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Hot Rods HELP solve the missing model A mystery!!!!

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Flathead Coupe, Apr 19, 2014.

  1. Flathead Coupe
    Joined: Feb 25, 2014
    Posts: 35

    Flathead Coupe
    Member

    Please Help!
    I am posting for a friend…

    He had purchased a Model A Coupe from New Beach, ND (see pic #1)
    The transport company picked up the Model A early AM on January 23rd 2014.
    By that night, the driver "Claims" the complete body "fell off the trailer" somewhere in between Midnot and Bismark!!
    This is what was delivered to my friend (see pic #2)
    the driver claims the body must have fell off in the mountains, the police informed my friend there are no mountains between Midnot and Bismark and it is all flatland.

    Edit: The Seller says the Body and ALL body parts were completely bolted to the frame and/or bolted together, and the doors were hinged and all hinges were bolted in respective places. The body was never taken apart.
    when arrived, no broken pieces..everything was mysteriously unbolted and disassembled.

    Please contact me if you have any information regarding this Model A Body!!!

    Thanks in advance
    Brian





    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2014
  2. mashed
    Joined: Oct 15, 2011
    Posts: 1,473

    mashed
    Member
    from 4077th

    That's complete bullshit. The rear wheel appears to be strapped differently. If the body "fell off" in transit the strapping should be identical in both pics.

    I also think you should out the transport company.
     
  3. Flathead Coupe
    Joined: Feb 25, 2014
    Posts: 35

    Flathead Coupe
    Member

    Yeah…. I know right? TOTAL BS man….
    Im checking with my buddy to see if he wants to disclose transport company.
    yeah..I just noticed that..the knot is in a different place from pic #1 & pic #2
     
  4. Plus in the first pic the car is tied down through the doors. Not over top of the cowl like the second pic. B.S. X2
    -Pat
     

  5. Is the car ..or parts just now arriving?

    I would think the transporter would be held liable,,hope he has insurance. HRP
     
  6. 49ratfink
    Joined: Feb 8, 2004
    Posts: 18,829

    49ratfink
    Member
    from California

    so it fell off, then the straps moved themselves to the cowl from where they were through the window earlier? fascinating. that must have been some bump.

    easy pickins. since it is civil matter rather than criminal someone got your body and there is little or nothing you can do about it.
     
  7. If the body was bolted down and the doors were hinged,,,, why is there tape over the fronts of the doors to the posts? Someone is feeding you a line.
     
  8. This looks like a Uship deal to me! Not transported by one of the three quality transporters here on the Hamb in the Hamb O Dex section & why would any quality transporter put a strap through the window opening to each side of the trailer? This would cause damage to the door tops as the vehicle went down the road. If the body was NOT actually bolted to the frame, the strap should have been around the frame not to the trailer.
    If the doors & body were not bolted down, that strap would have easily broke the tape holding the doors in place, then causing the strap to fall off, but it would have been a monster bump to allow the body to hop over the rear tires.
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2014
  9. Flathead Coupe
    Joined: Feb 25, 2014
    Posts: 35

    Flathead Coupe
    Member

    It is a crazy mess for sure!
    He has not been reimbursed for anything...

    HotRodPrimer:
    Picture number one in the car leaving the seller
    picture number two is what was left and what was delivered to my friend here in Florida.


    Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
     
  10. s55mercury66
    Joined: Jul 6, 2009
    Posts: 4,335

    s55mercury66
    Member
    from SW Wyoming

    Good point, prewarcars4me.
     
  11. paul55
    Joined: Dec 1, 2010
    Posts: 3,490

    paul55
    Member
    from michigan

    sure the seller didn't stage the loaded pic, than remove all the parts he wanted to keep? of course the transport guy would have to have been in on it, maybe for some extra $$?? just a thought!
     
  12. Flathead Coupe
    Joined: Feb 25, 2014
    Posts: 35

    Flathead Coupe
    Member

    This whole situation I am not sure of very much..
    But one thing I am definitely sure of... My friends model A body got pinched!


    Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
     
  13. turdytoo
    Joined: May 14, 2007
    Posts: 1,568

    turdytoo
    Member

    Somebody's not telling the truth.
     
  14. s55mercury66
    Joined: Jul 6, 2009
    Posts: 4,335

    s55mercury66
    Member
    from SW Wyoming

    I cannot find a "New" Beach, ND. Only Beach, ND. That driver must have had something else besides going to Florida going on, to be going to Minot.
     
  15. Was the driver shaggy, " it wasnt me"
     
  16. Cowtown Speed Shop
    Joined: Sep 26, 2010
    Posts: 1,192

    Cowtown Speed Shop
    Member
    from KC

    I know I am going to catch hell for saying this, But It is not unbelievable to me! As I almost had it happen to me. Ben D was at my place last week loading a item and when we were straping it down he put on plenty of extra straps as we were discussing how people would not believe all the stuff that vibrates loose and comes off sometimes. when I went to pickup my model A sedan delivery in CA. the guy had the body bolted down soild and secure. By the time I got to OK city none of the NEW body bolts were still in it. and the body had moved back atleast 4 inches, I was lucky......Now looking at this second pic, It appears to me that the bolts (probably New) came loose and the wind caught it just right, probably at night, And driver was probably haullin ass with the radio up and the body fell off. I am not saying that this is the way it went But for those of you who think it can't happen, I am here to tell you I have seen it happen myself. And one would think that the driver would know if he lost something, Not always I had a uncle who went to the lake one weekend, When he left he had a boat on his trailer, when he got to the lake the boat was gone, And he never had a clue.....just saying.
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2014
  17. Cowtown Speed Shop
    Joined: Sep 26, 2010
    Posts: 1,192

    Cowtown Speed Shop
    Member
    from KC

    Also if the hinges were pined and secure, why the need for the Duck tape on the A pilliar? And as far as it never being taken apart,.... those Doors clearly did not age with that body.....
     
