The "Rice Rod" - '31 Model A pickup with a 2JZ

+1 on headlight location. Looks great, but you know your own mind.

I'm normally a Ford fanboy who dreads swaps but this thing is awesome. 

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I think I have just a few big hurdles to get over, like removing the cab, final welding, disassembling and painting the chassis, and bolting it all back together. Then it's just fun aesthetic stuff!

But at this point that sort of work is basically just normal fixing   car stuff which is much less complicated than building from scratch. From here it all looks easy.

Actually, I find this the hardest part of building a car. 

Detail work annoys me, unless I can do it with a hammer or a grinder, I find it tedious and get bored of it quickly. 

I really need a deadline if I'm expected to finish something. LOL

Crackers said:

Actually, I find this the hardest part of building a car. 

Detail work annoys me, unless I can do it with a hammer or a grinder, I find it tedious and get bored of it quickly. 

I really need a deadline if I'm expected to finish something. LOL

That's me too.  One of the reasons I find this build to be pretty impressive is the attention to detail and planning that I know I would be tempted to skip and so I think this project is going to end up much nicer than if I attempted to build something similar.

I’ve been lurking on this site for a while I just have to say your truck looks awesome 

singleslammer said:

maschinenbau said:

 

I like the height location, but I think they might need to be closer together. But I don't want to chop up an original Model A headlight bar, which is solid steel by the way. Also, I went with the small diameter non-camshaft spreader bar. I like this look.

This looks sick! (I hate this use of that word but I feel it is appropriate here). 

That looks awesome! And I think the headlights look just fine that far apart. It is fitting to the wide stance of the whole front end. 

space between headlights is perfect for how wide the stance of it is 

Maschinenbau's getting a big erection in the garage...uh, I mean...

Ive often wonder the many uses of a gantry and how many of those would offset the "need" for a 2 post lift and an engine lift. Got a chain fall for it yet?

maschinenbau said:

Maschinenbau's getting a big erection in the garage...uh, I mean...

 

I don't care who you are.....THAT'S FUNNY!!

I knew you were a mechaphile!

That model A is old enough to be your granny!  TILF? (Truck I'd like to F**K?).......sorry, am I going too far??

In reply to Chappers :

as long as it's not a picnic table

Or somewhere uncomfortable, like the back of a Volkswagen...

Got the crane up! I'm using the Harbor Freight 2-ton hoist because they were out of the 1-ton. The wheels limit it to 1400 lbs. Plenty for an engine or pickup cab. Maybe even a Datsun wagon body...

This week I am putting all the hot rod stuff away temporarily for the upcoming Datsun build party weekend. I was hoping to get the frame disassembled, finished, and painted before this weekend, but I got sick last week and lost a lot of time. Probably the last hot rod post for a while. Look out for a new thread on my Datsun Challenge car.

Please post link to Datsun thread here :) 

java230 said:

Please post link to Datsun thread here :) 

Quoted for good measure but yes please

well, there's...

this one;  this one; and this one

but that was just a quick look around... and I felt like there was a real build thread started, that I'm not finding 

In reply to sleepyhead :

Yes I was meaning a real build thread :) I saw the planning thread, I wish I was close enough to attend! 

In reply to maschinenbau :

Looking forward to seeing it in person this weekend.  Does your garage have heat?  I think we're going to need it.

Wow! Awesome, inspiring stuff!

Thanks for sharing!

How did the Chop-In go? Any pics?

Link to the DATSANITI build thread and other Datsun build weekend content.

The gantry crane was incredibly useful that weekend! After 2.5 days we had a VQ35 inside a Datsun 210. It simply would not have happened without that crane, or a lift. We used it to hoist up the front half of the Datsun to slide the G35 front clip and engine under.

I highly recommend a gantry crane for everyone who can't make the leap to a two-post and doesn't need to lift an entire vehicle. It was under $200, is very mobile, and rarely in the way. Plans below. I altered some of the lengths to just barely fit under my roof trusses. My wheels limit it to 1400 lbs I think.

In reply to maschinenbau :

The crane is a great addition to your garage! 

Just one modification I’d suggest, having studied the crane up close, change the 2x4 gussets at the top to 2x6 and throw a couple extra bolts in.

The 2x4s work now, but if you ever develop a split in the wood around the single bolt, there’s no redundancy to save you. 

Got any model A updates?