Thread: New old guy

Tweet

Well, I'm an old fart, but I'm new to this forum so howdy! I'm about to do a restart on my 1930 Model A coupe hotrod project. My dad bought the coupe when I was about four years old...around 60 years ago. When the '38 Buick Special that was our family car died, the coupe became our daily driver until he could find/afford something newer. Imagine a family of five, plus a dog, in a Model A coupe! I sat in the middle, my two-year-old sister stretched out on the package tray behind our heads, Mom held my baby sister, and the dog was on the floor by Mom's feet. Obviously, my folks aren't big people!

Eventually, Dad gave the coupe to my maternal grandfather, who gave it to me when I was 14. I drove it away from our wedding and for a while longer. The old mechanical brakes finally got too scary to be road worthy, so it got parked while my wife and I raised our own three kids.

A few years ago, I decided to rod it so we could actually drive it at highway speeds comfortably. I was doing most of the work myself, with the aid and advice from a mechanic friend of mine. He built the SBC motor for me, I had the body mostly finished, and the chassis is done up to needing brake lines run and a new rack and pinion to go on the Mustang IFS. Then my buddy got sick. His kidneys failed, he went on dialysis, and finally got a new kidney at the VA. Unfortunately, things went downhill from there and he passed away. I lost my desire to work on the coupe, and again it sat in my garage in pieces.

Recently we have decided to sell our home and move to our cabin, so all the stuff we've accumulated in the last 20+ years has to be relocated, including the coupe. That has kind of forced my hand, much to my wife's delight. My mechanic buddy's brother-in-law, also a close friend of mine, recently retired and offered to help me finish the coupe. That brings me here to relearn a lot of the crap I've forgotten about building a rod.

It kind of tickles me to be a "Junior Member" here. I haven't been a junior anything for quite some time, lol!

Welcome to CHR!

We're not old - we're seasoned veterans of hot roddin' Look forward to having you here and seeing some pictures of your project.

Glenn

Welcome from not too far away! That's a very cool history you have with the car. I can picture how cramped it was riding in there with 5 and a dog. I look forward to following along with your progress.

Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe

Welcome from not too far away! That's a very cool history you have with the car. I can picture how cramped it was riding in there with 5 and a dog. I look forward to following along with your progress.

You are in the same state anyway, lol! My folks lived in Newton for a few years. I helped Dad build a new garage while they were there. My baby sister lives in Colfax, so she's very close to you. I split my time between Manly and Bellevue, IA, nowadays. The Manly place will be for sale next spring when my wife retires (hopefully), and I quit subbing (definitely).

I've worn lots of hats in my life, from farming, to factory work, to police work, to newspaper reporter, and finally to 7-12 English teacher. I kinda retired in 2010, but I've been subbing 3-4 days a week since then because my wife, who is a couple years younger, is still working part time. We plan to actually retire next March.

I had a '41 two door sedan years ago. I didn't really have the time or money to work on it much, but I found a guy who wanted it more than I did. I always liked the '40 and earlier better. They got kind of bulbous after that, although the shoebox Fords were pretty sweet. I grew up wrenching on flathead Fords because my uncles had a stock car (1939 Ford coupe), and my Mom's younger brother was probably the best flathead mechanic in the midwest. He could get more out of those flatties than anyone else I ever knew. I was probably the only ten year-old around who knew the torque pattern for the head bolts on a Ford flathead, lol! I was sure proud when I "graduated" from scraping to wrenching! Actually, I just added the wrenching to the scraping...

What are you running in your '40?

Originally Posted by Russ V.

It kind of tickles me to be a "Junior Member" here. I haven't been a junior anything for quite some time, lol!

I'm 75, so trust me, you're the junior here.
.

Welcome aboard Russ V., it's nice to see you here.
Once you get more comfortable with us perhaps you can share a picture or two of the project.

Good story, enjoy the ride, and welcome aboard..............kid.

Welcome from another old fart with a Model A!

Rich

Welcome to the forum.

.

Originally Posted by techinspector1

I'm 75, so trust me, you're the junior here.
.

So, when I forget where I left the 9/16" wrench, it's now a junior moment, lol!

Originally Posted by 34_40

Welcome aboard Russ V., it's nice to see you here.
Once you get more comfortable with us perhaps you can share a picture or two of the project.

I'll post some when I get back up to Manly. Right now I'm at my acreage about 3 1/2 hours away from the coupe.

Originally Posted by RichB

Welcome from another old fart with a Model A!

Rich

Thanks, Rich. I've been looking through your build...very impressive. I wish I had the tools and the skills you do! My experience with body work is pretty minimal. My youngest son and I rebuilt the rear fender and quarter panel on an old Mazda Protege that he wanted to drive. His older brother got rear-ended by a hit and run driver...one week after my wife put the car on liability only...grrr! We got it back on the road, though it wasn't too pretty. I hope to do better on the A, but I'm still feeling like a rookie when it comes to body work. I've been turning wrenches since elementary school, so I'm not so scared of the mechanical part. My uncle taught me to weld before I was in junior high, so I'm better than your average hobby welder, I reckon.

Most of the stuff I've worked on was because I hate to pay someone else to do something I think I can do myself. Sometimes that has probably cost more than farming it out, but the educational value was priceless.

I plan to go through your entire build, likely several times, before I get to far into my restart, so I can borrow some of your ideas. Thanks for posting all those pictures! It should help a bunch!

Originally Posted by Russ V.

You are in the same state anyway, lol! My folks lived in Newton for a few years. I helped Dad build a new garage while they were there. My baby sister lives in Colfax, so she's very close to you. I split my time between Manly and Bellevue, IA, nowadays. The Manly place will be for sale next spring when my wife retires (hopefully), and I quit subbing (definitely).

I've worn lots of hats in my life, from farming, to factory work, to police work, to newspaper reporter, and finally to 7-12 English teacher. I kinda retired in 2010, but I've been subbing 3-4 days a week since then because my wife, who is a couple years younger, is still working part time. We plan to actually retire next March.

I had a '41 two door sedan years ago. I didn't really have the time or money to work on it much, but I found a guy who wanted it more than I did. I always liked the '40 and earlier better. They got kind of bulbous after that, although the shoebox Fords were pretty sweet. I grew up wrenching on flathead Fords because my uncles had a stock car (1939 Ford coupe), and my Mom's younger brother was probably the best flathead mechanic in the midwest. He could get more out of those flatties than anyone else I ever knew. I was probably the only ten year-old around who knew the torque pattern for the head bolts on a Ford flathead, lol! I was sure proud when I "graduated" from scraping to wrenching! Actually, I just added the wrenching to the scraping...

What are you running in your '40?

If you're at the Manly place now, you should run over to the Cruise to the Woods show on October 8th if you have time. I'm sure there will be plenty of Model A's there to check out.

I've got a 354 Hemi in my 40, but it isn't done yet. Right now it is just a catchall for it's own parts waiting for me to get the time to work on it again.

Welcome aboard, Another Iowan to deal with I'm about 3 hours west of you in the tri state part of Iowa.

Welcome to the forum from another old fart.....that knows just enough to get himself in trouble...