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30 model a 5 window coupe... plan on chopping the top 5 inches z-cutting the front and installing an air ride bridge kit in the rear body dropping 3-4 inches. back tires are 15 inches wide!! haha cant decide between small or big block. leaning towards big block for the intimidation factor! have a 4 speed saginaw and a narrowed 9 inch, 373 posi with moser axles
any comments, suggestions or advice welcome!!!
Looks like a nice start, keep us posted.
5" chop??? What are you going to do? Look over the top of the windshield??? A 3" to 3 1/2" chop is a lot more reasonable and will serve to keep the body in the correct proportions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Severson
haha its not a hotrod with a little compromise....i figured i would lay the seat and column back as if you were sitting in a trans am or corvette....got the room with the 5 window...
also thinking of body dropping it...gonna put the rag top back in too! haha what yall think? also what do yall think of those back tires? too much or just right?
With a 5" chop and the resulting mail-slot window, you may not be able to license the car.
The rear tires are out of proportion - and out of time frame for a rat rod . . . at least in my opinion. They're more suited to a pro-street or t-bucket look.
However, the definition of "rat rod" changes every day, and it's your car, so do what trips your trigger. You did ask though . . .
Better check some state laws. Even out here in the stix we have to have 6" of vertical height on the windshield... As for the soft top, I never did like them. A filled roof looks much better. Kind of a nice coupe to not take the time to make a decent Hot Rod out of, but like Jack said it's your car, have a ball.
Six inches really puts it low, but 5 is not too much IMO. My theory has always been, if you are going to chop it, chop it. :3dSMILE: :3dSMILE:
I do think the tires don't fit what cars are currently using though. A car should have a theme, and the parts used should follow that blueprint. If you are building a rat, it sort of dictates that you use wheels and tires that simulate a bygone era. That is why most of them use stuff like 16 inchers, with either blackwalls or wide whites. The fat ones you have would look out of place IMO.
But, it is your car, so whatever makes you happy.
Don
Heres some pics......
Take in mind these are similair years...not exact year of yours.
These are just for ideas....and looks.
Now -- let's talk about ridiculous. It had Nevada plates on it and was being driven around York, PA at the NSRA show this past weekend. :whacked:
Could he see anything - maybe the road centerline, but not much else with the engine staring him in the eye and a mail slot windshield.
i do love the fat whites on cheater slicks....i like the old mag wheels with gasser style fronts...but i am torn bewtween that and steel wheels! haha a lot of thinking to do. i may not use those tires in the pic...i just had them lying around the shop. that last one looks killer but is not as practical as i want. i am leaning towards the 5 inch chop.
Yeah, here is a 6 inch chop on my Kids '29, before he decided he didn't want two sedans, and turned this one into a roadster pickup. Little severe, but we don't build these things to be totally practical sometimes. For that, we buy an SUV or something else. :LOL: :LOL:
Don
Don I love that thing!!!!
Dave Brisco
Thanks Dave, in some ways I wish he hadn't cut it up, but there is a second tudor body sitting in the loft. That's going on a Deuce frame, and will be more traditional. (but still chopped :D :D )
Don
lol thats what i want!!! haha jk it looks like 5 would be perfect for me!! i really appreciate the help you have given me!!
now on that car in the pic...
how much was the z cut on the front of that car?
how much was the rear of the frame brought up for suspension travel?
thanks bro!
have any more pics of it? haha
The car is bagged all the way around. I think the front is only like 6 inches or so, but the back is more like 20, because he will be laying it down all the way at times. I'll get you the exact figures when I see him tonight.
Here is a side shot of the frame to give you some perspective.
Don
that is killer!! love it!!
Don, I love that rod too, very cool. I don't know if I can fit in her, I would probly have my head sticking out of the top!! Very cool looking car though, chopping the top is the only way to go if you have the know-how.
Gee, I always wanted a chopped top and last Friday took my '29 roadster windshield frame to a glass shop for glass with a 2" chop, but I am really wondering if I will clear the inside of the top. I have measured over the cowl while sitting in the front seat and I am hoping there is some upward slant to the top. I am average height about 5'10" sitting on a Dodge Caravan seat in the '29 body and I think anything more than a 2" chop will be a problem on a '29.
Don Shillady
Retired Scientist?/Teen Rodder
Don: Is your '29 channelled? If not, you should be low enough in the seat so that you are looking through the windshield. My Kids is channelled 4 inches, and he is sitting in a bomber seat in this picture. As you can see, his head is below the windshield top, and he is about your height. His windshield is also chopped two inches.
Don
Itoldyouso, That looks good although his seat is lower. My arm is comfortable on the body edge and I guess the top bow will be over my head , but I am sure my wife will wonder why Henry Ford made the rood so low! With Big/little 15" back/14" front and a 5" drop in the front axle there is no problem looking over the hood as long as I can see under the top edge of the windshield. Your picture is encouraging.
Don Shillady
Retired (?) Scientist/teen rodder
some good looking pics...giving me soem good ideas!!! keep em coming! any other suggestions?
Here are a couple of my favorite coupes with chops.
Don
The first red coupe is well proportioned but I can't guess how many inches the chop is. How can there be zero views when I have just looked at all three?
Don Shillady
Retired (?) Scientist/teen rodder
It's 4 inches. Here's the site with the whole story; http://www.classicroad.com/modelA/index.htmQuote:
Originally Posted by Don Shillady
I was looking over this car last Saturday (again) and it's VERY well done.
That coupe is flat out beautiful. So simple but well done and traditional. :)
The video in the pictures you posted is cool too, Bob.
Don
Yup, going to be a nice car when he finishes it....
very nice car!
very nice ride
The red one to me looks fantastic, other than the cutouts in the shade above the windshield. i don't know about these cars but I don't like it when they look like they have a bow or dip in the body right at the firewall. is that from frame sagging or what?
Red
Dago Red, I agree about the drooping cowl sometimes seen but that is usually with too much kick up or something like a Tudor channeled unevenly BUT here the red coupe really is nicely done with the '30 cowl as level as it ever was on the A-frame but here it is on a '32 frame as is clear from the sculpting on the side of the frame. The '32 frame is NOT flat on top so some sort of wood or metal wedge has to be added under the A body to make it level. The old '50s reason for doing this was because the '32 frame was ready for a V8 while the A frame required some modification for a V8. Then folks realized that the sculpted indent in the '32 frame looks nice so that was another reason to use a '32, although it is a little too wide under the cowl and is often "pinched" to mount a Model A body. Next time you see a near original '32 note that the frame was actually exposed along the side of the car without splash aprons and the frame was painted as part of the body between the fenders and upper body. As shown, that red '30 as about as good as it gets and that is really good but I would like to see the driver sitting in there for head clearance. Maybe someone else can explain why that "cowl droop occurs on some cars?
Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder
I agree the back tires are a little wide for my taste but hey its your car.
I do too Dave, it has real attitude! Those bodys are hard to find, I have been looking around a bit with no luck.
That is a trip to see bags on a street rod, good idea makes the car more drivable huh?