“A-Steel” - 1930 Ford Coupe – chopped & channelled

[Phildaupho]

Jesse - In regard to getting my Model-A low, I learnt quite a bit building this model. The easiest step was gaining lowness by modifying the front axle and rear spring. I removed any tabs and posts that got in the way and opened up the mounting slots to allow both front and rear springs to sit deeper in the cross members.

As for Z-ing the Model-A frame, if I were going to do it again I would do both forward and rear Zs further back. Doing the forward Z at about the firewall will give more ground clearance to the oil pan and doing the rear Z closer to the rear cross member leaves a flat floor in the interior for seat mounting. The Zs were done by making a 45-degree cut to the frame. I draw an N shape and cut the diagonal. If you only want to Z the width of the frame you just glue the cut part on top of the remaining frame lined up with the vertical lines. In back I added an extra frame width and in retrospect could have added two or three widths to get the hot-rod lower in back. Once the frame was done I made new floorboards from sheet plastic.

The car was channelled by cutting the firewall where it was to sit on the frame and having inner mounting blocks to support the rear of the frame. I also cut the inner door panels by the amount the car was channelled.

I hope this helps.

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