[Jacksonlll]

A Model A's Thoughts

I was just thinking, when I was born, it was a big deal. I was loved by everyone. The country went wild over the new Ford. Henry couldn't build enough of us. We had a good production run of about 4 years. Back then, cars had trouble getting up the hills. Not us, we would just motor right up those hills. Sure, we were not big and expensive as the other cars on the road, but we could keep up with most of them and a lot of nice people could afford us. As cars were back then, we were quite civilized. We could keep you dry, warm, and out of the dust and wind. We were fairly comfortable. We were so proud to be a real automobile with a fine engine, transmission and good brakes. We were complete. And we were good and the people recognized it and wanted us. Shoot, they still want us.
It was a little embarrassing at a stop light when one of those big expensive cars would pull up next to me. It was quite a contrast. They were so big and long, with their giant engine rumbling and the driver with his nose up in the air. Made me feel pretty small. But, you know what? I'm still here and those guys are long gone. At least they are pretty much gone from the roads. They are still big and pretty, but they are sitting in a museum and I am on the road. Heck, there weren't many of them to start with. We were the high volume cars. We don't do so well in a museum. Sitting next to that fancy iron is not fun. We can't compete with them on the floor. We have to be driven to be appreciated and understood.
We have had many owners over the years, spent a lot of time off the road in barns and fields, but a lot of us are still here. Trying to figure out why we are still around is not too tough. Henry built us to last.
I think our rear axle has a lot to do with it. We have a floating axle shaft that does not carry the weight of the car, it just drives the rear wheels. It is almost bullet proof. Other cars of the time did not do it this way. That may be why there are not many old Chevy's still around. Also, that front axle that Henry gave us will last forever. Our little engines just keep going. How long will we keep going? Good question. We are all painted and kept under cover now, so we are not going to rust out. We won't fall apart. We have had over 85 years to do that and it hasn't happened. Whatever was going to break already has, many times, and everyone knows how to fix us. We are a simple piece of machinery, just a notch up from a farm implement. The weaknesses that we do have don't amount to much. Sure, my front fenders crack in that highly stressed area, but so what. With all the good roads I stay on, it takes a lot of mileage to crack them. There are fixes for that if it bothers you. My two point body mount is not the best, but it takes a lot to tip me over. Just get used to a little lean in those four doors. That fan connection onto the nose of my water pump is not too good, but if you get the two tapers matching, it will be okay for a long time. My upper bushing in my distributor that Henry forgot to lube has caused a lot of rough running engines, but that fix is easy and most owners have that under control. You can even buy the parts to fix it. To fix my steering or stop my shimmy, you have to talk to an old timer who knows how to do it.
That reminds me, you current owners/mechanics have to get some young blood involved in fixing us. We don't want your knowledge to be lost. Pass the know-how down so we don't have to worry down the road. Show those Kids and Grand Kids how to fix us. We will need them.
I forgot to mention my horn. We have the best sounding horn of all time. A few other cars back then had a similar sounding horn; they were so few, no one remembers them. Our Ahooga horn is so good that an A owner can't have an A without a good working horn. We are just not the same without our horn. Yes, we need oil every now and then, but that is no big deal.
As I said, we have done a lot of waiting. We are good at waiting for you. We can sit in a barn for 20 or 30 years and we don't mind at all. A few critters may call us home for a while, and our tires may go flat, but with a little attention, and an hour or so, we are running again. This has been documented many times over the years. We don't die easy. Just give us a chance and we will impress you. We have even waited long enough for a tree to grow up through our roof and still come back to life. So, if you want to let us sit until that Grand Kid is old enough to play with us, we will wait. Like I said, we are good at it.
Most of us have been fixed up to various degrees from show cars to good old drivers, and we are a pretty big part of many families. We go to weddings, funerals, retirement homes, parties, meets, and I think we have been to every eating place on earth. Our owners sure like to eat. Our seat springs can tell you all about it. The neat tours that you take us on are fun. The club I'm in now seems to go everywhere. We pick blueberries, apples, strawberries, go down deep into the Amish country, go on color tours, economy runs, and just about anywhere so we can get driven. I've even been on a big ferry boat all the way across Lake Michigan. It's funny, the Amish people down in Holmes county, Ohio seem to relate to us. They love to see our caravan drive by. The Amish buggy must be a distant relative of mine. We sure like each other.
Now I must mention something that bothers me. There are a lot of owners out there who don't drive us enough. I don't know why. If they just can't afford us, that's okay, we can wait. If they would just get us running good, we could take them anywhere with good reliability. My owner always says that I could take him to Chicago at the turn of my key. That would be easy. I run good.
I find that if we belong to a car club, we seem to run better. A lot of good mechanics in those clubs, and they love to work on us and get us running like sewing machines. I like taking a ride by myself, but it is really neat to have eight to twelve of us going down the road together. Going around a curve on a country road is something. What's fun is when one of us has a little problem and everyone stops and gathers around while the mechanics swarm all over the car until she is fixed. When this happens, we get to make U turns, back up a few times and work our way back to where the problem is. My club calls this a Chinese Fire Drill. It's fun.
I must mention, with modesty, how good looking we are. Our side view stance is a thing of beauty. I have some friends who are Roadsters. That is a good looking car, with the top up or down. And you know what? They will look good 100 years from now. You just watch! How about that Coupe with the Rumble? Is anything sweeter?
Now what happens next? I'm sure I will have many new owners in the future. And speaking of the future, what will that bring for me and for my relatives? I don't see anything physical that will put us in the junk yard. I don't see the part's supply drying up. We are such a basic, easy to work on car, that I think there will always be someone who likes us and wants us. I hope the Government doesn't figure out a way to stop us. Maybe we will be running around the roads of the future 100 years from now.
The clubs keep having anniversary parties and I'm sure we will have many more. They keep taking pictures of us, but they don't seem to realize that they could just use the pictures of years past. We don't change. Our owners do.
It's fun being a Model A and I hope you people continue to be nice to us. We sure do enjoy giving those Grand Kids rides. We live for that, and we are good at it.

AHOOGA

My owner, Jack Bahm, helped me get this on paper.