My first post here & just wanted to Say Hi!

[Robbie Horn]

Really enjoy snooping around here. Lot's of good information & I need it. I just recently purchased a 1931 Model A coupe. It's in pretty run down condition. Hasn't been running in several years & was left outside in the elements for several years. Everything from front to rear is rusty & worn out. Looks like it was driven until it couldn't be driven anymore. The king pins are loose in the axle, front & rear spring shackles worn completely out, tie rods, steering box, & pretty much every steering & suspension part wore completely out. The engine was stuck but I pulled the spark plugs & put some Marvel Mystery oil in it & got it to turn. The body is fairly solid except the floor pan behind the front seat, the rumble floorboard & both rear wheel wells are rusted & will need to be replaced. The rear body subframe has some rust but I think I can patch it up. The roof was filled with what looked like a galvanized water trough. It was screwed on with sheet metal screws & leaded around it. The gas tank is completely rusted out. All 4 fenders are pretty rough too. I'm going to have to replace the body & roof wood also. However the car is mostly all there. I'm going to put it back mostly original. I have a purchased a 31 coupe chassis from someone that bought a 31 coupe just for the body & title. You probably can imagine what he wanted the body for. The chassis I got from him has juice brakes & is in a lot better shape than my original. It also supposedly has a good running engine. He also swapped gas tanks with me since he was going to cut the bottom out of a good tank. Looking forward to building this car back.

[CWPASADENA]

Welcome to The Barn,

It looks like you have your work cut out for you but I have seen a lot worse get put back together. It is a complete car and that is worth a lot.

Good luck with your project and keep us posted as to your progress.

Chris W.

[Harpkatt]

Some Cars are great restored and some area great as you get them. I would be happy drive it as is(but functioning of course) Enjoy your project. Good Luck.

[McMimmcs]

Welcome to the barn. Sincerely hope you enjoy your project. Good luck. Wayne

[mercman from oz]

Robbie Horn, Welcome to Ford Barn with your 1931 Ford Model A Coupe

[ronn]

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congratulations on your new project!


looks like fun. lots of tinkering and fun to be had.


dont be afraid to ask away on the forum............

[shew01]

Welcome to the barn. Please keep us posted with your progress.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[48fordnut]

Thank you for a good intro and run down on your project. You seem to be going in the right direction. Keep up the good work.

Thanks,

jim

[bob from red oak]

Welcome to the barn, Sounds like you got this, As I have discovered, you will find the barn provides a lot of helpful information. bob from red oak tx.

[Ray64]

Welcome, you can do it. Look at m avatar and you can see i did the same as you. Was frustrating at times but dont ever give up. You can do this. Good luck On your journey. Post pics as you go on your way.

[Jacksonlll]

You are about to have a lot of fun with that car. Get it running and safe, and drive it. The cosmetics can come later. You will get a lot of help from a lot of people. join a local club if you can. A lot of help there. Drive it and have fun. It's hard to hurt these old cars.

[marty in Ohio]

Rust? You say rust? All I see is patina! Good Luck, Have Fun.
Marty

[Chuck Dempsey]

Best of luck and welcome to the 'Barn.....

[Conaway2]

Welcome ! You’ll have a lot of fun with that car !

I bought a 1929 Sport Coupe 7 months ago in worse condition……it’s taken 6 months to restore the running gear starting from the bare frame. Body work starts this week. I hope to have the car on the road this fall in time for club tours.

You’ll find lots of help and knowledge here.

Jim

[nkaminar]

Hi back. Welcome. Do not be afraid to ask questions from the Barn people. Please report your progress as you go along. It is also good to join a local club and get some first hand advice.

[burner31]

Looks like when I first got mine.
You are going to have a ball working on it, and inventing new swear words along the way.

And what's that silver car parked in front of it?

