Considering Buying A Model A

[Lenny Bruce]

I totally agree! I once drove 6 hour round trip to view a Model A Tudor that was very poorly represented and the pictures were shotty. Upon arrival the owner wasn’t their to show the car and let’s just say it was all downhill from their. Absolutely do your research and ask for lots of detailed pictures especially if your going to travel to view/purchase the A…Be patient as well I looked at hundreds of them before I decided on my ‘30 Tudor. Good luck friend!

[art ebeling]

I have a 31 Victoria and getting in is difficult. The space betweeen the door opening at the kick panel and the left front edge of the seat bottom is such that I have to grab my ankle and pull my foot in sideways as to not scuff the bottom of the door panel. Once both feet are inside there is plenty of room. I have the seat set at the last hole in the seat adjusting brackets for the most room. I am 5'10" so the problem is the design, not my size. I think a 30 or 31 coupe is the easiest to get into. Art

[alexiskai]

Pete, I live in Mebane and have two A’s you can check out. PM me and we’ll meet up.

[Lannis]

Originally Posted by alexiskai

Pete, I live in Mebane and have two A’s you can check out. PM me and we’ll meet up.

I found this thread because I'm in about the same boat as Pete. I'm really thinking I'd like a Model A. I've sold a Morgan 4/4 and a BSA A10 motorcycle to make room in the shop and the wallet to accommodate one.

I've owned a lot of old motorcycles, so am familiar with the concepts of magnetos, manual spark advances, mechanical drum brakes, and 30's automotive technology and limitations in general, although I've never owned a car older than my 1953 Dodge Meadowbrook. And I've toured the country on my 1955 BSA M21, a rigid-frame, manual advance, 18 horsepower flathead with a "happy speed" of 48 MPH and a top speed (use sparingly) of 55 MPH, so I know how to pick antique-friendly routes and how to behave if I have to use a highway to get from one old road to the next.

But I've never looked around or sat in a Model A, although I'd like to. While riding in Kentucky once, I met two couples in Model As from New England who were two weeks on the road, touring the Southern mountains, and seemed to be having a great time, which got me thinking about it.

Does your generous offer to come and see your Model As as part of my "Do I Really Want One Of These?" decision that you made to Pete last month extend to another newbie such as myself? If so, I'll PM you ....

Lannis Selz
Spout Spring, VA

[fried okra]

Lannis, it's good to see another old British bike fan here on the forum.

I am down to 5 old right shift Triumphs now.

But spend more time in the Model A.

I don't have to remember to put my feet down when I come to a stop in it

[Lannis]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Originally Posted by fried okra

Lannis, it's good to see another old British bike fan here on the forum.

I am down to 5 old right shift Triumphs now.

But spend more time in the Model A.

I don't have to remember to put my feet down when I come to a stop in it

I bought my first BSA in 1974, and have 4 British bikes in the shed now, but I'm having second thoughts after 48 years.

Yesterday I was out riding my '75 Norton Commando to a group lunch, sort of a shakedown run from putting in new rings and a valve job, and it goofed on me 75 miles from home. Possibly a carb needle fell out of the clip, or a seized valve, but it came home on a trailer and waiting for me to put it back on the bench AGAIN. Probably something I did; there's nothing wrong with the design or execution of the Norton mechanically.

I'm not sure I can be an expert on fixing my own BSAs and Nortons and Matchlesses AND several kinds of cars; too much detailed knowledge, too many manuals, too many forums, too many special tools, too many spares on the shelf. I need to focus.

I'm selling my '66 Morgan 4/4 (that's what's making room for a potential Model A), I just sold a '61 BSA A10, and I'm thinking about selling my '55 BSA M21 and my 1990 Ford Festiva.

I've been reading the forum for a week or two, looking at the issues people have with their Model As. Fan blades, gas tanks, clutches, toe-in adjustment etc to see what I'd be facing if I bought one and used it for a semi-regular driver around here; I can go almost anywhere I ever go, a hundred miles away, and never have to get on a divided highway or go through a city.

I put most of my road miles on motorcycles. My everyday car has been my Festiva; I bought it in 2012 with 56K on it, and it has 98K now, so I put about 4000 miles a year on a car. I probably wouldn't put that on a Model A, but it would be several thousand miles a year.

I'm used to doing regular maintenance and checkups before I hit the road, so if I could get a car that would be comfortable at 48 MPH like my BSA M21 is, I could do 90% of my everyday car driving with it ....

Lannis

[ronn]

Art, if you are having trouble getting in a vicki, Ild have to wonder which A has a larger entrance? Always thought the vicki had the widest doors?