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Projects Fonti's KohlerKustom built 32 3w Coupe

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by thunderbirdesq, Feb 14, 2015.

  1. thunderbirdesq
    Joined: Feb 15, 2006
    Posts: 7,092

    thunderbirdesq
    Member

    I admit it... I have been slacking in the hamb department... I moved from Buffalo, NY back to my home state of PA last year to start building hot rods full time and my life has been a blur ever since. It has been easier to just zap a photo to IG and move on rather than post an actual build thread over here but I have decided to kick myself in the ass and make it happen. Most of these pics have been robbed from my IG site so if you're following me there you'll probably be bored to tears with this thread.

    What started off as a "freshen up" and a chassis swap on an existing model A coupe for my pal @fonti has morphed into a ground-up 32 coupe build. I just want to start this off by saying how grateful I am to have the opportunity to build this car. So psyched to have a project of this caliber be the first finished car out of my shop. It's gonna be boss! We are shooting to have this buggy finished up in time to kick sand at TROG2015.

    Started with a pile of rails and crossmembers... 32 rails, model a front and rear, a 34 center. This chassis will be unboxed and all riveted construction, no visible welding once she's finished.
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    Into the jig, lining everything up...
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    A detail shot of the rear crossmember/framerail joint.

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    The frame is kicked up about 2.5" out back, I recountoured and sectioned the framerails to give axle clearance and also avoid a C notch. I call it a C-not!

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    All crossmembers in and fit, it's very subtle but this frame is swept up about 2.5" out back and 1.5" up front. The sweep joints are placed between the mounting rivets for the ends of the x member. VERY strong with extra reinforcement at each joint... now to build the engine and trans mounts and center box...
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    Flattened model A front crossmember about 2", integral engine mounts trimmed from a junk '39 front crossmember...
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    Trans mounts... metal origami.

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    I used a set of '38 pedals modified for hydraulic brake actuation and a '56 ford pickup master cylinder mounted to the 34 X member. These are pretty nice for this X member, you get the benefit of a '39 style clutch pedal but no hacking the x member up for clearance.

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    Bottom plate with front wishbone mount and trans mounts mocked up...

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    Bottom view of the wishbone plate, this will be mounted with 3/8" bolts making it easy to remove the trans from under the vehicle.

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    Down on all fours for the first time!
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    Last edited: Feb 15, 2015
  2. thunderbirdesq
    Joined: Feb 15, 2006
    Posts: 7,092

    thunderbirdesq
    Member

    I dropped a nice 33 axle and went to work fitting it up... put my shop gnome to work dropping those steering arms, haha!
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    Here you can see the rear wishbone mocked up, the middle legs for the X member, and the top plate.

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    Gummi bears!
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    Rear upper shock mounts...
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    that's all for now... more to come soon!
     
    Tudor and lothiandon1940 like this.
  3. Tony
    Joined: Dec 3, 2002
    Posts: 7,350

    Tony
    Member

    Andy, look's fan....freakin....tastic!!
    Im a detail nut and love the all rivet look!!
    And as extremely nice all the work is and i'm sure will be, the "gummi bears" stole the show for me!
    Something so subtle, yet so in your face...dig?

    Very nice man.
    Tony
     
  4. Fedcospeed
    Joined: Aug 17, 2008
    Posts: 2,011

    Fedcospeed
    Member

    Tell Matt to pick up the pace.You must be paying him with BBQ.You could always come back "home" to the land of snow.Keep the pics coming buddy!! Stay warm. Geoff said HEY
     

  5. Fordgasser1
    Joined: Jan 20, 2009
    Posts: 1,320

    Fordgasser1
    Member
    from Jersey

    Awesome work Andy! Love the little details!
     
  6. Nice work..and innovative as well.
     
  7. Retribution
    Joined: Aug 11, 2009
    Posts: 662

    Retribution
    Member
    from Western PA

    I seen this roller in person when dropping off my 27 roadster body. Great looking piece love your work!
     
    thunderbirdesq likes this.
  8. fatkoop
    Joined: Nov 17, 2009
    Posts: 713

    fatkoop
    Member

    Really nice work!
     
    thunderbirdesq likes this.
  9. onekoolkat1950
    Joined: Mar 23, 2008
    Posts: 1,865

    onekoolkat1950
    Member

    Love it so far. Your builds never disappoint.
     
    thunderbirdesq likes this.
  10. big duece
    Joined: Jul 28, 2008
    Posts: 6,830

    big duece
    Member
    from kansas

    Nice work Andy, keep us updated!
     
  11. T&A Flathead
    Joined: Apr 28, 2007
    Posts: 1,985

    T&A Flathead
    Member

    The chassis looks right on!
     
  12. I have been watching on ig and fb, good to see a consolidated build thread. Cool details.
     
  13. el Roach
    Joined: Mar 6, 2003
    Posts: 588

    el Roach
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Oh yeah!! Looking good Andy.
     
