Readers may recall the introduction of my family’s late-1931 Ford Model A coupe (Garage Time) in the May 2023 issue. To recap, Douglas Eller accepted it in trade at Eller Motors in Spokane, Washington, in 1969. It was later passed down to his son, Dick, and was then a fixture in various Eller family garages and barns, where your author’s wife and her relatives created memories with the Ford, even though it never moved under its own power.
It was also far from stock. The exterior wore “any car, any color, $29.95” paint from the 1960s that saw body, fenders, and wheels sprayed a medium green metallic whose sheen disappeared decades ago. Also, ’39-up hydraulic brakes were installed by a previous owner, and the entire interior was trimmed in a root-beercolored, textured Naugahyde.
A dozen years ago, the Ford was given to us, and we soon formulated a suitable plan to revive it. The first step was to remove the package shelf and shift the seat back in the name of greater comfort for my stature. Thereafter, it was a matter of how far to take things mechanically. As it was no longer stock, improved drivability was the end goal, yet we didn’t want to turn it into a hot rod. Simply put, we wanted to merely improve what was already present without losing its identity.
How did we get there?
First, I put my faith in someone who has good word-of-mouth around town. For me, that was Troy Jonas in Phoenix. As the builder of a 120-hp Model A
