project that i am starting want to make this reliable for trips

[rcranger]

had a lot of ideas want to leave it looking as it is , but it runs and drives ,needs tires,mechanical brakes all rebuilt and cast drums , want this to be able to run 55 on the road need reliable to go from CNY to jalopy showdown, and milltown show , not sure on how the A motor will hold up to that much driving, looking at either snyder head or brumfield ,lightening flywheel, 3.78 gears , downdraft carb and header to start , looking at doing volvo overdrive conversion, going to call about the conversion kit for this ,also lowering front and rear looking at the T spring for the rear and drop axle in the front input would be great,

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by rcranger

had a lot of ideas want to leave it looking as it is , but it runs and drives ,needs tires,mechanical brakes all rebuilt and cast drums , want this to be able to run 55 on the road need reliable to go from CNY to jalopy showdown, and milltown show , not sure on how the A motor will hold up to that much driving, looking at either snyder head or brumfield ,lightening flywheel, 3.78 gears , downdraft carb and header to start , looking at doing volvo overdrive conversion, going to call about the conversion kit for this ,also lowering front and rear looking at the T spring for the rear and drop axle in the front input would be great,

Please forgive me for asking this but it appears you already have your plan so why ask us for our opinion that will very likely differ from what you want to do? I encourage you to create your car based on what you want it to be! You do say however, that you want to leave it as is ...however you also say you want to add all kinds of things that change the look, ...and argueably make it something other than .....!

Correct me if I am wrong but isn't the Jalopy Showdown a Traditional Hot Rod Show? Can't you just bring a stock Model A (appearing & mechanically) there? If so, from my experiences I can tell you that a stock Model A engine & driveline that is within proper mechanical specs will do the 55mph reliably all day long. I'm sure you would agree that none of the items you mentioned above would make your car more reliable over good stock pieces. Especially lowering the front & rear. Again, I encourage you to build your car to how you want to build it without input on our opinions but also understand that none of those modifications are really necessary to meet your goals of driving reliably at 55 mph for that kind of distance.


.

[James Rogers]

Good luck on the Brumfield head. There hasn't been a new one for at least a year and hard to get even when he has any. The Snyder 5.5 is available and a good head, the 6.0 won't be ready for at least 6 months. I have the lightened flywheels and clutch setups for sale all the time. I also do custom weights.

[Mike V. Florida]

"project that i am starting want to make this reliable for trips "

Are you of the mind that the stock Model A is not reliable for trips? What do you think they did with the cars back in the day?

It's your car so do with it what you want, but given your statement about being able to go 55 reliabley, a stock Model A will fit the bill.

[rcranger]

well the reason for asking opinion is that i have never had an A with the experiances of the forum i thought some input on my ideas would help me in the right direction, from all the reading and a lot of it i was not sure on what was good or bad , i talking about round trips from 800-1400 miles , wasnt sure on others experiences with the mechanicakl brakes , and about the babbit bearings , dont want to be 500 miles away and had problems like that , the ideas for the engine mods were for the fact that in upstate ny there are a lot of hills , obvious this motor could be benefit from being able to breath a little better

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

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Originally Posted by rcranger

well the reason for asking opinion is that i have never had an A with the experiances of the forum i thought some input on my ideas would help me in the right direction, from all the reading and a lot of it i was not sure on what was good or bad , i talking about round trips from 800-1400 miles , wasnt sure on others experiences with the mechanicakl brakes , and about the babbit bearings , dont want to be 500 miles away and had problems like that , the ideas for the engine mods were for the fact that in upstate ny there are a lot of hills , obvious this motor could be benefit from being able to breath a little better

Well to start with, it is very likely that many here would have the opinion that stock is better since Ryan said we are to discuss the Restoration (returning something to an original state) here, and that HAMB is the place to discuss traditional hot rods and modified cars. A lot of what you are asking has been discussed here before and the archives are loaded with dialog regarding that.

Now with that said, it bears repeating that when Model A's were originally built, they were capable of making 800-1400 mile trips at 55 mph in mountainous areas while utilizing babbitt bearings and mechanical brakes. Did any of this happen without the potential of mechanical breakdowns? Nope, ...however there are no guarantees that even if you made those suggested mods to your car that you would not have a breakdown 500 miles from home today!! If THAT is what you are looking for, then IMHO you truly should consider looking for a more modern make & model of vehicle where the engineering was more advanced. Owning & driving a Model A vehicle generally requires constant maintenance to avoid mechanical failures and/or to keep components within their proper specifications. It has been suggested over, and over, ...and over again here in the past that you should repair each component back to within proper factory tollerences and specifications first to see how it performs for you before you trek off on a modification that is generally done to mask another mechanical woe or issue that also needs repairing. I also subscribe to that mindset and would suggest you strongly consider reading many of those previous posts and following their advice as I think it would serve you and your vehicle well in your travels. Best wishes in whatever direction you choose to go!!

.

[steve s]

Originally Posted by rcranger

...wasnt sure on others experiences with the mechanicakl brakes , and about the babbit bearings , dont want to be 500 miles away and had problems like that , the ideas for the engine mods were for the fact that in upstate ny there are a lot of hills , obvious this motor could be benefit from being able to breath a little better

I've got all the mods on my car and love them, but not all are necessary for reliability or trips. The most intrepid guys in our club, who have dipped their wheels in all the oceans touching the continental U.S., including Alaska and Labrador, have done so with mechanical brakes and poured bearings.

