My dad has been drag racing for his whole life and he has rubbed off on me. growing up around that stuff planted the seed. As I grew older my cousin darrell was a great body man one of the best I pretty much followed in his foot steps and now I am a frame tech in the collision industry. Growing up my dad said to me that he had a 32 coupe that he had bought for me and tucked it away. I never realy saw the car cause it was in a thousand parts looked like more of a pile of junk to me but now 20 years later it looks like a pile of gold. I got the chance to get the 32 and now I am in the process of putting the peices together. After watching movies like american grafitty a thousand times growing up you can't help to want to go back in time. My dad gave my brother a model A coupe that was a complete car and he didn't realy do a lot with it. For most of my life I had to look at that car in the garage just sit there and sit there. It killed me to see it sit. My brother lost intrest in it and never touched it for 12 years. I couldn't watch the car sit any longer I had to do somthing with it but it wasn't mine to touch. So I made him a deal and it was that I would fix up the car with my money and time if he would put the car in both of our names. So he did and so I did. To veiw pics click on my signature. Well I finally started my 32. I gotta get going on it soon if I plan on driving it before I die. So here it is. first we drug it home and it's been sitting in my garage for about 6 months. So this is what I started on first. I have no floor that is all gone. The rocker panels are gone along with all the rest of the panels on the bottom. The body has a peice of sheet metal screwed to the side to hold it together. The question is where do I start?? After thinking about it for a while I figured that I would get the body muonted on a moveable frame so I took the wave runner off this trailer and used that so I can move the body aruond. I mesured every thing and got it mounted strait so it dose not rack around. next I will mesure the frame rails and order the patch panels.
I'm not sure but my dad traded the car body for some engines a while ago. he got lucky. It has been storage for about my whole life and he gave it to me when I was about 6-7 years old. He has been giving me parts for it for X-mas since I was little. What a cool dad! I am now old enough and wise enough to handel it now so here we go. So it is history in the making now!!!!!!
I wouldn't start on the body other than to tack some supports into it so it doesn't move around, I would get your Frame together and square ( so you have a good foundation to repair the body on,.. assuming your going to keep the car a highboy), then get some sub rails from McPherson and get your sub structure fixed first, maybe set shims in your door jambs all the way around ( for equal spacing) and tack the doors shut during this process. get the body square and plumb on the new sub rails and tack everything together, after you measure the crap out of everything and your sure the body is in proper position, you can weld it all up,... than move onto patch panels, dents etc. ( this is just the way I would do it,... good luck looks like a fun project)
All of the sheet metal shapes you need to rebuild the floor are available from Brookville Roadster. Shop I hang out at used their stuff to "un-channel" this old East Coast hot rod.
Lucky SOB you are, my dad only gave me a Bad Attitude and a snow board, I've ditched the snow board now I'm working on the Bad Attitude...Good Luck, I'm Jealous!!
The subrails from Brookville only need to be tweeked a little in the B Pillar (rear door post) to be used. We used them to unchannel a 5w project here and the body turned out super. Frank
I have a 32 frame and will mock up the body to that once I get more garage space. as you can see in the pictures I don't have a lot of room. I mounted the body on this jus to be able to move it around by my self. I don't allways have 2 people around to help me move it all the time. I plan to tack weld a temparary structure to hold the body together so I can start the rocker inner structure and patch panels. My plan for the 32 is I am going to mount the body high boy I want to rake the front. The motor will be a hemi with a Potvin front mounted blower set up hillborn injection salt flats fuel coupe stick shift and chopped. I want big fat white walls on the back and skinnys on the front with a dropped crome tube front axel quick change rear. And I have some ideas for some headers that will scream so loud that every one will hate me. ya and one more thing a belly pan along the bottom. but before I dream any more I need to get that body done. The blue model a is a family owned car that has been in the family for a lifetime to veiw restoration pics click here http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=152266
Here are some updates on the 32 I got the body on the frame in a good location going to get subrails after the holiday but untill then I cleaned the hemi up and the heads they were rusty I was covered ball honed the surface rust on the cylenders two of the cylenders have deep pits I guess I will have to sleeve it. the heads are rough but good for mock up. going to through a light coat of paint on the engine and rub greese on the journals and cylenders. the next thing is Im going to clean the blower and get it bolted so it is ready for mock up. Having some issues with the front spindels may have to try somthing different. I have crome 48 ford spindles but they do not fit with the tube front end. the king pins are smaller and the spacing is way off. I think the angles of the arms will not work. guess I will have to rethink the front end.
this car is gonna be awesome! Iv started at that point so many times. Where to start where to start. I usually say f it, and start welding
What a cool project! The best part is that your father gave it to you. I will be watching this build, it's looking good all ready!
Oh neat build. Thats alot of engine/blower to fit in a 32 frame and still have feet room but Im sure it can be done. Looks like you have a good start thought. good luck
Are you going to set the engine back like a mid engine? You have an lot of length there with that setup.
Cool build, We all misspell,,I know I'm not the best but '32 guy's really need to know how to spell "Deuce" HRP
Ya, tell me about it. I wont go into the details, I will say SKY vodka played a part in my signing up to the hamb.
five years ago my dad gave me this bomber seat. He was at the scrap yard one day and some scrapper was scrapping it when my dad saw it he could not beleive his eyes he offered the guy double or tripple what the value of the scrap price was for it and the guy agreed. what a lucky score all stainless. Any one who knows what plane this came out of please let me know Im not to shure. I do know it has mounts for removable pins on the bottom Im not sure if it is a gun seat or bomber seat.
This is going to be a great way to give such a tribute to your Dad's vision he had so many years ago . I am glad to hear you worked it out with your brother so you can finally get this project underway . I know it going to be a assume looking 32 when it's done . Then for your dad was in the right place at the right time at the salvage yard and to get that kool looking Bomber seat , that's something very special . I have no idea on what it came from from but hopefully you will be able to find out and maybe find another one to match this one . You have a lot of work ahead of you but you are so very lucky to have something that your dad wanted to build for you but never did . Keep the pictures coming ! Jim
The moon's came off this car he raced back in the day. He said he had them since he was a kid. Sent from my LM-Q720 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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