Thread: 1929 Ford Model A Coupe Build

Tweet

It's the new year and I'm starting my build in earnest. I've also had time to research and start to refine my plan.
Engine....going with a sbc 327
Transmission....Camaro T5 with a NWC S10 main shaft & tail housing,
Rear end....Maverick 8"
Front end....Heidt's Superide. I'm going with the Heidts because this is going to be an everyday driver. So I'm looking for more creature comforts.
Wheels....15x6, maybe 15x8 rear. True Spoke... Chrome Hot Rod Wire Wheels - Raw F Still haven't decided on white wall or black wall.
Right now I'm waiting on a welder to arrive (just ordered it). Need to brace the inside of the cab before I remove it. In the mean time I'll spend the time getting a little more organized. Trying to stay within the one side of the garage.

Here's what I started with.



Progress pic's
New work bench. Going in and out of the basement got old fast.




Surprise rust.

I'll be watching your progress, have fun.

Looks like a super good start,high five bud.

Sounds like fun times ahead........

Slow week on the car. Did get a few things done. Got the roof fabric off, removed the steering column, took out the braking system.



Went scrounging through junkyards the other day. Trying to find a Maverick rear end, plus a couple of other odds and ends. Through Craigslist I now have a B-W T5 out of a Camaro. Tag Number 1352-175. If this website is to be believed.....Identification Key to Borg-Warner T5 transmission ID Tags
Then I have a GM 1988 F Car B9 Racing 5.0L V WC Code-U Rev.-2.76 1st-2.95 2nd-1.94 3rd-1.34 4th-1.00 5th-0.73. B9 I believe = LB9, not sure what Racing means. So now my first question. If what I've found is correct. Maverick rear ends came geared only 3.0 and 2.79. I'm going by memory here. Tires I'm thinking of using are 15x6 front and 15x8 rear. Engine will be either a SBC 327 or SBC 350, Between 280hp and 300hp. Would a 3.0 Maverick rear end work ok? What can I expect from it?

Question #2. How much horse power is too much? This little '29 coupe weighs 2400lbs soaking wet. I'm looking at this as more of an everyday driver vs. a street racer. Those days are far behind me. I've looked at sbc's running anywhere from 270hp to over 350hp. Should I be looking around the 280hp to 300hp range?

I've had a couple 8" rears with factory 3.25 gears, not real common but out there. With the five speed a lower ratio would be preferable for drive-ability. A 3.55 would be even better. Since the 8" is common to the popular Mustang and even Falcon/Comet crowd parts are still plentiful.

One comment on the Camaro derived T5, you may already know, they are designed to be rotated, I think something like 17 degrees so use an unusual bell housing and the tail shaft housing would have a canted rear mount if you tried to set it up in "conventional" manner. Also, relative to placement in a model A the shifter (also canted) would end up under the seat, or well back with buckets.

WC T5s can take 300 ft. lb. pretty well, so watch the torque rating of the engine, not just hp

Bob, thanks for mentioning torque. I should have remembered that. Will definitely keep that in mind.
As far as the T5 is concerned. I should have mentioned I'm looking for a nwc s10 t5. I plan on using the main shaft and tail housing to straighten it up and move the shifter forward ~9". If I can only find a wc s10, then I will go with a gps speedo.

Looks like a really solid piece to start with, good luck!
Rich

GADad,
To run the numbers take (MPH x Rear gear x 336 x OD ratio)/ Tire Diameter Inches to give you cruise RPM. For example, at (70mph x 3.00 x 336 x 0.73)/30" yields 1717 RPM. The "336" is a unit constant, dealing with differences of miles to feet, hours to minutes & diameter to circumference. You want your cruise rpm to be at/near the bottom of the torque band on your engine so that you're not having to shift down to 4th every time you get to a hill, or even to pass on the interstate without flooring it. If you get your cruise rpm too low your mileage will actually suffer on all but near level terrain, but your top end will be awesome!

rspears, thanks for the formula. I'm going to have to sit down and play with some numbers.

I got ambitious today and decided to get the old engine pulled. Turned out to be a bit more work than I was expecting. But then again everything takes longer when you're working by yourself. Tomorrow I will make a rolling stand for the motor. Since my work area is small, everything must be on wheels. If I have time tomorrow I will also lift the body off of the frame. Hopefully sometime next week I can send the frame off to be blasted. Then I will have a better idea of what I'm working with. But from what I've seen of the frame. It's not bad at all.
I had the engine just about out when I remembered to take some pic's.


