While it is easy to be overwhelmed with trends in hot rod history, many have decided to return to the purity of the West Coast hot rods of the immediate prewar and postwar eras.  Cars back then were built for both the street and the salt flats and those two extremes were reflected in their construction.  If you are a fan of these hot rod pioneers and their work, then you might want to take a look at this 1929 Ford Model A roadster for sale on Craigslist in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  While it is missing fenders and a few additional factory items, this car has already received a fair amount of work in its path to completion.  Complete with a 283 cubic inch V-8 and an automatic transmission ready to install, does the asking price of $8,500 give you enough room in your budget to complete this one in the old style?  Thanks go to T.J. for another fantastic Ford find!

Suppose you are going to embark on a journey that ends up with a traditional hot rod. In that case, you need to spend a few days going over the immense and incredible amount of history collected by the American Hot Rod Foundation.  Their website is stocked with primary source interviews, documentation, photographs, and videos of the early hot rod movement in America.  The founders of the organization were able to interview several pioneers before they passed to their reward, and just adding the podcast on your phone to listen to while commuting gives you an incredible sense of just how amazing those times were.  These were people who purely loved to go fast and build incredible hot rods with what they had available to them and what they could build with their talented hands.

So, once you have your education in place to build a traditional hot rod, you need something to start with.  This 1929 Ford Model A roadster is a great place to begin.  Many of the early hot rods were open Fords.  These vehicles were light and plentiful, especially in Southern California where winter was not quite as annoying as it traditionally is in the northeast.  The hottest engine of the day was the Flathead Ford V-8, but many other engines found their homes under the hood of these cars as time marched on.  From Oldsmobile’s then-new V-8 engines to Cadillac powerplants, there are a few good options that fit into this time frame.  Though the car comes with a 283 cubic inch Ch3evrolet engine and a TH350, I think I would find something more interesting and distinctive.

The good news about building such a car is that forums like the HAMB have sections where you can buy, sell, and trade vintage parts to build the car up how you want.  The seller tells us that the seats have already been redone and the body is in decent shape.  The car also has the difficult-to-replace windshield, stanchions, and top assembly.  It has been treated to a new set of tires that ride on steel wheels of indeterminate origin.  Sadly, the firewall is missing under the fuel tank.  Other than that, what we can see of the car is highly original and relatively untouched.  While hard to say for certain, it looks like the original suspension, rear end, and steering gear are all intact.

Once you have your dream build put together in your head, the hard work of lowering, modifying, and enhancing comes into play.  Mine would sit a lot lower, have a Cadillac 331 under the hood, and the parts would be pre-1950 wherever possible.  Cloth wiring, a 6-volt electrical system with traditional, low headlights with 6-volt bulbs for that perfect amber glow, and maybe a set of cycle fenders for the front made from 1935-1936 Ford spare tire rings.  Black, or black cherry paint too.  Is it obvious that I have thought this out?

How would you build up this Model A?  Please share your dreams in the comments.