Projects 1928 Model A 2 dr Phaeton Build

Greetings!

My name's Peter, I'm a 29yr old self employed restorer/fabricator and I've been a lurker here on the HAMB since I was probably 14yrs old. I grew up reading the original Hot Rod magazines, and lusting for a rod of my own, but I was raised in a restore-to-original family, so I never got to build my dreams.

I purchased this 1928 Model A Tudor from western ND back in 2013 with the intention of building it right away, but life had it's own ideas. Fast forward to now and I've grown disillusioned with the modern high tech world. I'm probably one of very few millennials who don't use snap-chat or tik-tok! So I decided to build an old school analogue hot rod that I intend to use as a seasonal daily driver. It gets to over 105 regularly in the summer here in Lubbock, TX, so it may not see too much action in the heat.

So, I had forgotten how rust free this body is, can't seem to find any major issues on first glance. Just got it cleaned out and ready to pull in the shop. Only going to be keeping the Body, doing a mild chop and channel but no fenders.

 

salt free... ND...

 

Took quite a bit of time deciding the direction of the metalwork, and this thread was a huge help: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/chopped-model-a-sedans-only-please.1014592/

Finally decided on 2.25" chop like Kiwi 4d but with a more substantial channel.

My overall inspiration is this single picture I can find from a Rod & Custom feature:
Sadly, I've searched high and low and I cannot find an article online of ^ that build.
~Peter

 

Glad to see another Tudor on here. That thing is clean and has a lot of '28 parts on it. Don't forget to post all the progress pics and parts you're not going to use on here.

 

Here is your blueprint! John Olays Cdan.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/john-olays-29-sedan-project.426995/#post-4668797

 

great project i love it .my new screensaver

 

I assume it's a mid year build because of the steering wheel and what I was told about other details, but it could be a 28 as well.

 

What a great platform to build from. I’ll take the chassis lol. You sure you don’t want to use the frame?

 

I'm planning a pretty significant sweep in the front with a z'd rear to get the frame down without losing too much interior space, so it would get pretty hacked up; plus I know that frame is cherry for someone to use as Henry built it.
~Peter

 

Drum taillight and steering wheel indicate a 28, but emergency brake in front of the shifter suggests early 29, so Henry mixed and matched.

 

Got it into the shop and started carefully disassembling. Since this was a highly unmolested car, hardly anything was damaged or modified. So it didn't take long to get everything heavy out of the body and prepare for removal.








I'm blessed with a forklift, so lifting the body off was a 1 man job.







Got it sitting on some car dollies while I get measurements for the 2x2" square tube body table. Going to bolt it down through the body mounts so nothing twist or shifts during the metal stages.



Already placed my orders for a few custom pieces, namely: 32 Ford Cowl Vent, 32 Ford Dash, and 30-31 Model A Visor.

I'll be posting more pics once it's on the new body cart.

~Peter

 

Hey Peter
Looks like you have a great start for you project. The one man body lift is the defiantly the way to go. Your forklift makes it look easy, no sketchy cherry picker and a bunch of 2x4s. you have a very nice shop to work in as well

 

Hey, iv got the acual magazine that has this cars feature, i can look for it and sent you the pics if youd like

 

If that wouldn't be too much trouble, that would be great! I admittedly didn't save many magazines from the last 20yrs. Lucky to have 1948-69 Hot Rod and Car Craft though, lots of inspiration in those.

 

Got a quick rolling body dolly fabricated out of 2x2" square tubing. Allows me to bolt the chassis down the frame and provides additional structural integrity even though this body didn't flex at all when removing it.



One small dent in the driver's rear, and also found a thin coat of bondo on the passenger's door, but otherwise a great canvas to start from.

This morning I started doing some mockups to try and see where the build-style is going. I have a couple engine options (I restore cars so there's never a shortage of engines rolling around).

First option is the venerable 1938-41 Ford 24 stud Flathead:


This would be my preferred drivetrain from a historical standpoint, but considering I want to be able to daily drive it and also do road trips cross country to various car shows and events, I'm not sure the Flathead is a smart move. Chime in if you have insight into daily driving a flathead, I've read multiple threads, but it seems that most guys who are driving theirs never get above 55mph and never travel more than 200 miles from home.

Option 2 is a 1956 Desoto 330ci Hemi:



Double the power of the flathead, but brings with it added weight, size issues, hard to find parts, and expensive to repair.

Transmission options are undecided, my heart says stick shift, but considering the desired interior space, I know an automatic would gain me some foot room and also be more convenient for just hopping in and driving to get groceries.

Based on the condition of the body and how well everything fits and looks, I'm considering not doing a chop, and maybe going the east coast route. I know that's a polarizing look, especially here in the Heartland/Midwest. But the last thing I want to do is loose how well everything fits and be chasing door alignment and gaps trying to square it all up again.

Something like this, but sitting a little lower to the ground, and I'm going to run a vintage shaved 32 ford grill.


32 dash, cowl vent and the 30 A Visor arrive next week, so I'll post more updates then. Think my next plan is to remove the cowl/tank and start getting that prepped for metalworking.

~Peter

 

Interesting build of a really well-preserved car.
BTW, the body is a '28, based on the single taillight mount on the driver's quarter. Later years had the taillight on the fender.

 

Man....you described my childhood! This is my 2nd hamb profile, been lurking since i was a kid, ive got 5 yrs on you but restoration to stock parameters upbringing, exactly me....even self employed favricator and restorer! Cant wait to see where this goes

 

Glad to hear I'm not the only one! It definitely instilled a passion for history and details, which can apply to so many areas of life.

