It's all about the timing. Without it we don't have aligned planets, skeet shooting or, God forbid, the internal combustion engine. Jim Landsparger knows a thing or two about it. After all, it's how he happened into such a neat Model A Ford.
"While attending a rod run in North Platte, Nebraska, I spotted a red highboy coupe in the hotel parking lot," Landsparger said. "It was a nostalgia coupe with a flathead and a manual trans--something I've always wanted." Certainly, this was a case of being in the right place.
"I approached the owner (Dave Posson) and asked if he would be willing to sell the car...since the run was a three-day show, I had another two days to convince him," he said. Apparently, it did the trick; "he [Posson] said he'd need to sell the car to finish the '49 Merc at home." Definitely right timing.
So, he and Posson cut a deal, and now the coupe shares space with Landsparger's '33 Ford coupe. But that's just the end--here's the beginning.
Posson based the A on a set of boxed Deuce rails. He fabricated a tubular crossmember arrangement and equipped the chassis with Model A front and rear crossmembers, kicking the rear rails up 5 inches and bobbing them at the rear crossmember. For the driving axle, he split the wishbones on a '46 Ford pickup housing and buttoned everything into a Speedway Motors faux quick-change centersection equipped with an open driveline and 3.78:1 gears. He sprung the assembly with a Model A spring and flanked it with '46 drums.
Up front he located a dropped, drilled, and paint-detailed Super Bell axle with a set of Pete & Jake's hairpins. Drawing from the '46 parts pile, he pilfered the spindles and backing plates, capping them with early cast-aluminum Buick drums. To juice the system he used a pedal assembly sourced from a Ford fruit jar master cylinder application. For drive, he had Phyllisburg, Kansas' Ultimate Machine punch a 59A block .080 inches to accept a set of Egge Machine pistons. For rotating mass, he found a Merc 4-inch crank and rod assembly and buttoned it all together for 268 inches of flathead. He stuffed it with an Isky cam and topped the block with Edelbrock heads and an Edmunds two-pot manifold fed by Stromberg 81s. He crowned the jewel with a set of Lakes-style headers he whipped up specifically for the occasion.
Up to the trans everything was pretty traditional, but for that he broke ranks and stabbed an '80s-vintage T5 five-cog from an S-10 pickup against the flatmotor. Most everything went in as stock from GM save for the Ford clutch and Car Quest-fabricated driveshaft.
Posson then covered up all the beautiful chassis work with just about the cherriest of '30 coupe bodies we've seen in a coon's age. Posson lopped 2 inches from the top posts to really set the look. He also welded and smoothed the visor to the roof and chopped the grille shell and insert to match the A's profile. For the finesse, Jarret Lawson over at Norton, Kansas' New Look Body Shop put the moves on the rest of the sheetmetal, prepping everything for New Looks' Brad Harding to lay down some PPG Real Red over the refined panels.
For trim's sake, Great Bend, Kansas' Komarek's Upholstery stretched some red-piped white vinyl over a Glide Engineering seat. Komarek's also gave the panels and headliner the same tuck-treatment to boot. To finish up, Posson wired the cabin with an Affordable Street Rods panel and loom and tucked everything behind a Deuce dash with a Stewart Warner-outfitted Denver Specialty insert panel.
Posson then iced the cake with a set of Wheel Vintiques 15-inch Gennies, detailed with '40 Ford caps 'n' rings and shod with wide white Coker Classics. To give the rear some more detail, he fabricated a bedrail-styled nerf to finish the body's abrupt stop. He also loaded the tailpanel with '50 Pontiac taillights and the cut and trimmed headlight stands with KD Lamp sealed-beam conversion lights. Incidentally, Yuma, Colorado's Quality Plating rubbed and gilded all the brightwork--including the rear tag light fashioned from a Coca-Cola bottle opener.
And, we also happened upon the little coupe at the right place and the right time, as Landsparger was still riding the buzz from his fresh acquisition. We could certainly identify with his affinity for the coupe; unfortunately, the only things he'd let us take were photos.
A-bones look quite dandy just...
A-bones look quite dandy just lettin' it all hang out, and Posson took advantage of it with a "quiet" (false) quick-change housing. Dig the bedrail-style nerf--what a way to finish a tailpan. Posson threw some light at the plate with a clever kitchen tool: a vintage chromed Coca-Cola bottle opener.
Prior owner Dave Posson stroked...
Prior owner Dave Posson stroked 'n' poked the 59A mill to a respectable 268 inches with a Merc crank and rods and Egge Machine pistons. He feeds it with an Isky cam and meters it with an old Edmunds two-pot with Stromberg 81s. Edelbrock heads certainly add eye candy.
It's tough to get room in...
It's tough to get room in a chopped Model A, but Posson and Komarek's Upholstery found every inch using a Glide Engineering seat. The red piping brings out the best in the red cut-pile rugs and metalwork. A finned Denver Specialty insert houses a quintet of Stewart Warner dials.