[Jim M]

That is a purchase of a lifetime. 20 years ago I found a 29 Roadster in WV that was a wedding present and had set in a barn for 40 years. Took it home, cleaned it up, changed the oil and plugs, put a new battery in (6V) and it started right up. What a joy it has been and still is. I drive it weekly here in FL and get quite the smiles as I drive through our development. Since I don't have a garage on my property I was lucky to find an enclosed storage slot to rent and it is now my "shop". NOT what I had before I retired to FL but good enough to change oil, plugs, etc. and keep it out of the weather. ENJOY!!

PS only thing new is the top and seat upholstery that the mice had destroyed��

[gdmn852]

Hello,Welcome to the barn , one nice thing about Model A s is part availabllity and lots of knowledgeable people. Any problems can be answered on the barn , just don’t ask what oil to use ��

[David R.]

Sounds like my AA project. What isn’t missing is either bent, broken, rusted or worn out!

[Terry, NJ]

If I may be so bold as to offer some suggestions; Take the body off the frame and put it on a dolly so you have better access to the frame and drive line. Frame off restorations are always better in the long run. And this will give you access to the serial number of which you should be making several rubbings and keeping with your other documentation, The serial# number is located under the cowl on the drivers side. That will get you started down the right road. Save all you bolts etc separately ! Very few bolts on any car are interchangeable, not just Mod. A s) Don' Tap out henry's threads either ! Henry used tight thread fits for a reason. Remove all trim from the body, store it in a quiet place in the garage. Ditto for the radiator. That will get you started! Good luck!

Terry

[LeonardS]

Welcome and good luck with your project!

[Ivan in southeast va.]

Whenever you see a group of model A's, an original looking "rusty" patina gets all the attention.

[mercman from oz]

Conaway2's 1929 Ford Model A Sport Coupe Project

[Conaway2]

Originally Posted by Terry, NJ

If I may be so bold as to offer some suggestions; Take the body off the frame and put it on a dolly so you have better access to the frame and drive line. Frame off restorations are always better in the long run. And this will give you access to the serial number of which you should be making several rubbings and keeping with your other documentation, The serial# number is located under the cowl on the drivers side. That will get you started down the right road. Save all you bolts etc separately ! Very few bolts on any car are interchangeable, not just Mod. A s) Don' Tap out henry's threads either ! Henry used tight thread fits for a reason. Remove all trim from the body, store it in a quiet place in the garage. Ditto for the radiator. That will get you started! Good luck!

Terry

X2 On Removing the body and putting it on a dolly ! I did that with my ‘31 roadster 30+ years ago and have done that with my newest project. I had 3 friends help me lift the body off the frame. The dolly has casters, so it’s easy to move it around. It makes all the difference in access to the chassis for repair work. Good luck - Jim

[BTERRY29]

Welcome. Enjoy the ride 👍

[Mlacombe]

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Looks great

[Ayers1]

Welcome to the Barn! I enjoy projects like yours because you can see a difference on a regular basis. Terry,NJ has a lot of good advice! please keep posting updates!

[Robbie Horn]

