[Chris in WNC]

as threatened, here are my thoughts on the original laundry list of modifications above:

float-a-motors: take them off. I ran a set for 10 years after a friend recommended them. after consideration of the arguments on Ahooga.com, I replaced them with stock mounts, guess what? I felt NO increase in vibration at any speed.

oil filter: unnecessary. use detergent oil and change it frequently (<2000 miles)

air filter: your carburetor typically does not like it. tried a paper filter in an air-maze, it ran & drove much better WITHOUT. have not tried the low-restriction foam motorcycle filters that many recommend. if you must use a filter, make an adapter out of some ABS street-Ls so the filter is above the carb and will not soak up leaking gas & ignite.

modern bendix: if the original bendix is in good condition and the shaft is straight, it is unnecessary. our Coupe starter hangs up occasionally with such ferocity that we cannot loosen it by rocking; I must loosen the starter to free it. this is due to excessive ring gear wear, not the bendix. it has happened with 2 different starters.

LED brake & center stop lights: never saw them on a car until we went to French Lick. I'm SOLD. we will soon be upgrading both cars.

cast iron drums: our Town Sedan has them. our Coupe has original drums with very minimal wear. guess which one stops better? the Coupe. we bought the TS recently & I have not opened the brakes up to see why. if you do not have excellent original drums, cast iron is the only way to go.

brake floaters: I tried to install some of the older style (pre-Ted's) floating front wedges once, they did not fit well enough to leave on the car. as many have said before: if your brakes are not worn or poorly adjusted there's nothing wrong with the original setup.

high compression head: love them. had a Lion 6.0 on my old Tudor it ran GREAT. the Town Sedan has a Brumfield 5.9, it runs GREAT. Brumfield seems to require less monkeying around with the spark advance on the highway than the Lion did.

B cam: no experience here, but plan to put one in the Coupe when the engine gets freshened up.

Aires muffler: is this a modification? I think not. if you install the plain steel version, it is simply a good quality replacement part! the old cheapie Midas muffler was arguably a modification, because it did not look or perform as original. the stainless mufflers that I run are modifications, I guess, but at those prices I don't ever want to buy more than one per car.

alternator: in 24 years of Model As, I never had one until we bought the TS last November. no complaints about the performance, just not crazy about the appearance.
solid state regulator is a must if you run a generator.

Mitchell overdrive: GREAT! I've had 3 cars with Mitchells and heartily endorse them without reservation.

aluminum timing gear: never had one. never had any problems with fibre gears.

four blade fan: NOT an improvement. tests by Model A Times showed no cooling improvement with four blades and neglible improvement with six blade plastic. Four blade makes water pump harder to change. I use and recommend two blade aluminum and would never run an original steel one. most overheating problems come from clogged radiators- fix that and you'll forget about the fan.

radiator overflow tank: unnecessary ugliness. we drove 2239 miles on the French Lick trip. 5 days on highway were over 100 degrees. total water used = 3 quarts. keep a gallon jug in your back seat. pardon my redundancy, but "most overheating problems come from clogged radiators"

short pitman arm: I like them, some people do not. DONT' TRY THIS AT HOME! use only the new arms from Snyder's or modified arms from someone like Wiley Higgins who makes them correctly.

modern water pump seal: I use the Extreme Duty Leakless. I can rebuild them, but not as good as James does. http://www.leaklessapumps.com/ no grease to clog up your radiator! expensive, but worth it. guaranteed 5 years, I had one start to drip slightly after 6 years service, James rebuilt it for $50 + shipping.

downsizing carburetor jets: never heard of such a proposition, but if it works, why not. better gas mileage is always desirable if it comes with no loss of performance! how 'bout doing a tech article for Model A News or Restorer magazine on this process?

bowl fuel filter: I like the appearance of the cast iron sediment bowl better. we judge the quality of a swap meet based on how many cast iron sediment bowls are seen.

turn signal lamps/buzzer: never had turn signals on a Model A until we bought the Town Sedan. I removed them when I had the steering column out (the wiring was marginally installed) and may not replace. not a bad idea in heavy traffic, just a low priority for me. LED brake lights are more important.

additional ground cable: every Model A should have one installed.

babbit vs. inserts: nothing wrong with correct babbit material poured & bored correctly.
plenty wrong if it's done wrong. would I buy a car with an insert engine correctly done? certainly. would I pay extra for inserts? nope.

modern points: you weren't sure on this one, but I am. "modern" (1970's) points are a royal pain to adjust, stock Model A points are easy as pie. today's stock condensers seem to be pretty sturdy, I've driven a lot of hot weather miles without having one fail. wireless lower plate? totally unnecessary, but you want have the correct type wire soldered to the plate. many repro original type upper & lower plates are inferior to originals.

modern ignition switch: pop-outs can and have caused me trouble, but I like them enough to forgive them. I do keep a distributor jumper wire in my small parts box to get me home in a pinch.

#8 stud clamp- put a couple flat washers on that stud in place of the cable clamp and all is well.

trunk on the sedan: like the convenience, dislike the appearance.

premium gasoline: you've got to be kidding! we run the cheapest gasoline we can find in our 2 modern cars and 2 Model As. occasionally the Coupe will idle poorly on a specific tank of gas, never any other problems.

stone guard: that was my radiator you saw pictured, but I consider the stone guards too ugly for our cars. maybe if we lived on a gravel road out in the boonies, but that is not the case.

step plates: no thanks. just don't care for how they look.


"that's all I have to say about that"
-Forrest Gump