Originally Posted by Irelands child
Nothing like being caught between the proverbial rock and the hard place as far as space. Luckily, that is not my problem. Not only do I have a 24x30 two car garage, I also have a 3rd stall in my basement (if not mistaken CA houses seldom have a basement) where I do most of my non-paint work. Painting is done in the 2 car area. Not sure that is worth the snow/weather problems we have, but....
I guess that I would have my welder repair the cracks and, if possible, either put a backer piece or fully box that whole area. The frame is 70 years old and pre WW2 roads were just not as good as they are today, even in CA.
Unless you already have them, giving up the rear discs would be a consideration. A Ford 8" or 9" with rebuilt backing plates will generally be as much brake as you will ever need on a 2800# car. It will free up $6-800 (plus another $2-300 for the e-brake lever, brackets and cables) for other goodies as well as several working days of conversion.(says I that have 4 wheel discs on an "A" roadster???) You will need to find a way to run the e-brake cables and mount the lever - a PITA.
Whatever you do - make it a safe driver. I go to several big shows a year and get down on my knees to look at the undersides. It is unbelievable the lack of safe components and how many people don't consider that aspect in the overall picture.
Enough preaching - gotta get to work on a couple of fenders so I can paint in a few weeks.