Fender amender

Some people change their cars quite frequently; others prefer just to change the way their car looks

Words: Dave Biggadyke Pics: Nick Grant

The hot rod world in which we live is an ever-rewarding place, I’ve met Robert Grieg in the past but I would never have said I know him. However, that has changed over the last week or so as I set about writing this feature. We chatted on the phone, emailed each other, exchanged stories and, most importantly, laughed.

If you ask me now, I would say that yes, I do know Robert Greig. During our last telephone conversation, he mentioned that he was beginning to detect a definite Scottish twang in my voice. So maybe now, then, our newly found friendship has reached its peak.

Seriously though, I now have an affinity with this man from Glasgow and respect the fact he has owned this ’31 Model A coupe since 2002. Only now he doesn’t, own it that is, but we’ll come to that later.

Robert recalls his first foray into the world of modified cars came in 1979 when he got his hands on a Vauxhall Viva. Local to him back then was a speed shop that went by the name of Grand Prix. I guess that’s akin to the John Brown Wheels outlet not far from me in Lincolnshire at that time, located at the aptly named Speedway Corner. I digress. Robert made the most of Grand Prix, and his Viva soon sported wider wheels with spacers behind to shove them out that bit further.

That wasn’t enough for the Scottish hot rodder though, with the Viva making way for a 302 Ford-powered Ford Pop. Then it all came to a halt, with the oh-so-familiar story of family life taking over and hot rodding being put on the back burner. That lasted until the mid-1990s when Robert’s flame was rekindled with another small block Fordpowered Pop.

‘I drove it back to Scotland, with the top speed limited to 45mph. It wasn’t that the car wouldn’t go any faster, more the time it took the rod-operated brakes to bring it to a halt’

Then came what Robert describes as a fantastic time in his life. ‘I shared garage space for around 18 months with three other local hot rodders.’

Sharing a workshop with like-minded souls is always great for motivation and encouragement, not to mention that extra pair of hands you often need. When you hear the names of the trio sharing floorspace with Robert though, you will appreciate why that was such a special time in his life: David Murdoch, who went on to race a ’33 Willys coupe in Street Eliminator; Davie Marshall, who crewed on the Rat Trap racing team when the Altered ran at Dragstalgia in 2014; and Originals member Archie Paterson, whose small block Chevy-powered ’30 Model A was featured in the April ’98 issue of CC. Esteemed company indeed.

Possibly influenced by Archie’s coupe, Robert went out and bought himself a stock Model A in 2002. Like so many others, he looked across the water to source a car. That water wasn’t the Atlantic Ocean though, but rather the Irish Sea. Seamus Sorohan had shipped the car to Ireland from California a year earlier but, not having touched it since, had decided to move it on.

‘I slapped on a pair of trade plates and drove it back to Scotland, with the top speed limited to 45mph. It wasn’t that the car wouldn’t go any faster, more the time it took the rod-operated brakes to bring it to a halt. When you work out how many actual road miles we travelled, the journey wasn’t as bad as it sounds.’

Robert drove the car just as it was for the next year or so, allowing for plenty of braking distance as he did so. He then took the plunge and bought a TCI chassis from Trevor Cockburn, who at the time was running Reality Hot Rods. A Chevy Caprice donated its engine, transmission and rear axle, while Kerry Tate supplied the dropped I-beam front axle complete with GM rotors and disc brakes.

To dramatically improve the coupe’s allround braking performance, Robert grafted a pair of VW Golf discs and calipers on to the rear axle. Not a common conversion, but one that was still working almost two decades later.

The Caprice engine originally fi tted has made way for a different Bowtie lump, sourced by Steve Ricketts and shipped over in a container with a car that was heading for these shores. With everything seeming okay with the new engine, Robert left it alone and just swapped over the headers and ancillary items. He did treat it to a brand new four-barrel Edelbrock carb though

Right: The wheels are by Billet Specialities, while the whitewall tyres are from Coker

Above left: The stock Model A that Robert bought in 2002 Above right: Come 2006, the coupe had become a hot rod, fi nished in Subaru Blue and rolling on lowrider-esque multi-spoke wire wheels Below left: Three years later, the coupe was fenderless, painted ‘hearing aid beige’ and rolling on steel wheels

Below: The custom-fabricated sidepipes run outside the chassis, just underneath the body line

Left: Come 2105, the fenders and running boards had been painted to match the body and bolted back on

