Projects 29 Model A Couprielet, A Phantom Sleeper

Th

One thing I can do with the grill is mock it up with the Briggs Cowl and hood. I will be fabricating a new hood with a 32 style front countour to match the grill. I will also be making the side hinges flush with the belt line just like the 32s as well.

 

Hey Guys.

With the cut down tourer more or less locked into position in the workshop, i have been thinking of things i can do that don't involve having to pull the whole place apart to get it out.

There are various panels and parts that are not attached, that I had been collecting before I got it that can be worked on. Also I just realized I have had it for a week as of today and I have done nothing.

That's all set to change on the weekend when I finally get to work on the sub rails are rear fenders. I am not sure which of the two I will do first but i have already been making up diagrams for both.

The sub rails I have are in very poor condition and it will take a lot to salvage them. There is two thirds of a coupe one from the cowl back and the very end of section that supports the beaver panel at the back.

I am going to build a jig from slabs of 30 mm ply so that I can fasten the two sections down and fabricate the other sections needed to join them.

 

The cross rails are also damaged so i will need to fabricate the missing section for them as well. For any of you wondering why i would go to all this trouble to save beat up originals when good repro ones are available, it all comes down to money. Factoring in our low Australian dollar with the sky high shipping costs, a full sub frame would run into the thousands. Also it would take weeks for them to arrive.

This is a basic diagram of the tool the cross rails will be formed on. I am guessing 25 X 50 R.H.S will suffice but it might be closer 25 X 75. I am thinking 18 gauge at this stage.
The other that will need addressing with the sub rails will be the wheel arches

 

Once I am happy with the sub rails, I will be turning my attention to the wheel arches and rear fenders. The astute observer will note that I did not get a rear set of fenders with the tourer. That is not to say I don't have a set to work with. I was lucky enough to pickup a complete set of glass 28/29 fenders at the Wagga swap meet last year, that was the same swap meet i ran into the vendor who sold me this tourer. I remember asking him if he had any Model A and BB Fords for sale. The two he mentioned he had I now own.

 

As for the rear fenders, they are top quality and being glass, a lot cheaper than steel ones. Having said that, I will not be using them in the build, I still want to keep everything steel.

What i will be using them for is as a buck to hang the quarter panels off. The buck will lock into the sub rails, allowing me a flat surface to piece the body together. I also have another spare frame i can place the sub rails onto to really make sure everything lines up.

I have not set a budget or a timeline for this project because to do so is to set myself up for failure. I have exhausted all available funds buying the parts so I am at the stage where i will need to start selling off stuff to pay for anything else I will need further down the track.

I have already duplicated quite a bit of stuff, almost enough to piece together another Model A Roadster to sell off. Along with the front half of a 30 A closed body. I also have the shaping equipment to fabricate the quarter panels, doors, hoods and valance panels needed to finish them off.

I will need to sell these off before I can pay for any further parts for the Couprielet, so as soon as I have finished the jigs I will be focussed on finishing these two projects and moving them on.

 

The next task how ever will be getting the sub rails sorted out.

 

The '29 cowl on the 30-31 body will look great, check out my Steelback build, there may be some helpful photos there. Belt moldings line up the cowl is just sitting there in this photo. Bob

 

I really like the way that flows, i have thought of slanted A pillars on my own, but the problems is my fabrication skills are as limited as the supply of Briggs and Murray cowls in this part of the world. If i ended up butchering my stock one i would be stuffed. As for the slant back 30/31's they are non existent over here, unless I take apart a 31 Victoria and they are are few and far between as well.

 

Hey Guys.

Despite a few distractions, it was a productive weekend overall. I was really keen to kick this project off, so yesterday I got to work on making a jig for the rear fenders. The idea of the jig is to keep the fenders square enough so that i can hang the quarter panels off them and begin building the rear half of the body.

 

Just for something different, I decided I wanted diagonal joins on the ends. The reason being for added strength as screws and nails don't have as far to go in. With a rotating bench saw this would have been a breeze, but i had to make do with a cordless miter saw and wood file and belt sander. I had an impact driver to put it altogether and I was going to use tech screws to fasten it all until I realized I could not find the attachment that sits over the tech screws. Instead I ended using philips head wood screws.

 

This was as far as I got before I ran out of timber.

 

The quarter panel is sitting on top of the jig, the fender is slotted inside the base of the jig. There is still a bit of a gap between the wheel arch and the fender but i don't want to cut down the upper part of the jig, the quarter rests on until i can work out how to attach the fender to the quarter panel.

 

The main problem is that there are no holes in the fender to fasten to the studs in the wheel arch. I am thinking of making a paper pattern of the wheel arch, starting at the point where the top of the splash apron sits flush with the bottom of the quarter panel. Either way, the fastening holes in the fender have to be evenly spaced for the fender to sit at the perfect angle to the splash apron, otherwise the quarter panel and the fender spacing will not be flush.

