Restoration Profile 1929 Ford Model A

An A for Effort

It took a no-holds-barred restoration to turn a patched-up 1929 Model A Standard Coupe into a prize winner

The Ford Model A’s good looks and low price of admission attracted millions of buyers before and after World War II. In later postwar years, those same qualities made the A one of the world’s most popular collector cars.

As a restoration project, you can’t beat a Model A: They’re simple, they’re supported by a vast network of specialists, and parts are widely available. That’s why hobbyists fixed ’em up decades ago and why many of those same Model A’s are being restored a second or third time by hobbyists today.

Bruce LeFebvre, the owner/restorer of this month’s stunning Bonnie Gray and Chelsea Blue 1929 Model A Standard Coupe, is a history buff and had always admired the Model A’s styling. “They look cool, ” he says. “And Henry Ford was a fascinating character who really put America on wheels. ”

Bruce wasn’t what you would call a Model A expert when he started shopping for one of his own about a decade ago, but over the course of this project, he gained a lot of knowledge.

“I didn’t know my ass from my elbow about Model A’s, but I knew I wanted one, ” he says. “I saw one online located in a town called Peculiar, Missouri — so I bought it for $6,500, then my friend Roger Parrott and I spent almost 10 days going out and back to get it. ”

Bruce’s reasonably priced, online auction find was a nicelooking car, though maybe a little worn and in need of attention. It had already been converted to hydraulic brakes — a selling point and something which would’ve been on Bruce’s to-do list anyway. Outside, the car wore aged green paint and inside there was what looked like water stains on the upholstery. Some fresh interior pieces, some paint, and some general sprucing should have brought it back to like-new condition — or so Bruce thought. But once back at his shop in Connecticut, a teardown revealed a lot of hidden rust, wood rot, and some hasty body repairs, too.

“When I first saw the car, it didn’t look bad at all, ” Bruce says. “But once we started taking it apart—we took the headliner out, the seats out, and the side panels — you could see it was packed with body filler and there was haphazard fiberglass work that looked like bandages holding it together. ”

The rear inner fenders, stamped into the Model A coupe’s quarter panels, were rotten along their bases as well as around the arched portions and the rust holes were covered with strips of fiberglass. The rear corners of the quarter panels were also rusted and there was rust under the package tray, the rear windows, etc. — all of which had been plugged with body filler or covered up. The car’s rear fenders and running boards also needed to be replaced.

“I had a body guy take a look at it and he said, ‘This car needs some serious work, ’” Bruce says. “I had it media blasted and the guy who blasted it told me I needed to come see it, because he didn’t know if I would want him to keep going. There was so much body filler and fiberglass — but I was into it then. ”

Here’s our feature car, circa-2016, as found on eBay by owner Bruce LeFebvre. The exterior looked solid, but the green paint was concealing a lot of makeshift body repair work.

The car’s interior was badly in need of an update and the upholstery was water stained throughout.

A teardown revealed some quick patchwork in commonly rusted areas. Here a strip of mesh fabric or fiberglass was stuck over rust in the lower portion of the rear inner fender and painted black.

From the inside, rust holes were covered over and smoothed up with body filler. At some point, someone brazed the steel upright to the inner fender for added support. At Auto Network in Ellington, Connecticut, the Model A’s body had been media blasted and coated in epoxy primer. Areas of primer were ground off the quarter panel in order to weld in metal repair panels. The rear fender was mounted to the car temporarily to check the fit against the new metal work.

With the body off the chassis and on a cart, filler was applied over the repaired areas, then carefully block sanded until it was straight and smooth enough to prime with a surfacer.

While the body was being repaired, the engine was sent to Connecticut Antique Engine Restoration in North Franklin for a complete overhaul to stock specs. The one deviation from factory was a breakerless ignition.

The chassis was media blasted and painted before the rebuilt engine and transmission were installed at Bruce’s shop. The wooden side members, headers, and roof ribs are fastened together with carriage bolts and metal brackets that are screwed in place, forming the foundation for the Model A’s top.

A Wilwood master cylinder mounted under the floor and operated by the stock brake pedal applies pressure to the Model A’s upgraded hydraulic drum brakes. After the body’s spray-booth appointment at Auto Network, the finished Bonnie Gray and Chelsea Blue body was perched atop the chassis.

