Close inspection

[captndan]

When you buy a Model A from an unknown seller how close do you inspect the car? Older restoration, rebuilt engine, looks and drives well. After purchase I wanted to check the wheel bearings. Surprise! The entire left e-brake assembly is missing. Anybody got a complete assembly for sale?

[Mitch//pa]

I guess you were also missing the e brake rod or it was tied up out of the way, and had a hole in the backing plate for where the lever would be... noticeable by looking under the car, I always bring a good flashlight to boot....

[Tom Wesenberg]

My 29 Tudor also had the parking brakes messed up and missing. They aren't hard to find the missing parts at swap meets, or call Bert's for new or original parts. 800-321-1931

[C26Pinelake]

Take a good Model A mechanic with you. Not a present day mechanic as most of them know nothing about Model A's. Wayne

[jeep44]

I'd suggest if you are new to Model As, bring someone along who is experienced. I was so in love with the '31 CCPU I bought last year I didn't notice any of the glaring faults it had. I'm still working on repairing or replacing all the worn-out parts on it. If someone had been along who wasn't so blind to its faults, I probably would have walked away, and found a better one.
That said, finding your missing parts will not be difficult, and it's a good idea to have all your wheels off to inspect the rest of the brakes,too-just to check the condition of everything, and grease all the many lube points.

[rocket1]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Hey what ever the asking price is try to get it for a couple of grand less,you will need that money for all the repairs you will have to make!

[pgerhardt]

Careful! Love at first sight will blind you to all the faults. My 29 tudor looked great at first sight. I had to have it. I am now into year two of working to get it right! On the plus side, my passion for it has given me the drive needed to get through the project. Don't worry. Working on them is half the fun. If not this may be the wrong hobby to get into.

[ronn]

who on this board is buying an 80 plus year old car and not expecting repairs?

unless it's a premium restoration, fixing is half the fun!

[100IH]

One would have to bring along Edsel Ford and several of his top engineers for the inspection, even then, expect lots of intentional hidden mechanical things to re-do. There is a virtual army of paint and bondo experts whose bankroll is dependent upon not really doing the costly other half of the work. Expect the worst and know that the mechanics ARE doable with the help from this forum.

[Art Newland]

Originally Posted by ronn

who on this board is buying an 80 plus year old car and not expecting repairs?

unless it's a premium restoration, fixing is half the fun!

Amen to that! I'm a pretty good "tinkerer" so I figured if it met the same criteria as captndan's, "Older restoration, rebuilt engine, looks and drives well", that I'd be satisfied, knowing full well that I was bound to run across this & that needing attention... and I was right! Model A's for sale are not that plentiful (at least not at this time) in my area. Most are either $35000 points cars or $4000 piles of twisted rusty junk! BTW captndan, how about a picture so we can fall in love with it too?

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

When shopping for a Model A, look for ALL the reasons you should NOT BUY IT!!!! Even the "MOST PERFECT" looking car WILL need some work.
Some build a car, with great care & when finished, are disallusioned with it & SELL IT!
Bill Suspicious

[1crosscut]

I have helped several folks purchase a Model A by inspecting different cars for them.
I always do a compression check and take plenty of time looking them over with a bright flash light. A mechanics stethoscope is a must to have too. I plan on close to an hour of looking at them before going for a test drive. Look at things two or three times because you just don't always notice things the first time around.
I recently got a cold call through our club web site from a gent has a Model A that his late father had. He has no interest in keeping it and wants to sell. I'm not in the market for one but I know a few people that are. Tomorrow I'm going to look it over before telling any of them about it. Sure is nice to be able to inspect one without a prospective buyer looking over your shoulder.

[LukeCutler]

My dad and I are restoring my 1928 AA, when we started all the brakes were stuck. He took the front hubs off and got the front brakes freed up and working, and when he took the back brake drums off there was nothing there!! Someone had taken all the rear brake parts out at some point in the past, I guess they thought front brakes were enough, lol.

[G&N Farms]

When my wife and I went to look at our pick-up, she fell in love with it. When it came back up for sale 5 years later, we were buying it regardless of the problems. I knew it had sat for a number of years and realistic needed work.

After playing around with it, I am finding it's problems and fixing them. Not all restorers are good mechanics and not all tinkers are bad hacks. Make sure it's safe to drive. After that, if it breaks down , it breaks down and then you have a story to tell how you got it back home.

I was a high-end luxury import mechanic and I didn't look over our little truck until I got it home. Love is blind and I'm now glad it is. Every time I open the garage door and look out and see my 86 year old doll sitting there, it makes me happy.

[Keith True]

These are 85+year old cars and can't really be looked at like modern used cars.For the most part old restorations will need to be redone,at least the mechanics.We have to remember most of those were redone to drive around town at 35 MPH.There are a lot of people that seem to think that because they are spending $15,000 they should be getting a car that had $30,000 worth of work done to it.I've only sold a couple of A's that I owned,but I've sold a few for other people.They found they didn't want to put up with the A people chiseling on them.I found you can get whatever price you want,(within reason)it will just take a little time.I point people at the car,and leave them alone.I will answer anything they ask,and will tell them EVERYTHING I have found wrong.Old cars are full of surprises,but if I know about it,so will you.If the car is on the road,you get to drive it.If my lift is open I will put it up for you.If you bring somebody to look at it,you will get to put your heads together and pick it apart without me hanging around listening.When you're all done it will be either,I'll take it,or,no thanks,needs too much for me.I ask the owner for his bottom line and that's what I sell it for.The reason I have the car to sell is so they don't have to listen to 25 offers.

[Bob Bidonde]

Be wary of the Model A with pretty paint job and a dirty chassis!

[Jacksonlll]

Here is video on this subject.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xkA...Qcz4R0&index=5

[Mike V. Florida]

This is why some of us suggest joining a club nearby. Going to their events and talking to the members. Often a car will come up for sale that the members know about and can give you advice on the condition vs price.

[Pilotdave]

I want to underscore the second part of jeep44's post. I recently acquired an A that looked gorgeous - including the underside. Decided to pull all four drums and am eternally glad that I did. I found an e-brake that was missing part of its lining, blocked grease fittings, and weak brake springs among other issues.