  14. hoop
    Joined: Mar 21, 2007
    Posts: 643

    hoop
    Member

    Very nice work!
     
  15. 55willys
    Joined: Dec 7, 2012
    Posts: 1,711

    55willys
    Member

    Nice. The riveted look on a custom built frame and attention to detail giving it the factory look is what I am after on my frame as well. Looks great. Jim Ford
     
    sko_ford likes this.
  16. JeffreyJames
    Joined: Jun 13, 2007
    Posts: 16,628

    JeffreyJames
    Member
    from SUGAR CITY

    My my my Mr Kohler!!! Looks top notch dude!!!

    I might just pick your brain about that 38 pedal conversion you did there. That's really trick
     
  17. thunderbirdesq
    Joined: Feb 15, 2006
    Posts: 7,092

    thunderbirdesq
    Member

    Thanks guys, having a blast with it!

    Front shock/headlight bar setup in the works...
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    Ebrake handle and bracket mounted...
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    Ebrake equalizer bar I made...
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    So... after a few phone calls, I found an original 3w body not too far from home. My pal Jesse had it squirreled away in NY state and, luckily enough, I was able to talk him out of it. Thanks bud! It's definitely not without its issues, but compared to several other original bodies that were on the market at the time we decided it was the best candidate for the build and pulled the trigger. It came with a huge pile of parts to rebuild it so that was a big plus as well. The bad news is it was channeled HARD and the rockers were raised up on the doors, as was often done.

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    We just had to throw the body on to get a quick look-see once we brought it home...
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    Last edited: Feb 16, 2015
  18. thunderbirdesq
    Joined: Feb 15, 2006
    Posts: 7,092

    thunderbirdesq
    Member

    So we sent the body off to the blaster and a few days later, we got to work playing "fill-in-the-blank"...
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    bct and Studebakermatt like this.
  19. What a great thread, love the work!!
     
  20. thunderbirdesq
    Joined: Feb 15, 2006
    Posts: 7,092

    thunderbirdesq
    Member

    More forming and fitting... I left the bottom of these quarter tails a touch long on the bottom as I think we're gonna shorten the tail a bit and run a rolled rear pan.

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    This was a fun project, A pillar bottoms, made out of two pieces just like the originals... still got a few bumps and holes to add, but I'm really happy with how these turned out. My buddy Matt (turkeyjerk) built these with some guidance from me. they've got all the right curves in all the right places... He killed it!

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    And in place... a few minor adjustments and they're ready to install.

    [​IMG]
     
  21. thunderbirdesq
    Joined: Feb 15, 2006
    Posts: 7,092

    thunderbirdesq
    Member

    And here's where we're at now... both doors are hung, swinging and line up well... anyone have a pair of 3w latches???

    [​IMG]

    You may have noticed in some of the pics that someone cut the top off this car at some point... guess they wanted a roadster and then changed their mind? This appeared to be done pretty well, but once we squared up the bottom of the car it became clear that the top was welded on slightly crooked. The doors became tight at the upper corners. One side about 3/8" higher than the other. So since it's getting a haircut anyhow, the door tops were removed to line up the doors from the beltline down. I'll be removing the top and refitting it next week, getting rid of the fugly crooked seam left over from the coupester mishap. Then it's door bottoms, floor pans, a top chop and a few other minor repairs and we should have a bitchin' 32 3w body in pretty damn nice shape!! That puts me at about 2.5 weeks for the metalwork on the body, right in line with my initial estimate.
     
    Studebakermatt and 383deuce like this.
  22. Looks awesome Andy!
     
  23. Thanks for posting,gotta remember there are a lot of old frats like myself that don't use fb or ig.

    Very nice work. HRP
     
    wbrw32 likes this.
  24. captain scarlet
    Joined: Jun 11, 2008
    Posts: 2,429

    captain scarlet
    Member
    from Detroit

  25. hammered30
    Joined: Sep 6, 2009
    Posts: 152

    hammered30
    Member
    from west aus

    Nice work thanks for posting
     
  26. Mart
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 4,893

    Mart
    Member

    An interesting build - thanks for writing it up for the non instagram types.

    Mart.
     
  27. Andy, You are the man!........This is looking good to me. Sorry to hear about the top being on crooked, I think I know a little bit of how that looks to you. Mine was on crooked also and it is a lot of work to fix someone's screw up from back in the day. But I know you will get it right and no one will ever know the difference. How much of a hair cut is it going to get??? Glad to see ya opened the top back to the way Henry made it.
    Signed up for this one...
     
  28. ago
    Joined: Oct 12, 2005
    Posts: 2,199

    ago
    Member
    from pgh. pa.

    Need some more info on the raised rear frame kickup? Does not look like the subrails changed?
     
  29. Flat-Foot
    Joined: Jul 1, 2010
    Posts: 1,710

    Flat-Foot
    Member
    from Locust NC

    So awesome!! Way to go man!
     

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