Alterations, Add-Ons, and Modifications
 

I am a purist at heart, but have come to the realization that if we are to get out of our neighborhood and venture on a trip in our A's, it might be a good idea to make a few changes, primarily for safety (No. 1), and reliability (No. 2).

In your opinion, what is the most viable alteration to make to a car for the above reasons?

For instance, for safety...
Seat Belts, safety glass, fuses, wheel and/or tire changes, etc.

For reliability; 12 volt system, aluminum fan, distibutor and carburation changes, water pump, water and oil pressure guages, etc.

Just for this discussion, let's forget about increased speed and performance, such as head replacement, down-draft carbs, overdrives, etc. That's a whole different discussion. Also, anything to do with personal taste, such as whitewalls, wind wings and hood ornaments.

Re: Alterations, Add-Ons, and Modifications
 

I added a right side tail light, 3rd brake light and turn signals. It seemed that everytime I put my arm out the window to signal a turn, nobody knew what it meant and just waved at me. Don't they teach handsignals anymore? The 3rd brakelight in the back window is really bright and right in their face. I also wanted the 4-way flasher feature in case I have problems on the road. The next thing I'll add is some seatbelts.

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For reliability stainless steel shaft in the water pump,no play in the distributor shaft, modern upper plate in the distributor,voltage regulater or alternater, decent fan aly one is good, [not the one with cast hub & steel blades. Tools under the seat and a spare condensor & fan belt . and you should make it to Stockton [ only joking ]
The rest I see as personal taste
John

Re: Alterations, Add-Ons, and Modifications
 

I found the tube style shocks added a lot of driving stability to my tudor, since they are just bolt on it doesn't really alter the car but because they mount on an approx 45* angle it feels much better on sharp turns winding roads. also switched to the shortened pitnam arm last year & it makes for more pleasant steering squeezing in & out of my garage & driveway.

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Greg is right about the lights,how about a switch to isolate the electrics from the battery [ makes it easier to work on anytime] spare bulbs, and a fire extinguisher[had a powerhouse generater catch fire on my 28 once]
John

Re: Alterations, Add-Ons, and Modifications
 

The first things I felt were necessary included: Right tail light, turn signals & flashers, & seat belts. I have also added LED tail lights and have the 3rd brake light, but it's not installed just yet. The other items I have added or changed were purely personal preference.

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For safety signal lites for sure, Hand signals are hard to see after dark, also rear window led stop lite so the car behind you knows what you are doing. Alumimnum 2 blade fan for sure. A door mounted mirror on the drivers side so you can see traffic behind you and when they plan to pass etc. Good brakes with the ability to stop when needed. Halogen headlites so you can see at nite and others cansee you. Safty glass in all windows is required for your insurance and your protection. The best tires and tubes they what takes you safely down the road its your life depending on them. Balance all your wheels when on the car, like one poster says "Drive it as if you know how to fix it" Have a Great Day Gord B by the Bay

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The mods that I consider important for a driver car that will be used for longer trips are as follows. Balanced aluminum two blade fan, mechanical temperature guage, water pump improvements such as brass rear bushing with two seals, leakless brass packing nut.. modern front bearing, locking shaft thrust collar, water pump bolts that look like the original studs and nuts or make your own, I use the modern starter drive. voltage regulator of choice, right hand tail light, Halogen headlamp bulbs that fit the original sockets, if you run a generator or the more powerful quartz halogen bulbs if you run an alternator, stand up filter in the gas cut off valve. I prefer 12 volts, it isn't necessary and I won't get into the pros and cons or i'll be typing a long time. Many will say cast iron drums and I agree that they are good. If a person doesn't know how to set the brakes up, cast iron drums will only relieve your pocketbook of a large wad of green, especially when you factor in the ridiculas price of swedgeing the lug bolts and turning the drums so that they will clear the lining. You don't want a higher compression head but I consider this the most important upgrade that you can make for safety and driveability. An underpowered model A that slows to thirty mph or less on hills is a nusiance to the other drivers on the road and a REAL danger of getting ran over. Just because you have a more powerful engine doesn't mean that you have to drive it at dangerious speed. The extra power on hills and the fact that the engine will usually run cooler and get better mpg is more than reason enough for me to use higher compression heads on most of my model A's. Just my thoughts.

Re: Alterations, Add-Ons, and Modifications
 

I added a second tail light to my drivers and aside from that everything else is original.