Not a whole lot to update but I picked up another 31 chassis yesterday. Drove nearly 800 miles round trip. That's 2 chassis I've bought within the last 2 weeks. All some people want is the bodied & titles. At least both of the chassis I got were not real nice cars. I'm stopping right here on that sore subject. It was a sedan chassis, engine turns but don't run, has decent front fenders & a real nice factory radiator & a good hood. Tried to post a pic but can't figure out how to do it. It's asking for the url & I don't know what that is. I had to find a new hose for my harbor freight sand blaster because mine dry rotted & cracked up. Also picked up four 100lb bags of blasting sand. Still waiting on a gallon of self etching primer that will be delivered tomorrow before I can do anymore sandblasting. I have the visor sandblasted, the part that goes over the wood header & under the visor above the windshield. Don't want to do too much because we are fixing to get some cold wet weather & I don't want anything to start back to rusting after I blast it. I have it all inside my shop but bare metal will rust pretty quickly & I don't want to chance it.I've been looking at different wood kits & the wood in my car. All my wood doesn't need replacing. I need a new windshield header & 2 top bows, bottom part of rear window & bottoms of both quarter windows. My Dad raised me to be my own plumber,electrician,mechanic, welder & carpenter. Computers weren't around then so I'm kinda computer illiterate. He told me when I was a little kid & he had to work on stuff to pay attention & learn how or I had better get a good paying job when I grew up to pay to have everything broken fixed. I'm pretty sure I can make everything except for the windshield header. If I had a old one or at least a half of one I could do it. Mine was completely gone except for a few rotten pieces that are not big enough to use for a pattern. I've been looking at poplar wood to make replacement wood parts out of. I know I can buy the header separate. I have some white pine 2x4's & I might try to whiddle one out. No big loss if I can't do it. Weather forecast rain everyday next week & getting down to 18 degrees which is too cold for me to work, plus I have to sandblast outside. My shop isn't insulated so I won't be making much progress next week. I'll be cruising around on the internet looking for parts that I know I'm going to need such as spring shackles, king pins, wheel cylinders, master cylinder, shock rebuild parts, all the different weltings, floor pans, & bunch of other stuff. During the cold weather I will also be on here reading & learning.

[Busmoss]

I am new here and have found the folks here are very helpful! Uploading photos have gotten almost instant answers to my previous "what the heck is this" line of questioning. You have found a great resource in this forum.
Very nice to see your project develop. Exciting! Best of luck.

[ETAModel]

Welcome to the addiction...you have a job on your hands, but a good friend has built 4 from the ground up, so I know it can be done.

I see we are practically neighbors...just a few hours away.
Good luck and look forward to seeing more pics.

[Terry, NJ]

Robbie, I forgot to welcome you! Any way Your Dad was right about that, but some things have changed since then. Frinstance. I and several others like to clean up the chassis and paint it with POR 15, Me, I like "Chassis Saver" from Magnet Paints in New york. Same stuff just a cheaper. Don't buy a gallon when all you need is a quart, Once opened, it doesn't keep well. And Don't get it on your hands! It takes weeks to wear off like the stain from real walnuts husks! Other wise, Great stuff! Doesn't require much de-rusting, just clean all the loose stuff off and paint. It does want a topcoat though. Another pretty good one is Benj. Moore's "Rustscat"! No primers, Just clean all the loose rust off and paint.
Another Thing, Ford stamped his numbers into the chassis ( Right under where the driver puts his feet) Not the body! When Buying a chassis, Get the Title with the serial # that goes with that chassis. Some states don't care about Titles and numbers, but some states get really sticky about them (NJ, PA, Ill. are just some) Some day, you may have to sell that toy and you'll want that to be able to sell it anywhere. So take rubbings of the number. It takes about five minutes, just lay a piece of paper over the numbers and with a pencil laid sideways, rub until the numbers appear. It won't be perfect, but then neither are Henry's number stampings Good Luck!

[Terry, NJ]

Just a few words about the wood inside a Ford A. Headers, I have a Town Sedan which are full of wood. I made some of the wood, but I bought most of it. One thing that I bought was the header. It's made of 5 pieces of wood (Ash) and is a little complicated for your first time. I'm a former Mechanical Model Maker for a large Corp. and I declined it. Why? Too many Radii and angles and the header controls the position of other pieces. I broke down and bought one. Like you, My header was gone, rotted away! Couldn't even use it for a pattern. Never mind the angles and Radii, I couldn't even get the Length, width, and the height right! Give yourself a treat and buy this one. I bought the Sills, Top wood, Header and some other pieces for slightly under $2000. from Classic Wood in No. Carolina, about 8 years ago. The way Ash trees are dieing around Pa. from the Emerald Ash Borer. Prices are only going up from here.
Terry

