The Ford Barn

iamskee · 05-02-2017, 09:50 PM

Hello everyone,

I recently acquired my A and have been doing a lot of work on it. Heres a quick recap on the car:
All major mechanicals (engine, trans, differential, etc.) were professional restored by previous owner less than 10 years ago.

It is apparent the car went through a frame off restoration, the body has been painted, new wood throughout, new interior, currently on 12v etc.

The previous owner parked the car midway through this project when they were unfortunately left it. It sat for at least a few years in florida and I doubt it was driven much, if at all..

I purchased the car which at the time had not run in years and began to assess everything and then started to bring some life back into it. So far I have:

-installed a new starter drive since the bendix spring broke after a month
-cleaned the fuel tank/lines, got it running (had to install new condenser and points)
-changed oil, flushed radiator, filled all the 600w spots, greased
-adjusted the (mechanical) brakes which are still not perfect so maybe I can seek advice from that later
-finished wiring, as the final stages of the restoration from the previous owner had not been completed

The motor runs great now, but I am now wanting to start driving it since much of the other work is nearly finished, and up until this point I have not driven it much at all. Heres what happens: I press the clutch pedal, and theres a 50/50 chance the clutch works and I will be able to shift into 1st or reverse right away. If I cant, I can feel the shifter vibrate as I try and put it in gear with my foot on the clutch but I hate trying to force it, but I had to once to get it back to the garage. Once it was in gear it was fine, but again I was not always able to shift to second. I have never tried shifting to 3rd.

I have both volumes of Les Andrews as well as many other books and have done countless hours of research to get to where I am with the car, but I couldn't seem to find an answer for this specific problem.

Any advice is appreciated. I am a pretty mechanical and hands on person. Can take pics/video if anything would be helpful.

Thank you in advance, Andrew

05-02-2017, 09:50 PM	#1
iamskee Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Tampa, Fl Posts: 41	Shifting trouble in a 29' Hello everyone, I recently acquired my A and have been doing a lot of work on it. Heres a quick recap on the car: All major mechanicals (engine, trans, differential, etc.) were professional restored by previous owner less than 10 years ago. It is apparent the car went through a frame off restoration, the body has been painted, new wood throughout, new interior, currently on 12v etc. The previous owner parked the car midway through this project when they were unfortunately left it. It sat for at least a few years in florida and I doubt it was driven much, if at all.. I purchased the car which at the time had not run in years and began to assess everything and then started to bring some life back into it. So far I have: -installed a new starter drive since the bendix spring broke after a month -cleaned the fuel tank/lines, got it running (had to install new condenser and points) -changed oil, flushed radiator, filled all the 600w spots, greased -adjusted the (mechanical) brakes which are still not perfect so maybe I can seek advice from that later -finished wiring, as the final stages of the restoration from the previous owner had not been completed The motor runs great now, but I am now wanting to start driving it since much of the other work is nearly finished, and up until this point I have not driven it much at all. Heres what happens: I press the clutch pedal, and theres a 50/50 chance the clutch works and I will be able to shift into 1st or reverse right away. If I cant, I can feel the shifter vibrate as I try and put it in gear with my foot on the clutch but I hate trying to force it, but I had to once to get it back to the garage. Once it was in gear it was fine, but again I was not always able to shift to second. I have never tried shifting to 3rd. I have both volumes of Les Andrews as well as many other books and have done countless hours of research to get to where I am with the car, but I couldn't seem to find an answer for this specific problem. Any advice is appreciated. I am a pretty mechanical and hands on person. Can take pics/video if anything would be helpful. Thank you in advance, Andrew