Resto-Rod Modernization of a 1929 Ford Model A - The Deceptive Gentleman

You See a Beautifully Restored Stock Model A Coming Your Way-- butWhat's That Noise?

By Christopher Campbell, Photography by Makela Auto Tuning, Stefan Bau

Hot Rod Magazine, March, 2008

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It sounds angry. Really angry. And man, it's hauling ass on thosewooden-spoke wheels on a winding road through the beautiful Finnishcountryside. By the time you catch up to it at a diner down the road,it's chugging, sputtering, and sounding like a standard 200.5ci L-headfour-cylinder engine. What's going on here?

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  "Would you care for a run, my good man?" Take note of the license plate;there's a clever h
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  It's really not even close to what a factory L-head four looks like, butit has the right f
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  The '29 was a solid base for a project, but 64 years in South Americanecessitated copious

You've just encountered the most clandestine prewar sleeper we've evercome across. What appears to be a nuts-and-bolts restoration of a ModelA sedan is actually a very precisely tuned and stealthily constructedhot rod.

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  Once the car was blown apart, Kari sketched out the plans for theredesigned suspension and
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  The body and chassis were completely disassembled for metal and paintprep. It looks like a

Kari Maekelae and his team of metal craftsmen at Maekelae Auto Tuning(MAT, www.mat.fi), which specializes in building and restoring vintagesports cars and race cars, is the mastermind behind this surreptitiousbuild. The owner of the A, a widely renowned rally driver who wishes toremain anonymous, found it and a '24 Model T while racing in the WorldRally Championship in Argentina in 1993. The cars were mostly complete,and the word is that he didn't pay much more than the price of shippingto get them back to his native Finland. The T received a full resto backto stock standards, and the A was slated for the same until the intrepidrally racer happened to mention to Kari that he'd like a bit more powerunderhood, but without going the typical hot rod or street rod route--hewanted to maintain a vintage look to the car. After a few moments ofbench racing with Kari about what could be done, he mentioned that hisfavorite engine from his decades of racing was the high-strung Group 4Ford Escort BDA built by Cosworth. That sparked an idea, and Kariimmediately started envisioning what the car should be. After airing afew ideas, he persuaded the owner to give him full license to build theA as he saw fit.

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  Once the frame was squared and boxed, the custom X-brace andcrossmembers went in. Here, th
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  Not a single part in this shot of the rear suspension is original ModelA, but MAT blended
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  The metal patchwork is seamless, and very little filler was needed tomake it like glass. M

The goal was to keep the body, interior, and feel of the A stock whilemaking it perform like a sports car, all the while using as many factoryparts--or at least factory-appearing parts--as possible. That's a tallorder considering the canvas. While he may have relished the idea ofrevolutionizing the art of automobile production, ol' Henry wasn't bigon technology for the car itself. Simplicity and low cost were the keysto the success of both the T's and A's. That meant using the stock Aframe and buggy spring suspension for this build created a multitude ofchallenges.

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  Even though it's a 30-plus-year-old design, a great deal of work wentinto retro-izing the
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  The coup de grace on the engine's masquerade is the original bangerspark plugs mounted on
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  No room for a picnic basket in here. The original trunk now hides thedry-sump reservoir an

The key to any good performing car is the platform, so the first orderof business was to strip the A down to its basic elements and develop aplan for the chassis. Of course boxing the rails was on the list, but tomake the frame exceptionally rigid, Kari designed crossbracing andbrackets that would not only stiffen everything up but also blend rightinto the chassis and give a factory-built impression. The stock frontsuspension was strengthened and given a Panhard rod, but the rear had tobe completely rethought. No banjo rearend could survive the wrath of arace-bred Cosworth, so a Toyota 4x4 van rearend (which was actually usedin Toyota rally cars) was selected for its width and durability, and aparallel four-link with a Panhard rod was designed to locate it.Coilovers would have been the easy choice but not the right one for thiscar. Kari's team fabricated mounts to use a stock-style buggy springmodified for a progressive rate and swapped in friction shocks from anAston Martin DP4. Who would have thought? The list of illusory mods islengthy, but to really appreciate the level of detail and time spent onevery aspect to keep the identity of the A correct requires hourscrawling all over it.

