"New" project in my shop

[jxnslotcar]

1st of all I would like to introduce myself. My name is Jim Corcoran and I have a shop called JB Customs of Jackson where we do regular automotive service and classics as well. I have been a member her for awhile and have read a lot of threads. I thought it was time I spoke up. I work on all types of cars and trucks but love the older classics the most. I have several myself all of which are projects which get worked on when I have the extra time and money to get the parts they might need.
I have the honor of having a 1931 Model A Pickup in my shop to have the rest of it put together and get it running and driving again. Basically I have to order about $2000 of parts from Mac's and just bolt it together. The older gentleman who owns it has no idea that this is being done. He is in the process of moving from his home into a Condo that is close to his son. He thinks that the truck is being sold to another family member.
His son and the family member got with me and want me to put it together so his dad will be able to drive the truck after it has sat for at least a decade. The engine was rebuilt after the timing gear had broke. The dad worked on doing other things to it and then has gotten to the point where he couldn't work on it. So this is a surprise for him. He will be able to drive it again.
He has owned it for over 30 years and before he got it the previous owner had painted it a dark blue metallic. The paint has held up well but definitely showing its age along with being the wrong color. I was asked yesterday if I would be interested in painting it back to the original color besides doing the rest of the work. I am thinking that I will need to blow apart the truck again to do it correctly. I am trying to figure out the original paint color from what is left on the firewall. It looks like it might be Medium Brewster Green but not sure yet. I may have to post a picture of the firewall and see if possibly someone might be able to let me know for sure.
I was thinking that if we do this project that I might do a thread on what we are doing along with pictures. I would like to do this right and correct as we can. The other thing is we need to get this done in time for him to drive it this Summer or Fall. At the same time I feel that it is truly a honor to be able to do this work on this piece of history.
Today is the 1st day of Summer so we do not have a lot of time. It will not be a "show" truck but a driver. Would anyone like to see a build thread?
This is the oldest vehicle we will have done to date. And the deepest we will have gone into a vehicle for a customer. I have done quite a few for myself which usually get sold off. The latest one is a 1962 F100 Unibody that I was going to use for a shop truck but then a buddy of mine really wanted it so I made him a deal on it. I have to keep the doors open but at the same time I do this because I am "Car Crazy" as I have heard Mr Meguiar say.
It is great having a resource like this to be able to reference to and learn from. I have worked on vehicles for the last 40 years but I am in no way a person who knows it all and actually enjoy learning new things every day. Thank you in advance.

[Hugh in NC]

I would love to see you document this build here on the Fordbarn. Looking forward to the first post.

Hugh

[willobs]

I for one would like to watch our progress, sounds intersting.

[Purdy Swoft]

Rock moss green is the common color for model a trucks and pickups. I like build threads.

[Steve Wastler]

ditto on the progress posts!!!

[newshirt]

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You might consider getting a copy of The Restoration Guidelines and Judging Standards from the link below. Even though the car may never be judged, this reference will help when you have questions about assembly. You can buy all the Les Andrews books from the same site. They have complete disassembly and assembly steps for almost every part of the car, although much of that will be obvious to someone of your experience level. Still a great reference. Love to see your build thread!

http://www.mafca.com/

[Chris in WNC]

personal opinion- rethink the Mac's purchase.

you & the truck's owner will likely be happier with Bratton's, Snyders or Berts......

[jxnslotcar]

Here are pictures of where it is as of now. If you look at the firewall, this is the color that we are talking about.

[jxnslotcar]

Originally Posted by newshirt

You might consider getting a copy of The Restoration Guidelines and Judging Standards from the link below. Even though the car may never be judged, this reference will help when you have questions about assembly. You can buy all the Les Andrews books from the same site. They have complete disassembly and assembly steps for almost every part of the car, although much of that will be obvious to someone of your experience level. Still a great reference. Love to see your build thread!

http://www.mafca.com/

I will look into that. Like I was saying, I will be doing this truck not for the money but because of what it is. I feel honored to be asked to do this truck. As far as money, basically do it for what it costs me to do it so any money that can be saved would be great.

[Ken B]

Awesome project!!!! Please post pictures.

[jxnslotcar]

Originally Posted by Chris in WNC

personal opinion- rethink the Mac's purchase.

you & the truck's owner will likely be happier with Bratton's, Snyders or Berts......

