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they're still out there - "barn find" 30 coupe in so cal! Back in October a friend had contacted me about a model A coupe he found on some random estate sale website.
I wasn't in any position financially or time-wise for any new project, so it was conveniently forgotten, until the sale date weeks later when Mario reminded me. http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...psc104af4f.jpg Since neither of us could afford it whether it was $500 or $5000, I told another friend about it and we hit the road. http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...psf22196bc.jpg The 2 pics on the website were of a partial body on a rolling frame. [http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...psb9dcb8b6.jpg By the time we arrived, a potential buyer had uncovered the shed full of all the missing pieces, and a bunch of repop stuff for a planned restoration. I'm gonna classify this as the barn! http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...psbd697fa5.jpg They asking price was way high, but they were doing a semi-silent auction type deal. Which meant telling us the highest offer so we could beat it! http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...ps4dc4b9dc.jpg Later that night we found out it was ours. At the time the deal was I'd help assemble it and fix it up, and then we'd flip it or continue on depending on time and money. http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...ps934c6880.jpg We found this bitchin single axle car hauler for really cheap. I've always wanted a tilt one like this. Most of the next months time was spent fixing up this clapped out trailer. http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...ps76d681c5.jpg All I did was change out the tires to some with air and put on the doors. http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...ps3896f190.jpg The engine was stuck, and I was imagining the spark plug holes acting like a water funnel. It was amazing to see almost new 10 over pistons. http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...psab12435e.jpg The engine was still stuck, so I was imagining the transmission a rusty mess. Nope just as clean with no chipped teeth. http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...ps76544489.jpg Focuses changed a bit, and I pushed more on the rusty 40 before the rains hit, so the 30 was brought home. Something more quiet to work on with our dickhead neighbors. http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...ps72135b9b.jpg Unfortunately our business partner ship also was at risk. Aaron has a serious disease called cystic lymphoma, and was on the lung transplant list. Somehow he was changed to the San Francisco area list, and the plan was to move to Sacramento. Not much to say when a friends life is at risk! I was hoping to buy off the trailer, but things changed when he wanted the trailer, as he bought my old BMW 2002 and it was the perfect fit. So guess what, I got the coupe! http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...ps888b791a.jpg This changed things as space was at a premium, parts scattered either at the shop space, and then in my garage. http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...ps183a8bea.jpg The past two sundays the kids and I have slowly put the coupe back together. This thing had parts wrapped in newspaper from 1975! The newest repop stuff was from about 1986! http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...ps2f4f69e0.jpg The other cool thing is the guy had kept almost every fastener, even if it was broken or sawed off. Most of our time was spent sorting out the correct bolts chasing threads. I didn't realize how specialized the fasteners were for this puzzle. http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...psfee49b63.jpg Typical late starts ended up with our one bulb night light! http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...psa84ba589.jpg This weekend the fenders and running boards were all mounted up. I'm not used to having a project that doesn't require a ton of hammering! http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...ps04d95464.jpg There was a ton of dirt caught in the catch spots that created the rusty holes on the lower panels. http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...ps7385059f.jpg Now this is about how it looks. There are 3 boxes of all the miscellaneous little parts, and a small pile of bumpers, hood and some other sheetmetal. I'll try to get some time into getting the motor figured out. I hope it just takes some muscle to get it to turn. Anyway don't be surprised if you see it on the classifieds! The bummer is the time I'd have spent on the rusty 40 went to this, and I still haven't made a tranny hump for the green 40! Still its a good project to work on with the kids, so no complaints here! TP |
Re: they're still out there - "barn find" 30 coupe in so cal! Great story, love anytime you see the kids involved. You just created some memories for those kids that will be with them the rest of their lives.
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Re: they're still out there - "barn find" 30 coupe in so cal! Looks like a great find. I think we all hope to find something like this, but alias, it doesn't happen much. I hope you keep it as a stock model A. The engine looks fantastic! Depending on the price you paid, it look to be a pretty sweet deal. Keep us posted on your progress. It looks like you are off to a good start.
Rusty Nelson |
Re: they're still out there - "barn find" 30 coupe in so cal! Neat! Nice job, and good call on keeping the original fasteners where possible. Originals are always better, no exceptions.
