can stash away some project funds. So now I'm back home and I have spent the last several weeks scouring the internet for a new project. I have decided to put together a '30-'31 Model A Sedan and I found one for sale about six hours away in South Jersey. So the new project is finally underway and I couldn't be more excited! My five year old is bouncing off the walls ecstatic that he gets to help Daddy build a new hotrod, and even the two year old's eyes light up when he sees the body in the garage. I'll try to find the time to keep posting updates and pictures as I go, though most of my time on the HAMB is spent searching for parts and tech advice. Thanks in advance for all of the knowledge, encouragement, and components that I'm sure I'll get from all of you while I'm putting her together. Here are a couple pics to help raise the heart rate, I know mine is racing.
Welcome Home! That is a far better start than most, good luck with the build. Thanks for your service!
Thanks a million for your service and Welcome Home! Looks like a solid piece...good luck and keep us posted
Welcome back!!!!!Thanx for your services,im going through the same thing, sold my coupe to get a sedan for the family.Keep us posted cool c-dan.....
All right, I love Sundays. The kids and the wife are all taking naps, so I'm gonna tip-toe out to the garage and pull the body off the frame to see what I got myself into. I'll post some more pics when I get back in. Thanks for the support guys.
Glad to see you back and in the Garage! That's a nice start on a project. I like the avatar. That was my bread-n-butter for 16 years.
Thanks for your service. I am glad you are back home safe. Looks like you've got a great start. Sedans make great cars. Good luck on your build, and make sure you keep us updated with pics!!!! Mike
Ok, so back in from the garage and I got some stuff taken apart and figured out. I'm pretty sure after talking to some local HAMBer friends that under the stock Model A frame, the banjo rear and the front end are both '37 vintage. They've got wide fives, mechanical brakes, the radius rods mount to the bottom of the axle housing next to the backing plates, and the spring mounts are part of the axle housing, so pretty sure we're talkin '37 here, right? First: I figured out a one man method for lifting the body off the frame. Ok, I know it's not the most professional, fancy, or even safe setup, but it's effective. Ratchet straps and rafters, what else do you need? Once the body was in the air I could roll the chassis out of the garage to get a better look and start tinkering. Second: Torque tube and drive shaft are off and the banjo is ready for an open drive conversion, if I only had the $270 bucks to burn to buy the Speedway kit. No problem though, I'll find the money somewhere or I'll find a 6-spline yoke and make my own. I think I'll plan on keeping the '37 radius rods. Leaning towards Z'ing the frame a few inches, scrapping the Model A crossmember and mounting a lower arch spring behind the axle. My initial thought is to Z enough to get 2 more inches of drop, have 3 inches of suspension travel, and still save as much back seat headroom as possible.
Welcome to the " I have a family that is into rods, and need a back seat" club. Mine 2 was created to haul 2 little ones around. Good luck and post some pics.
Ah yes... the motor and trans. I guess I've left that part out of the thread so far. I actually have an 8BA Flathead and 3-speed trans out of a '50 sedan that have been sitting in my garage for the last 2 and half years. I picked them up back when I had my '29 Coupe and had planned on yanking out the SBC/TH350 that it had in favor of a more traditional package. But... we all know how plans tend to fall apart once you inject reality into them. Here's a shot the day that I got it. Since the flatty has been the only thing resembling a hotrod in my garage since I sold my '29, I've taken a little time to freshen it up and repaint it. It's still all stock inside. In an effort to have a cool car instead of a cool project, I'm going to spend my money on the car instead of the motor, so the only upgrades I've got planned are a Mallory Dual Point that I picked up a while back, chrome acorn covers, and I'll hand fab some zoomies for it.
Ok, another quick update. Only got about an hour in the garage since Sunday, but progress is progress no matter how slight. I pulled the backing plates for the mechanical brakes off of the spindles to get them out of the way and start getting ready for the juice brake upgrade. Never fun trying to stop a car the Fred Flintstone way. While I had the wheels apart I was reminded just how cool wide fives can look. So I said to myself, I said "self... maybe we should see how the car looks with no hubcaps all the way around and way lower." So I spent about a half an hour messin with the chassis and trying different ride heights and stances. I think my current favorite is with no hubcaps and about a 2-3 inch rake from back to front. What do you guys think?
From a retired 25 year vet,,,,,,,,,thanks to you and your family. My wife still has her t-shirt that says "Army wife,,,,toughest job in the army". She won't part with it no matter how old it gets. Your car is her favorite type,,she calls them "gangster cars"
Great!!!! Thank's for the pics!! Don't know exactly what it is about 'em, but I really like sedans. Mike
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