[Kevin in NJ]

Most people have the wrong impression of the Model A.

You have to bear in mind the car was built to run 60 MPH ALL DAY LONG!!!

If you read about them the cars were beat an abused and run 60 or more and they got 50,000 to 80,000 miles on the factory engine!

Today you tell someone that they will tell you that your crazy. Problem is, I grew up always seeing 55 to 60 MPH on a car later discovered to read 5 mph SLOW.

Oh, the Model A from the factory was known to be very reliable. The big issues were common issues such as poor quality batteries, condensers, tires, and fuel.

The reason why the A was able to run so well was Ford's passion for precision manufacturing. If you take the A engine to a rebuilder and ask them to rebuild back to Ford's production line specs they will tell you that you want a race car engine. They also are likely to tell you to go away because they could not do the job.

So

If you want a reliable car capable of running highway speeds then you find all the specs (just ask here) and rebuild everything back to Ford specs (with minor exceptions).

Many of the modern 'upgrades' are not much of an upgrade. They generally make the car less reliable.

Items that get you many advantages with high reliability are higher compression heads, B type valve cams, and the B type ignition cam. Adding a voltage regulator may be a good thing for those who do not understand charging.

Inserts or babbitt are sort of no difference. They both require installation by someone with experience and a reputation for doing the job properly. Both will give you 50,000 to 80,000 miles of life. Babbitt fails slowly with warning and will likely get you home. Inserts fail suddenly and you will need a tow truck. Plus insert failure will likely destroy your crank and block as you can only bore the block once for inserts.

Counter weights were not really used back in the day and they went 50,000 to 80,000 miles on the babbitt. BUT, the big BUT, the engines were very well balanced by Ford. Everything the rotates was balanced tightly. The crank was set up such that the flywheel was less then .001 off center. This is not found too much today. Another factor the is not understood is babbitt peening. My brother sees a lot of babbitt obviously not properly peened. This will lead to breaking babbitt which may be mistook for out of balance issues. Peening is expanding the babbitt while still warm (plastic) such that it fully seats against the bearing saddle. If it is loose it will flex and eventually break. There are also issues with the cranks not being ground on centers, imagine if the center main is out of center from the front and rear.
Which brings me back to reputable builder with a long establish reputation doing the job right.

Alternators are being sold with a false promise. The input shaft diameter is not large enough to allow for enough HP transfer to meet the basic 60 amps, in reality it is not likely to produce more current then the generator (with some more details not included here ).

Electronic ignition is no real advantage, but if it fails or you battery voltage drops too low you will be towed home. A properly restored original dist should outlast your grandchildren. (FYI do not replace points unless they are really bad which should be decades at the rate we drive the cars)

Going to 12 volts is needless PIA. Just complicates things in the end.

The overdrive is another waste of money for most people. You should expect 50,000 miles on a properly rebuilt engine which includes a lot of 60 MPH driving. That being said, the few that really do zillions of miles on the highway may realize some benefit of the lower engine RPM.

Then there is having good working springs which leads you needing good working shocks or the car will not hold the road over 25 MPH. However, no shocks and dead springs seem to be ok for driving up to 45 MPH.

Brakes need the same precision as the rest of the parts. They have to be right. The whole floater thing is a waste. The problem is you have to have the right tools to do the brakes right. Juice brakes are just unsafe. We used to own a 39 Ford 60HP. We had it running like a top, but the darn brakes kept mucking up. Never went more than a couple of years before a wheel cylinder would muck up. I had a discussion with most of the people at a car show once. Scary how many (all makes and years) cars at shows have less then 4 wheel brakes and the owner do nothing about it. Just as bad, most of the A's I see locally it is obvious they brakes can not be good. Just look at the front lever and it is vertical or leaning rearward.

So if you want a reliable car that runs 60+ MPH all day long keep it close to how Ford built it. Most of the modern mods are really just poor attempts at repairs for by people that do not understand how to properly restore the car to Fords specs.