  18. Hackerbilt
    Joined: Aug 13, 2001
    Posts: 6,254

    Hackerbilt
    Member

    In no way, shape or form am I taking sides and I think the shipper is ultimately responsible for his load anyway. But...

    I see some big gaps around the rear fender, the fender to splash apron connection looks suspect, the roof is wide open to the wind, the forward roof panels do not appear to be attached to the windshield posts, the body has all appearances of being reassembled from various bits due to the different levels of "patina" on the various parts, so I expect it has indeed been "taken apart" at some point in its life.
    Combine that possibility with a strap thru the doors tearing at the body on every bump.
    Not good to say the least!

    At the very LEAST I would have expected to see a full roll of duct tape used to bind everything and personally would have used a heavy tarpaulin over the whole shebang...but of course thats a little too late now.

    Hope you guys can track it down in one piece! :(
     
  19. I understand that there was a car but what arrived is parts,,when did it leave and when did it arrive.HRP
     
  20. Cowtown Speed Shop
    Joined: Sep 26, 2010
    Posts: 1,192

    Cowtown Speed Shop
    Member
    from KC

    I too believe the hauler is responsible for the loss of this body, And I do think he has a pretty good idea of about where he lost it, As if you notice in the second pic a strap was added to the cowl, At the point of when he added that. he knew he had lost the rest of the body. Sounds to me like both the hauler and the seller are padding their stories to cover their ass on this deal. But I believe that it did fall off his trailer do to Not being secure enough! And that falls on the hauler in my opinion....If this was a case of he stole it he would have taken the cowl as well, Does the buyer have pics of this from when he bought it? I am wondering about the subrails....
     
  21. Crystal Blue
    Joined: Nov 18, 2008
    Posts: 609

    Crystal Blue
    Member

    Iowa to NJ, 60-70 mph. The only thing I lost was wasp nests :D

    Note: All 4 corners (axles) were also stapped down.

    [​IMG]
     
  22. blowby
    Joined: Dec 27, 2012
    Posts: 8,661

    blowby
    Member
    from Nicasio Ca

    How come the strap going through the window is not hooked into the holes in the trailer bed like the other straps? Perhaps if it was, the strap would not have come loose of the trailer, if that's what happened.
     
  23. mashed
    Joined: Oct 15, 2011
    Posts: 1,473

    mashed
    Member
    from 4077th

    Not if someone already had a '30-'31 cowl.

    Time for my mystery break.
     
  24. I really don't care for how the strap thru the doors is hooked to the trailer.

    But one thing is for certain, someone isn't telling the truth.

    If it "fell off" then the car was apart and maybe a tad more secure than a mock up.
    How many bolts need to come out to lift the body and fenders from the frame? Somebody knows that without counting. And remove the doors from cowl
    Who knows are those involved.
     
  25. captainjunk#2
    Joined: Mar 13, 2008
    Posts: 4,420

    captainjunk#2
    Member

    you don't don't need to stay at a holiday inn , or be a rocket scientist to know you were ripped off , either some one stole it off the trailer when it was parked in an insecure lot , or the driver is in on it , not many other options unless Bigfoot ,Elvis , and space aliens decided they needed a model A body
     
  26. Terrible Tom
    Joined: Feb 15, 2010
    Posts: 582

    Terrible Tom
    Member

    Here's what I think. The truck driver stopped at a truck stop somewhere. Some Yoho offered him X dollars for the body and they concocted this story. At any rate, the hauler is completely responsible for the missing body and he must pay up. No question.
    Tom
     
  27. Model T1
    Joined: May 11, 2012
    Posts: 3,309

    Model T1
    Member

    First off you guys are gonna have to stop hiring Bubba to haul your cars. There have been way too many sad stories like this lately. I was a trucker but in no way am a profesional car hauler. However, as written here many times, I made seven trips from central Illinois to Florida after I retired, with five cars and other junk of my own.
    I bought a heavy duty commercial type 18' flatbed and an old Chevy van. We hauled things we didn't want wet in the van and the cars, and slept in the van half way both ways. Never lost anything and believe me Illinois and other highways between were not the smoothest in the nation. I used common sense when tieing things down. Yes even I have a little common sense.
    I blame the driver in this case, no matter who loaded and tied down the Model A. I also agree maybe the body came lose and fell off. Maybe! Even if it did it could have disappeared.
    Recently a friend had a one wheeled trailer behind his antique motorhome. He's put many thousands of miles on it. After a recent trip from Florida to his home in Ky, 50 miles from home, the trailer came off and disintigrated. They drug the scrap to the side of Ky highway 40. Plans were to get it with another trailer. Nothing was there when they returned. Either a highway crew or scrap pickers got it.
    Hire a reputable hauler or do it yourself. A Model A body bouncing down the highway can be hazardous to someone's health and pocketbook.
     
  28. silversink
    Joined: May 3, 2008
    Posts: 916

    silversink
    Member

    Or profitable
     
  29. Ghost28
    Joined: Nov 23, 2008
    Posts: 3,200

    Ghost28
    Member

    I really believe it fell off during transit. If you look at the second picture all of the hinges are missing completely, leaving me to believe the doors weren't secured to the cowl and came loose from the pressure of the straps pulling down, when this happened the rear of the car and the doors became victims of the wind, at hiway speed it wouldn't take long for them to brake loose from even light bolting and become road rash. I just hope no one got hurt by them.
     
  30. I hope your friend has consulted an attorney.
     

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