mod@tech

This 1931 Ford Model A was acquired by the seller around two years ago and subsequently rebuilt with aluminum boattail-style bodywork. Power is provided by a replacement 201ci inline-four paired with a three-speed manual transmission, and features include contoured bucket seats trimmed in brown vinyl, 19” wire wheels, Brooklands-style windscreens, an electronic ignition system, aluminum radiator, 12-volt alternator, and a 12-gallon fuel cell. This aluminum-bodied Model A is being offered with the removed engine and transmission, photos from the build, and a clean Florida title in the seller’s name.

During current ownership, the car was fitted with custom polished aluminum boattail-style bodywork, which is laid over a tube frame that is mounted to the chassis. Features include Brooklands-style windscreens, cycle fenders, a side exhaust pipe, and a ventilated hood, along with a cream-finished nose, tail, and rear cowl.

Black-finished 19” wire wheels wear faux knock-off spinners and were reportedly fitted with replacement tires during current ownership. A matching spare is affixed to the left side of the car, and an additional tire is included in the sale. The four-wheel drum brakes are said to have been refreshed and fitted with replacement drums.

The interior houses low-back contoured bucket seats trimmed in brown vinyl upholstery. The wood floor is protected by a black rubber mat, and a leather satchel is mounted to the front of the battery box on the passenger-side floor.

A cord-wrapped steering wheel sits ahead of an engine-turned instrument panel that houses an 8k-rpm tachometer, a 100-mph speedometer, and an auxiliary gauge. The five-digit odometer shows approximately 47k miles, around 300 of which have been added by the seller. Total mileage is unknown.

The replacement 201ci inline-four has reportedly been rebuilt and is equipped with a single Zenith carburetor. Additional equipment reportedly includes a Zipper 12-volt distributor, a 12-volt alternator, electric water pump, aluminum radiator with an electric fan, and a 12-gallon aluminum fuel cell. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a three-speed manual gearbox that is also said to have been rebuilt during current ownership. Fluid changes were carried out in December 2022, and oil leaks are noted from the rear seal. A spare inline-four and transmission will accompany the vehicle.

Additional underbody photos are provided in the gallery below, along with images from the build.

The car is titled using the stamped frame number shown above.

This all-aluminum hot rod was custom-built in the style of a Ford Model A two-door highboy phaeton by Boyd Coddington Hot Rod Shop in La Habra, California, over the course of eight weeks in late 2003. The project was documented from start to completion across five episodes of Coddington’s Discovery Channel television series American Hot Rod that were aired in 2004, after which the car was sold to collector Ron Pratte in 2005. It remained in the Pratte collection for 10 years before being purchased by the seller in 2017. The car features hand-formed bare aluminum bodywork by Marcel’s Custom Metal atop a custom-fabricated aluminum tube-frame chassis and is powered by a 350ci Chevrolet V8 that breathes through three Demon Six Shooter carburetors. Additional features include a TH350 automatic transmission with a Mooneyes electronic shifter, an aluminum Winters quick-change rear end, custom-machined billet axle housings, cross-drilled disc brakes with aluminum calipers, a Mullins Vega-style aluminum steering box, five-spoke alloy wheels with a spindle-mount front setup, a lift-off roof panel, and silver Naugahyde interior upholstery. Named the “Alumatub,” this Boyd Coddington hot rod is now offered in Mill River, Massachusetts, with two spare sets of Goodyear RS-A tires, a photo album from the build, custom tools, and a clean New York title listing the car as a 1929 Ford.

After moving to California in the 1960s, Boyd Coddington began building hot rods as a side venture while working as a machinist at Disneyland before opening his own hot rod shop in the late 1970s and pioneering the use of billet wheels in the 1980s. Coddington and his shop served as the stars of the TV reality show American Hot Rod on the Discovery and Learning channels between 2004 and Coddington’s passing in early 2008. The “Alumatub” was the second project showcased on the program and was the third creation in a series of all-aluminum builds by Coddington, following the 1992 “Alumacoupe” and 2002 “Alumatruck.”

The 106”-wheelbase chassis was custom-fabricated in Coddington’s shop using 3/16^th-wall 5052 aluminum formed into rectangular-tube frame rails joined at the front by a solid aluminum oval-drilled crossmember and round-tube center and rear crossmembers. Bare aluminum highboy coachwork was styled by Eric Brockmeyer and hand-formed by Marcel De Lay’s Marcel’s Custom Metal in Corona, California, in the style of a Ford Model A two-door phaeton. Features include rear-hinged doors free of handles, a side-hinged hood, a bare aluminum radiator shell carrying 7” headlights, a low-profile fixed windshield, and a lift-off bare aluminum top.

Coddington-designed five-spoke alloy front wheels measure 15×6” and are mounted on Deuce Factory stainless-steel spindles, while 17×8” rear wheels are secured to aluminum hubs via hexagonal knock-offs. Kuhmo Solus KH16 tires measure P215/65 up front and 255/60 at the rear. Hydraulic disc brakes incorporate 10¾” cross-drilled discs, aluminum calipers, and a Corvette master cylinder. Front suspension comprises a Pete & Jake’s oval-drilled I-beam drop axle, billet bat wings, and stylized aluminum wishbones, while rear suspension utilizes a billet triangulated four-link set-up with Carrera coilover shock absorbers. Custom wheel and gas cap removal tools are included in the sale.

The cockpit houses a single bench seat trimmed by Gabe’s Street Rod & Custom Interiors of Bloomington, California, in silver Naugahyde, with matching upholstery lining the inner surfaces of the top. Additional interior features include riveted bare aluminum door panels, gray wool carpeting, a tunnel-mounted Mooneyes electronic push-button shifter, and aluminum pedals with drilled linkages.

The four-spoke Pete & Jake’s steering wheel is wrapped in silver Naugahyde and sits on a Mullins steering column that directs input to a Mullins Vega-style aluminum steering box. Classic Instruments instrumentation housed in a bare aluminum dash panel includes a 140-mph speedometer and gauges monitoring fuel level and coolant temperature. The six-digit odometer does not work and shows less than one mile. An aluminum-housed LED screen mounted below the dash displays gear selection.

The 350ci Chevrolet small-block V8 features an aluminum block machined by the Schwartz Machine Company, aluminum Vortec cylinder heads, a COMP Cams hydraulic-roller camshaft, billet valve covers, and a Doug Upton’s Universal Machining aluminum oil pan and timing cover. Induction is through a Barry Grant Triple D Six Shooter intake manifold topped with three Demon Six Shooter carburetors and a billet air cleaner. Additional equipment includes Mallory ignition, an oil cooler mounted to the center crossmember, a Meziere remote water pump, a PRC aluminum radiator with a SPAL electric fan, a Mooneyes fuel-pressure gauge, and a 12-gallon aluminum fuel tank. A maintenance service was performed in April 2022.

Power is sent to the rear wheels via a TH350 Turbo Hydra-Matic automatic transmission, a Powertrain Industries aluminum driveshaft, and a Winters quick-change differential mated to custom-machined billet axle housings. Custom four-into-one exhaust headers lead to MagnaFlow mufflers and megaphone tailpipes. A louvered aluminum underbody panel can be seen fitted to the car in the photo gallery below. The seller notes that the car has mostly remained on static display and has been driven for maintenance purposes.