Everything is cyclical on a hot rod build. I have been thinking about that idea a lot as I chip away at the latest version of my A-V8. It feels like a lifetime ago that I was redoing the brakes for the first time in my freshly swept driveway on a warm San Francisco Saturday.
I rolled the car back, pulled the parking brake, and chocked the left-rear wheel with a heavy wood block. From the corner of the garage, I grabbed my two favorite jackstands—off white with red tops—and set them down in front of the car’s I-beam. My yellow floor jack rumbled across the concrete, clicking and clacking like an eastbound freight train. Up it went.
My task was one that I thought would be straightforward. Disassemble the stock Model A brakes, clean everything, and replace the shoes. I recall the first part was not difficult, but putting it all back together again was a different story. At this point, I couldn’t tell you exactly how it all unfolded, although I do remember waving goodbye to my neighbors early in the morning and them finding me (and the roadster) in the same spot when they came home for dinner.
I revisited my build thread to jog my memory, and here’s what I had to say.
The whole thing was way harder than I expected. Over the course of two long days, I managed to only get one brake on—and I’m pretty sure it has to come apart again. I’m almost embarrassed to post this, but it’s important to share every aspect of this build. Even the not-so-great ones.
It did have to come apart again—twice. But, when the dust settled, I had a mechanical-braked Model A that was capable of anything I threw at it. That was in 2021.
Well, now it’s 2025 and I’m upgrading to juice brakes. I thought about that day when I rolled the car down my freshly swept driveway and pulled the same jackstands from the same garage corner. Up went the car and off came the wheel.
I snapped a picture and smiled, because I remembered that both of us had been here before.
—Joey Ukrop