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Re: they're still out there - "barn find" 30 coupe in so cal! Ur them 3-X PLUGS:confused:?????? Buster T.:cool:
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Re: they're still out there - "barn find" 30 coupe in so cal! cool story! keep em coming.
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Re: they're still out there - "barn find" 30 coupe in so cal! Great 5 Star Story TP .... ;)
Jim |
Re: they're still out there - "barn find" 30 coupe in so cal! Hey guys glad you appreciated it.
I like reading the discovery threads when there's pictures, so figured I can't be alone here! First off I'm more of a hot rodder, but this one is so complete that its easier to go back to original, although I'm not doing any pretty work just a simple cleanup. Then if I don't keep it the next guy will know what they've got. I do want to repair the lower patch panel areas of the cowl and bottom door. The only thing that is screwy is the distributor and carburetor. Hopefully it is just tinkering time to get them cleaned up. For a couple years I had a stock drivetrain A roadster, so it will be fun getting back to basics. I'll keep everyone posted! Travis |
Re: they're still out there - "barn find" 30 coupe in so cal! Please do, great story, and it seems like a relatively easy build to put a driver back on the road. If you would be willing to disclose, I would like to know what your bid was. Just perverse curiosity, to know what I missed out on. :-).
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Re: they're still out there - "barn find" 30 coupe in so cal! Quote:
let's say it was in the 4 figures so it wasn't a screaming deal, it was just a really really good deal seeing how all the parts are here! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ here's an update... Yesterday was a good day. Over the weekend I had planned on pulling the engine, thinking maybe something was stuck in the bellhousing, keeping the engine from turning. Well some neighbor issues - kids+skating=cops, kinda stopped that. To burn some of my pent up energy, I decided to focus on something fun. http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...ps3669e7d7.jpg After not even 10 minutes, I was able to turn over the engine with a prybar in the starter hole. 8 of those minutes was looking for the best size prybar. There was some light rust on the bottom area (for 40 years) of the flywheel, and I'm hoping it doesn't effect the clutch surface. For now I'm gonna just hope and not tear it apart. http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...ps69af8385.jpg Since a major part of the evening was relieved, I decided to go through the crusty starter. Again pleasantly surprised the starter was almost new in the contact areas that mattered. A quick shine to the copper and good to go. http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...ps6ff73ee2.jpg Nothing like a low compression 4-banger head! http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...ps735f441a.jpg Some light scuffing and thread chasing, and my carriage turned into a pumpkin. For another day... http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...ps033a119a.jpg I did get a little time over the weekend to attach the bumper, and rub the whole car down with some diesel. It really gave it a luster scrubbing off the layer of dirt. The pile of parts is getting smaller, and the boxes are getting lighter, as I also freed up and installed the door window regulators. http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...ps8c71a0ba.jpg Many of the parts were conveniently wrapped in newspaper from 1974! Anyway due to the neighbor issue you may see this in the classifieds. He has already called code enforcement on us twice in the past 4 months. Once for having an auto repair business and once for illegal storage, both times were cleared, but it is a little stressful when I've got so many projects. I'll try my best to keep it, but I need to not get too attached to it. TP |
Re: they're still out there - "barn find" 30 coupe in so cal! That sucks. I really like how this car is coming along. Tell her to pound sand. Your not doing anything illegal. I had a woman like this next door to me after her living there for 25 years she finally moved. Just keep your messes picked up and start studying city codes and ordinances. It's fun to beat them at their game.
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Re: they're still out there - "barn find" 30 coupe in so cal! Hey Tiny!
It's actually a mid-30's man that's causing the problem! We've been here 5+ years and they just moved in this past august. His uncle is a mechanic and has one of those new indians, and his dad was an ex-con or so he said back when we were speaking. Basically he decided to go the other path as a financial analyst nitpicker. Understandably he has a family so we've been super considerate, compared to when there were college kids, but it is push push push as they moved from an HOA type condo to this older neighborhood. Anyway I've been studying the codes like you said for the past months, my degree is Urban Studies and Planning so its actually fun to relive college! Thanks for checking in~ TP |
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