Another "A" on the road and saved!

Hit the road last weekend to add a few more miles. Traveled to a nearby downtown festival in a town 10 miles away, then doubled back the opposite direction for a cruise night. Even found time to pull over and load up at the pumpkin patch. The wife and boy's followed in mom's car. Truth is I'm having a blast and wish I built the the "A" a few years ago.

I've driven vintage cars for years but here are a few specific "A" first timers notes:
People have no idea what hand signals are - True, It's a friendly town, but I'm not waving at everyone.
Double clutching, downshifting is not my friend.
If I forget to turn on the gas leaving the filling station, I can only make it as far as the middle of the intersection.
The subconscious will mistake the spark rod for a turn signal at the worst possible time.
Filling your tank will cause little ladies to tell the gas station attendant your car is "unsafe"


a boring vid of the road, excuse the windshield wind howl.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON8U18HRdAY

Life is more enjoyable at 45 Mph.
 

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That's great, I love the patina your truck has and the sound it makes. I have a 31 wide bed that I am working on and it is definitely nice to see them get running.

What are all of the extra parts that you have on the engine? I noticed an updraft carb amongst them.
 
Can a vehicle pass a state inspection without fenders? When I was young, the teen folklore said that it was illegal not to have any. I have driven my car like that a number of times, but a fenderless sedan looks stranger than a fenderless pickup truck...

Also, what is holding on the headlights? I mounted my headlight bar on just the fender braces so I could have working headlights and horn, but that setup vibrates a lot, which may allow somethign to crack or work loose.

Thanks,
Doug
 
nice truck,,,its runs out on the two lane nice a buddy of mine is looking for a 31 pickup....great to show the young one what life was like!
 
Thanks, Chris. A steady cam would improve the videos. I really enjoyed the little shaver talking thru the patina door to the camera person. Beyond improvement. Bob
 
Double clutching and downshifting goes with the "stock A".
There is a conversion to a later model synchro trans like '35 that can help cure that and keeps everything else (torque tube etc.) the same.

I did a downdraft like you on an RPU I had....big difference....I liked it.
Performance improvements like a Hi Comp head and touring cam are really nice combo as well. Just depends on where you want to go with it!
 
Can you please share how you built the bed too? I was thinking of doing something like that once I get a little further along on my truck. It looks really nice and I like the bent metal pieces for the insides.
 
Thanks guys,
I'm anxiously awaiting another weekend drive.
For the engine mods there are not that many. Downdraft carb and intake, added a "B" grind cam, lightened flywheel and a NOS Walker replacement exhaust. I also added an aluminum side cover and modern dizzy cap but thats more for looks. I plan to bump up to high compression head after a while.

No problem in Missouri for open wheels. I'm sure lack of bumpers could be a violation but no one really checks those around here.

Headlight bar is made from 2 bars. Each mount reshaped then a cross bar, keeping them low might also help the shake. The bed was kind of a study, I wanted something more like a "T" wood bed also since I knew I was going fender less I wanted to play with the proportions so it looked right.

Some build photos here but might take a few detail shots of the bed if wanted. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=533458
 
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