Thanks guys. Should be picking up the car this weekend. Then I will wire it, put a floor in and start the driving. Here are some shots all put together. AV8 Coupe by Malibob, on Flickr AV8 Coupe by Malibob, on Flickr AV8 Coupe by Malibob, on Flickr here is mine with some other of Ben's work No captions needed! by Malibob, on Flickr The steel wheels will be off and 16" or 18" wires will be used instead, haven't decided which set I will run yet though.
That really looks nice Bob.Perfect. That Ben sure got his act together. He can do mine next. What is his phone number? Bob.........................
Since i just now saw this thread, ill chime in a little! A few months ago i was heading north on 79 coming home from North Carolina. About 25 mins from home i saw this little Nissan truck towing a model a coupe with some seriously ugly wheels.. The type of wheels that make that specific car stick in your head. Then a few days later i was on the HAMB and that same car popped up! So i got to talking with bob about the model a. I was giving him some pointers for building a hot rod.. A few months passed and he decided to start transforming the car. It ended up we struck a deal that i would go ahead and to the car. So we started with a cherry original frame, a 59a that i had laying in the garage, a T5 and some parts i sourced out from a few local fellas. 9-10 weeks ago i picked up bobs model a from his home.. It ended up being the trip from hell, causing 2 flat tires on my enclosed trailer, and an ice storm to top it off. I didn't end up getting the car home till a full day later. I quickly dismantled the car and shoved the original drive line outside. Weeks of busting ass on this chassis, blasting and painting, setting the body on and off fitting everything in place. It was ready for paint! so we cleaned it all real well, shot it in some industrial black enamel, and it was time to reassemble! by this time, 8 weeks had gone by, and i was getting ready to move to the Charlotte NC area. so this car had to be done!! a week of sleepless nights in the garage really paid off. I rolled it outside, turned the key and hit the button... after 45 + years of the 59a sitting, it came to life. I shoved the clutch in and backed it out of the garage for some pictures and to get a good look of how it actually sat. It was a fun build, bob had a great car to start with, and we had a good idea of the stance and look we wanted. And in my opinion, we nailed it. The car looks clean, reserved, but still defiantly a hot rod! Enjoy your model a Bob, and hopefully if i am ever back up in PA, we will have to cruise some back roads! a few of the cars details: 4 inch model a dropped axle reverse eye front spring T rear spring 36 banjo 4:11 gears hotrod works open drive kit custom rear ladder bars T5 transmission 42-48 backing plates 40 drums tube shocks f1 steering rebuilt 59a truck motor
I enjoyed the progression of this thread. September 2014. Got a nice stocker model a. Going to do just a little work to make it a better driver. Spring 2015, flathead, t-5, hydraulic brakes, dropped axle etc. Much better driver now I bet. That's how they all start. Just going to do a few little things........
Ha, yeah went off track from original thoughts. My plan was to build this all myself little by little. See I got 2 little kids at home and a 3rd on the way so time to build cars is kind of a thing of the past for me. When I first spoke with Ben we each had something to offer each other so I figured it best to give him the keys. I guess it shaved a couple years off of my original plan but how can I complain about that.
Got the wiring pretty much wrapped up I think (took the hood off to make that easier) So next is the remaking a floor and getting a shifter. I think I need to move the gas pedal over a little too but have to see if anything is affected if I torch it and bend it closer to driver side. Here is another picture at the donut shop! Got to make time for donuts. The wire wheels are at the powder coater right now- hope to have them back by the end of the week.
HRP is absolutely right here way easier to build a car from an original stocker then from pieces. The real deal old timers always told me to start with the best body I could afford it just makes the build easier and the outcome is almost always better. @Malibob looks like you got a winner there. You need to think long and hard before you buy wheels and tires, especially bolt pattern, if you are planning a modern rear and brakes for example anything that you throw on it now won't fit later. Bit good score there for sure, really neat little coupe.
I agree with the other guys, start with the best you can afford, and go all in! And it will turn out awesome, and this truly did! But I got to ask, why do you wanna change them fine wheels? Add small Moon's on a be proud of what you got It looks so fine.
@volvobrynk I think these are the wheels he was going to change. The A wires were OK but just a little on the flimsy side and you have very few choices for tires on them. I sure like the coupe and I am thinking that if the other pics are where it is at now it is doing real well in our world.
I bought those '40 steels when I was thinking about going fenderless. Since I decided to keep the fenders I am going to run '35 wires with black walls and keep my eyes peeled for some bigs and littles for those steelies. I LOVED the A wheels- even more so after I had those powder coated black but you are right, with the juice brakes they aren't the best wheel for the car cause they are flimsy. I think you guys will agree when the '35 wires are on they will look better than the steelies though. I have decided that the steelies look better on fenderless and the wires look better with fenders. If I get whitewalls for the steelies and some nice V8 hub caps though I think they will be a nice wheel to throw on now and again to change things up. And if not- maybe they will give me the motivation to finally build a roadster. Here is what she looked like with the A wheels in black, it was something special for sure. I will find any excuse to #drive. Nice enough out today and the boys wanted to #cruise so we took the #modela out for a nice evening ride. #ford #1931 #driveyourshit #hamb #traditional #hotrod by Malibob, on Flickr
I had a friend that was an old guy when I was in high school, he was really into T speedsters and always said that A wheels were good wheels for light little speedsters but anything that made much torque ( think V-8 60 here) and was heavy like an A coupe really needed bent spoke Kelsey's. He didn't like steelies at all he said they were for granny cars LOL he was one strange duck for sure but he was a walking encyclopedia for GOW Job era hot rods. I am not afraid to say this more then once, really like the coupe, steelies or wires doesn't matter to me it is one fine coupe.
I like where this is goin. A little here & there & keep it drivin. That's the way I'd like to go on my original A, b/c I seem to get them so far apart, projects get drawn out in yrs. Seems like more fun to make smaller modifications and maintain drivable in motivational steps.
That is actually the way that a lot of cars used to get built and I have certainly built a few that way in my time. Used to be that you owned a car, it took you to school or work, to the grocery store and the hot dawg stand or the drive in on Friday night. Very traditional approach to a very traditional coupe.
Here are some shots with the spokes on. Made a world of difference to me. She now looks like a classy lady.
That is the way she should look, like an everyday A bone and nothing to let the casual passerby know that it has the heart of a lion. Looks good. Sleepy A bone.
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