Thought I'd share here some pics of the last car I finished for my dad, so folks here get an idea of what I typically work on.



1960 Chrysler 300F Convertible 1 0f 248 built and only 80 surviving to this day.

Swivel Leather Seats, AstroDome dash and full length center console. Space age at it's finest!


413CI Big Block with Ram Induction dual Carter AFBs. Speeds of 140+ were easily handled by these cars.

So building a traditional "budget" hot rod is new to me, but certainly something I've been scheming in my head for most of my young life.

~Peter

 

Im wrapping up a 66 charger for my old man right now lol the first time i cut a car and modified it was a very surreal moment. Frenched headlights on a 53 ford...the thing had no floors, no rockers, missing parts of the roof and i still had that feeling like i was doing something wrong hahaha it opened the floodgates though and was so liberating and fun!

 

As for your comment on Flatheads as bad dailies I think you have been listening to old wives tales. There are folks from all around the country that regularly hammer their Flattys, Nailheads, Yblocks, Bangers etc across the country and back to events like Bonneville and Pomona. What it comes down to is WHAT DO YOU WANT? The most fun I ever had driving a hot rod was in the Rocky33 pickup. Old worn flatty and a T5. Barely touched 5th until you hit our 80mph Interstate speeds up here. Drove like a shifter kart around town.

 

That's re-assuring to hear. Definitely would prefer to keep up with interstate traffic and not be a moving hazard at 55mph.

 

Threw some parts at the flattie to get a better idea of how it could look. Definitely leaning that direction, hoping this "rebuilt" one I got from an old timer 15yrs ago has a good block.





I want to run 15" rims, which will allow me some great mid 50's hubcap options from my personal stash. So that's a 820-15 rear and a 6.70-15 front. Basically the same overall diameter of the more popular 16" ford setup.

Looking into a Boling Brothers frame, which would drastically reduce the fabrication efforts, and would let them worry about getting it square and straight.

Thanks again for the warm welcome and insight. Looking forward to sharing the build with y'all!

~Peter

 

Man! This is going to be so cool!
Thanks for taking the time to share.

 

Did some more disassembly and made a few discoveries/decisions.



Started removing the cowl/gas tank with the plan to cut out the old tank and then prepare for the 32 cowl vent and dash.






I soon realized that the tank was way too nice to cut up and throw away, I hate sacrificing usable parts, so it's getting saved for a future project. I decided instead to order a replacement smoothed cowl top and upper firewall panel, they'll allow me to do all my mods with fresh clean metal and not butcher an OEM cowl tank.

So work continued by tearing into that poorly repaired front visor/header panel.

Started by removing the drip rails and vinyl tack strips.



Which of course revealed what I already suspected, that the front header wood was basically gone. Oh well, I guess I'll need an upper wood kit after all!


Found some old repairs around the passenger C pillar, note the bondo flaking off there. That should be somewhat easy to fix.


The area over the driver's door on the other hand, must've had a big old dent and they just beat it out with a ball peen hammer. Looking into replacing that piece.

Cleaned up and did some initial straightening of the leading roof panel in the meantime. Won't be too bad once I have wood to screw it to.



I decided to chop it 2.5" and I've got a buddy coming over this week to help layout the cut points. So I should have some badass progress to show then.

Here's a quickie photochop in the meantime:


~Peter

 

2.5 on a Cdan isn't really trying. Go for it, you can do more

 

We'll start at 2.5" and step back and see how I like it. I'm channeling the width of the frame as well, so I need to keep that in mind as well.

 

News from the world of Flatheads:
My flathead was sold to me as a "rebuilt" engine, but I knew I had to check that out. Pulled the heads and got some bad news and some good news.

Bad news, is that it's not rebuilt.



Good news is that it appears to me to be a low-mile original bore engine! No signs of any major cracks or cylinder damage. Looks all the valves except two are original, and one of the replacement valves is an older FoMoCo branded item, other is blank.


Only visible damage is the "Factory Cracks on the Passenger's side:


Otherwise, here's the Passenger side:


That Front Passenger one is lighter color metal than the rest, not sure if it's a replaced piston or a sleeved bore, I'll know more once I get it torn down and the machine shop cleans and magnafluxes it.

I'm getting things on order for going the 59AB Flathead-T5 transmission route, and I'm at the point of pulling the trigger with one of Boling Brother's 2-8 chassis with the wishbones up front and the Transverse Leaf rear. I saw a video of their channeled floor structure and body mounts, and they look super slick!
Pics from their website:



~Peter

 

Chopped the top today. Bit of a learning curve, pun intended, especially with the upper part of the Sedan Body being wider than the lower. Took 2.5" out, mainly trying to remove the awkwardness of the original profile and give a little cleaner lines.

Once again, the forklift was my extra set of hands:





Started at the A pillar posts, and started tacking things in place.

Made sure to align the critical body lines as much as possible, and leaving the rear sheetmetal corners for relief cutting tomorrow.






I'm glad I cut the rear window down as well, really fits the profile of the car now.



I'm pretty happy with that look. Since it's all only tacked, I'm thinking about maybe shortening the front posts and giving it a wedge chop, but that opens up another can of worms because then the window openings become parallelograms instead of rectangles...

Getting a little warm in the shop, so that's it for today. Let me know your thoughts and if you see anything I'm missing or should fix now vs later.

~Peter

 

The subtle chop looks good as is...... wedge chops look dorky IMHO.

 

I like the rear window, but I would take a little more off. At least another 1 1/2” . Just my 2 cents.