Your Model A
 

Because I like hearing people's story about things in which we share a mutual interest:

What made you decide to acquire a Model A?
What made you pick the body type you have?
How has your experience with the car been since you had it?

I'll be glad to start. I've said before this was my grandpa's car. He got in the early 80s and restored it. I have many fond memories of riding in the car with him and in the rumble seat with my sisters/cousins. When my grandmother passed away she left me the car as she knew the love I had for my grandpa and the car. As a child when the house was full with family I would often take a blanket and pillow and sleep across the front seat. (I'm to big for that now)

I have the what I believe is the tudor with rumble seat, because that is what was left to me, but i wouldn't trade it for anything.

I'm hoping to continue to build fond happy memories with the car and my family.

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When I was a little kid in the early 60s my father had a 31 coupe that he drove on the mail route some and in hard to get to fishing areas but sold it. We got a 30 coupe a few years later and drove it with the local club. Now I am working on getting an unrestored rusted 30 tudor going, just going to leave this one rusty as I am through restoring them, just want it to drive around and maybe go fishing at hard to get to places.

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My addiction to Model A's started before I even new it or had a chance to think about it. I was 5 or 6 when I was awakened every morning to the sound of a Model A idling. Our next door neighbor was an old Italian fellow who grew flowers & fruit so sell at the Los Angeles flower market and every morning about 4:30 AM he would load up his '29 A delivery to haul his produce to market. This went on for 4 or 5 years till he traded in his A for a new '54 Ford Ranch Wagon to do the duty. Since then I haven't been able to get A's out of my system. Dad had a '28 chevy roadster pickup to haul stuff to the dump and that reinforced the addiction and now I still have my '28 FORD A roadster pickup plus other A's.

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I inherited the 28 roadster pickup I have from my Dad whose father had it before him. Actually my grandfather bought the truck new. I do remember being a youngster and driving the truck around the apple orchard picking up baskets of apples my brothers had picked. We get the truck out occasionally but not much seem to have trouble keeping it running so hate to wind up stranded somewhere.

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My Dad had a few sedans and coupes when I was very young. He bought and sold some, then landed a 28 Phaeton in 1964 which was his last. I helped him restore it in the 80's and then for some reason he put it on blocks in his heated garage and wouldn't let anyone near it. I would sneak in and crank the engine over on occasion just to keep it freed up. He passed away in October at 94 yrs old and I got it running again this winter. Now having fun with it and passing my knowledge on to my son. I now have the bug again and am looking for a second A to tinker with!

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Got my first Model A in July 1961, a 1931 Sport Coupe, drove during high school.

Have had our 1929 Sport Coupe since 1979, restored in 1981, complete mechanicals done again in 2002.

We are the third owners, before us it had been in a barn in up-state New York, undriven, since 1945. Car is factory stock, never completely apart.

Paint, top, interior, and "all" machanicals have been done. Many awards at local shows.

Model A Fords are the greatest cars I think that have every been made.

Show me a 2017 Chevy in 89 years.

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An elderly neighbor took me fishing twice during the summer I was 8. He was driving a '28 or '29 closed cab pickup. I had a plan and most of the funds earned to purchase the Model A when I obtained my drivers permit. I shared my plan with my driver's education teacher. The SOB went out and purchased it, not for himself but to flip it, before I completed training. I had instant disdain for the man when I found out what he did.

This man was also my varsity baseball coach in high school. I became quite proficient at driving a foul ball at his feet when he stood in the first base coaching box just to see him dance. He used to yell at me: "Gerold, take a full swing."He never caught on I was doing it on purpose.
Good Day!

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My love of cars started because of my grandfather. My Great-grandfather worked for the Ford Assembly plant in Dallas, TX. They had property that was full of all sorts of cars that they drove, or my great grandfather towed away for people. My grandfather always kept his dads 1932 Ford Tudor (I know it's not a Model A) whenever they moved to a new house.

My Model A belonged to a former Master Chief in the Navy. He bought it for $50 in Roswell, NM in 1974 and spent the next two years restoring it. It was parked in the garage and placed on jack stands sometime in December of 1976. He started working on it again in the late 90's, but ended up getting sick and wound up in a VA nursing home. I worked there as a nurse when he moved in and noticed he had a Ford oval pin on his hat with "30" on it. He told me all about his 1930 Model A Tudor Sedan, and what he wanted to do when he got to go home. We would sit up all night talking cars. As his illness progressed, his wife invited me over to see the car and help clean up and organize his shop. I ended up buying a lot of old tools, hubcaps etc.. He unfortunately assed away in 2014.

About 2 months after he passed his wife called me. She said that the family discussed what to do with the car and since no family members were interested in getting it back on the road, they wanted me to purchase the car. We worked out a deal for payment and temporary storage while I was moving. I finally brought my car back into the sun Easter weekend of 2016. I've enjoyed learning about the car and how to fix it and keep her going. My youngest daughter is starting to express interest in wanting to rebuild her own Model A now.