It's hard to believe I'm going to put a sbc back in that little space.

Originally Posted by GeorgiaDad

It's hard to believe I'm going to put a sbc back in that little space.

How about a 4.6 Mod Motor, or a 5.0 Coyote, or a 5.0 SBF? It's not a '29 Chevy, is it?

You may want to rethink the 15" wheels. Tires in that diameter that have a street rod vibe are harder and harder to find.

Warning--Long post.

rspears, I found this calculator... Gear Calculator I read on another site my cruising rpm's should be between 1800 & 2100. Does that sound about right? If so, a Maverick rear end isn't going to work with the T5 I have. Does this sound about right? I got it off another website.

"Selecting the Proper Rear end Gear Ratio
RESOURCES:

Selecting a rear end gear ratio (ring & pinion set) to provide the desired highway cruising speed, 60-65 MPH, for a modern hot rod.

How:

A number of factors must be considered when selecting a rear end gear ratio (ring & pinion set). Tire diameter, transmission choice (with or without overdrive) and desired highway cruising speed.

Tire diameter is the first consideration because styling and available space within the wheel opening dictate the size of tire / wheel combination that will be chosen for the car. The choice of a direct-drive (1to1) or overdrive (usually 30%) transmission will determine drive shaft RPM at cruising speed. A highway cruising speed of 60-65 MPH is considered a good target speed

Engine RPM at cruising speed should be maintained between 1800 to 2100 RPM. Lower RPM at cruising speed will produce a vibration that is often mistaken for drive shaft imbalance. This vibration is actually caused in a typical V8 engine by acceleration of the piston on a downward power stroke that is only cancelled out by other cylinders doing the same in rapid succession. This only occurs when the engine is revving in excess of 1800 RPM. This vibration isn't noticeable when the engine is idling or accelerating through the gears but is often misdiagnosed as a drive shaft out of balance of out of phase.

The proper rear end gear ratio can be selected using the following simple formulas whether using a direct-drive (1to1) or overdrive (usually 30%) transmission."

There are more formula's in that post. I can post them if anyone is interested. But I just started punching numbers into the Gear Calculator I posted above.


So at this point I'm wondering what to do. While I was wondering around the salvage yard today, I realized there was a boat load of Chevy S10's. 15 as a matter of fact. So.......

Plan A-- I did some reading and now I'm thinking of using a S10 rear end. Preferably a GU6-3.42 gear ratio. Matching that up with the Camaro T5 I have.

Plan B-- If I stick with a Maverick rear end (which I haven't found yet), I will need a different T5 transmission.

So let me just think out loud here and ya'll tell me if this would work.
I came across a 1993 S10 W/T5. It was a V6 with a GU6 rear end. I ran the numbers through the calc. and came up with 2022 rpm's @70mph. Anyone have any idea how the S10 T5 would hold up with a mild sbc? Also would the bell housing match up to the V8?

Now the wild card in all of this is tire size. From reading on the web, I thought the only tire size that would fit a fully fendered Model A was a 15" front, Maybe a 16" rear. Anyone have an idea on the biggest tire I can fit in this car? I'm going with a Hiedt's Superide front end and Maverick or S10 rear. Worse case is I wait to get the front suspension installed then do a mock-up.

Time to update my build. Cold temp's chased me out of the garage for a few weeks. But I'm back at it again.

I built the wheeled body frame. The cars body is now on an adjustable wheeled frame. This way I can move it around. Removed the front end and rear end. Now the frame sits on 2 modified furniture dollies. This way I can move anything anywhere to work on what I need.


While I was at it, I built a cart for my mig welder.

Cost me 2 2x4's. I had everything else lying around.

I've been knocking the rust off of the frame with a wire wheel on my grinder. Getting the frame ready to take to the sandblaster. Hope to get it there by next week.

As I was getting ready today to weld on some temporary cross braces. I checked the frame for squareness. I leveled the frame front to back and side to side. It's perfect. But....Here's what I don't understand. The c-channel Is different top to bottom. The frame is level front to back, side to side, and the sides are level too. But when I went to measure for the cross bracing, I noticed the top and bottom lips are different widths. The bottom lip is 3/16" smaller than the top. Except at the front horns up to where the body mounts. Is this normal? In the pic's below I moved the tube steel to show the difference.

Check frame specs at Wescottsauto.com


Tech section has detailed drawings of frames--------