[Robbie Horn]

model a 11.jpg

Model a 13.jpg

Model a 8.jpg

model a 16.jpgFinally figured out how to upload photos again I think. we will see when I hit the submit button.lol I got the body taken apart pretty much. Removed all the wood except the door jambs which are still in good shape so I'm going to leave them there. Got started sandblasting today since we had some good weather. I had to burn or lose a vacation day from work today so I made good use of it. The gallon of self etching primer came in so I can prime it. Got all the rusted floor & rumble pans removed. I.m going to sand blast as much of it has I can before I remove the body from the frame. I'm going to sandblast the underside of the body also. Then metal prep it & prime it. After that I'm going to put it on one of my chassis I picked up & start making the rust repairs. One of the chassis is a runner & I'm going to use it to get it running & driving. I will eventually take the original chassis all apart & sandblast it & rebuild the original engine & drivetrain.

[Robbie Horn]

Here is my runner chassis & the tires & wheels I picked up. The chassis came from a 31 Coupe nearly identical to mine. The wheels are from a 35 & are 16's but I'm not building it to be judged for correctness. I'm just trying to get it going at this time. I have a 30 Model A street rod but I want to build/restore a original car with the factory 4 cylinder.

[Robbie Horn]

Well shoot. Keep getting a "upload of file failed" so I apologize for the above post without pics. It's getting late so I'm going to bed & will try to post some more pics tomorrow.

[Robbie Horn]

Ok. I think once again I figured out my pic uploading problem. My pics file size was over the threshold size for this site. I resized them & am trying again. Here is my temporary donor runner chassis. Then my factory rusted out gas tank & the 2 replacement tanks I traded for. Then the 35 wheels & new tires.

[Robbie Horn]

Here is the other chassis I bought. It doesn't run but the engine turns over. Both chassis I bought have been changed over to hydraulic brakes. When I redo the original chassis I'm going to rebuild the mechanical brakes. I'm starting to accumulate quite a few Model A parts. I'm going to need them in order to get this car put back to it's original condition eventually.

[Robbie Horn]

Now that I can post pics I'm gonna back up a bit. This car was just too far gone to clean up & make a ol rusty driver out of. I was afraid that since all the body wood was rotted out & all the rusted out places that if I did get it running & drive it it could damage the body if I hit a pothole.lol

[Robbie Horn]

Also I wanted to touch base about the body, engine & frame VIN numbers. My car came with a good clear Texas title as a 31 Model A coupe. I know the tittle matches the number stamped on the engine. I haven't got the body off to check the frame numbers yet. I did find a number on the body right in front of the front seat but it does not match the VIN. Supposedly Ford put a number on the bodies that was not related to the VIN during assembly fro the factory. The previous owner had transferred it into his name so all I had to do was transfer it to my name. I'm having a body tag made with the VIN & am attaching it to the drivers door jamb. This is the legal way to go in Texas. In the end when I'm completely done with this car, if the frame number matches I should have a all numbers matching car.

[Robbie Horn]

Made some progress this weekend. Got the body sandblasted & primed inside & out.

[Robbie Horn]

Update

Got all new wood & got it installed. Also replaced rusted floor pans.

[Terry, NJ]

Great work! When you're done , wanna come up here and finish mine for me? I'm getting old and just don't move as fast any more. I think you're on your way to a helluva restoration, I see you bought your header and other wood. I think that was smart of you, much nicer job in the end. And Ash will outlast pine by decades. Good luck!
Terry

[Ayers1]

Looks great! Keep up the good work!

[Robbie Horn]

3D335B3C-2A55-42E1-9D3E-3AA4924E1B52.jpg

66B540E0-38A6-4DCF-AD4A-AEDB771B785E.jpgUpdate: Got chassis ready with hydraulic brakes, new wheel cylinders, brake shoes, master cylinder, home made battery box with master cylinder mount, new king pins, new shackles front & rear & all new wheel bearings. Got body sit on frame. Have new body blocks but need new running board & fender braces.

