Project Hauler

More than just a shop truck!

Story by John Aschenberg
Photos by – Author and Jerry Wetli
Cheryl Kaiser's '29 Ford Model A

The foundation for the Model A is the stock Henry unit which was beefed up by boxing in the frame rails, while stretching it was necessary with an 8" kick up. A Ford 9" was positioned into place with a 3.23:1 ring and pinion and Moser axles. Coilovers from S/W racecars, Koni shocks and 11 inch drum brakes finish up the rear. Up front Ford leaf springs, Pete & Jakes spindles, shocks and 10 inch brakes along with a Corvette master cylinder were used to complete the front suspension. Making it a rolling chassis is complemented by American Racing gray spoke torque thrust wheels, 15" x 4" up front and 15" x 8" in the rear wrapped in BF Goodrich tires.

Old School 327 CI

Morley Performance is its name, building racing motors is its game, and so having your own machine shop comes in pretty handy. Motor-vation for the "A" comes in the form of an old school 327 c.i. Chevy mouse motor punched .030 over. Steve had a set of 461 double hump heads lying around, along with a mild hydraulic cam, cast flat top pistons, stock steel crank, and any other miscellaneous goodies that they thought could be put to good use. Steve was still pretty weak in the arms yet from the accident, so he talked Cheryl into building the motor. So after work every day Cheryl came to the shop," Morley Performance" along with her Yorkshire terrier "Buddy" to build the motor for her little blue hauler under the guidance of Steve. After building her first engine it was time to put it on the dyno, making 357 h.p. – not too shabby from parts just lying around the shop. After stuffing the small block into the pickup it was time to fab up a set of custom made headers and 2½"exhaust with turbo mufflers to exit the used gases. Cheryl shifts power to the rear wheels using a Turbo 400 tranny modified by "Morley Performance" with a Hughes 10" torque converter and a 3000 stall.

Cheryl Kaiser's '29 Ford Model A

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