1929 Ford Model A Speedster

This thread is cool. Good luck with the build Woody!!!!

Woody wrote: Last night's eBay score: It's a Vern Tardel Model A K member, which is basically a Deuce K member sized to fit a Model A frame. It makes the installation of Flathead V8 into a Model A *much* easier. It also gives you a place to mount the brake and clutch pedals, since they were originally mounted to the Model A transmission, which we are not using. These are currently unavailable, but I found a new, unused unit on eBay. Didn't save any money on it though...

I'm looking at some parts that our sheetmetal guy could probably make out of stainless steel for about $35 - other than that one machined little bracket...

I don't have a sheet metal guy. Have him give me a call.

That piece may look pretty simple, but it's very important. Not only does it enable you to mount the engine and transmission in the right spot, it helps locate both the front and rear suspension, the brake and clutch pedals and master cylinders, and stiffens the frame, all while fitting perfectly within the dimensions of the stock frame and not interfering with anything else.

We are working within some self imposed deadlines and this is one of those pieces that needed to fall into place without a lot of mental anguish. It was otherwise unavailable and seemed to be well worth the investment.

Well, if they're no longer available, look up Mark at Paco Motorsports and bring them back to market! He's actually on this forum occasionally.

The Re-cowling of the Tudor:

The body is now ready for Craigslist.

woody you dont need anything from this its my friends and he will part it

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/cto/3721759759.html

Too bad I can't drag that back to NY. It would be a good start for a hack body

That's a T hack, but there's actually a fairly affordable A hack for sale around here on Craigslist. I'll see if I can find the ad.

Very cool build Woody. Have fun.

Woody wrote: That's a T hack, but there's actually a fairly affordable A hack for sale around here on Craigslist. I'll see if I can find the ad.

I guess it wasn't a hack. It's not an authentic body, but it looks like a bargain at this price.

Not mine, etc...

http://nh.craigslist.org/cto/3672540902.html

Good solid sheet metal, all new wood. Will need wiring harness and battery to run. Asking $5500.00 Please call Frank at 603-352-6290

I have loosely combined the best pieces and our Tudor firewall and and fuel tank have been mated to the Roadster dash and a-pillar. The Roadster a-pillar will allow us to mount a folding windshield.

With the dash installed:

Special tools:

We won't be using the original fuel tank to hold fuel, but for some reason, I've become fascinated by the little fuel gauge that sits behind the sight glass in the dash. I noticed that the one in the tank that we're not using is a little bit nicer, so I wanted to snag it. Removing it requires a pair of special tools.

You need to hold the float and gauge assembly with the square tool while you remove the retaining ring with the special wrench.

The whole system is wonderfully simple, though the cork float has seen better days.

I'm sure that if your cork had been soaked for 84 years straight it wouldn't look all that great either...

That fuel gauge is a work of art!

That's why I was willing to spend $13 for the special tools. I'm sure I could have worked around it with something else, but since I have two to remove and install, it was kind of a no brainer.

Woody wrote:

That... is freaking gorgeous. Loving the fuel gauge refresh as well!

I bet that fuel gauge more reliably indicates remaining fuel than those in many modern cars. At least at rest.

Car in a truck.

Sold on Craigslist in less than 24 hours.

Makes sense....it will make a very nice hot rod.

The guy who bought it sounds as if he's got the stuff to make that happen.

Excellent. IMHO, we should keep as much old tin from that era in running condition as possible.

Time to get to work on the chassis.

Did you find a home for that motor yet? I don't quite know what I want to do with it, but I feel like I want to do something.

No plans for the four cylinder engine. I haven't done anything to it yet, aside from putting a little Marvel Mystery Oil in the cylinders. I don't know anything about it's condition, although it does look fairly clean. The acorn nuts are off of the head, so I was thinking about taking it apart and having a look inside.

I had thought about just setting it aside for a future project. Maybe build it up with vintage speed parts or an air compressor conversion, but the Speedster project is front and center right now.

I do know that the engine needs to come out this week so that we can get busy on the chassis.

If it were me I think I'd go ahead and use the tank for simplicity's sake. Sure that's 10 gallons of fuel up sort of up high, but no higher than most batteries are mounted and you can mount the battery below the floor to compensate.

The idea of my fuel system only requiring two feet of fuel line appeals to me.

I don't remember the name of the company, maybe Dan will know, but there is or was a huge flathead era Ford parts supplier in Ballston Spa, NY. They stocked almost anything you would need or want, new, used, made in USA or cheaper import, for all the T and A era cars. I walked in a few times for firetruck parts and they were always terrific.

And it amazes me how much suspension stuff you can get from Speedway too. What other car still has parts support almost a century later?

Edit: http://www.earlyford.com/

oldopelguy wrote: The idea of my fuel system only requiring two feet of fuel line appeals to me.

The idea of my fuel system only six inches above my lap appeals less to me.