[katy]

Looking good, thanks for the update.

[Robbie Horn]

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Got the windshield installed.

[Ayers1]

Looks good! You are rolling right along!

[Robbie Horn]

Made some more progress today. Getting fenders, aprons & running boards put on. Steering column is back in now also.

[Robbie Horn]

Got some more done. Got some headlight parts from Brannons.They also had a fuel sediment bowl assembly that I have been looking for. New 2 light reflectors & they are nice. Also wiring harnesses, lens clips,bulbs,adjuster screws & springs & I went with the neoprene seals. I purchased the lens at Pate from a older gentleman for $15. He told me that they are Ford originals because they have the little tiny numbers 15 at the top part of the lens. I also rebuilt the taillight that came on the car when I got it. It's a Ford Doulight with a Ford lens.
I also got the rumble lid put back on & the spare tire mounted. I went to Atwoods & bought a 6 volt battery. I started it up & it runs pretty good. Can't drive it because I'm waiting on the seats to come back from the upholstery shop. I'm putting the original seats back in it. The front one is adjustable with a knob that screws it forward & backward. I put the original floorboard back in in for now & might just leave it & not replace it.
I still have a few things to do. I have to put the hood on & the front bumper. Also I have to paint the car but that will be a while later I also have to take it to te upholstery shop to get the interior & top done.
I'm doing paragraphs because I received a private message that my posts were hard to read. Hope this helps. This site has been a big help & influence to me while working on this car. So far I have done all the work on it myself. the only thing that I don't do is upholstery. Also got the 1/4 windows & back glass installed. They are the factory originals. Got to get some new door windows & window channels somewhere. I've been getting parts from the Pate Swap Meet, Howells Sheet Metal, Snyders, Brattons, Mike's Affordable , Early Ford V-8 Sales& Dennis Carpenter & probably more that I can't think of right now.

[Ayers1]

You have been a busy guy! Lookin better and better!

[Terry, NJ]

I hope your'e either very satisfied with that black primer paint or you've just mocked it up and intend to take it apart and paint the body and fenders separately. To be stock, the fenders must be black and the rest of the car is body color, Gas tank, door edges, dashboard, windshield, firewall, and the part of the body where the rear fenders attach. Everything else I can think of gets black . Good luck
Terry

[Robbie Horn]

Terry, after I get all the bugs worked out of it I'm going to take it back apart & paint it. It was green originally & I will paint it like you said. I need to buy new running boards & aprons. These are rusted pretty bad. I sand blasted them & primed them.

[Robbie Horn]

Updated pic I took today.

[mercman from oz]

Updated Photo showing progress - Aug 2022. Looking Good

[Terry, NJ]

Originally Posted by Robbie Horn

Terry, after I get all the bugs worked out of it I'm going to take it back apart & paint it. It was green originally & I will paint it like you said. I need to buy new running boards & aprons. These are rusted pretty bad. I sand blasted them & primed them.

One never knows! That practice of painting cars with that black paint is fairly common today, but it is not authentic. My opinion, it looks like hell! But some folks like it. Free country! I prefer a good black enameled fenders and a good enamel single stage color on the body, not too shiny, Always bear in mind that these cars were early , mass produced and paints were not what we have today. The fenders were dipped in enamel and the wood and inner body was sprayed with with a pyroxilin lacquer. The outsides were sprayed with lacquer too, but whether or not it was the same stuff they used on the interior, I can't say!
Terry

[Robbie Horn]

Got the headlight wiring installed today. It came from Brattons. Very neat wiring harness. So now I have all the lights working properly with the original switch.

[Rusty30roadster]

Nice car and best of luck with it. My brother gave me good advice….. it’s a hobby, when you get frustrated, walk away and come back to it when you have a clear mind and it’s fun again! That’s how I think while working in my other cars. Good luck again.

[Baken]

Nice car. Looking good. New here also and enjoying posts like this.