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Ben,
Get it running safely and keep it on the road as you restore it! Resist taking your Coupe all apart at once, but do it in steps so you can continue to drive it.
My Coupe was in poor condition when I bought it. If your Coupe was my project, I would take the following approach to a "driving restoration:"
1. Change all of the fluids and pump fresh grease into all of the fittings;
2. Get the engine running and tune it. Try driving the Coupe in your driveway to make an assessment of what needs doing to make the car run safely;
3. Restore the brakes;
4. Restore the suspension;
5. Install new tires & tubes;
6. Install major patch panels where the existing panels are rusted through;
7. Fix the door latches;
8. Install all new wire harnesses and get all of the electrical equipment working;
9. Install safety glass in the windshield and doors. Replace the quarter and rear windows if they are missing with safety glass. Try Vintage Glass in Tolland, Connecticut;
10. Install seat belts;
11. Fix the floor boards. Cover the seat springs with padding and a blanket;
12. Register and test drive the car. Fix whatever is necessary to make the Coupe a safe driver;
13. Scuff sand the exterior body to get off loose paint and rust flakes. Don't try for bare metal yet. Prime it with inexpensive Krylon and or Rustoleum rattle cans as preservative measure. Try Walmart for the primer rattle cans;
14. Restore one panel and or one fender at a time and coat them with a quality primer so you can continue to drive the car;
15. When the Coupe is restored to your satisfaction, paint it.
Do not take shortcuts with the brakes, suspension, tubes & tires.
As you take things apart, take lots of digital pictures of "before," "during" and "after." Write captions on each picture so you have notes about putting things back together again. I find PowerPoint is excellent for documenting pictures and making a restoration story. Also start a restoration task check list using MS Word. Make it 4 columns wide. Plan ahead for each task. Send me an email (
[email protected]) and I will send my most recent check list to give you some ideas of what goes into a total restoration. You can cherry pick my list for your "driving restoration."
Keep an Excel file with separate worksheets of your expenses for
Parts,
Materials and
Services.
Save the body work for the spring, summer and fall months. Do the running gear restorations in the winter when your car will not likely be driven. Work in a heated basement or garage during the winter.
Join a local Model A ford Club, and get to know any Model A parts dealer in your area. Massachusetts has several excellent and active Model A Ford clubs.
Send emails for some free parts catalogs. I highly recommend Bratton's, Snyder's and Tam's. Get to know the nearest Model A parts dealer which I think is Tam's.
The 45A & B Coupes are the 2nd most numerous of the Model A Fords built, and there is a lot of publications about them.
If your high school has an automotive shop, get chummy with the teacher and do some of restoration projects at the school.
Good luck with your project.