When is an A-model to nice to hot rod?

This model A was owned by a 86 yr old man that had owned it for the past 48yrs.he had Totally restored everything except the Shell and interior.The restoration was sooo Nice I was able to sell the Chassis for my Total Purchase.MINT Body at $0 Cost..had purchased over 10 other Model A's from all over the country side,All needing Patch panels..Totally the Best way to Go is to purchase a Nice one and sell off the running gear,Keep the Shell..

 

Mixed emotions here. I have a restored stocker. I have hot rodded them too. I guess if it is really nice and complete, don't. If an old restoration needing a re-do, maybe. If just a decent body, OK. Never RATTY

 

Interesting thread. Lots of different opinions.

My take is; "Build what YOU like; and Run what Ya brung!"

 

Many of those old amateur restorations leave a lot to be desired, shoddy patch jobs, old incorrect replacement parts, etc. Those would take a lot to make them into a nice stocker and make candidates to make a hot rod of. I'd have a hard time if it was a nice restoration or unmolested survivor myself. I got my A pickup in the mid 70's when I was 13, it was already butchered up and had to be pieced together, in those days the restorations guys didn't want anything to do with an A like that unless there were usable parts. My A coupe which I got two years ago was an old uncompleted 1970's father & son resto project, There was so much incorrect it doesn't bother me to build it my way.

 

To the original poster's question.....Doesn't exist. I would attain the nicest A I could and do what I want with it AND sleep like a baby.

 

If a museum needed it, it should have bought it. If you wanted a restoration, you should have bought it.

Nothing is too nice to cut.

 

"Purests" (if they exist here on the HAMB) are going to want to kill me but here it goes... the answer to the original post is NEVER! I will, and have done a hotrod theme with anything I can get my hands on...cars, motorcycles, guitars (unless it was a '38 pre-war Martin), you name it. I would hotrod any object, old or new. It could be a boat, a plane, a chainsaw, a firearm...hek, I would hotrod a battleship if I could! Hot Rods are in my blood, my inner soul...along with some sort of mental illness!
...robber

 

I took a completely original and running '36 Chevy Suburban Carryall and hot rodded it.
Boy did I hear it from the 'tiquers, but its what I wanted to do. I spoke to a 'tiquer today who has a restored original '36 Suburban and wasn't too upset when I told him.

So do what you want to any model A, there's millions of them still around!

 

Isn't this a hot rod forum? Hot rod it!

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Just don't do it to an original 32 Ford. You'll never hear the end of it on this board. Ha!

 

Hmmmmm...

 

I have a stock model A and I enjoy driving it the way it is, but I can also really respect tastefully done hot rods. Some of them are functional art, and others are rolling junk piles of danger. I'd like to think most on this board will be completed as the former not the latter. Personally I think incomplete cars, or older restorations sporting a lot of incorrect and poor reproduction parts are good candidates. If its truly unrestored, complete and in decent condition and either driving or wouldn't take much find another car. If its a well done restoration, look elsewhere. There's a lot of readily available solid cars in the gray area out outside of original and well done restoration. Don't part out a complete car just because it has decent paint and / or an interior. You can find a solid car without that and make it your own with a good paint and interior after the rest of the design and engineering is sorted out. JMHO In the end though its your car so do as you please. If someone is so worried about their stock model A turning into a hot rod they shouldn't sell it in the first place or finish the restoration themselves.

 

Exactly what I was thinking. The last thing you want is to be digging out inch-thick bondo and chicken wire repairs. I'd rather start with a scruffy original car than a restored one, unless I'd been able to view it all from the inside out.

 

My pickup is too nice to go "all the way". Not a patch in the cab, all Henry steel, one paint job on a frame that only has the gratuitous pitting around the radiator, not speck of wear on the axles and bones. The running board arms were pitted too. The box had 1 small hole already repaired, 2 holes that bolt the wood to the sides are a bit too big. Past that, the 32,000 miles it shows almost looks to be the real deal. I guess it'll be a hopped up banger vs a full on V-8 hot rod. Wheels n tires, move the suspension around a bit, but keep it's soul. It could be a "Henry Award" winner, but I don't want that either. The next guy can decide it's final fate when that day comes.

 

It's yours - do what you want with it & the hell with anyone else - let them "preserve" originals if that melts their butter

 

I picked up a '29 Special Coupe earlier this summer. Nice older restoration, all Henry steel, great mechanicals, purrs down the road at 50. I see it as automotive history and will find another one that is not-so-nice to make a banger hot rod.

 

This is the 29 I just bought. Haven't finalized all the plans yet but a 3 1/2" - 4" chop is definitely in it's future!

 

Model A's are in abundant supply. As long as the car isn't a rare limited production model I say rod that bitch!

 

Never, It’s a lot easier to start with a good body then one that is all rusted up.

 

My sentiments exactly.

 

Best of both worlds?

 

Would be unfair 4 me to really say,why,cuz I never had anything but wrecks or pertty bad off old cars. So they needed a lot of fixing anyway. Fact is I built my own rods cuz I could not buy a really nice car,and didn't think that would be as cool as building my own anyway.

 

Very well done joey.

 

If its a 100 point restoration using rare NOS parts or if it's a time warp original with 25.000 miles don't worry, you won't be able to afford it anyway. The usual circa 10K cars are neither top restorations or 100% original.
If you should accidently stumble on a gem worth more to the resto people, then flip it and find another. There are plenty of older restorations coming on the market. The Model-A guys are leaving us in droves. Really sad.
Ed

 

if you have to look at it and ask that, it probably is. but; keep in mind; there's a load of older restorations out there that may LOOK great but are hiding a lot of questionable work underneath. in the sixties and early seventies there were a LOT of "restored" A's that were not much more than a slap of bondo and a quick respray, with a JC Whitney interior kit... these are the ones you can knock the price down on when you point that crap out. beware, too, of seventies rebuilds... a LOAD of cheap restoration parts came from Taiwan and India in those days and found their way into many cars. motor mounts, water pumps, brake parts, etc...

 

Round these parts, White Lightnin' (polyester) comes in 55 gal drums!
Most 80 year old cars are earth-bound.

 

I think the question should be, when is a restored Model A too nice to rat rod. I don't think there should ever be a problem taking a restored Model A that someone is done with, and you making it your own car, no matter if you use all the original equipment or not. Even if you only use the original body and frame and modify them, you are still preserving it. It lives on, with another life as your car. Rod on!

 

This 30 coupe are going under som grinding, roof chop, fenderless, hoodless, 55 corvette 265 engine

=)

 

The old dudes in my area are having heart attacks knowing the fate of this car...I've met one guy that wants to buy it so the car doesn't get hot rodded.


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I follow my dads rules, from when his name was on the title,"Don't drill any holes, and no V8's". Speed equipment on an "A" or "B" engine were OK, as were juice brakes, dual tail lights, and 16" wires. My 29 coupe was a great survivor in the 70's when it was restored. Today it is still a great survivor, with a never rusted body, original straight fenders, and original rumble seat upholstery, original paint under one repaint job. Cutting up an A 400 should be a national CRIME.