East Coast Graffiti

By John Gilbert Photography by the Author

his story started out as a simple tech about installing Dynamat into a hot rod and then a more thorough examination of the car changed everything. This 1931 Model A Ford is the best example of the worst job building a hot rod that I’ve ever seen. The first time I saw the East Coast–style coupe it was too late to advise my son-in-law how to buy a used hot rod. Ramon had already bought the car and spent big bucks for questionable repairs before pulling it out of a dodgy shop. 

My first opportunity to see the Model A in person was while our family gathered for Thanksgiving and it was a flashback to the ’80s. It was typical ’80s looking. Inside the coupe’s interior it was obvious the car had been built by an inept DIY guy using junkyard parts who owned a cutting torch but not a body grinder. 

I asked Ramon how he intended to use the coupe and he said he wanted to cruise it to the local weekend car shows like the doughnut shop, but no long road trips. The next question was which shop would finish it up? Ramon said he was happy with the customizing work 714 Motorsports in Westminster, California, did on his new Ford Super Duty, so he’d probably take it there. 

I was familiar with 714 Motorsports, knowing Chip Foose had upholstery work done there on his cars. I was intrigued by the Model A, so I told Ramon if he’d like I’d trailer the A to my house and determine how much work it would take for 714 Motorsports to make the car right. The deeper I dug into the Model A the more problems I found. Big problems like after discovering the body had been welded onto an unsafe frame that it might be better to replace it with a new chassis than to invest the parts and labor needed to correct it. 

There’s a difference to how a shop should undertake working on a customer’s car and what the DIY guy can get away with if he does it himself. For a shop there’s liability issues because they have to make absolutely sure the vehicle is safe to return to its owner or be responsible if it isn’t. And then as is the case for this Model A, the number of hours invested in shop labor making repairs it would make more sense to install new parts and cut way down on labor charges.

I advised Ramon the best route for his Model A was to cut the body off the frame and set it onto a new rolling chassis with better suspension and brakes. And I didn’t have to tell him it would cost a lot of money to have a shop do the work. A few days later Ramon texted me saying he was going to sell the Model A because it was too big of a project. That’s all it took. I forgot everything I knew about buying a used hot rod and wanted to buy Ramon’s Model A.

Ramon and I struck a deal and the 1931 Model A remained in my garage. I explained to my wife I could have the Model A on the road much sooner than my 1932 roadster. She liked sitting in the Model A’s Porsche high back bucket seats and listening to the massive Kenwood/Kicker sound system the dodgy guys installed. But the next time my wife came into the garage I had pitched the Porsche bucket seats to the driveway and the interior was gutted down to the bare framerails. She kind of freaked out; it was almost an unpleasant moment. 

Falling in love with the 1931 Ford Model A blinded me and I failed to recognize everything about the car was done wrong except for a few minor details. I knew the steering column, brake and gas pedals were placed wrong, but it was a surprise to discover it had unevenly cut rotted plywood held in with plumber’s tape for floorboards. Ramon paid for new carpeting, which he got, but the upholstery guy didn’t think twice about covering gaping holes in the floorboards.

Because it is very expensive to correct rust damage one of the most important tips to buying any used hot rod is to peel back the carpeting and see what the floors look like. The difference between a car that has been constructed properly and one that hasn’t is the amount of labor it will require when the time comes to make repairs and install new parts.

That’s what I have been up against, not being able to bolt new parts directly back into place without first having to determine which are the right new parts and where to drill the new mounting holes. The plus side to buying the worst Model A hot rod ever built is job security. I’m a freelance tech editor, so Modern Rodding readers can look forward to more installments covering this grassroots approach. And the moniker “East Coast Graffiti” came to me because of the Model A’s East Coast style channeled with a stock height top and the same yellow color as John Milner’s coupe in American Graffiti.

2. I got the 1965 Olds 425-inch Starfire engine to start and the oil pressure was good right until the aged feed line for the mechanical oil pressure gauge burst.

4. High back bucket seats in a hot rod are too reminiscent of the ’80s for me. That and the seats were bolted into place without adjustable seat tracks meant they had to go.

6. Improper placement of the steering column, shifter, brake and gas pedals not only makes the car uncomfortable to drive for any length of time, it makes it a dangerous car to drive.

8. It’s hard to imagine a high-end sound system installer laying new carpet without installing Dynamat first. At this point I peeled back the fresh carpet and padding and discovered no Dynamat.

10. Here my assistant helps to flatten out the carpet to be used as a template to cut out new carpeting. Then later I determined this carpet would be a bad pattern to follow and tossed it.

12. Look to see where the gas tank has been located. Typical for this poorly designed build the A’s gas tank (fuel cell) has been placed in the worst spot possible … think Ford Pinto.

13. The concentration for now is placed on correcting the position of the steering column, pedals, and seat location. Then a new removable rear floor section will be made.

15. Installing the steering column at the wrong angle like this destroys valuable legroom. Look under the dash. If the wiring looks like this, plan on rewiring the entire car.

17. The stereo installer was a good pattern maker but choosing to use MDF (medium density fiberboard) was a dumb mistake for a hot rod because MDF dissolves when exposed to water.

19. This view of the passenger inside of the cowl reveals the guy who channeled this car was a hack. This area will be blocked off to prevent water from entering.

21. Not my first choice for seats, but after I dye these bucket seats black they’ll look better. When I fabricate this section of the new floor it will have Nutserts easing the removal and installation of the seats. (A Nutsert is a branded name for a rivet nut, which is a metal fastener with internal threads.)

23. I figured a 1932 floor was close to a 1931 floor so I tried my Wescott Deuce floor and it was a close fit. Next step was to order Speedway Motors’ fiberglass 1932 floor.

25. The two metal pieces seen on the floor had to be cut before Speedway Motors’ 1932-style steel dashboard for a Model A could be mounted to the existing holes for a stock Model A dashboard.

27. The seat floor made of marine-grade plywood will be cut to fit under the lip at the rear of the Speedway Motors fiberglass floor holding the front of the seat floor in place.

29. Speedway Motors was the source for the 12-inch Covico-style steering wheel headed for a Flaming River tilt column. John Milner’s coupe in American Graffiti had a 14-1/2-inch Covico wheel.

31. In the next installment of East Coast Graffiti we’ll learn how to connect the steering column at the correct angle to the steering box using U-joints and support bearings plus punching holes for new gauges.

33. Beyond mounting with bad welds, the major flaws to this homemade trailing arm setup are the flimsy light gauge steel arms without bushings and the bolt threads able to cut as the suspension travels.