Interesting. The reason I had gone with Mac's is because I had found new parts that he had bought in the bed and they were all from Mac's. Are you suggesting the others because of price or quality or both? I appreciate any input about this. I have not personally worked on anything this old. Usually my projects tend to be from the 50's or 60's.
I love the Model A's car or truck but quite frankly the market has blown the prices skyhigh even for a rust bucket. He was going to sell this truck as it sits for $7500 which sounds like a real deal to me when you consider how good the sheet metal is. Then it was decided it would be a shame to sell it and him not being able to drive again. That is why I think this is really cool. That is just my personal opinion. The family member who was going to buy it is the one who suggested that the truck come to me to be finished and now I may have the opportunity to take it back apart to redo the paint. I am trying to figure out how much time I will have into taking the bed off as well as the fenders and maybe the cab so I can blast the frame. Then I will be able to sand, prime and paint the various parts and put the truck back together. That would include what we were going to originally do.

[jxnslotcar]

Originally Posted by Ken B

Awesome project!!!! Please post pictures.

I posted 10 pictures of what the truck looks like now but was told that the moderator needs to approve them before they will show up. I assume because this is my 1st posting even tho I have been a member for a couple of years. So you will see them when the mod decides it is OK.

[QGolden]

I second Les Andrews book, I have several different books and if I had only one, it would be Les' first book. It sells for about 40 bucks and will save you more than that due to its clear concise instructions and diagrams. The next book I would buy is the Model A Ford Service Bulletins, they give you the details sent to the repair shops while the Model A was being built. Good luck, I would enjoy a build thread as well.

[QGolden]

Originally Posted by jxnslotcar

Interesting. The reason I had gone with Mac's is because I had found new parts that he had bought in the bed and they were all from Mac's. Are you suggesting the others because of price or quality or both? I appreciate any input about this. I have not personally worked on anything this old. .

Its all a matter of personal opinion and everyone has one. Here is mine: Most of the parts that you will be buying are made by a few manufacturers and distributed by many distributors, they are all the same parts. That being said, some Distributors have a history of better customer service than others, but I have purchased lots of things from Macs, and never had an issue. It is all a matter of personalities. I frequently also use Tams in Massachusetts because he is local to me, and a Father/Daughter operation, I like to do business local as I can.

[ken ct]

I agree with all the above on Mac's,mainly quality is not there,China made mostly. Shop elsewhere. Good places mentioned. Ken ct.

[Mitch//pa]

10-4 on tams

[Russ/40]

By all means share the project with photos. You may have seen "Flops'" photo threads. Very enjoyable and instructive. I like your attitude on the project, and am eager to see your work. There seems to be a wide range of opinions on the term "restoration".
My personal opinion on source is 1st choice - Brattons, and a close second Snyders. Bert's is great for used original parts. They all have great service.

[jxnslotcar]

Originally Posted by Russ/40

By all means share the project with photos. You may have seen "Flops'" photo threads. Very enjoyable and instructive. I like your attitude on the project, and am eager to see your work. There seems to be a wide range of opinions on the term "restoration".
My personal opinion on source is 1st choice - Brattons, and a close second Snyders. Bert's is great for used original parts. They all have great service.

I will definitely take a look at Flops thread. The say is a picture is worth a 1000 words. I have been looking at this truck to decide how much needs to come apart so that I have a good "feel" for what is there and how it comes apart, ect.
We are going to be talking about doing the paint on Monday when we are getting together to order the parts that are needed. This weekend I am going to be working on looking at the on line catalogs from those companies that were suggested above and comparing to what Mac's has to offer.
I had approx. $1800 plus shipping in parts top be ordered. That does not include any paint supplies. I will be getting the paint local as I too believe in helping those companies that are local or at least from this Country. The statement about some things from Mac's being from China is not good news to me as I would rather get as much as possible those things made in the good ole USA. Better quality and easier to work to work with as well because it is usually a better "fit".
I hope the Mods get a look at the Pictures I brought over from my Photobucket and let them post on here so that everyone can take a look at the firewall. It still has the original green paint on it.

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by jxnslotcar

I will look into that. Like I was saying, I will be doing this truck not for the money but because of what it is. I feel honored to be asked to do this truck. As far as money, basically do it for what it costs me to do it so any money that can be saved would be great.

You will find that using the restoration and judging guidelines will allow you to choose the "Ford" way or just any part that will fit. You will find the cost will not be that much more to do it "right".

[jxnslotcar]

I am all about using "correct" parts. I am sorry for not making that more clear. I believe by using the right parts you actually save money because it will take less fiddling to get them to fit which saves time and time saves money.