Hello there ...well this is first post, and in two weeks I've given my word to a guy that I would buy his 30 Ford sedan for 2500 bucks.

Here is what I'm getting...

30 Ford Frame separated from car.
a 4 inch chop 30 sedan with great steel
suicided doors
original firewall in place
roof welded
No holes, some surface rust
No dash
Radiator shroud no grill
Head lights and light bar
Original steel running board
Fiberglas fenders front and rear
Window tracks
WIndow cranks
Door handles
Trunk lid
BUmpers...I think
A wiring harness type not known.
Disc brakes and 8 inch drums for back
No interior


There may be more odds and ends it was his sons who recently died so he is only somewhat familiar.

Here is my situation... I have a single car garage 12 feet wide to work in, have an old 60 amp service I can run out to it...

Inventory of tools ...10 inch sears chop saw. misc household tools.. 6 vice grips ( man can never have enough).

The largest project handyman wise I've ever completed ...was a 20x20 rear deck that i sunscreened with 4x4 posting and 2x1's spaced 3/4's inch apart....I amazed myself..

Other than that I have no metal skills ...no suspension knowlege... no electrical skill...although 30 years ago I did a v-8 swap into my 57. and it ran.

Other than that I in great shape...

SO the 64 thousand dollar question is ...does this sound like it's too much project for a 61 year old newbie..


appreciate your feedback...


Robert Bullard

Welcome to Hotrodders........sounds like you got a great deal. Just jump in there and have fun it will all come together some day.

Well, you are going to spend some more money on that project. No doubt about that. But with what you are getting it for you can't go wrong. That is, if everything is as described.
That car isn't a big project. It's a bunch of small ones.
There is a bunch of help here for a guy who is willing to ask for it.
I'd do it .

you should do it.


later, mikey

__________________
BE different....ACT normal.

No one is completely useless..They can always be used as a bad example

Thanks for the input...

I Have been reading some of the other beginer sites ...and there is just some great advice there...basically as i see it ...if i keep reading and questioning this forum by itself may just get me through the hard spots and times.

appreciate it

THX

Welcome to the site MustBnuts. You have the beginnings of a great project there. As powerrodsmike says, "That car isn't a big project. It's a bunch of small ones." All you need is a willingness to learn! There is a tremendous amount of info on this site as well as the members knowledge. Check out the Knowledge Base and use the search function to get quick answers to your questions. As well check out the Project Journals for info and inspiration.

Here is another link that you might want to check out:

http://www.webrodder.com/article.ph...14&SID=60&CID=7

Good luck and have fun.

So this farmer has an 80 gallon three cylinder 2 phase compressor for sale beside the highway ...already two guys stopped to look at it...i stop...take a quick look and figure i got to get to the house and lay down the hay before theothers ...so i give him 200 of the 650 he wants for it and tell him i ll pick it up monday...walk back out to the road the otherguys have left..i shrug...and stop to take a harder look at my nearly new compressor..not a scratch on it...I panic...its 600 volts...so how messed up am I with this Eagle compressor that can run a 5 man shop...that the city where i live will never agree to 600 volts to a 60 year old 24x12 gargage...assuming i could afford the line in if they would....

Help

Well this is the Introduction forum........You should really post this question in the Garage/Tools forum. 600 volts...thats three phase I think......they may not even have three phase service on the road you live on...I know they don't on mine...the closest to me is the highway a few miles away. You can get a three phase converter but that would cost way more than the air compressor. You just need to try and sell it is all I can tell you.

Well the ad is being written as we type...

gave the guy my word and i ll stand by it, to someone in toronto witha serious shop this piece would be a winner...just want to get my money out of it...

could be even worse ..i pay him the balance and take it away only to find out it needs work...

my buddy says eat the 200 but dang i shook on it ...and i generally have faith in people ...so ill go forward

take care.

Sorry about your little screwup. I'm sure you can unload it for more than you paid for it. Place a free for sale ad in the Classifieds on this site (link at the top of the page). As well see if you can trade it in on a 220V at your local air compressor sales place. Good luck.