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  Wire or steel wheels would have been easier, but Kari wanted theabsolute stealthiness of a
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  Of course wooden wheels willnot hold up to this combination, so MAT built its own mold to
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  Other than the steering wheel, shifter, and pedals, everything in theinterior is OEM Mode

Now the answer to the question on everyone's mind: What does anear-stock-height Model A with a race-prepped original chassis and adrivetrain that'll propel it 0-60 in a tick over five seconds feel likeon the open road? Stupid fun--and we don't use that term lightly. A goodsleeper puts a wicked grin on your face, and there's no bigger sleeperthan this. The absolute contradiction of sitting in the gentlemanlyinterior grasping the four-spoke steering wheel and stock-length shifterand hearing the high-strung wail from the Cosworth is delicious.

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  The Tilton Engineering pedal assembly simplified the packaging for thenew hydraulic brakes
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  Factory Model A seats may not provide a great deal of confidence duringaggressive driving,
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  The dash features restored original gauges, but a data logger wasmounted overhead next to

If given the chance to enjoy the A for a weekend or so, we'd go for theultimate covert action and dress in our Sunday best as if the onlyintention was a leisurely drive to an antique car show--with theMAT-designed ignition misfire circuit activated so it chuggedlaboriously along like a stock Model A. Of course we'd only pull theSimpson race harness over our shoulders at the stoplight once the guy inthe BMW in the next lane had thoroughly dismissed us as nothing morethan an antiquated and sluggish museum piece. Then, with a flip of themisfire switch and a tip of the hat, it'd be time to lower his smugnessa few points. You with us? Bonus points for doing it with vintagedriving gloves and a newsboy hat.

Trial-and-error testing has dialed the suspension in, and Kari plans touse it occasionally

Quick Inspection: '29 Ford Model A sedan
Maekelae Auto Tuning (MAT) * Kannus, Finland

POWERTRAIN
Engine: The little beastie in banger guise is an '81 122ci aluminum Cosworth BDA originally designed for European Group 4 rally and touring car racing. Nearly everything in the engine is original Cosworth-spec including the billet steel crank, forged rods and pistons, and solid-tappet Cosworth L1 cams. The twin-cam 16-valve head received a thorough porting and polishing from MAT and was fitted with stainless steel 1.4- and 1.2-inch intake and exhaust valves respectively. Power: The naturally aspirated Cossie revs to 8,400 rpm to make 250 hp and sees 200 lb-ft of torque at 7,200 rpm.Transmission: At the end of that long shifter is a ZF quick-ratio five-speed transmission sourced from a Group 4 Escort rally car. Rearend: An '85 Toyota Celica rally car gave up its rearend, but a limited-slip diff and stronger axles were swapped in

Looking like a scene from 1929, this thing is the ultimate sleeper.

 

CHASSIS
Suspension: It's still original-style buggy springs front and rear, but they've been lowered a little over 2 inches all around and feature adjustable bumpstops between the leaves to create a progressive rate. Shocks are Girling friction shocks from an Aston Martin DP4. MAT designed and built the front and rear Panhard bars as well as the 0.79-inch adjustable sway bar. The front radius rods are the originals but are strengthened considerably by MAT, while the rearend is held in place by a custom parallel four-link by MAT.

Brakes: Toyota manual drum brakes take up all four corners with two 21mm Girling master cylinders providing the push. Pedals are from a Tilton box assembly. A hydraulic hand brake was fabbed up to allow some hand-brake-turn fun.

Wheels: The 19-inch cast-aluminum wheels were made in-house by MAT.

 If only this page had audio... wait, it does - check the video link below to see and hear

Tires: Dunlop Racing 500-19s take up all four corners and stick better than you'd expect.

STYLE
Body: Though the chassis is full of tricks, the body was restored to stock form with panels from Snyder's Antique Auto Parts (www.snydersantiqueauto.com) and some handformed pieces by MAT.
Paint: The paint is a custom-mixed two-tone acrylic from PPG swirled with an eye toward a classy stock look.
Interior: The interior is almost 100 percent restored original parts with material supplied by LeBaron Bonney (www.lebaronbonney.com). The steering wheel is a custom piece by Moto-Lita, and the Simpson four-point belts can be easily hidden under the rear seat pillows. HRM

Source: http://www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicles/hrdp_0803w_1929_model_a_touring_car/viewall.html#ixzz2KGxmmZbT