Re: Y Izzit?
 

I would guess that many newbies have little or no experience with on-line forums and have no idea there is a search function and how to use it.

Merely telling a newbie to buy the book or do a search doesn't do much to encourage new Model A owners.

Re: Y Izzit?
 

The first thing I bought after I found this site was the books. They are very helpful and have many illustrations which I find great. But I would love to see Les Andrews remove a rear brake assembly using his instructions. A couple of critical steps are missing. That being said the manuals are fine but the info here is outstanding! The first thing (well maybe second thing....lol) I do when I get up in the morning is read the forum. Check it 3 or 4 more times a day. Love all the info and patience of most all of the posters. Lets not kick a good horse in the ......!

Re: Y Izzit?
 

Amen Dick. I could not have said it better. Let's not be a bunch of snobby old codgers.

Re: Y Izzit?
 

As an owner a Model A for nearly 3 years I own all but the guidelines... Everyone thinks differently, and as very new owner, I have years more to learn... I do agree, folks should buy the books... Make's for great bathroom reading ;)

Re: Y Izzit?
 

I've got the books, and still ask dumb questions once in a while. And I thank all those for putting up with my stupid moments [emoji16]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: Y Izzit?
 

Re: Y Izzit?
 

Re: Y Izzit?
 

I'm OK with that as long as you STAY OFF MY LAWN! :mad:

Re: Y Izzit?
 

Having an accurate title line is very important to be able to find it when doing a "SEARCH".
Also, when posting a picture I have started saying "here's a picture of......" rather than just saying "here's the.......".
This way if you are looking for a picture of something, you can also enter "picture" in the "search", to help find the posts with pictures.

I think the Les Andrew's book is a good book. I know about the pan bolt torque being too high, as it should be inch pounds, rather than 20 foot pounds, but I'm not aware of a lot of other mistakes.

Even after being on the forum for a long time, I don't always have good luck using the search feature, but an accurate title line will help.

Re: Y Izzit?
 

Re: Y Izzit?
 

I'm new to Model As, not mechanically minded at all, and have the Les Andrews book. It's good but not enough. For example the disassembly of front brakes says things like "Remove the springs". Well, I've not done that before and they're not exactly easy. Les doesn't give you information like that. Also, things like wheel nut torque settings - nothing in Les Andrews but a quick forum search brought it up. The books are good but nothing beats real life experience and that's what you garner from forums like these.

Re: Y Izzit?
 

Some brake springs can be very hard to install and remove.
I've learned it's best to wear a good pair of leather gloves, and on some I've had to clamp onto the spring with a Vise Grip then pry against the side of the jaw with a long screwdriver.

Re: Y Izzit?
 

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Quite by accident I bought a pair of Craftsman needle nose plyers where the needle nose was at a 90 degree to the handles and the handles are about a foot long. I struggled with brake springs all afternoon one time trying everything. Somehow I tried those plyers and the spring went on first shot. The handles are long enough you can use both hands to grip and pull and with the tip at a 90 you are not hitting up against the other brake parts. Those plyers and now one of my first "go to" tools for anything that needs a good grip and pull!

Re: Y Izzit?
 

I usually just use a screwdriver flat or pointed - sometimes one works before the other - and needle nose to sometimes push it on if it didnt fully snap in. If youve ever done "modern" drum brakes they arent a whole lot different.

I like Les Andrews book - sometimes it gets repetitive showing you the same first few steps taking up a page or more for every procedure. Its a book that will get the job done if youve never done it before but theres usually a tried and true other way to go about things that comes from experience.

I do need to order the new judging standards as my old version is vague in some parts (especially AA stuff). Wheres the best place to get it from and how?

Re: Y Izzit?
 

Bratton's brake shoe installation tool (2595) works well lso especially when it's a half mile away in your friends toolbox:D

Sewall

Re: Y Izzit?
 

Scan them into a PDF and e-mail them to yourself, or put them in the cloud, etc.

Also, I agree with post 26, above, too often the books tell you what to do not how to do it.

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And on the other hand if they never have to use them they won't know how to use them or their importance.

The best answer is to at least give them the answer and/or the link to at least one thread as a start in the their quest to find the answer using searh and let them know that additional information is available at their finger tips with no waiting for it.

We all know that the search feature is not the easiest to locate past information for a variety of reasons, some user some software. The most important thing is that they get the information.

Re: Y Izzit?
 

Great answer, Mike. Maybe there should be a "sticky" that shows how to get to and use the search function (including the Advanced Search) that could be referenced in the reply along with an answer or link to a thread with the answer.