Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

I do not want to make this sound like people should NOT join one of the national clubs or their local club, I think it is a good idea to join one. People asking questions and only getting a reply to look in an issue of one of the club mags, lots of people are not members of ether club and if they are, may not have copies of back issues, is not helping get the needed info to the person. If you know the info answer the question and if it was covered in one of the mags, great, add that info as a sidebar.

Same with the JS, if you can take time to answer the question telling someone to look in the JS you have time to answer the question. I think the JS are a great tool, esp for people doing points cars or really striving to return their car to how it was from the factory and should have a copy but for the average owner that has a question here and there, Fordbarn is a great source of help.

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

Also before you tell someone to look in one of Les Adrews books. Make sure the answer is there.

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

I agree...they are asking us for help...lets help not try and sell them books!

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

I agree 100%. I am in both clubs but I have trouble finding back issues. I have another similar gripe. When people reference another site like HAMB or EBAY they don't give the exact address. All they have to do is to copy it from the address bar and paste it into their post. Sometimes I think something sounds interesting but probably not worth the time trying to find it.

Charlie Stephens

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

I don’t agree with this. Directing someone to valid source material is a good way to make certain a person gets all the information they need. If they can access the net they can access the archives in the national club files, which are vast. And serious Model A owners should own and read the Judging Standards and the Ford Service Bulletins. A copy of the owner’s manual is also necessary reading. Those three books alone can answer many of the questions that are repeatedly asked here, and they are readily available and can be purchased for less than $100.

If someone is directed to one of the How To Restore books, those are also available individually for only $15 each, so a guy can buy what he needs without laying out cash for the whole set.

A good library is essential to having a comfortable working knowledge of your car, and accurate detailed information is available right on your bookshelf.

There are questions that can also be readily and easily answered on sites like FB, and the camaraderie is fun, but I think referring guys to source material and letting them do their own research is a valid response.

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Give him the fishing pole and he can thrive. I agree, directing others to good reference perpetuates the ability to expand and to further the knowledgeability of our hobby.

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

Or even a correct answer !!!

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

If somebody with a problem should just be referred to Les Andrews or the Judging Standards or the Service Bulletins or the Ford Barn archives, then what's the use of this board? No one is required to respond to an inquiry. If you resent having to do it, don't do it.

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

Best answer!

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

All good comments in this thread. I agree that someone owning and working on a Model A should have most of the reference books mentioned, just as anyone maintaining their newer (at least up until the mid 90s) vehicle should have a set of factory shop manuals. Most of the questions asked have already been answered here. So one should initiate a search first. Although search tends to bring up a lot of unrelated threads. That said, those of us with knowledge should be willing to share that information. Nothing discourages a new member like being told to go look it up yourself. If you don't have time to be helpful, how do you have time to read a thread in the first place?

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

Get EVERY Parts Suppliers' CATALOGS! With specifications, exploded views, etc, they're ALMOST like a SHOP MANUAL!
Bill Reading

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

If a person is not absolutely sure of an answer, I see nothing wrong with suggesting they look in published responses.

That's where the term "weekend experts" was coined. Which would you rather have?

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

Telling people that the answer is in publications only shows the advantage of either buying the books or joining the clubs.

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

I agree 100%. If you're tired of answering the same old questions, maybe it's time for YOU to move on. I'm sure every possible question has already been asked and answered about Model A's on this site over the years. Did anyone ever consider that some people might enjoy talking to others who share their same interests through this forum instead of just looking up answers in books and archives? This forum provides more than just direct answers to questions, it also helps provide and promote a fellowship among people who enjoy Model A Fords.

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

When I answer a question my first attempt is to locate the correct answer,in my Model a Library then post,with photo or location of where i got the information.

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

All I’m going to add into this discussion is I wish the major books (Les Andrews, judging standards, etc) were available for digital download, be nice to have them that way for easy reference and not have a shelf full of books to store , or have to pay shipping costs out the wazzoo every time I’m told to get “this” book

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

That could kill the sales of the books, but I like to have books, so I'd still buy them.

Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

You’re right it could, but it also may sell more copies, and for the books I always use I prefer a hard copy too, but books like the JS would be nicer in digital then if there’s an update, just download it and use rather than spend days sorting pages like I did the last update they did

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

When I answer a question e.g. what is the ignition point gap? I will answer .018-.022, but I know that trying to time the A without good reference leads to more posts from a frustrated Model A owner. It is a courtesy to suggest collecting and reading a few manuals to a novice owner. This forum always gives the answer, if is not one you like there will be more in time.

