A Hole Lot of Fun

I know there are many smart people out there and even many smart people reading this blog. I also know that most of you would not put holes in a perfectly good floor. I also was very reluctant to put holes in a perfectly good floor because unlike many other floors this one took six months to build, but we did and we like it! I am sure you are curious on what I am talking about. There are seat posts for the seats to go into the floor and they all have to be cut out for the plate and then cut all the way through most places for the seat leg to go into. Here is what I mean...

This is what it looks like after it has been cut out. We made a jig. As a side note for you Jim, you want to cut all of the holes in the floor before putting any of the fenders or the hump or anything else in. Believe me when I tell you it will make your life easier. We have all of the right measurements when you get to that point.  

This is what it looks like with the plate in it. The bolts that are in there are not the ones that will be there permanently, it was just to make sure it worked.

Underneath the car is a clip for the seat leg to go into. This is to allow the seat to be removed when needed. The fronts of the seat legs are hooks so you hook in the front and push down the back to hook them into place.

My Grandpa has often made the comment that most of the modern conveniences of cars can be found in a model A. Here is one of the examples right here, removable seating. Didn't realize it had been around for so long did ya?

Rails, Rails, Rails

Some random piece of trivia, the station wagon was very popular for the railroads to use. Because of the seating, it allowed the railroad to move more passengers more efficiently to various destinations. In light of this silly piece of trivia I have another story about rails. These are our roof rails...

A special shout out to my awesomely hot wife who assisted in this picture. We have already talked about bending these but this is a good view of seeing the bend. The bend happens right over the door pillars between the front and rear doors. There is really not much to the rails themselves it is just a 3/4 inch piece of wood. It slopes from where it bend form the front of the car and also towards the back of the car. We first cut one so we could get all of the angles correct and then with the router we cut the remaining 5 to match. Then like everything we seem to do lately we cut holes in a perfectly good piece of wood...

There is 7 holes on the board with a total of 8 bows that will go across. Those of you who can do math notice that there is not enough holes. The eighth one is glued to the rear board on the roof along with to the sides. Because of the added strength by gluing it to the rear it is not necessary to have a hole for the eighth bow. Here is what it looks like on the car...

Stay tuned to for what the roof will look like!

A Place for My Feet to Rest

Once upon a time there was a hole in the floor. It wasn't a big hole, it wasn't a small hole, it was just a hole. The problem with this hole is that it is in the wrong spot. For I the great driver of this car had no place to rest my feet (although if we do leave the hole it would make for an awesome flinstone car). like everything else on this car the piece that goes on the floor under the passenger and driver's feet is also wood. It interfaces with many different parts so there was a lot of cutting, fitting, and sanding to get it to fit. I started with this...

So after I made this pattern I cut it out of 1/2 in birch plywood which is the same plywood that is on all of the doors and quarter panels. You can add another bag of sawdust to your count. It took a little convincing to get the final piece where it needs to be. I unfortunately do not have a final final product, but here is what it basically looks like...

There will be 2 more cuts one for the battery which will be on the left hand side of this picture, and since we are putting in an overdrive there will be another holes right behind the emergency brake. Now that leaves us with only one more hole to fill in and that is under the front seat.

Heading in the Right Direction

My Grandfather doubted our abilities in this particular piece. I can understand his concern. It is curved in three or four different directions. You think I could remember since I actually made the piece. The bottom is curved to match the cowl, the top is curved to match the roof, and then it is also curved front to back to also match the roof, and then it is rounded on the corners so that it looks nice. I have actually worked on this piece for three or four months and now they are finally finished. Here are some pictures of the process...

It starts out as a square block of wood. We made a pattern to make the top and bottom curve to match the cowl. We cut it with a band saw and then used an orbital sander to sand it to match. It took some time but it fits perfectly.

You can't tell very well but if you look at the top you can see that it is curved. It also has a slant to it to match the roof. We made this slant by setting it up on a joiner the angle that we needed and slowly cut away until it looked right. And then put a half inch radius on the front and sanded it to make it look smooth. We also cut the corners to match the curve of the cowl.

So to connect the side rails that are in the second picture to the header you cut a groove on the bottom side of the header and then cut the top of the side rails to go under it. This picture above is the header, it's cut out. And the picture below is the side rail with it cut out.

The Car that Thought it Could

So have you ever heard the story of the Little Engine That Could? Who tried to get up the hill and kept saying "I think I can I think I can..." Every time it made him work harder. He worked so hard he was able to get over that hill. People cheered! Some might of cried, others were happy! His wife loved him!

I know that this might come as a shock to many people but life doesn't always work this way. My Father and I tried to be the Little Engine that Could. We even used "I think I can I think I can" as our rally cry. But as most of you that read my blog know my car didn't. Keep in mind though we have not given up hope. Like any great business we have just extended the deadline.

On a happier note we did get to venture to Boise to enjoy a wonderful Model A meet hosted by the great Treasure Valley Model A's. For those of you who have never been to one of these meets, it is a bunch of old people standing around talking about the past, wondering about the future, and fixing their Model A's. In between all of that they go on tours (my favorite part). Some of the tours we got to go on was to the Yanke Museum, Lucky Peak, and the Warhawk Museum (well we went to the park). It was lots of fun and we thoroughly enjoyed our time. And don't worry this car will make it to a meet sometime in the future.

Four Doors and a Running Board

I know it has been awhile and we still have some catching up to do, but we do have four doors now! Unlike the front doors the back doors are curved to match the fender. As you have read in previous posts, this took a lot of maneuvering, cutting, sanding, and fitting to make it all fit together. The rest of the door is the exact same as the front door. Here are a few pictures...

This picture is without the curve piece and the plywood insert. The hard part about this curve is that you have to make sure that the bottom piece is just big enough to fit between the door pillar and the fender. So you have to cut grooves in and curve it to match the curve to match the fender to match the gap...you can see how it gets complicated fast.

This is what it looks like on the car. I really need to get a picture with the trim on it. But if you look real hard you can picture the trim and almost the car done hahaha.

This might be harder to see but there is a groove that is on the back side of the curve so that the door matches with the other curve piece that goes over the fender. There is basically a door stop on the curve of the fender. 

I am really excited that we have four doors now! So basically the whole outside of the car is complete. So stay tuned for more updates.

If it only cost a Quarter...

Back when this car was originally made a quarter could really get you pretty far. Unfortunately in our lives a quarter doesn't really get you anything. So for me the only useful thing a quarter is is my quarter panel. Which is done!

As you have seen in previous posts we got the curves done for the quarter panel. It took a little convincing probably a few headaches and some pains, but they are done.

The basic construction of the rest of the quarter panel is just like the doors. You have an arm rest that holds in the plywood paneling along with two upright posts. You can check out what this looks like in previous postings. And like to doors it also gets a trim but the pattern is a little different then the doors and tailgate. See below...

Also to throw in a teaser picture. This shows you basically what the outline of the car looks like without the doors or the roof. If you squint really hard, turn your head sideways, and have a really good imagination you can almost see the car finished.

We are really starting to get to the home stretch but to the sadness of all of us the car will not be going to Boise with us. Although disappointing it still has been an enjoyable and fun experience working with my Dad. So all of you out there rooting against us...you win. You know who you are.