As someone who did time in upstate NY, I understand your concern about the hills. If you stick with mechanicals, you definitely should get the new cast iron drums. Also, would highly recommend a high compression head. I've got an F150 OD trans in mine but if I lived in the hills and if I didn't mind dealing with the extra lever, I think the Mitchell gear splitter makes the most sense--otherwise, you're going to spend a lot of time wishing you had a gear between 2nd and high.

I know everyone says that two lane roads are best for Model A's, but in my opinion, they are the most dangerous because when cars do stack up behind you, they too often take crazy chances getting around. Better to have clear slow and passing lanes. At least with HC and more gears, you can minimize the stacking up a bit.

Steve

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Your main concern was hill climbing. Trust me, a bone stock A model, in good condition, wih 3.78 rear end, will climb hills like a MOUNTAIN GOAT. They are a tough, reliable, simple car!

[John LaVoy]

I like someone who wants to drive the Model A. There are lots of comments on original being dependable, which is a fair statement. I have driven a bone stock Model A many thousands of miles. But and it is an important one, the traffic and demands on a car now are much greater than 40-50 years ago. The sedan we took to Texas is set up with refinements that allow it to run at 55-65 miles per hour so you can flow with the traffic. We reviewed the heads and overdrives you are talking about using in the Model A Times in the past. Check around your local club someone probably has the old issues with the articles.

Good luck with your project if you see the Model A Times team at a meet stop in and say hi!

[700rpm]

Keep it original. That's my opinion.

[Tom Wesenberg]

For the life of the engine I like the counterweighted crank. To add a bit of horsepower, I'd add a high compression head. For long drives I'd like a higher rear end ratio, like the 3.27 or add an overdrive. The problem with the overdrive, is the looks and cost.

[85930tudor]

Take to secodary roads and enjoy our beatifull country! Thats what I do..Dave

[Jordan]

Original Model A's are reliable, but since you're looking for better performance I would say the Weber downdraft and Overdrive are both very nice modifications. We have this set up on a coupe, and it's really nice. You can cruise at 70+ mph all day if you wanted to, but i don't like to. If for some reason later on, the carb can be unbolted and returned to the original set up. The overdrive is nice on not only flat lands, but hills. With the volvo, you can run 2nd high up the side of the hill. Volvo overdrives are hard to come by & from what i hear, a long waiting list. I would suggest a Mitchell or 4 speed for instant purchase.

[Jordan]

Also forgot, the high comp head will really help too.

[jerry shook]

Rcranger. You have herd a lot of different takes on what you should do. The reality is we are talking about driving on 2011 roads, not 1931 roads,i remember as a young boy in 1954 most of the roads were dirt travel speed was mabe 30 to 35 mph, even on the tar and gravel 45 to 50 was top speed, sure we had crazy people that drove faster , like they do today. Add the hc head, two barl carb, 4 or 5 speed trans and enjoy. Merry christmas.

[jerry shook]

Jonathon. Drove his a 365 days and enjoyed ever day. He had a lot of repair and maintenance time in that 365 days . His friend randy helped him . Quote the maintenance and repair work wile driving the mighty a. He spent a lot of nights repairing . Quote some of the bigger projects, engin swap. My experiance upgrades cut down on repairs, but i to have original cars. Merry christmas

[columbiA]

I put over 75,000 miles on a 31 vicky from 57 to 65 with no major problems Longest trip was over 5000 miles In 1960 i installed an early 2-port Riley on the bone-stock engine & a Columbia OD & adj the brgs twice in all those miles.I still have the OD in my 30 coupe.

[Mike V. Florida]

If you go back and reread his original post you will reralize he is looking for "justification" for changing the car.

You can argue "lightening flywheel, 3.78 gears , downdraft carb and header to start , looking at doing volvo overdrive conversion, going to call about the conversion kit for this " makes the A motor "hold up better". But how does, "lowering front and rear looking at the T spring for the rear and drop axle in the front input" make it drive any better?

My opinion is that he wants to modify the car, and it's his and he can do what he wants, but it will not make it any more reliable than a stock A. Why not just go on and put in juice brakes, because mech ones don't work, box the frame because all A frames sag or will sag, change out the front end because they all wobble, the steering box has to go because they are hard steering, generators won't last so you need an alternator, 16 inch wheels because you need radial tires on the car to be safe, since you can't just pull up to any parts store and babbit won't last, drop in a chevy v-8. That should do it for a start!

[jerry shook]

Right on mike v. Now your talking, dont wont a chevy v-8, but every things else sounds great. Merry christmas.

[rcranger]

really frustrates me that when you ask for help from experianced guys on ideas that i have compiled from reading hours and hours of storys that they answer with sarcasim, yes i cross between original and traditional, and even the dreaded rat , never liked that term but i am for recyling and reusing didnt realize that this would offend some on here,seeing that some have done the upgrades i have mentioned, i that if anything i am trying to keep it complete and improve on it , i have all the parts that mike threw out there thinking that is my goal , i drive my cars they are not parade cars, go to a car show near by, they donot get trailered and do get run and a lot of the time not washed , that is why i was asking for opinions because i donot have anyone in this area that i have found that can answer these questions , i made the decision to not hotrod , but improve on the truck to use it , and my old cars do not have radial tires , and if you have a wobble in your front you didnt setit up right , i do know some things from a lot of trial and error ,especially whe others say it cant be done , like last years truck i built from ground up 34 international with quarter elliptical front and rear axles on a AA truck frame , drove like a dream and handled like a gocart , done ranting, sorry for offending the purists on here