1929 Ford Model A Phaeton

As seen on Season 3, this one is back for a little maintenance and some upgrades.

Owner Insight:

After producing the ubiquitous but primitive Model T for nearly 20 years, in 1928 Henry Ford came out with the much improved and more comfortable Model A. This car was celebrated in a popular song in those days as “Henry’s Lady”.

As a kid in high school in the early 60’s, I always wanted a four seat, four door hot rod like “Archie” had in the comic books to drive his friends around in. This 1929 Model A Phaeton street rod comes close to it, but now I get to drive grandkids around in it!

After analyzing many pictures of the car and talking to the previous owner in South Carolina, I bought it on e-bay. The day it was delivered, gleaming in a big car hauler semi-truck was a day that I and my neighbors will not forget. This car has many original steel body parts, matching after-market bright metal parts and fiberglass fenders. With a modern GM small block V8 and turbo 350 transmission it has plenty of go power; but after buying it, I found it had a very rough and harsh ride. The grandkids in the back seat would yell, “Grampy, my bum hurts!!”

The poor ride was being caused by cut down coil springs in its modified Mustang II front suspension, a poorly designed and leaking air ride system in the rear and seats that were simply covered plywood. Additionally, the car had numerous safety issues including electrical problems, fuel tank leaks and broken welds in the frame. What a mess!

Despite my fears (i.e., $$$) I committed to “Henry’s Lady”. The great teams at FantomWorks cured all of my car’s problems starting with losing the Mustang II frame and front end and building a new frame, installing new power steering rack, appropriately sized suspension system with chrome and stainless coil-overs front and rear and stainless A-arms, spindles, disk brakes, etc., in front. After market Model A seat springs were added within modified upholstery. A new electrical wiring harness and fuel tank were installed. All of these additions were designed and fabricated to meet the cars unique configuration. The car now has a modern production car ride and is super fun to drive, cruise in and show! The grandkids think it’s cool again. I was particularly happy that Dan’s cost and time estimates for the FantomWorks effort were nearly spot on.

Grey L.

Explore the Project Galleries

Arrival

Disassembly

Strip & Metal Fab

Finish

The Model A came in a wide variety of styles: Coupe (Standard and Deluxe), Business Coupe, Sport Coupe, Roadster Coupe (Standard and Deluxe), Convertible Cabriolet, Convertible Sedan, Phaeton (Standard and Deluxe), Tudor Sedan (Standard and Deluxe), Town Car, Fordor (2-window) (Standard and Deluxe), Fordor (3-window) (Standard and Deluxe), Victoria, Station Wagon, Taxicab, Truck, and Commercial.

The Model A was the first Ford to use the standard set of driver controls with conventional clutch and brake pedals; throttle and gearshift. Previous Ford models used controls that had become uncommon to drivers of other makes. The Model A’s fuel tank was situated in the cowl, between the engine compartment’s fire wall and the dash panel. It had a visual fuel gauge, and the fuel flowed to the carburetor by gravity. A rear-view mirror was optional. In cooler climates, owners could purchase an aftermarket cast iron unit to place over the exhaust manifold to provide heat to the cab. A small door provided adjustment of the amount of hot air entering the cab. Model A was the first car to have safety glass in the windshield.

Other Season Three Projects