After the bodywork was complete but before the body was painted, the coupe’s shell was returned to Bruce’s shop so that the wood pieces, which were handmade by Bruce’s friend, the late Bob Schneider, could be installed. Once the car was on the road, Bruce found that he didn’t like the way it drove because the front axle had been retrofitted with later parts to accept hydraulic drum brakes. He tracked down a complete used front axle and spring, then assembled a more original-style package that also incorporated a hydraulic-brake conversion.

The coupe’s four-cylinder was treated to a rebuild and pressed back into service. A breakerless ignition stands in for the points and condenser, inside the stock distributor. Period accessory touches include a mount for the oil can and an Auto Lite heater.

The car’s owner performed the interior makeover with help from his late friend, Bob Schneider, and a local upholstery shop. Gray upholstery on the bench coordinates with the Bonnie Gray painted dash.

After the body was stripped bare, it was sprayed with epoxy primer, then the crew at Auto Network in Ellington, Connecticut, set about cutting out the rusted areas and stitching in new sheetmetal. Reinforced body filler was spread over welded joints, sanded out, then coated with an easier-feathering filler. The reconditioned body panels then were treated to multiple coats of surfacer and block sanded to get them perfectly smooth. Before the paint was laid down, the body was returned to Bruce so that he and his friend, the late Bob Schneider, could custom manufacture, and custom fit, all of the A’s inner wood parts.

“Bob Schneider was a master woodworker, ” Bruce says. “He could reproduce anything out of wood. He passed away in September [2021]. ” Bruce and Bob also installed the car’s vinyl roof material over the fabricated wood frame.

While the body was taking shape, Bruce sent the Model A’s four-cylinder engine to Connecticut Antique Engine Restoration in North Franklin, Connecticut, for an overhaul.

“The engine wasn’t in terrible shape, but they milled the head and put new pistons in it. Not many people pour Babbitt bearings, so we found a specialist for that, ” Bruce says. The 40-horse Ford L-head is mostly stock now, but the ignition was upgraded to a breakerless type for greater reliability. Bruce rebuilt the A’s three-speed transmission himself before pressing it back into service behind a new clutch.

The crew at Auto Network handled the Model A’s final finish — a match for original Ford colors — in a modern urethane formula, then color sanded and buffed it to a show-winning shine. The interior was restored with material from

Acouple of people were

encouraging me to just junk this car because it was going to take too much to restore. Well of course that’s all I had to hear. It lit my fire and I thought, there’s no way I’m giving up on this! I wanted the car to be all authentic and use only original parts, so we repaired and fixed all of the metal, cleaned and reused most of the hardware, and used the same kind of wood as the factory in the roof and doors. I have way more invested now than I could ever sell it for, but it’s a fun car to drive. —Bruce LeFebvre

LeBaron Bonney installed by Bob, Bruce, and Reardon Upholstery.

The car’s chassis had been media blasted and refinished in black early on in the project, but after it was reinstalled and Bruce drove the car, something seemed off.

“The car didn’t track straight, so I called Snyder’s (Antique Auto Parts) in Ohio, and they asked me to send some pictures “They told me the setup wasn’t stock Model A but used parts from a newer Ford. ”

Swapping in front-end parts from later Fords is a common way to convert an earlier car, like a Model A, from mechanical to hydraulic brakes. Bruce’s car had been upgraded that way at some point in its life, employing mixed and matched parts.

“The car had been piecemealed, ” Bruce says. “I didn’t realize I was buying a jigsaw puzzle with pieces from other puzzles in it. ”

An online search turned up a complete Model A front end in New Jersey, which Bruce picked up and refurbished himself. Then, the chassis was retrofitted with a hydraulic drum-brake kit from Cling’s Aftermarket Products. The car’s spoke wheels looked good, so they were shod with new tires and put back on the car.

The entire project took about four years, wrapping up in 2016. Bruce said he’s happy with the result and enjoys spending time behind the wheel of his nicely restored Model A.

“I’m pleased with the way it came out and I enjoy driving it around town. I thought it was going to be like driving a stagecoach, but it rides pretty nice, ” he says. “Every intersection I get thumbs up, people honking the horn and waving. I’ve driven it in parades, won many local car show awards, and it was on the cover of the 2021 Hemmings Model A Calendar— it’s a neat car to show off. ”