It's been two weeks since you said you were going to get that Model A. Did you get it? Was it what you thought it would be? If you got it let's see some pics.

havent figured out how to transport the pics into here yet...i took pics when we picked it up.... but the pics are in an email...if i had ur email be more than happy to forward them ...man she is sweet...solid no holes no serious rust ..
robert bullard toronto canada

Here are the pics that MustBnuts emailed me. Also I have included the text of what he wrote in his email to me.

"The 6 banger is just stored on the frame for some reason the six is not part of the package I'll be using my 429/c6 combo.... the 429 has the dove a iron heads and the dove c ..cj block.

...the guy had over 300 acres.. and he choose that spot to park the engine...
note the parts on the upper shelves in one of the pics.
Thanks for the help with these pics... I know there are a few folks who want to see them.
BY the way any feed back on the frame is appreciated...lots of clean up and finish the boxing ...but never seen a front suspension like this ..I think the shocks are too tall and will the the fenders...
anyway thanks again. "

Attached Thumbnails

         

That body looks pretty good. That is not the original firewall though. As for the frame - it looks like it was a Model a frame but has been butchered by someone who did not know very much.

I feel it is not worth the time to try and use it. With your limited knowledge it would be a tremendous amount of work and you would probably burn out before you ever got that A bone on the road.

Rear of frame- He has very poorly welded that rear end onto the rear of the frame. I do not think it would be safe to drive it this way. The control arms have been heated and bent up and are probably not centering the rear end properly. What this means is that you will be dog tracking down the road when you drive it. This puts extra unneeded stress on the rear u joint and rear tires.

BTW - Scrub line unsafe - it looks like if the tires went flat the coil spring pads at the rear would contact the ground and spin you around. You would have no control of where you were going.

The front suspension - It looks like he has used a van or truck straight front axle and added on the coil springs. The front cross member has been unriveted and the front rails have been spread apart to be able to mount the coil springs to them. This means that the wheels will no longer fit under the fenders. He has made his own bat wings and it looks like the four bars and rear mounts. All the welds do not look very good here as well.

This is not a frame for an inexperienced builder to start with. I feel it is unsafe!!! It no longer resembles an original in shape or size. It probably has been twisted with all the work that has been done to it. You will not be able to mount your fenders on the front without great difficulty.

At this point you may be able to sell it to an experienced builder who will blow it apart and use parts of it - maybe. I doubt that most builders would want it as would a lot of work to take it apart and it would be like starting with bare frame rails but with a whole bunch of grinding and welding to do as well as having to get rid of all the rust.

My advice is to look at buying an original frame in good condition or purchase a reproduction one. Reproduction frames are available in a stock configuration or with all the mounts for the suspensions you choose, motor and transmission mounts and body and fender mount installed. You can also get a roller with all the suspension already attached.

All this said you still got a fairly good deal on the body in that it is chopped, has suicide doors and has the roof already filled.

Perhaps some of the other members will have a different view and can give you some different advice.

Well brew...

You got me thinking .... one of the problems is affordability of a TCI roller...out of my price range....

was thinking... cut everything off leaving the rear end ...middle crossmember and front cross memeber replacing the ...the middle with 2x4 channel and the front with an after market piece...I've got a 79 thunderbird with airbags as parts car for the rear. that is what has the cj 429 ...

Have a friend who makes race car chrome moly chassis' he should be able to tell me if the rails are crooked ...if so ...hmmmm I'll just cross that bridge....

Really appreciate ur input ..the ch****is just looked like a mess when i first saw it...but didnt want to say much... the guy's son made it ...and was recently killed when his 57 Ranchero he was workin under fell on him ...so i was very deliberate in what i said...

Thx

Robert BUllard Toronto

LOL

guess the system does like the word Chazziz....too funny
rb

If you have friend that has that type of frame knowledge you may be able to salvage that frame. The time and money used to redo it may be more than it is worth. You may want to consider this post on how to build a model A frame with new materials. Remember that sandblasting will cost you money, so will grinding and cutting discs. Here is a link to building a frame using the model A as a basis:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...=model+rear+end

Wescott also has frame drawings for a Model A:

http://www.wescottsauto.com/site2003C/frame_specs.html

Good luck and let us know what you have decided. Better yet get someone to show you how to post pics and start a project journal.