Unlikable Aspects of The Model "A"

[Bob Bidonde]

This post will likely stimulate some discussion which is a good thing. I really like and enjoy my Model A's, but Model A's have some features I find unlikable:
1) Edsel Ford did an fantastic job of styling the Model A's, but in my opinion, a trunk hanging off of the back of a Model A ruins Edsel's styling;
2) I realize that people were slimmer and smaller when the Model A was designed, but the bodies should have been wider. I find it absurd that there is a Model A Taxi given the small nature of the Model A's bodies;
3) The clearance between the A-Pillar of the cowl and the front seat is painfully way too little making most Model A's difficult to get into and out of. If the A-Pillar was 3 inches further forward, the Model A would be so much easier to get into;
4) What was Ford thinking when they decided on those narrow tires? Henry is said to have found the Model A's ride too rough so he ordered expensive Houdaille shock absorbers be put on the car?? Wider tires would have solved the rough ride at less cost;
5) The Model A's timing pin is located in a very difficult to manage position and the dent to determine TDC is difficult to detect. I very much like the 6-cylinder Chevrolets that have a chrome BB in their flywheel which can be easily seen through a cutout in their flywheel housing;
6) The worst Model A feature in my opinion is the very poor design of the engine's main bearings. The oil drainage out of the rear main bearing is a failure, and the crankshaft thrust faces are inadequate. The width of the center main bearing is inadequate.
I really like & enjoy the rest of the Model A's features!

[alexiskai]

- Weight bearing exhaust manifold
- steel manifold nuts inevitably corrode
- decision not to license Robertson screw drive
- steel fan design
- subpar head design even for the time
- carb too small

[mleder]

Really dislike where the battery is located, hard to service

[WHN]

Bob you have a great list. I’m sure that if you continue to think about it, the list would keep growing.

We at one time owned a historic house that was 175 years old. Talk about simple. If nothing else, technology has really changed. It’s been a very exciting 200 years.

If we could time travel? Think about cars in 50 to 75 years.

[JayJay]

I think that a lot of these are using the benefit of 20-20 hindsight. Keep in mind that the Model A went from beginning of design to production, at a new plant, in less than a year. Not that I don’t concur with Bob and Alexiskai on opportunities for improvement. I frankly am pleased that in spite of the limitations of time, materials and engineering know-how, that Ford got so much right with the Model A. After all, close to 100 years later, it still pretty much operates reliably as designed. What other technology can make that claim? (Firearms? I have no hesitancy shooting Colt M1911, Springfield 1903, or M1 Garand in good condition.) Those quirky OFI are part of what makes these cars so interesting and lovable.

I’d put the wood body-frame sedans on that list. Fortunately by 1931 Ford had that sorted out.

[nkaminar]

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I second what Jay Jay said. This was a different time and automotive design was not as advanced as it was just 10 years later. Although the Duesenberg was far more advanced than the Model A, at 30 times the cost. You can blame Henry for any mechanical issues.

[Grier]

Electric windshield wiper is useless. Vacuum was better, but at full throttle….
Rear View mirrors.

[The Master Cylinder]

Add the light switch to the above items listed.

A trunk is an added item and not really an "Aspect of the Model A", IMO. But I really dislike the looks of a trunk on a Roaster or Coupe. On a flat window Sedan, I don't think they look bad.

[johnbuckley]

Exhaust manifold should have had an additional stud at front and back.
Welded wheel spokes can make life difficult for us 90 years later!

[ursus]

The Model A should have entered production with the Model B engine and transmission.

[jb-ob]

Insecure owners who insist on believing they can re-engineer history.

Nicest thing about a Tudor sedan is that it can't be butchered by adding a rumble seat.

[Kurt in NJ]

The defroster is what I see as a need for daily driving
Most of today’s mechanical issues I see on the forum would not be a problem with proper restoration to original specifications and not using “GYP” parts
A original timing gear has a depression matching the timing pin.
If a thick shim pack is used on the rear cap there will be a large gap between the slinger and its opposing surface in the cap creating a gap allowing easy passage of oil,if the rear main babbitt is not machined or peined correctly the thrust will move and excess oil will be lost past the bearing.
People for the most part were smaller, many houses didn’t have electricity or central heating,the bathroom was a pot or a trip out back, the model A is quite advanced compared the the T and the other things people dealt with.
You have to remember that it was one of the lowest price cars too.
It must have been much better than the other lower priced cars of the era — how many of them do you see compared to Fords.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by Kurt in NJ

The defroster is what I see as a need for daily driving
Most of today’s mechanical issues I see on the forum would not be a problem with proper restoration to original specifications and not using “GYP” parts
A original timing gear has a depression matching the timing pin.
If a thick shim pack is used on the rear cap there will be a large gap between the slinger and its opposing surface in the cap creating a gap allowing easy passage of oil,if the rear main babbitt is not machined or peined correctly the thrust will move and excess oil will be lost past the bearing.

Kurt and Jim's post says a lot. Model-A hobbyists are some of the worst stewards of the Hobby. Especially with their MacGuyvering that is their answer (i.e.: excuse) for the need to drive their car on tours!!

[Synchro909]

IMO, A BIG improvement would be made if Model As (and other Fords for years) didn't use those horrible transverse springs.
Then there is the way the clutch pedal gets tangled with the exhaust manifold, clamp and the top of the oil return pipe.
It has already been mentioned above that the bodies were too narrow. I second that and if they were a little wider, we could have the accelerator on the right of the brake instead of between the clutch and brake. Driving at night with a vertical windscreen and back window is a challenge. I see tail lights of the car in front of me in the rear vision mirror and headlights of on coming cars in the rear window. Driving at night on unfamiliar roads is quite a challenge.
The list goes on but looking at this sensibly, for its time and cost, the Model A was a great package that served its owner well. The shortcomings given here are from the perspective of a different generation in a different time spoken from the perspective of we who have driven cars for years that have had the advantage of decades of gradual improvement. Too gradual, I would say.

[Flathead]

My favorite pet peeve hasn't been mentioned yet, The gas shut-off under the hood for 1931. I realize Ford was forced to do it but it should have had linkage or a cable to activate from inside the vehicle.

[700rpm]

Two rear lights would have been nice. Also safety glass all around.

[Kurt in NJ]

Chevrolet didn’t start with safety glass in the windshield until 1934
Ford was the first in 1928

[Gene F]

4) What was Ford thinking when they decided on those narrow tires? Henry is said to have found the Model A's ride too rough so he ordered expensive Houdaille shock absorbers be put on the car?? Wider tires would have solved the rough ride at less cost;

My late grandfather was a truant officer in a rural county. He drove a Model-A coupe, and he always told me that the narrow tires made the car usable in mud. He said you could drive through a creek with the car.

6) The worst Model A feature in my opinion is the very poor design of the engine's main bearings. The oil drainage out of the rear main bearing is a failure, and the crankshaft thrust faces are inadequate. The width of the center main bearing is inadequate.

I think the addition we use today with an oil feed to the center bearing would have been a big plus.

Overall for the money, the A was quite a value priced car for the masses. The A is still a favorite with myself, and many other car collectors. Times seem to be changing to the cars of the late 50s, and muscle cars though. As a tall man I still enjoy taking my A for a spin at the end of the day, or a local chapter meeting/outing.

[Synchro909]

With all of these built in weaknesses and faults, why do I bother with them? Maybe those people who say I'm crazy are right.

[Oldbluoval]

9 gallons of gas in your lap! Ralph Nader would stroke