Moal Coachworks’ new heater...
Moal Coachworks’ new heater tucks up out of the way behind the dashboard of the Roadster Ute’s reproduction Model A pickup.
One of the great things about being around the Street Rodder office is the chance to gather at our editor’s feet while he regales us with tales of the “good old days.” Evidently back when Editor Brennan was a young’un braving the harsh SoCal winters and walking up hill both ways to magazine school, most people referred to ’28-29 Model A closed cab pickups as “phone booths” due to their tall, skinny profile. Of course that was back before an enterprising Australian, by the name of Kelvin Waddington, introduced the 6-inch stretched version manufactured by his company, Roadster Ute.
Since Brennan has never seen a pickup he didn’t like, when the super-sized version hit our shores he had to have one. Since the plan is to make this a daily driver, there were a couple of options he chose to include: a heater and dual windshield wipers. Waddington has made them available on the new cabs, but they can be added to an original as well.
The pickup’s dash houses a...
The pickup’s dash houses a set of slick new instruments from New Vintage Gauges with no-nonsense white on black faces.
To keep the confines of the cab warm when it’s chilly outside, Waddington installed a compact heater from Moal Coachworks. Known far and wide for their one-of-kind handcrafted bodies, Moal’s heater is everything you’d expect it to be. The compact underdash design measures 12 inches high by 10 inches wide by 6 inches deep. It has a gelcoated fiberglass housing that’s ready for painting and a machined aluminum trim bezel and stainless steel grille that are ready for polishing. A single switch controls the three-speed blower motor and the on/off water valve.
In addition to being cold, one of the realities of driving a hot rod regularly is that it’s going to get rained on. But this pickup won’t be parked when the skies open up because it’s going to have real windshield wipers from New Port Engineering. They offer wiper kits for a wide variety of vehicles, including ’28-29 Model A pickups. Ours came with a new, two-speed electric motor, linkage arms, wiper transmissions, wiper arms, and blades. Also included is a drill jig to accurately locate the mounting holes for the wiper shafts.
With a heater and wipers Brennan can be cozy when it’s cold outside and see where he’s going when the skies open up in his all-weather A. Can’t wait to hear all the stories about that.
A test-fit of the Moal heater...
A test-fit of the Moal heater proved it would fit between the gauges and passenger side cowl.
Kelvin Waddington’s crew fabricated...
Kelvin Waddington’s crew fabricated brackets to mount the heater. One attaches to the side of the heater outlet.
The bracket shown previously...
The bracket shown previously secures the heater to the lip of the dashboard and leaves plenty of room for the instruments.
This simple bracket will bolt...
This simple bracket will bolt onto the heater and attaches to another bracket that is fastened to the body.
Here the bracket has been...
Here the bracket has been attached to the heater with the original fasteners.
This is the body bracket;...
This is the body bracket; it’s is angled to fit the curvature of the A’s cowl.
The bracket on the motor end...
The bracket on the motor end of the heater attaches to the body with the fasteners used to secure the upper portion of the cowl to the passenger side.
New Port Engineering’s Clean...
New Port Engineering’s Clean Wipe system is well built, easy to install, and best of all it makes driving in the rain safe.
The first step to install...
The first step to install the wipers is positioning the jig for drilling the holes for the wiper transmissions.
A small file is used to turn...
A small file is used to turn the small upper holes into slots. To keep them from rotating, tabs on the wiper transmissions fit into the slots.
Not only does the jig locate...
Not only does the jig locate the holes for the wiper shafts, also note the small hole above.
The splined New Port wiper...
The splined New Port wiper shafts are installed and secured with the supplied hardware.
On the inside of the cab the...
On the inside of the cab the arms attach to links from the wiper motor. Note the plastic washer.
The wiper arms are secured...
The wiper arms are secured to the links with clips.
Once the arms and links are...
Once the arms and links are secured, the motor can be permanently installed. All that’s left to do is install the wiper arms and blades and connect fused power to the pre-wired switch.