Ford Model A Tudor Modern Twist on a Classic

[mongocanfly]

Ahhhhh...the joy's of building a hotrod..

[gigamanx]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Ahhhhh...the joy's of building a hotrod..

I justify the work by thinking, gosh I'll be much faster at this on the next one It's a sickness.

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work on it and that firewall looks slick!!! That stinks about having to redo it all but you will know on the next one for sure!

[gigamanx]

Just had to post this update...wheels and tires arrived!!! A work of art from Rally America wheels in California. Also follow up from my previous post, already got the tank fixed, suspension fixed, and seating position is just right! A big win for me was that I had done all this fabrication based off the measurements of the tire online. Fit perfectly!

[mongocanfly]

Looks wicked..!!

[HAULIN' IT]

Oh Man, That thing is going to be crazy! Keep us posted on the progress. Lorne

[Ol Blue K20]

Nice!!

[gigamanx]

Happily plugging away in the garage. Getting more comfortable with hammer and dolly techniques to form sheet metal. Recently got the radiator installed, fuel tank cap arrived and ready to put in, and most recently a dashboard went in to make it look even more like a real car!





Disappointed with the huge gap I need between the radiator and motor. There's just nowhere to put the lower hose without hitting the i-beam suspension.

[gigamanx]

One more cause I got my gas cap from Nystrom Performance in NY. This thing is amazing

[Dieselwrencher]

I love those wires! I really wanted to put colored/ss wires on my 40 but man they get pricey so I bowed down. Haha Very nice gas cap!

[gigamanx]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

I love those wires! I really wanted to put colored/ss wires on my 40 but man they get pricey so I bowed down. Haha Very nice gas cap!

It was a pivotal item that made me want this style of open wheel car. Yes definitely was a painful purchase and still somehow around the same price of the Coker tires alone to wrap them with. Being open wheel, I've been spending more than I'd like on some of the steering and brake components.

Still plugging away. Had some set backs recently as hot rodding goes....

Installed steering column. WAY too much angle on the universal joints so I can't turn the wheel without heavy binding. Unfortuunately the only fix is to cut the steering box mount off and reposition it higher. That'll also affect the motor mount location I think... ugh




Installed rear wheel spacers to nudge the tires off the body a bit more. Found out a 1" spacer leaves lug nuts sticking out. I don't know how to fix this problem other than cutting the end off the lugs and getting low profile lug nuts or something.



Pedals are now in and fit well, but my left foot has nowhere to go haha. literally no space next to the brake pedal for my other leg. Problem is that I build the trans tunnel tight against the transmission, but its a 4L80e, so a bit large for this car. Now I'm stuck with having to drive with one leg on the pedal and one leg tucked in. Maybe I'll learn to brake with my left foot?

[Dieselwrencher]

Have you seen the rack steering box speedway is selling now? Maybe that will help your u joint angle issues?

[gigamanx]

Like this one? Might be an idea....Extra $350 bones might make me try extra hard to make my vega steering box I bought from them fit lol

https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Unist...xoCK3IQAvD_BwE

[gigamanx]

Really wasn't happy with my rear quarter panels once the wheels arrived, so I cut out all my work and thought it over again. Can't buy this stuff, so took some sheet metal and starting cutting...

Before using original Model A inner fender...


After using Giga's custom rear quarter for channeled Ford.


Even made a video
https://youtu.be/QwnkcvidEnI

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by gigamanx

Really wasn't happy with my rear quarter panels once the wheels arrived, so I cut out all my work and thought it over again. Can't buy this stuff, so took some sheet metal and starting cutting...

Before using original Model A inner fender...


After using Giga's custom rear quarter for channeled Ford.


Even made a video
https://youtu.be/QwnkcvidEnI

I like it!!!!!

[mongocanfly]

That looks great..!

[Dieselwrencher]

I like that a lot!

[gigamanx]

Floor pans, Lokar emergency brake and cables. Now to figure out how to get the body off the frame without screwing up all the hard work!

Before...


After...

[Dieselwrencher]

Very nice work on it all! Can you use 2 4x4s and 4 buddies or 2 engine hoists? I used 2 engine hoists to lift the body for my 40.

[gigamanx]

2 Months with nothing touched while I wait for the sun to come out. Decided to roll the car out and look it over to figure out where I left things off. Most of the body work is done so its time to consider short strand fiber filler and bondo to straighten it all up. Looks incomplete in photos, but most of the parts and hard stuff have been mocked up and tested. Now for the blow apart for paint and the final building gets to begin!!



Bit shorter than the F150 in the driveway.

[mongocanfly]

Looks good!...you could just about park it under the f150...

[Dieselwrencher]

It looks awesome! You're getting close!

[gigamanx]

Thanks everyone! Mad props to Posies Rod and Custom, my local hotrod shop. The paint guy spent 45 minutes with me explaining everything I need to do from metal to clear coat free of charge. I was allowed to take pictures of the products they use and showed me in-process cars in the shop. We talked metallics and tri-coats (strongly advising aganst tri-coats for beginner painters). I couldn't believe how nice they were!

In short, the steps they use are:
1. sand 180 on bare metal then wax and grease remover
2. Cover welded areas with duraglass 24030 short strand
3. Sand 35/40 grit to cut it down. Having scuffs and low spots is ok as it'll be covered with filler
4. Cover full panel with Evercoat Rage
5. Guide coat
6. Sand with 120-180, stop if you hit bare metal
7. Fix pin holes and low spots with more filler, guide coat, sand until flat
8. Two coats feather-fill G2. Don't let it set in your gun or throw gun away.
9. guide coat
10. Sand with 220
At this point I'm told the primer should lay on perfectly flat if everything was done right.
11. Primer/sealer 2 coats
12. Guide coat
13. Wet sand 320 grit

Lots of examples online of the same process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgcJ3oPaYQ8
Search "Bad Chad" who has a great way of explaining the process of "flooding" panels

[gigamanx]

Two big jobs knocked off the list this weekend! Installing the visor and above door panels for the last time, I had to seal the back side because I can't get to it through the 1x2 cage that replaces all the old wood that used to hold these things together. Also knocked out drip rails! Got some Speedway 1932 Ford drip rails that fit perfect with some professional bending-over-the-knee metal shaping and a torch

[Dieselwrencher]

The visor and drip rail install look awesome! Are you planning on driving it this summer?