In the last issue of Modern Rodding we started the process of creating a Model A ’32 —a ’31 Ford coupe with a ’32 5-window coupe roof added and then chopped. The work was completed at Old Anvil Speed Shop in Orange, California, which is helmed by Paul and Jenna Bosserman.
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In the first part of this two-parter, we saw the initial roof cuts being made, the chop being figured out, and the beginning of how Paul was going to address the leaning A posts back to accommodate the roofline.
The entire reconstruction was done in three phases: first the rear section (from the B pillar back) was chopped, which was a pretty straightforward task. But the tricky part was determining not only where the transition would be from the roof to the door top, but if it would be the Model A or the ’32 piece.
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The car’s design concept called for the Model A’s drip rails to be removed (first by cutting out the spot welds) and the ’32 to be added.
Paul was surprised at how close the ’32 5-window coupe roof fit to the old Model A roof, like hand-to-glove in many areas, and nearly all of this work was going to be done by eye—in other words what looked right to Paul. At first Paul thought he’d be using most of the new top section but, as work progressed, he discovered that much of the original Model A roof could be retained. It turned out the ’32 5-window coupe roof would be cut into four sections: the piece above the windshield, the left and right door top sections, and the middle section (the whole rear section of the ’32 with the window was not used at all).
The door top section of the ’32 is positioned so both drip rail areas (from both the ’32 and the Model A) line up.
What did turn out to be true is the amount of work it took to get this roof redo to look “right” might not yield the response from the general public it deserves. It’s so subtle only die-hard ’32 5-window coupe or Model A fanatics will get what happened, and chances are they’ll only see a portion of it—the work really is just that subtle. MR
Paul, confident where the roof is being positioned so far, tack welds the B pillar in place.After making a 1/4-inch Masonite wood template of the windshield frame (chopping it 3 inches also) Paul can begin to clamp the windshield area pieces together.A close-up of how the Model A and ’32 A pillar sections initially fit.The thicker section of the Model A is evident here when compared to the ’32’s above.The door top sections of the old Fords are being fitted to begin tying all the pieces together.Out back, you can see where the ’32 roof is pulling away from the Model A roof. This will be trimmed away as the back third of the car’s roof will only be Model A.This pie-cut will allow the hot rod’s door to be fitted to its new opening.The door sections are pieced together to follow the new A pillar location.You can see how well everything lays out with the roof insert section added, and now it’s beginning to look like a 31.5 Model A!The old Ford door pieces are being tack-welded together.Before the corner door piece could be fab’d, a brace was made so work can continue on the door. Another template allows Paul to figure out how the old Ford flat door glass will be installed.Another tricky part was figuring out the piece (which Paul fab’d) below the drip rail will go and meet up with the Model A’s door edge and lip.The face of the backpiece section that will hold the new drip rail needs to blend from the stepped reveal line (which Paul fab’d on the Pullmax) to fade away into the Model A’s squarish shape as the line runs forward into the corner.The transition area from the cowl to top of the Model A dash had to be fabricated from scratch.With the windshield frame in place, the design of the A pillars belies the hard work that went into making them look so simple.A perfect blending of two eras of 1930s Ford coupes: the Model A and the Deuce.
