The two A frames above would be the ticket. $200 for the boxed one!? No hesitation on my part. Leavesd a lot of you budget in tact for other parts.
If that is your Model A, what do you need another frame for? It's got perfect patina, just needs a dropped axle and a de-arched rear spring. What's it got for running gear?
The running gear is all stock I'm not changing the body at all. I love the look. I want another frame to lowwer and flathead v8 so I can keep enjoying it until I get the new drive train done then just transfer the body over.
If you want another frame to build while you keep that nice roadster together, don't start with somebody else's junk. Find a nice frame for a few hundred, than pick and chose the individual axles and such that you really want. Buying the pile in the first post isn't going to help you any. NEVER trust anybody else's mounts and welds. NEVER. Always look them over carefully for poor penetration and cracks. And chances are somebody else's motor mount is not going to be in the right place for your situation anyway. But here's the kicker for the whole scheme: what are you going to do about the title? Once you have a new chassis and engine under that body, none of your numbers will match your title paperwork. Insurance won't cover that car. Nobody will really want to buy it if they know the situation. Bad idea. If I were in your shoes, I'd buy the axles and brakes and work on them cleaning them up and making any modifications. Then buy whatever engine/trans you want and build it. Then next winter pull the body off and switch the drivetrain out before spring.
I must be nobody i'd buy that roadster in a heartbeat and wouldn't care in the slightest what frame it had. i'd make it mine and insure it to boot.
My thoughts were this was already set up for a flat 8 running gear steering and juice brakes so I thought it would save a lot of time fabricating and hunting parts.
From what I can see, I would not trust ANY of the 'work' done on that chassis. (Just to back up what 37kid said also)
IF you get into an accident (your fault or not) and the car gets inspected in any way by the police, DMV or insurance company, you WILL be spending some time in jail and broke to boot.
what planet are you living on where you go to jail for building a car with a non matching numbers frame
I agree with Alchemy get all of the parts together, once you have them all, tear down your car and go to it.
I know two guys that did time for falsifying vehicle identification numbers, and two others who had to lawyer up, big-time to avoid a stay in the graybar hotel. These weren't just in California, either. I am a California licensed and bonded vehicle verifier, and I am bound by law to report any anomalies that I see. If I see that your numbers do not match, CHP WILL be getting a call, and yes, I look at ALL of them. Iowa may not have the manpower or time to prosecute you for this, but that is one hell of a gamble. Other states do have the time, money, and manpower to do so, and they will. For perspective, California has more than ten-times the number of registered motor vehicles as Iowa has people.
I'm curious about this as back in the day engines and transmissions carried the VIN also and it was common practice for engine rebuilders to have an exchange program some would grind off numbers and restamp Your numbers in the pad , that is why KR Wilson ford stamps exist , I believe the same was done on old Harley cases So what if this 30 roadster has a nasty bend or cracks in the frame and he wants to replace it with a cherry one to make it safe and road worthy again? I understand the letter of the law and the thinking and understand why the laws are in place for theft ect. But sometimes they are just old cars with parts that need replacing and following the letter of the law becomes plain stupid
Stupid, or not, not following the laws of your particular state, province, or country, in regards to the proper replacement process puts you on the wrong side of the law, and could cost you more than just your car. Learning and following your local laws is not a hard thing to do. Why go about things the hard way?
Just for education if I was in California, had a factory stock 1932 Ford Frame, Factory stock 1929 Ford roadster body, and a 1956 Small block Chevy motor, and built a finished Hot Rod out of it what would I register it as? Bob
You have not given any insight on the engine exchange senerio according to you all that was against the law and you would have to report them on something that was done 50 years ago?
I guess a guy can always do like they do in contruction in CA and leave one wall standing cut around the vin and replace the rest of the frame around it
I have a 31 A pickup on an original 32 frame, don't live in Cali, but because the VIN was stamped on top of the frame just in front of the firewall, it is registered as a 1932 "automobile" in Alabama. Granted...we do not have a very restrictive DMV here!! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
It does not matter if it was 50-years, or 5-minutes. The vehicle gets registered as what the factory stamped numbers on the frame says it is, regardless of what body is on it. Those numbers absolutely have to match the supporting documents. If they do not, or those numbers appear to have been stamped after the fact, it goes into CHP's hands. If it is believed that the serial number was stamped with intent-to-deceive (e.g. brand new frame, old serial number), you can be charged with, up to and including, a felony, even if the car has not been reported stolen. In the OP's case, if he is driving a car that has a frame serial number that does not match the supporting documents, and he has an accident that requires an investigation by a law enforcement official, and a forensic inspector from his insurance company (and yes, they do indeed do this. I know people who have done this for a living), and the mismatched number is found, his insurance policy will be made void on the spot, leaving him on-the-hook for any and all damages/death/etc. If it is believed that he obtained insurance with intent-to-deceive, he could be subject to civil suit by HIS insurance company. The insurance companies are NOT ON YOUR SIDE! If they can get out of paying a claim, they will. In the event that the car is stolen, he will not be able to recover it, as he will not be able to present supporting documents that prove ownership. In the event that someone else fabricates a serial number that matches the one he has not titled and registered, and that person titles and registers that serial number, both vehicles are subject to impound, until on is proven the real one (and the other one is kept by the cops), should he try to title and register the other serial number.
Ok, must be tough on the cops if that vehicle is then stolen, looking for a '32 Ford that looks totally different than a 1929 Ford. Bob
The police do not investigate vehicle theft. In may cities, you fill out your police report online, and wait to see if it ends up on someone's property, or in impounded, while dealing with your insurance company (provided you have theft insurance). They do not even flag vehicles as stolen for for traffic enforcement. As I have proven, it is possible to get a few parking tickets on a vehicle while it is out of your possession, and in the hands of a thief.
It's a manpower issue, Bob. It has nothing to do whatsoever to what you are alluding to. California has over 32,000,000 registered motor vehicles, spread out over 163,696 mi², is ~900-miles top-to-bottom, and has a population of ~39,250,000 people. Just the city of Los Angeles, not the metro area, not the basin, just LA proper has a higher population than the entire state of Connecticut. Try to imagine Connecticut being one single unified school district, and one single municipal government. People from nano-states have no idea of what scale actually means, and what effect that has on law enforcement. If you lined up the Northern border of California with Ridgefield Connecticut, to drive to the Southern border, you would have to drive to Florida.
Wow, that's a really nice roadster, very cool old paint! I'd leave that roadster together and collect the parts to put a v8 into it while you enjoy it with the banger. Either use that same frame once you have everything or get another nice bare frame to build a separate V8 chassis. Vern Tardel's book on how to build a traditional Hotrod will help you lots for what you're wanting to do. Concerning the frame under that 26/27 t body, that is a waste of your time and money and the only value you will get if you buy it is learning how not to do things and that what seemed like a shortcut only cost you time and money. I have setup some Model A frames with V8's and built well over 100 32 ford frames. If you would like any advice or help, just pm me. Just to clarify, don't waste your time with that frame. Happy Hotrodding
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