Words: Tommy Parry

Vince began this lengthy build with a handful of parts gathered from meets and auto fairs, one of which was a Nash Metropolitan dash which he needed to chop into four segments to fit within the confines of the Model A’s cabin. With his dad, his uncle, a few friends and a solid motor on his side, he had the right ingredients for a savory Model A.

Since Vince worked in an auto body shop, he also had access to a paint/sandblasting booth at all hours of the day. Taking advantage of this, he burned the midnight oil, grabbed a coffee and picked up a set of ‘50s Ford steelies for the rear and a couple of S10 space savers for the front, primed them and then splashed on a coat of black paint. Vince then shod the black rollers in a set of whitewalls and had all the style points anyone would want from their Model A’s footwear.

With the motor mocked up and a set of Craigslist headers bolted on, the Model A at least looked like it’d be moving under its own power in the near future. Next came a floor, then a fuel cell, a transmission tunnel and a set of lightweight, swiss-cheesed doors to top off everything inside.

Vince then snagged a floor shifter from a Camaro at the local Pick-n-Pull, and topped it off with a Lokar knob won off of eBay. Clearly, this build wasn’t totally utilitarian, and that notion was further reinforced with a wood roof kit.

Continuing to spruce up the appearance of the Model A, Vince searched high and low for a sander strong enough to pull the aircraft carrier-grade paint off the Ford’s hide. Amazingly, even the best available chemical strippers had no effect. With the effects of the chemical strippers making him woozy, he pulled out a flamethrower briefly before realizing it might cause more harm than good. In the end, he found that a 10” stripper with 24-grit was the only thing which could remove the paint, which made stubborn barnacles look like loose pieces of bark clinging to a tree by a thread of dried sap. With plenty of sweating, sparks and profanity, he cleaned most of it off and revealed the shimmering Model A underneath.

After dousing the shiny bits with black primer, Vince threw on a coat of root beer brown, mounted the headlights and fired the ‘ol girl up. With a sigh of relief, he dawdled up and down the block with an ear-to-ear grin, elated his creation was finally mobile and presentable. This continued for a week or so until it came time to show it in person. While the Model A was a major hit at its first meet, it also managed to break down on the way back home; a loose valve and a puncture in the radiator forced him to tow it. So, with a disappointed huff, Vince put the Model A back under the knife.

While on the operating table, Vince gave the exterior a coat of Rustoleum White, dashed some of the interior panels and then cured the car of its maladies. With a functional drivetrain and a Mentos-white exterior, he called it a day. He had added a little bit of spice that doesn’t draw too much attention but certainly exudes classiness, and with that sublime chop off the top, only the blind couldn’t enjoy its appearance.