Inside the thrash: A look into building a hot rod on a tight deadline, part 1

With the Grand National Roadster Show wrapped, and America’s Most Beautiful Roadster inked into the history books, the hot rod world will start to shift its eyes further inland to the Detroit Autorama. Sure, most folks will have their eyes set on the next group of Ridler contenders, but traditional hot rodders will be waiting with bated breath to peek into the Autorama’s basement — home of the Autorama Extreme — to get a taste of what they could see at various shows across the country for the rest of the year.

Detroit Autorama kicks off March 1, and there are plenty of dedicated hot rodders with big plans to bring new builds to the show…and a mountain of work to get through before the car is anywhere near show-ready shape.

One of those is Bay City, Michigan's own Scott Sheehan, a name you might remember from our coverage of The Race of Gentleman (T.R.O.G) from 2017. Sheehan’s constantly planning and thinking about different builds to bring to the Jersey Shore to compete for top honors at one of the most fun events in the country. This time around, he's building a radical 1930 Model A coupe. Well, a more apt description would be a ’30 Ford coupe shell draped over a Model A frame and a heavily set-back flathead Ford engine. To keep with the theme, Sheehan planned to use exclusively early Ford driveline components.

I like how this little heap is turning out. It’s 33″ tall at the highest point. I’m gonna get so stuck. Mocked up a torque tube too, I was worried about miss alignment but it looks like it’ll be okay. I’m a tie rod away from being able to roll it around the shop. Less than 8 weeks till Autorama. #hotrod #modelt #ford #roadster #flathead #trog #theraceofgentlemen #beach #racing #wildwood #newjersey #jersey #shore #car #auto #classic #classics #classiccar #vintage #vintagecar #hamb #hopuplive

1,480 Likes, 30 Comments – Scott Sheehan (@modelabutcher) on Instagram: “I like how this little heap is turning out. It’s 33″ tall at the highest point. I’m gonna get so…”

Bu after months of piecing together a Model A body that served a tour of duty as yard art, Sheehan pivoted. Instead of using a Model A body and frame, he thought it would make more sense to make his own frame, over which he’ll drape a Ford Model T body. Smaller, more streamlined and, more importantly, intact, the Model T might help Sheehan get to the basement on time — which should give him even more time to get the car dialed in for its eventual T.R.O.G. race day debut. 

With a new frame, a different body and the same end goal, you might think a February 28 deadline will be hard to reach. Which, yeah, it will be, but setting unrealistic deadlines and crunching to meet them is one of those time-honored Autorama traditions. And since we'll be watching Sheehan's efforts leading up to the show, you’ll be able to follow along with weekly updates from the comfort of your chair instead of having to thrash on your own build. 

Since building the new chassis, Sheehan added a roll bar and cowl hoop, positioned his engine deeply under the Model T’s cowl and is finishing the car’s suspension. While it seems like most of the hard work is out of the way, we’re looking forward to seeing Sheehan get the car in racing shape before shuffling it to Cobo Center. 

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