My New '29 A Sedan!

I finally worked out a deal with a fellow for the '29 A Sedan carcass shown below. It's rough. Real rough. But it's mine! My brother and I will pick it up either Friday or Saturday evening, hopefully, and I should have some additional photos then.

I'm the poorest of the poor rat rodders, so don't look for a detailed build summary as I imagine this project will take many years to complete. Hopefully I'll be able to drive it at least once before I die though

Plans are sketchy right now, but it looks like I'm gonna have to find a better passenger door (one that doesn't look like Swiss cheese), and the header piece that connects the body right above the passenger door. Then I'll decide how much chopping, channeling, sectioning I may want to do (or need to do). I've even been thinking about sectioning the body to convert the sedan into a pickup... maybe even something like an extended cab.

I might also try to find a cheap front leaf just so I can re-attach the axle and move the chassis around easier. This will be a "shade tree" project at my folks' farm. I'll set the body on saw horses for the time being. I know it ain't much, but it's a start and I'm excited nonetheless!

(second photo shows the doors, spoke wheels, and extra window frame that are also included. And for the record, that's a '29 truck on the trailer in the background with a Buick 231 V6 and 700R4 that the seller wanted $3,500 for, and the yellow Ford is a '52 F1 that the seller was asking $650 for - no engine or trans)






Fred B.

Well you're off and running now, Congrats! You have a good start on a teriffic project, but for my 2 cents, I would keep it as a sedan. Just not enough of them around any longer plus they look great when they're finished and you could easily find a pick up if that's what you want to build. But it's your project so build it any way you want that makes you happy! Don't forget to keep the pics coming!.[cl...CR

congrats on the find! I would love to own an A, so i think you're off to a good project-start already[cl[cl

Congrats guy... keep us posted! Have fun!!! [cl[cl[cl

BoB

Congrats! I agree, leave it a sedan. I'll try to post a pic of mine all chopped down and where it started. But man, you are right, that passenger door is a bit rough - even by Michigan standards - LOL! [

Good Luck and Godspeed!

Bruce

Just so you have your terminology right : "sectioning" is removing a strip of metal horizontally from the body...doing what you mentioned about making it into a truck cab would require, "shortening" the body...and, I agree with the rest of the guy's...leave it a sedan!

or he could be "bobbing" it into a truck cab......

Thanks for the encouragement and syntax lesson, fellas! I have no previous experience with major body mods, so I assumed the "sectioning" would apply equally as well side-to-side as length-wise. After all, you're just removing a "section" of the body either way, right?

That's okay though, I'm sure I'll make plenty of additional rookie mistakes along the way. All part of the learning process [cl

Fortunately, I decided to keep it a sedan even before reading these replies. Making it into a truck cab might be fun and more unique, but the sedan body already has such great styling that it'd be a shame to alter it.

Bruce, I'm not big on fenders, but you sure did a great job on your sedan! Do you have a build thread showing how you chopped the top? Did you use the original frame?

I should point out that I'm lucky enough to have an older brother who does have a bit of knowledge in this general area, having built his own '32 Roadster (sorry guys, still waiting for him to email me some current pics). His is all fancy with IFS, disk brakes, Corvette IRS, ididit steering column, Lokar shifter, etc. Me, I'm on an entirely opposite budget

Unfortunately the E40D/4R100 trans in my '94 E250 work van crapped out on me Wednesday so I have to juggle things around a bit before I can pick up the '29, but hopefully I can go snag it next week sometime. Anyone interested in a Ford cargo van that runs fine in reverse?


Fred B.

Hey Fred,

Chopping an "A" top is really straight-forward. 4" or less, everything comes straight down. These look great with a 2" section right at the beltline also - kinda removes that big ugly space between the rear fender and the bodyline. I did not use the original frame , but modified a Ranger chassis. This was not the best idea. I spent more time "making it work" than it would have taken to just build a new one. Another inexpensive thing is to use a Jeep Cherokee roof skin. The front of the Jeep roof (nearest to the windshield) is a perfect fit for the back of the Model A. When trimmed properly (or at least close) the roof skin literally lays up there. It's super easy, cheap and looks slick when done. I would (and do) use parts of the original frame, or just buy some stick and a welder and build you own frame. The nice thing about hot rodding is there is so many good and right and creative ways to do it. But whatever you decide to do, do it with quality.

The thing is this only takes time and money, and if you got a lot of one, you really don't need much of the other.

Bruce

Awesome Bruce, thanks for all the info! And you're right, that Jeep roof looks great on there! [P


Fred B.

Wooo-Hooo! Finally picked up the Tudor today! It's now sitting under a shade tree on my folks' 4 acres in Canton (TX). As luck would have it, I forgot to take my camera and snap some better photos. But at least now I can get some next time I go out there.

Dumb question, but what is the bolt pattern on original '29 A Tudor hubs? I forgot to measure them while I was there but I need to find some junker wheels with tires that'll hold air to put on there for now.... so I can move the chassis around if need be.

Also, what size wheels came stock on these? I got one 18", one 17" and three 16" wire wheels in the deal, but I have no idea which ones (if any) were stock on the Tudor. And can you buy 16 or 18" tires that are tall and skinny for cheap? Or is Coker the only one offering such tires? (Not that Coker tires aren't nice, they certainly are! But I need something less expensive).


Fred B.

Original bolt pattern is 5 X 5 1/2 " , same as the older ford trucks, and the rims were 19" I think . They got smallerevery couple of years. Those skinny old tires are not really very cheap. Best prices I have found is still double of a regular radial tire.

Okay, thanks for the info, Ratdog! I'm a long way from final tire/wheel selection, but it never hurts to edumacate myself along the way!

Thanks again!


Fred B.

Some additional photos from Saturday (when work officially began)...

Body on sawhorses (before I separated the cowl frame/doors from the rest of the body):


And here is the "good" cowl:


The driver's door is going to need at least a lower patch panel:


The entire lower edge of the body is pretty rusted away:



Fred B.

More photos...

The rear of the body looks pretty good:


But here's that horrendous passenger door:


And here's that curved body panel above the passenger that I'm missing:


Dash looks fairly decent though:



Fred B.

And a few more photos...

Interior shots:




And my "hard tail" front suspension, complete with one missing frame horn:



Fred B.

No new photos, but I've been working studiously the past four days on the cowl/tank/front pillar unit. Wire wheel and abrasive wheel in the electric drill, then a coating with Rust Arrestor. Time-consuming stuff.

Monday I even cut the rusted lower cowl section out on the passenger's side.

Today I separated the three main pieces and worked 'em over pretty good. I made a template for the cowl patch piece I need, and ground off some unwanted firewall bolts. I can't buy any new parts right now, but I can sure work on what I have! I'll take some photos as I get farther along.


Fred B.

lookin good.

looks like you have it going on ! good luck on the build . there are lots of places that sell the patch panels out there . I had to put them all the way around my model A .

Give this guy a try . his name is don , he sold me all my panels www.doubledrodandcustom.com he's a great guy helped me out tons