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Grew up with A Models, when I got tired of Hot Rodding, I got a stock A Model.
Bill W.

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It all started back in the '60's when my dad was a struggling attorney and one of his clients offered a Model A as payment for his services. Times being what they were for our family, my dad needed the money more than the car so he turned them down. I went with him that day to look at the car and I think I was about 14 or 15 at the time. I think I was hooked from that time forward.

Over they years I got married and had kids. For over 40 years I have wanted a Model A, but also have not really had the cash to do that because of a then growing family and being the cheapskate that I am, we never did a Model A. I had a lot of fun with a 65 Mustang that I did wind up buying from my dad, which I had for about 25 years. Towards the end, I always remarked on how many people would wave at me and give me thumbs up, just because it was an early Mustang!

Times got worse and we went through a little of a crunch and I sold the Mustang to a friend of one of my son's. He still has the car and when I am in that city, I every once in a while can still take if for a spin.

Another son used to help me work on that car late into the nights and I had a metal bread loaf pan full of odds and ends nuts and bolts. Greasy and some were somewhat stripped, but that box of bolts came in handy as we worked away and needed just that right bolt or nut. My son called it the "Magic Box", and that is where my forum Handle comes from.

For years, not having the money to buy a Model A, I focused on collecting antique telephones, since my other hobby lies in electronics and ham radio, phones seemed to be a natural, but the desire to own a Model A was consistent.

Fast forward and here I am in my 60's with family all grown up and now cash is not a crunch. However, being the cheapskate that I am, I bought a real fixer-upper Model A, which is my Avatar. Got that a couple months ago and even though it has recently spent the last couple weeks getting outfitted with a new clutch, and that resulted in a new (rebuilt) engine, I am getting to know the car very well. I have had immense help from a couple of local club members who have actually been doing most of the work since I still work 8 to 5 every work day.

My wife has been right along with me all the way in wanting the Model A. In fact, she much prefers the Model A to my phones. :) On the days that I have been out driving it around, I find that if I felt like a movie star with all the waves and thumbs up in the Mustang, I hadn't seen anything yet. People stop me and ask about it and just driving around, people make it a point to wave and give high Fives and thumbs up.

My story and I ain't changing it.

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I received my first Model A in 1963 when I was 14 years old. It was a 1930 4 door sedan with a lot of wood rot and rust in it. My Dad and I worked on it together. We kept the front with cowl and windshield with visor and sprayed it with red primer. We looked like the Beverly Hillbillies. I found a coupe body and a pair of rear fenders for it and we pieced it together. We got the engine running and I drove it to high school. The Model A that I have now is a 1929 Special Coupe that is in my avatar. This car was a true barn find. My wife and I were coming out of Costco 5 years ago when a man ask us about a car we were driving. I told him that I liked it but I liked antique cars and my first car was a Model A Ford. He gave me a ladies name and phone number that had an A for sale. I called the lady and she said her husband had died 3 years before and she wanted to sell the car. My wife and I made the 70 mile trip to see the car and it looked as it does in my avatar except it had one half inch of dust on it, but it would not run. I would deal with the lady for a month before I felt comfortable with the price and purchased it. I got it home and got it running and we drove it for a year and a half when engine went out. I pulled the engine and had it built. We drove another year and rear end had to rebuilt. We have been driving it for two years now and have enjoyed it.

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My mother and father came from WV and the last survivor of their generation was my Uncle George. I started visiting him about 20 years ago when I finally realized the treasure I was missing. One evening sitting with him while he related stories he was telling me about a Model A that a local farmer had got for a wedding present and not driven it for about 20 years. That sparked my interest and my Uncle and I went to visit him to see if it was for sale. He said he would talk to his wife and let me know as it came from her father. Didn't hear anything over the next months so thought all was lost. Fast forward about 5 years and I got a call from my Uncle saying the farmer said he would sell me the car. I new NOTHING about those cars and had no idea what it was worth but knew it hadn't been started for a LONG time. Did some research on Ebay and hitched my trailer on my pickup and headed from RI to WV.

Next day we went to visit the farmer and take a look. It was a 1929 Roadster Convertible with a rumble seat. Mice had done a job on the top in a box but the upholstery in the car and rumble seat was fine. After discussing the shape we settled on a price, pulled it out of the barn and loaded on my trailer. Headed home for RI and put the car in my garage. There it sat for another 4 years. I would call and visit my Uncle occasionally and he would always ask how the "A" was doing. I finally got possessed and really wanted to get it started before something happened to my Uncle. Engine was stuck so began putting some Marvel Mystery Oil in the cylinders everyday for a couple of weeks and no luck yet. That's when I found this blog and someone suggested if I had a gravel drive to tow it very slowly and keep easing out the clutch. Next day we hooked it up to my old Ford tractor and started out my drive. After about 3 or 4 pops of the clutch the engine broke loose and we took it back to the garage. Put some new plugs in, a new battery, and checked the points. After about 10 seconds of turning over it popped and started to idle. With all the MMO in there it smoked like a bomb for about 30 seconds but settled down and purred like a kitten. Took a video of driving in and out the driveway and made a trip to WV to show my Uncle. Boy was I glad I did what I did as I lost him a couple of years later at the age of 96.

