In the last issue, we watched as Throttle Jockey Originals of Bohemia, New York, tackled a feisty four-banger, the engine that will power our project Model A roadster down the road in future pursuits. Proprietor TJ O’Grady showed us how to hop up a relatively bland stock four-cylinder engine by using an assortment of speed equipment add-ons, which in the long run will nearly double our power output.
The next step in our thirst for more mph from our little roadster is modifying the chassis for proper ride height, rake, and driveability. This will be accomplished by amending the existing structure of the stock Model A frame, making it more conducive to both our homegrown modifications and our select aftermarket upgrades.
TJ has been modifying these stock frames for the last 10 years, learning tricks that will help this roadster become a Class-A traditional hot rod. Not only will these mods help this Model A perform better out on the street and on the track, they will also give this Blue Oval the desired look that many are after, but only few achieve.
Andrew Kohler of Kohler Kustom brought us a perfect-pitch dropped axle, which he handcrafted in his shop (a process we showed you in “Get Your Drop On!” May ’17). And we can’t forget Kris Elmer, of Elmer Equipped, and the rad front shocks he designed and created at his shop in Salt Lake City, Utah.
As TJ makes this little banger-powered roadster an all-around achiever, we will be doing several modifications along the way: reversing the front spring; modifying the rear spring; installing the dropped axle, spindle, and spring perch replacement; and finally Z-ing the frame out back. These mods will get us ready for correct body placement and its future modifications.
TJ O’Grady starts by separating the front section of the chassis and removing the front spring and axle. We will also remove the rear section and drivetrain and then put the frame on the table for its makeover. It will receive a Z out back to help lower its stance.A stock Model A front spring is at the bottom. The top spring has been taken apart and is in the process of getting the reverse-eye treatment. This modification will give us a good inch of drop up front. The bottom “eyed” leaf (shown in the center of the photo) has been removed from the pack and is ready for its inverted curve.TJ has the bottom eyed leaf in hand and starts the slow procedure of reversing the arc of the spring. It’s done with his shop press, fit with a round t-bar at the end. It’s a slow and steady process, adding pressure to alter its curve. Once it receives the correct inverted arc, it will be ready to install.The finished reversed-spring leaf is on the bottom. The spring has been re-arced to match the original curve (eyes are now facing upward), and now it is ready to be installed back into the leaf spring pack.The spring’s individual leaves are lubed with grease before they are bolted together so they will slide on each other during flex. It also keeps moisture out to avoid any premature rust issues.The individual leaves are fed onto a main center bolt. C-clamps are used to compress and hold the bundle together. Caution must be used here as the leaf pack is under tension at this point and can cause injury if not contained. Make sure your clamps are up to the task.Here’s the finished spring with the reversed eye. This will help us out in the long run as every inch saved counts when it comes to lowering the front end.With the torque tube disconnected, TJ starts the process of taking out the rear spring. The spreader seen here is a must for removing the spring safely. For the price, it’s definitely worth purchasing. This particular chassis was built for a ’30 truck and has the correct spring for that application. It’s too high and rigid for this roadster, so it will be modified.TJ separates the springs and removes two leaves to help the body sit a little lower and to also take out some of the rigidity out back. This will make for a better stance and more comfortable ride. Here the spring is back together and is being readied for reinstallation.TJ and his main helper, cousin Mark Leombruno, reinstall the spring to the banjo rearend. TJ will now focus on the frame modifications that will help get the stance he’s truly after.Our Model A frame is stripped and ready for its transformation. TJ inspects it thoroughly and gets ready for the cuts to give us our Z.Here’s where we start. TJ has selected an old rear section he had in stock for the donor graft. Due to an old repair on our frame’s rear section, he felt it was better to start fresh. He has his diagonal cuts all marked out and is ready to slice and dice.
The initial cuts leave the top section long enough to form the leading edge of the new frame section. It was rolled over and now waits final trim and welding.The completed section welded together. It makes for a clean and finished framerail. This was copied on the driver’s side as well.Here is the transplant section in position. The main frame will now be cut, and the same roll-over and welding procedure will be done here as well.The original bottom frame has been cut, and the two modified pieces have been welded together. But it will need help to keep its rigidity and be safe on the road. Boxing the frame here will shore it up.TJ makes a pattern to match the inside rail of the Z. It’s then traced on a piece of 10-gauge sheetmetal. It will be cut out, fit, trimmed if needed, and then welded to the inside edge of the framerail.After it has been fit, it’s thoroughly welded. This will give our Z the extra strength it needs to last its lifetime.Once TJ was happy with the Z section, the frame was cleaned up and painted in a heavy-duty semigloss to keep corrosion away.Moving up front, here we have our Kohler Kustom Model A dropped axle next to the original straight axle. Our 2-1/2-inch drop will help us get the subtle rake we want in our roadster. We also need to modify these ’32-’34 spindles and spring perches to work with our new axle and steering architecture.The dropped axle is installed and painted. It went in without any issues and has brought our front end down where we want it. TJ will now go to work on the spindles, perches, and steering arm to get them all to work in unison.To modify the spindles and steering geometry, TJ mounts the donor spindles onto a drop axle he had in-house. He also uses the spring perches that will be modified.TJ takes out the torch and heats up the steering arm in preparation of modifying its geometry.With a heavy crescent wrench, TJ manhandles the glowing steering arm, bending it precisely to match up with our components and fit our new application.
Next we move over to our ’32-’34 spring perch. We see that this piece will not work with our mechanical brakes as-is. TJ will have to modify the perch to make it work with our brake arm. This will allow the mechanical brakes to function properly and leave us with a smooth-working brake pedal in return.
TJ lops off the top of the spring perch. To make the right fit, he takes the end of a stock ’29 fender mounting bracket, cuts off the top 4 inches, grinds it down, and bores it to fit the brake arm mount. This will be used to make the new top on the perch.The new spring perch top is cut to fit and ready to go. Next, TJ will finish-weld it in place and spray it in semigloss black to match the rest of the front end.We contacted Kris Elmer of Elmer Equipped and scored a pair of his beautiful custom-made friction shocks. TJ sets up the driver side for installation.The Elmer shocks mounted. They went on without any issues whatsoever. They not only look great, but will give us the action we need up front.This up-close shot of the finished front end shows the reversed eye spring, Kohler Kustom dropped axle, augmented spring perch, and modified steering arm. The brakes have been hooked up. Once the body is in place, we will hook up the steering mechanism and finish the shock installation.We have a roller! We may tweak a few things as we find issues, but for now we are happy with how it came out. Next we will start assembling and fitting the body on the chassis.
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