I do use original HL reflectors that have been resilvered and properly focused. They throw off a lot of light with the 32-50cp bulbs.

Like Vince I'm a firm believer in the logic if everything is restored properly back to original specs you don't need alot of aftermarket type modifications.

How does converting to 12V make it more reliable? I've never had a problem with 6V systems in all the years I've been working on old Fords (both Model A & Flathead V8 era).

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When I first bought my Phaeton I installed a Mitchell overdrive and 30 AMP alternator just thinking it would be easier on the engine and allow me to keep up with other traffic. Thing is I never really went anywhere for that long or that fast, so I recently removed them both, sold them and just installed seat belts. Otherwise I'm keeping my cars close to original appearance. Oh yeah, I've got the safety fuse on the starter.

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Re: Alterations, Add-Ons, and Modifications
 

Actually they don't... and if they do they gloss over it.

Re: Alterations, Add-Ons, and Modifications
 

For safety:

Seat belts. The doors pop open easy and that dash is pretty hard. The cars survive accidents intact. The people with seat belts have lived some pretty horrible accidents. The people without have died.

Halogen headlamp bulbs from Australia that work with the stock 6V system (not the India bulbs from most of the major suppliers). Properly focused with original reflectors you will have plenty of bright white light to run 55 MPH at night on back roads.

Some sort of bright LED brake light to insure people know you are stopping.

For reliablity:
Return all the system to Ford specs, not what your best buddy says works fine on the car he only drives 45 MPH.

The car was built to run 60 MPH and will do it if you understand how to return it back to factory. A car that is rebuilt right feels comfortable at 60. Most cars are marginal at 45 and I would not consider them safe over 30 MPH.

The A was driven all over the place when it was new and there are only 3 major issues that you will find back in the 30's. Tires would blow out often, does not happen these days. The batteries would fail, you should see over 5 years with a quality battery. Condensers would fail, the modern burn out proof ones do not if you do not have electrical system problems.

The two mods I would push are the higher compression heads. We have better fuel so the ultra low compression head is not needed. The regulator on the generator. We have nice modern electronics to do what they did not know how to do in 1930.

If you properly restore the car to factory you should expect tens of thousands of miles of trouble free driving at 55 MPH getting in the low twenties for fuel mileage.

Keep in mind that if you take your crank to the local grinder with the print and ask them to hold the original Ford specs they will do two things. They will tell you that you want a racing grind and they will tell you they will not do it. Ford held his parts to very tight specs on the line.

Re: Alterations, Add-Ons, and Modifications
 

Re: Alterations, Add-Ons, and Modifications
 

The minimum should be the aluminum fan, seat belts, a couple of new inner tubes, a jack, a lug wrench, a condenser, points, a crank, tools, a flashlight, your club and national roster, and your cell phone. My wife always takes a book just in case. If you're going with a group, you'll be fine

Re: Alterations, Add-Ons, and Modifications
 

I have the aluminum fan and that's about it.

Regular maintenance has provided reliability for all of our long distance touring and vacations in the good and reliable Model A Ford.

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I did not mean to imply that an absolutely mechanically-perfect original car is not satisfactory. I would guess the majority of us are tooling around in the cars that feel good in the 40 mph range, where the noise and vibration is at a comfortable level. Speaking for myself, it is a matter of available money, tools and skills to get the car to that perfection place.

It seems from the above answers that if one wants a car to deal with todays driving speeds and drivers protected with airbags and such, (and their driving reflects their ignorance of stopping distances, etc.) that the top mods would be turn signals and second stop light, any improvements to the intensity of the lights and belts for safety. As for reliability, replacement of the original fan, as they decay from the inside out and develop cracks. Thank you all for your replies... this gives me a good idea for priorities of stuff.

Re: Alterations, Add-Ons, and Modifications
 

Make sure you have the battery hold down bracket on top of battery and bolted correctly, have seen one roll over and the battery was done correctly, if not the driver would have been burned badly. Everything in a Fordor comes loose in a roll over, cushions etc., be careful, it only took a second.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e...6/HPIM1161.jpg
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e...6/HPIM1153.jpg

Re: Alterations, Add-Ons, and Modifications
 

If I'm looking for what you state above, I drive my modern car. You can do what you want but you don't need to do anything the was not done when it left the factory.

Re: Alterations, Add-Ons, and Modifications
 

Oh Bruce, those pics are making me sick!