Building a 1930 Ford hotrod

For many years, I have re-built and modified cars, doing engine swaps etc. but I have always wanted to build my own car, a Hotrod or a Cobra replica. The Hotrod is the favorite though and following the sale of a few of my treasured possessions, I have raised some funds to make a start.

Although I'm not generally a Ford fan, my favorite early car is the 1930/31 A model Ford Coupe. After several years of looking and procrastination, on the 18th Feb 1998, I bought one! Actually, a rough outer body shell only, with a chassis, an 8" diff and front mudguards included in the deal. The body and guards (fenders) need LOTS of repair work. This is the start of my dream hotrod.

They say that an "A" model Ford is one of the easiest Rods to build. This may be so, as many repro parts are available, but it's easy to underestimate the amount of work required on a steel car. Many repro parts are pretty poor quality and need work before they can be fitted.

To massage all that real steel into shape, I enrolled in a vehicle restoration course at a local college, which I attend once a week.

These pages and pictures are my attempt to show some of the intricacies of building a Hotrod. I have found that very few of the many small "projects" that culminate with a Hotrod are documented any where that I can find, even in the many "how to build a Hotrod" type texts. These pages then, are some snippets of my approach to building a rod and should be taken as a guide only. If you wish to use any of this material, do so, but be aware that they are my ideas only. As stated elsewhere, this is my first Rod and if you can contribute any ideas or see flaws in my ideas, please let me know!

This is what I started with. A basic body shell, which had been imported from the USA in 1998, with a chassis and two battered front fenders. The chassis was damaged, along with the left fender. I later picked up another fender, rear fenders and hood from swap meets. Now, it's all steel!

No guarantees are given or implied as to the suitability of this material for any purpose whatsoever.

Updated 13-Feb-2007

This page will constantly be under construction, as will the Rod !!!

E-mail, especially if building a 30/31 coupe, or any Hotrod.

Due to spam, copy this address and remove the text in capitals first !

REMOVE-THISglennp@bigpond.net.au

Please make sure you have a suitable subject matter on your email or I will NOT OPEN it, due to the threat of a VIRUS

also, Make sure you have a valid return address !!

I answer all mail, but some of you have invalid email address.

FEB 2007 This is how she looks right now. Most panels primed etc. Still trying to get everything lining up in the running boards area. This repro stuff sucks ............

I have just finished the exhaust sytem in stainless. See it here.

Building a stainless Exhaust