 

With a lack of materials to finish the jig and the fender fastening problem, I took time out to focus on my other big obstacle to the build. A total lack of undercover space to actually build it. This was how the shed looked when I first rolled the Model A in there. Even though its a single bay shed, there is actually another vehicle in there as well. The 34 Chevrolet Coupe Utility seen in my avatar. The chassis for it can be seen on the left pushed up onto its side. With the front end still attached, there was no room to even roll the Model A into the shed. I had to jack it up with the front wheel resting on the wheel of the 34 chassis. In the end something had to give and luckily it was not my sanity. I looked at the Chev front end and decided to have a go at uncoupling it. I thought all the bolts would be rusted into place, but luckily that was not the case.

 

This is how it looks now. With the Chev front end removed I was able to lower the Model A back down onto the floor. There is now just enough space so that I can walk either side of it rather than having to climb onto it to get to the front doors.

I also took time out to re-arrange a few things as well. The sub floor that was sitting to the right has been placed over the back of the Model A's frame, giving me more space on the right. With the work space sorted out, the next task will be to finish off the fender jig and find a tyre for the front left wheel on the Model A so that I can push it outside as the one on it now is perished.

 

I really like this project, and can relate to the cramped working area. Just so we are all on the same page did your body have a steel sub frame or was it wood? I know the Cabriolet has a wood frame, and the bottom of the rear quarters are different than a Coupe or Roadster. A new Brookville steel sub frame may be the way to go. Bob

 

This is a close up of the inside of the bottom edge of a 1930-31 Roadster quarter. Those square teeth get bent around the steel sub rail. Looks like your quarters mated to a food frame and would be nailed to it. Bob

 

It would be nice to get one but the shipping alone would be double the purchase cost. My budget is already exhausted and I am going to need to get more funds before I purchase anything else. I do have a beat up original coupe sub frame that I will try and resurrect or at least use as a pattern to fabricate a new one.

 

Hey Guys.

One thing I have not done since I got this project was actually mock the body up. I had the compulsion to do this, when I was driving home this evening.

While the tourer is locked away in the shed below, the body is still sitting inside the house.

The doors and quarters are in the bedroom and the cowl sits in the hallway with the beaver panel, tulip panel and parcel shelf.

With all the parts so close to the front door.
I decided to drag them out and prop them up in the front yard. I am really pleased with how the 30 coupe doors mate up to the Briggs 29 Sedan Cowl and Briggs 29 Cabriolet quarters. Its almost as if they are from the same body and not, from three different ones.

 

As stated earlier I want to run suicide doors so I flipped them around to see what it looked like. I was hoping I could simply reverse the doors and build the b pillars to take the hinges, but despite the image, there are very different shapes in the leading and trailing edges on the doors.

 

This will give you a better idea of what I mean. The trailing edge on the door is not straight like the leading edge, so there is a gap at the bottom and top of the cowl.

 

To remedy this situation I would need to duplicate the hinges for the trailing edge of the door, and fabricate a B Pillar that mirrors the layout of the A pillar.

 

This is all doable. The main section in the A pillars appear to be 16 gauge or heavier. I could replicate this without too much trouble with the exception of the flange. To remedy this I would weld flange to the cabriolet b pillar and hide the heavier flange behind it.

Whatever option I take, do not want to cut out the original hinges from the cowl or the doors as i am not sure if I would be legally allowed to get it street registered with this configuration.

It is getting harder and to get street rods and hot rods registered in my state. From what my local rod builder has told me, our state transport department has outlawed the construction of reproduction based hot rods for street use, that means if it does not have an original body or chassis they will not even look at it.

While mine meets that criteria, they are cracking down on what kind of modifications are allowed so anything i do will have to be easily reversible. If this ever gets to the stage where I want to get it engineered, I can expect a fight on my hands. That is a long way off if ever, so until then I will continue to build this up, the way I want to.

 

ford used those quarters from '29 to '31... frugal.

 

I really like this look, and it will take some time to build all the inner structure. The rear quarter door jamb area is the weakest in a stock body, hanging doors off them would be a nightmare IMO. That longer Fordor cowl is really nice looking, thanks for the update. Bob

 

IMO...Do not suicide the doors... ask your buddies that have them... they look cool but you will always worry about them opening... has happened to me twice in a '33- '34... just my $0.02...

 

Your mock up looks great! Please pardon my ignorance, but is it impossible to work with your regulators from the beginning so that any modifications you actually perform are "preapproved" by the state?

 

Model A doors taper down top to bottom, about 1/2"... I thought it was even on each end... maybe not chev34's pic may have shown that the taper is on the rear only... thanks chev34, learning every day...

 

You speak logic, unfortunately logic is something that does not work in my State. The fact that we do not have a national department of motor transport makes it even worse.

Our state government is becoming more oppressive every year and is cracking down on civil liberties across the board. The truth is they don't like our culture or way of life and are trying to regulate the movement out of existence.

They actually disbanded our department motor transport several years ago and created something called ROADS AND MARITIME SERVICES to cut costs.

I have thought about contacting them and asking if they have a specialist, that can assist me with the regulations as I build it, but I am sure if I went into my local RMS Department and outlined what I want, I would be met with a blank stare and shrugged shoulders.

 

Hey Guys.

I finally got the first stage of the fender buck completed today. It was a very tedious process due to the need of keeping the dimensions accurate to within 1mm.