1930 Ford Model A Coupe - Jesse James & The Austin Speed Shop

If you are an avid fan of reality television, especially of the automotive variety, then I am betting that you saw the episode of ‘Jesse James Outlaw Garage’ on Discovery Channel, where Jesse & the crew @ Austin Speed Shop built a gorgeous one-of-a-kind 1930 Ford Model A 5-Window Coupe for none other than Paul Teutul Sr. from Orange County Choppers. Well folks, here is your chance to own this very piece of Hot Rod history!



‘Red Hills Rods & Classics’ is very happy to offer you this amazing Hot Rod, which I just recently acquired from Paul Sr. in a multi-car deal. Over the last 16 years, I have handled some amazing vehicles, including some of the most rare American muscle cars in the world, as well as many amazing & unique Hot Rods including the 1932 Ford Roadster that Jesse James & The Austin Speed Shop built on television a few years back. I can safely say this this 1930 Ford Model A Coupe is on top of the all-time badass list!




Paul Sr. wanted a 50’s East-Coast style Hot Rod, which is obviously where he grew up admiring the true Hot Rods back in the day. I have to say that Jesse & his crew absolutely nailed it! This Rod is featured in ‘Traditional Rod & Kulture’ magazine Issue #33, laying out the build process in detail. The crew did not know who the client was for much of the build, as Jesse kept it a secret. Bob Merkt found the Coupe body in Iowa, which was in such good condition that he said that it was actually a shame to cut out the new sub rails to make room for the deep channel. The original 1930 Ford chassis (stamped w/ VIN # A2764008) was disassembled, squared up & fitted w/ new cross-members to dial in the stance. It uses a dropped & drilled I-beam on custom hairpins up front & a buggy spring w/ a modified Pete & Jakes ladder bar assembly for the ’57 Ford rear-end. Self-energizing Lincoln drum brakes were used behind the 1940 Ford steelies.




As the chassis was being finished, work started on the 1953 Chrysler 331ci Hemi motor, adding a Weiand three-deuce intake & flowing Zoomie headers by Bob Merkt. Stromberg donated (3) of their new Black & Chrome Stromberg 97 carburetors, which was very nice of them to do! Paul Sr. requires lots of legroom, making a manual transmission out of the question. The early Hemi blocks use an integrated bellhousing, and adapting transmissions w/out removable housings required a bit of work. A 727 Torqueflite automatic transmission was pulled from another project & Kail Withers painstakingly trimmed the tranny back to the pump cover to mount the adaptor plate. The center cross-members then had to be modified for the wider transmission pan. James Parker was tapped to create the new floor & trunk panel where the Moon tank rests. Though many East Coast cars ran un-chopped, it was decided to bring the top down 2” w/ a clean slice that required minimal work to finish out. Jesse & Bob hammered out a piece of flat steel into a slightly domed panel to fill the top, which came out excellent! Jesse also created the one-off nerf bar that circles the Buick taillights from 2” chunks of stainless steel & crafted the twin flat-bar insert for the grille. Back in 1958, four round headlights were the latest rage from Detroit & were showing up on kustom cars everywhere! Inspired, Jesse added four vintage snowmobile lamps, staggering them down low on handmade stands. This is one of my favorite features on the car.




The interior saw another successful kustom-car inspired challenge met, as Jesse hand-built the steering wheel center & outer hoop in stainless, then cast a clear ring from a custom old. He also hand-built the matching shift knob. Check out how the shifter is mounted in the middle of the dash to keep the floor open for more legroom. Very cool! The ‘54 Ford dash is simply beautiful & was massaged to perfection by Alex Swanson, who also installed a set of Stewart Warner gauges behind the glove box door, where you will also find the ignition switch & light switch. With the one-off seats & pedals laid out, Paul Sr. was brought in for a test-fit w/ the steering column. Model A’s are known for being cramped but not this one! I am 6’2” & 210 Lbs, and I fit comfortably w/ 5” remaining above my head and lots of legroom. After the test-fit, the car was blown completely apart w/ components sent to Speed & Sport Chrome in Houston, who did an outstanding job! Parts dipped include everything from the smallest bolts & washers to the suspension, wheels, garnish moldings, backing plates, gauge bezels, brackets, hard line hoses, etc. and let me tell you, it all shines! Anything that was not sent out to chrome was painted White, including the engine block. Custom Car Crafters in Austin shot the German White hue inside & out, and polished all surfaces to a high luster! Leonard Harvey, a legendary upholsterer who was doing custom cars back in the day, did the tuck & roll, adding contrasting black carpeting w/ pleated inserts & piping. It just doesn’t get much cooler folks! She starts w/ a flick of the wrist, idles smoothly & runs beautifully in every way! Did I mention how she sounds? Absolutely INCREDIBLE, the way a real Hot Rod should!