Last month we looked behind the scenes of the "Overhaulin'" TV show as they got started on their very first early hot rod project. At first the task seemed like it would be easier than all the rest-heck, the car didn't even have a roof or fenders, how hard could it be? Well, it turns out it can be very hard when the whole team is used to primarily rebuilding musclecars and late-models. Everything would have to be researched for the very first time and a whole new set of suppliers would need to be found to deliver the parts required to rebuild their latest "victim."
Another major unplanned obstacle would be a body that required much more work than originally planned. The "Overhaulin'" crew found that under the black primer, nearly every panel had suffered some form of major abuse in the past that would require all hands on deck to pick a panel and get to repairing the Model A's metal. The chassis switch would be from a butchered and poorly engineered Model A chassis to a top-of-the-line '32 Ford unit from Total Cost Involved. The swap to the '32 unit would mean that the entire floor and the body mounts world need to be changed, but that really wasn't a problem since the floor in the body wasn't worth saving in the first place.
With the additional bodywork pushing them dangerously close to the due date, the team focused on the chassis and the Ford Y-block drivetrain, turning it all into a piece of rolling automotive art. From nose to tail, the entire car was nearly 100-percent replaced with new pieces put together in a very traditional style. Surprising to most was designer Chip Foose's choice of wheels-an original set of '36 Ford rims and hubcaps-since most of his creations receive a set of one-off rollers of his design. Here is where Chip's true talent shines through, as any choice toward wide rims in low-profile tires just would not have had the same effect as the skinny Ford 16-inch units wrapped in genuine Firestone bias-ply wide whites from Coker Tire.
When the final day came and the car was nowhere near close to being done, the crew faced something they had never dealt with before- a missed deadline. Not wanting to just slap it together before it met their high standards, the crew stretched the deadline and spent an extra day making it happen for pranked owner Matthew Wyatt. Knowing it would take a lot of extra days of his own to build the car, Matthew took the entire situation in stride and nearly passed out when the final version was unveiled to him and his family. Stay tuned for next month's issue when we will give you an up-close look at this overhauled wonder.