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Ford Model A Pickup Restoration July 2012

From July I have more to tell you, since I had vacation and could use a few extra days for my restoration project.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

The first thing I wanted to do is to put the cab onto the frame. For this job I put two timbers under the cabin floor and fixed it with a board.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

From now on, I needed a 2nd person to put the bricks on both sides when I lifted the cabin side by side.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

The first part is over, i.e. the cabin is in position where I can go with the frame underneath. Now I have to do the same job in reverse order and let the cabin down to the frame.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

Now I removed all wheels and wanted to take off the tire from the rim. It was a harder job than I've expected and it took me half a day. The problem was that I had a special kind of rims but I did not realize that! Since it is only possible to remove the tire in one specific position, you will just fight but not succeed when you don't know that … My brother gave me the hint that something is 'wrong' with that rims and the last rim I've removed in 10 minutes finally.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

Here you can see it very well - left a deep bed, on the right is the flat-base rim. Up to this point, wheels were for me something round and concentric and not what you see here. Now I'm a little bit smarter …

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

The rims are a little rusty but still in a good condition. The rustiest one is the spare tire. It seems that the water from the rain stayed always on the same place and made it rusty.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

All 5 rims are sanded and ready for the primer.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

During sandblasting you can discover things which are normally covered by paint. This is the company brand.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

It is a German product - until now I thought that the rims came from France.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

At the end of the Hering Michelin lettering you can see the letters 'DRPA'. After searching the Internet, I've found out that this stands for 'Deutsches Reichs-Patent angemeldet' (German Reich Patent Pending). Now I wanted to find out more on this type of wheel.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

This is my rim, called a semi-flat-base rim, it was advertised in 1930: "from which the tires never pop out". The company Hering (Autoräder & Felgenfabrik Hering / Car Wheels and Rims Factory Hering) was located in Ronneburg (Eastern part of Germany) and end of the 30s it had 1,300 employees. In GDR times, it was the supplier of car brands such as Wartburg and Trabant. Today the company exists as 'mefro Räderwerk Ronneburg GmbH'. This page also shows the documented history of the company.

For the first time the semi-flat-base rim was presented at the Leipzig trade fair in the spring of 1928. There was also a demonstration run with a Renault car. The air of a rear tire was let out and the driver pulled around his steering wheel at 60 km / h. The rim touched the street, you could see sparks but the tire stayed on the rim! (Source: ADAC Motor World March 1928)

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

Primed and sanded for the first time.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

After the surface is smooth, I could apply the filler. Then a bit of black paint to see when everything is flat.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

Finally the rims are sanded with 600 grit paper and are then ready for painting.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

This work here also took me several days to complete. These are all parts that will be installed later at the platform. All must be sandblasted and will then be plated.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

On two of these fittings, I could not move the lever anymore. I drilled out the bolt. A new bolt I've turned from a large screw and everything is ready for the installation.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

First, the bolt is riveted on both sides with a hammer, as is was mounted before.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

After sanding down the end of the rivet, the repair is finished.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

Now I can start with the sand blasting.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

An interesting discovery I've made at the two lamps. On the right one, under the black color I found a copper plating. The left one is even more interesting because at first I meant that I was dealing with the gray sheet metal. After I've kept my sandblasting gun a little longer at the same place, I found a copper layer and finally the metal surface. So the left one is a Nickel plated lamp which was then painted black, but this must have been done in the Ford factory.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

All parts are blasted.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

Now follows a custom-made screw. I've never seen them before, and the traces indicate that they have been self made. It is a flat-head screw (screw lock) but is flat on top and below it is slightly tapered.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

For this job I used a tube. On top and bottom of the tube, I welded a washer to keep the screw in the middle. Then I had to heat the head of the screw and beat 2-3 times on it with a hammer, and my modified screw is ready.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

On the left is my version, on the right the original screw.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

Sand blasting and they are ready for electroplating.

Ford Model A Restoration July 2012

They will be mounted later like on the picture.