Car is now in Florida with me and after driving it some one of the rear wheels was wobbling so I started to investigate. One thing led to another and it is now on jack stands with nothing but an engine. We are in RI visiting our kids and grand kids but as soon as I get back it is my fall project to get it back together so I can enjoy the beautiful weather and flat roads.

I have another funny story about the car and one of it's previous owners but my fingers are sore right now so I will wait for another time....kind of like "Uncle Wiggily" the rabbit gentleman for those of you who know what I mean.......lol.

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My grandfather had a collection of Model A's and early Ford V8's. He sold off most of his collection before he passed. In 1998 I was a senior in high school and I saw a local classified ad for a 1931 Model A Victoria needing a total restoration. Knowing the Victoria body style was unique I went to look and bought it. My experience so far has been amazing and even led me into the early V8 Fords and I have since acquired and worked on many early V8 cars and a pickup. I'm interested in all Ford automobiles but my focus and experience is 1928-1953.

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My mother gave my father a 1930 Model A Coupe for Christmas in 1957. While it was never really reliable, it got him to the train station almost every day for 6 or 7 years (he took the train in to New York every day) and we would go out in it on weekends. He was a charter member of the Model A Club of Long Island, and we went on may great trips, and had a great time with them (ask me about the member who bought narrow gauge steam trains, and set the railroad up on his estate). Our Model A looked pretty rough, but I was still in love with it. Eventually the car was retired to the garage, and we moved to Connecticut. Getting the car to the new house was too much trouble for him, so my father sold it in 1967, with me complaining bitterly. I always wanted a Model A, but with a wife, kids, and a career in the Navy, there was no money. Eventually I retired, entered a better paying career, got the kids through school, and off on their own. One day I decided that since I had wanted a Model A for almost 50 years, I was going to buy one. I ended up with a late '31 Roadster, that was extremely unreliable (looked great, but was a mechanical nightmare). I joined a club, and with a lot of advice, got the car to the point where it would go virtually anywhere, and even stop when it got there. Right after I retired from my third career, I found a '31 S/W Cabriolet, which I just had to have, so I bought it. I have since driven it over 6,000 miles in just over three years, and would trust it to get me anywhere. I now spend a great deal of time helping others who are joining our hobby, and just try to add to my Model A knowledge whenever I can.

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I got my car for a promise. keep it stock and dont sell it. theres more to the story but ill keep it short for now. it was my grandpas. ill post the video of my first drive in it. I got lucky really good mechanical shape with some appearance needs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y9anzJLKks

edit: And by really good mechanical shape I mean it needed front shackle bushings a front spring rebuild a rewire a head gasket and ignition parts replaced for piece of mind. But I havent had to overhaul any major drive train parts. generally any of the work is easier than it would be on a modern car. And i get a real satisfaction putting the work into an antique.

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My Grandfather went into the car business in 1918 [ I have one of the first Studebakers [1918 EG] he sold] and he took on Ford a while later. My mother ran the parts room and office, one day she never made it to the hospital and I came along a bit earlier than expected in the parts room.
When young he had serial #3 Model A [1903] and a 1907 Model K that we used to terrorize the neighborhood in.
I liked old cars but preferred hot rods and drag racing back then.
I came across a 1934 Stude roadster i wanted to buy and my father always wanted this particular local 31 Ford roadster. Well, he insisted I go in halves with him on this Ford. So, 1975 we bought it instead of the Stude. I've become glad we did. Actually I wish we had bought both.

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Hey CB919ER....

You need to show us a picture of your Model A.....I like jeeps too but would still like to see your car!

Randy

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I am 72 years old. In 1961 when I was 16 I bought a 1931 Sport Coupe. Many Model A's have come and gone since then. But there has not been one single day since 1961 that I have not owned a Model A.

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In about 1949 my brother (then 14 or so) spotted this old Model A in a vacant lot.....tires flat, one window rolled down in both summer and winter. He had about $50.00 in cash and after walking by the Model A for a couple of weeks got the courage to knock on the house door and ask the man if he was interested in selling the Model A. The man said "God Kid if you will haul it away I'll give it to you". You can't believe how fast that car was pushed out of the vacant lot and pushed about a mile to our house and three days later it fired up and was running. He drive it for the next two years then upgraded to a Chev (of all thing) and I inherited the Model A and all the love and work of having it. I drove it for about 4 years then moved on but the love and joy of the Model A still stayed with me. Fifteen years ago I purchased the 1931 Coupe that I still proudly drive getting lots of thumbs up and smiles. Whenever its parked people ask if its ok to take pictures of their kids standing by it....I always say put them in the drivers seat and show them how to honk the aghooa horn


Malcolm