drive them as you find them

[Dave Mellor NJ]

Lock your daughters up

[mercman from oz]

1928 Ford Model A Phaeton

[WHN]

Been there, done that!

Now I know that I’m getting old.

Enjoy,

[Joe K]

Dad's admonition comes to mind on my request for a car...

"Do you know it costs a thousand dollars a year to run a car: between insurance, gas & oil, inspections, and mere depreciation? Do you have a thousand dollars to put to this annually?"

This was in 1971 and I was 16 years old. And "at that age."

No car.

Funny. I pulled out the same aphorism on my son and daughter in 2010 - and it didn't have near the same effect.

Joe K

[ModelA29]

Originally Posted by Joe K

Dad's admonition comes to mind on my request for a car...

"Do you know it costs a thousand dollars a year to run a car: between insurance,......

I got the same lecture when I brought home a 1954 Corvette when I was 17. It turned out with the 6 cyl engine it wasn't a big markup. The opposite was true when at 19 I bought my first new car a 1970 Road Runner. I had to get the 3 speed because with a 4 speed the insurance was prohibitive - and no budding drag racer would want an automatic.

[eagle]

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My 29 Fordor is a 50 footer, but runs and drives great. Structurally great shape, but "fixed up" in the 50's and 60's by a Dr and his wife. I talked to her, she was proud of sewing the interior herself, and it still looks good. I wouldn't trade it for a perfect 10. It's got character and just a bit of patina. I believe very strongly in the post title, "Drive them as you find them". The trailer queens are fine, I love seeing a fine point car, but watch the gawkers at a car show, what are they looking at? The drivers.

[Joe K]

Other than "judging" today's emphasis at car shows is "SURVIVOR."

You get a barn-fresh Model A. Clean off the dust, and then do the minimum necessary to get it legally on the road.

New tires, points/condenser, fix any issues in the drivetrain or brakes and make it "functional" and "safe" to get to a show under its own power. But nothing more.

I've even heard of "restoration" of a roadster which had a punched in door. A replacement of suitable degraded condition could not be found, so a new one was bought, and then "distressed" to present the same visual aspect as the opposite door. They struggled to get the correct "color" for the exterior of the door until finally it was stripped, then allowed to rust over several weeks in the rain, and then repainted "lightly" in brown spray (to seal it and prevent further deterioration.)

The rationale is "They're only original once." And while original might not even be off the showroom floor, even "23 Skidoo" can be considered a form of originality.

"This is the car in which I was conceived in the back seat. Did you know the gearshift lever can be swung around so it doesn't get in the way?"

Below interesting read largely from before my era.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23_skidoo_(phrase)

Joe K

[old31]

It looks like a 43'ish car in the background. So that would make the A about 14 years old.

They look like they are at a college. For some reason I don't think the "babes" would be interested in those two guys.

[katy]

Not sure, but I think that's a '39 Ford in the background.

[Marshall V. Daut]

I sure hope that '28 Phaeton dodged the WWII scrap metal drives! Lots of times by the time Model T's and A's fell into the hands of the younger generation back then and acquired "clever" sayings painted all over them, they ended up being donated to the scrapper to make war materiel. 'Kind of like the more witty sayings written on the car, the closer it was to being scrapped for the war effort, especially Model T's. Seen on the back of a Model T at the scrap yard: "Praise the Lord! I'll soon be ammunition!" (Time-Life WWII book "The Homefront").
If I recall correctly (before my time), domestic passenger car production ceased sometime in 1942 and the manufacturers instead churned out military vehicles for the duration. Has anybody ever seen a "1943" passenger car? Or did the car makers only produce a limited number of passenger cars for military use, such as staff cars? In that case, there would be such an animal as a 1943 car.
Marshall

[Chuck Dempsey]

If they knew UNC lost yesterday, they wouldn't be grinning like that....

[shiver]

The model A went through many “era’s” from new to used, to the cutdowns for gas rations, to college kid jitneys to early 4 cylinder hotrods, to the ‘second’ car with sealed beam headlights and a handful of western autos or Warshawski repop parts.. hell, ‘restored’ cars went thru changes, from amateurs with joblot or Ricks parts to overestored prom queens to todays fine point.. they are all worthy of show to show how we as collectors and owners evolved.

[katy]

I call my A refurbished; brought back to functional, safe, half decent looks and drivabile.

[David in San Antonio]

I believe I read that a few “1943” cars were assembled from parts left over after the regular 1942 production lines were shut down. If I remember correctly, at least some of them had body color paint in place of bright trim. This all comes from a vague recollection of an article and a black and white photo.

[Marshall V. Daut]

'Sounds about right.
M.