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

Good Evening...It seems to me that the best approach for a new Model A Owner, is to join this site AND then join a local Model A Club. Almost every club has a mechanic who is a member and will work on/teach new members how to maintain and improve their cars. I'm a slow learner and so it is helpful for me to see someone demonstrate what ever I am trying to do a couple of times or help me make the repair so that I really understand. If I tried to do it all on my own, my Model A would not be on the road near as much as it is. Also the national clubs have videos that can be purchased/downloaded to show a new owner how do time engines and many other jobs that we take for granted after a few years. Ernie

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

'best answer'....X3 !


If a guys question bothers your sensibilities, in any way, use some self control and just walk on by ! Some will never learn this and will persist to throw dirt in the forum.

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

I've seen Club Members give away books they don't use any more! After I read my Restorer, I give it away.
Bill Giver

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

A few years ago I put a new master cylinder in a 65 VW for a man that was no longer able to twist himself around enough to do it.I know there a couple of measurements I needed,both freeplay and pedal to firewall clearance are critical.The owner got on his phone to a VW site he belonged to and asked the question.We had to laugh because by that night he had 16 responses.All told him what book to buy,where was the best place to buy it,and a couple told how to do what we were trying to do,and a couple even told him what page the information was on.There were pages of writing.The last response was the shortest.It It just said 10MM and 1MM.That's what we needed.He just didn't want to drive 25 miles to get his book when there were hundreds of people at the touch of the phone to help.That's a lot different from the people that want to rebuild their whole car solely from free info on forums,because they didn't want to buy a book.I like books.I had a hard time getting a manual for my Bobcat because everybody just seemed to offer them on disc.I can't open a disc to the page I want,lay a wrench across it to hold it open,and look at it while I'm working.

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

Keith,

I just print out the page I'm going to use. One advantage is you won't get your book full of grease and dirt.

With respect to the original question, many people who ask questions don't provide enough information about what books or FB threads that they have researched, the status of their equipment or what they have tried to fix the problem. Responders get frustrated when they have to make assumptions when the background is not provided.

David Serrano

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

The splendid thing about a library is seeing other things that are off track yet interesting. Like surfing the web and spending all day reading other stuff. Certainly don't want to encourage that.

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

101% behind people getting repair manuals, should be the first thing they do. Next if they are so inclined, joining a club. One thing we have to take in to account; there are a lot of people who never have picked up a wrench, or very little, in their life! I think we sometimes, including me, forget that. Just because some of us have been turning a wrench from almost as long as we could walk and playing with old cars for 30 40 50 or more years, does not mean everyone has. d:) Now is someone wants to abuse our help by using us to restore their car, NO. That's like the guy(s) that go on tours so others can fix their broken cars. :(

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

If someone has never picked up a wrench they maybe shouldn't own a car that needs moderate periodic maintenance until they put a mechanic on retainer. I doubt anyone on these forums doesn't want to be helpful, but maybe think it wouldn't hurt to suggest a little research or search beforehand or concurrently.

Re: Answers to questions here telling them to look in club mag.
 

It's been almost 3 years since I brought my ccpu home. It came with a book by Jim Schild and another by Mack Hils.

I knew next to nothing about Model A's at the time, other than being able to start and drive it..

The Schilds book taught me how to set the timing after I took the distributor upper plate off (learning quickly that this totally upset the previous setting) looking for the reason why there was no power at the points (turned out to be the old repop ignition switch). Ran fine after the fault was found and timing was set. Thank goodness I had that book...

I learned about and bought the Les Andrews red book after joining and reading posts on The Ford Barn.

One of the best things that happened was a local Barn member and long time Model A owner contacted me through a PM and he has been an huge help as well as a good friend ever since.

I was encouraged to get the Judging Standards. I thought that this truck will never be in any judged show so why get the JS?

Turns out it is a great resource for checking whether my truck has the correct parts for it's year of manufacture and helps when buying replacement parts, especially used parts.

After nearly 90 years much can happen to a vehicle and many things had been changed or modified or were just plain missing.

The other book I was encouraged to buy was the Service Bulletin reprint.

Another excellent resource, and just paging through it I learned much about the various parts and systems in the truck, and what changes were made along the way.

I would say that though I have a minimal library, all the books have been used to the point of the pages getting dog eared....

This truck has been in the family since 1962..I more or less grew up with it, though it spent most of it's time in the barn, being drive only occasionally.

I've learned more about the Model A in the last 3 years than I had in the previous 55 years!

Randy