Above: Robert took the coupe along to the 2016 Ignition Festival in Glasgow

Above left: The coupe took an 18-month sabbatical between 2017 and 2019 while Robert and his son Ryan put together this ’51 GMC pick-up – which ultimately donated its paint supply for the Model A

Above right: Robert’s current ride is this ’37 Ford slantback sedan, complete with its polish-free patina fi nish The Model A debuted as a fully fendered hot rod in 2006 and such was the reception it received, Zane Llewellyn invited Robert along to exhibit the coupe in his display at the Helsinki American Car Show in 2008. The British contingent’s cars were shipped over to Finland in containers, with Robert and his son, along with Nick Brooke Langham, Steve Lang, Pete Moore and others, flying out sometime later to be reunited with them. It will come as no surprise that Robert told me he had a fantastic time.

The following year Robert fancied a change and set his sights on a fenderless hot rod. Unbolting fenders and running boards was the easy part, though; he also decided on a change of paint colour at the same time.

The dash panel has been kept original, with Robert having used his phone when he wanted to check how fast he was going. The Flaming River column and steering wheel were supplied by Trevor Cockburn, who now runs Highway Hell Hotrods

That was sorted with a few coats of what Robert refers to as ‘hearing aid beige.’ Custom fabricated sidepipes were also added at the same time, helping to fill the void created by the lack of running boards.

‘It was great to drive the car looking like that,’ Robert says. ‘Eventually, though, the appeal of that look wore off and I bolted the fenders back on in 2015.’ Good job he had enough of that hearing aid coloured paint left over.

The coupe was then laid up for around 18 months while Robert helped his son, Ryan, build a Chevy pick-up. The project was completed but unfortunately proved too expensive for Ryan to run and was sold on. A legacy of the build, however, was the left over VW / Audi Nardo Grey paint the truck had been coated in. Yup, there was just enough paint to give the Model A yet another makeover. It would have been rude to waste it, after all.

So in 2017, the coupe body turned a particular shade of grey, with its wings and running boards being painted black.

Robert’s philosophy is that changing the paint colour over the years, along with running it both with and without fenders, has

Above, left to right: Robert bolted the fenders back on in 2015. Good job he had enough of that hearing aid coloured paint left over; Minor body rot had manifested itself since the coupe fi rst hit the road, so he wisely replaced the lower door skins; Fresh steel was also grafted into the lower cowl sides; The steel rims were painted black and wrapped in new whitewall tyres Below, left to right: A hole had already been cut in top of the swap meet sourced aftermarket diff cover, but Robert reckons there’s little chance of anyone noticing it; When the fenders went back on, the sidepipes were modifi ed to run inside the chassis rails; At the 11th hour of the latest reincarnation of the coupe, a set of billet rims came up at the right price and Robert couldn’t resist

Unbolting the fenders and running boards was the easy part; Robert decided on a change of paint colour at the same time

kept it fresh. ‘That’s why I kept it for nigh on twenty years. But nothing lasts forever.’

Different Slant

While it may seem a pretty insignificant occurrence, an oil pipe calling it a day while Robert was en route to Fort William proved to be the catalyst for change. Make no mistake, we’re no longer talking about fresh coats of paint here – the coupe was destined to go, and he was on the lookout for a completely different set of wheels.

Robert turned to the net, which led him to Stoker’s Hot Rod Factory in California. A ’37 Ford slantback sedan was up for grabs. Based around a TCI chassis and powered by an LS6 engine, it was so different from the Model A that Robert had to make it his.

Steve Ricketts arranged the shipping and in December 2020, Robert collected the ’37 from Tilbury docks and, once again on trade plates, drove it 400 miles home to Glasgow without a hitch. It’s great to drive, he tells us, ‘but so was the Model A, even with a beam axle. I did have to keep washing and polishing it though, unlike the ’37.’

Robert listed the Model A on eBay and three months before the ’37 landed on these shores (not long after our photoshoot in fact), he sold it to a guy in Germany. More recently, it has been listed for sale in the Netherlands, still looking pretty much the same as when Robert sold it. It must soon be time for the coupe to take on a fresh look, though – maybe a change in ownership will sort that out.

Top: The rumble seat negates what little luggage carrying capacity the coupe may have offered

Above: Opening the front screen allows for plenty of fresh air fl ow during those hot summer drives

Below: Shades of a Steve McQueen movie. You know, the one they made in Glasgow…