Thread: 1931 Model A Tudor

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I am going to start this here from the beginning . There has been some changes down the road but hey thats the fun right . It will take me a bit to catch it all up in one place .

This is the day about 3 years ago it came home with me .

The whole luck in getting this car was a relist , the guy didn't like the damage it had . From what I can figure out it was hit from something of the same era with the damage so high and a light impact . This car was stored around 50 years in a garage after this impact .

The left front fender was hit and the left rear as with the drivers door pushing the body in about a inch in this location . I built a wooden frame so I could push it out to the correct dimensions so the door area was correct .



I used a 2 ton bottle jack up and down the post till it was back out .



The door had a lot of sheet metal damage so I picked up a used door . This is still rough compared to the finish but thats later .



One of the previous owners banged it out stretching the metal pretty badly .



Had this fixed by a sheet metal guy .

From here my next choice was chopping the top . I decided on a 3 inch chop and was right on for the Tudor . This made it look like Henry himself had this idea .

The idea off the tape was from the great guys here . This is the all about best way to chop and have the metal line up really close with a lot less grinding to fit the top back on .

Some reinforcements was suggested from the guys here again . This was only the start of what I put in . I used conduit very cheap and easy to cut . I smashed down the ends to make welding a lot easier .



I then began to give it a little hair cut . First the tape , then some spray paint .





Then I cut it off and ground down to the paint lines . This made it so easy .





Also with the suggestions from the great guys here , they recommended using the cut pieces from the posts to line the top up and rosette weld them in to help support it .

So the welding began and I think we all know that part .

Next I started to look at front suspension choices . I finally decided on a Heidts Superide front . This was not a bad install at all took about 2 days . May have taken less but I kept cutting the tape measure shorter just kidding smile some .

I welded in some cross bracing to keep the rails secure , and with a lot of help from the oldest son we got the front out and just test fit the Heidts subframe in .



Well with a lot of measuring from the directions and marking and double checking we was center the sub was tacked in . We kept measuring and after a bit decided it was fine and I welded it in

This is my first build like this so any and all info I could gain here was utilized . The frame was the next step since I was placing a SBF in it . With advice I think the boxing and bracing will hold just fine for this engine .

The engine mounts I did would have been strong , but I didn't feel comfortable with them sitting at the bottom of frame so I did the speedway mount .

You can't see now but the 2x2 was inside the rail and below . I webbed in some 3/16 plate on the inside of rail to tie it all together . Then covered it .



But as I said we cut all this out a put in a cross bar mount .

After the engine was all set I turned my attention to the frame . Now is the time to finish boxing the rails , and cross brace it for a little more torque then the 4 cylinder it was built for . started off with something like this .





Long story short it grew into this .



Her I was cleaning up the sand blasting and decided real soon to stop that .



Looking at this area I seen something that just didn't look right so I added another layer for support , now it looks stronger .





Then came paint day after etching primer , a couple coats of Fill&Sand . Valspar Implement paint Farm&Fleet $25 a gallon and few bucks for a pint of hardner .

Great job, Bobby! I'm glad you did a thread on this; I'm looking forward to watching.

Falcon Thanks wanted to do one awhile back , but when you get here you start reading all the others . It's like a novel you can't put down and then the time is gone .

After the frame paint I reinstalled suspension and the drive . Has to be rolling so I can get it out of the way .

A short Vid

http://rides.webshots.com/video/3031...02070080pJyzXa




I have read some where the shock bung on the rear can actually bend after time with out a gusset . So what I did was drill threw and had some stock turned and reamed to fit my 5/8 bolt .

I put the piece I made completely threw the frame and welded it in for strength . It's 1 1/4" stock reamed for bolt very nice fit and secure .









So here it is for now .

Looking good, Bobby!! Now that you got that set up are you going reconfigure it for the Nailhead??

Randy since the Nailhead could never really launch the frame is strong . Someone I know that has been involved with race car chassis said it is fine the way it sits . He said all I will be able to do power to weight is spin the wheels . HHMM Randy this means a great smoky burn out right .

I fiber wheeled the original paint off . The rock chips are seriously by the 1000's . The fiber wheel made real quick work of it .









Continued till I had it all done but the hood .







Up till I got it to this point .











Remember in the beginning how I said the final gap after working the used drivers door and the lt 1/4 out together . Well this is the end product of that work .

Bobby, tell me more about this fiber wheel.... I need something like that....looks great!!

Randy let me get ya a few pics , Ok sure you have seen them at HF . about $5 a piece I used about 8 total so far .

Originally Posted by bluestang67

Randy let me get ya a few pics , Ok sure you have seen them at HF . about $5 a piece I used about 8 total so far .

Thanks, Bobby. What kind of rpm's are required to make it work well? Are you using an electric tool or air with it?