To Frequent Drivers: What Function Concerns You The Most?

[Farrell In Vancouver]

Cheap Cut-Outs

[KansasRick]

I filled up the gas tank and didn’t realize the gasket was leaking at the fuel gauge. I was driving home thinking the gas smell was from fuel splashing on the fuel tank cap and some run over maybe. The windshield was tipped open for extra ventilation so my first thought wasn’t so much a fuel leak in the cabin. I panicked when I realized the area behind the instrument panel was wet with fuel, the fuel was dripping off the bottom of the tank below the instrument panel, and the carpet in my sedan was soaked with gas. All it would have taken was a spark from the ignition switch when I shut off the car and I would have had big trouble. This is the most concerning thing that has happened to me in my Model A sedan.

[Terry, NJ]

That which scares me? Well there was the time I was headed down a steep hill,
headed for a pond and I stepped on the brake pedal and it went to about 3/4 " from the floor! Then there was the time when I was still getting the crap out of the gas tank and it was messing up the carburetor. Go up hill and the engine would stall midpoint. And there was the the pigtail in the distributor. For a while I was working on them concurrently and wasn't really sure which one was causing me trouble. The worst was the rear end when it failed last fall. The car couldn't be moved, but the engine ran fine. Unreliable Hyd. Brake conversions are pretty scary. next to that, balky engines are the biggest PITA.
Terry

[braol]

Cut-out...starter...a short of any kind. (I don't mind if the starter quits when the engine is warm but cold starting can be a pain.

[Nelson C]

Our Model A is "restored" with a fair amount of reproduction parts as a driver type car. It's driven locally.

The alcohol in the gas dissolved the coating in the gas tank. So the coating and the underlying rust clogged everything.

Our fix was to ship the gas tank to Moyer's Tank Farm in Pennsylvania. They completely cleaned the inside of the tank, coated it inside, baked it, and primed it. The baffles in the tank can hide rust. No rust or dirt in over 10 years in the fuel system.

[barnstuf]

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In over 80 years of Model A ownership I have driven in all states east of the Mississippi River and all eastern Canada and have done many roadside repairs but never needed a tow truck. Until recent years my tool kit was a screw driver and a pair of pliers and my spare parts was a condensor. I now carry a few more spare parts but it seems I help others, but never need any myself. A few of my roadside fixes:

Replaced condensor in 1957 in my Phaeton on the roadside in Michigan. It has not been replaced since, about 60,000 miles driving on that car since then.

During tire rationing early WWII had two flat tires in a 200 mile trip, only one spare, drove nearly 100 miles on the rim.

Two times the clevis pin on the brake pedal base has fallen off, leaving zero foot brakes, and hair raising stops. Scoff another cotter pin to replace the missing one and drive on.

Floor boards on fire when the brake pedal gradually wears into the battery cable. Since then my floorboards are never screwed down.

Two hundred miles from home in my station wagon loaded with furniture and a refrigerator on the tailgate when timing gear gives up.I coast right into a junkyard and buy a used gear from an engine in their barn. Install it then and there, continue trip.

Driving on ocean beach in my 29 wagon with 8.90 x 15 tires at 12 pounds pressure for soft sand driving when fan blade breaks off and exits thru the side of the hood between louvres. Break off the other side of the fan and drive 12 miles in first gear, hot day, no overheating. Drove for 2 years with no blades on the fan until a water pump replacement was needed so the fan got replaced. Never overheated.

Another ocean beach incident was driving in soft sand in low gear when the engine suddenly quits. First thing I see upon opening the hood was a melted condensor. I have run over a piece of driftwood that was hurled up and disconnected the lower radiator hose and the water was so quickly lost from the system there was never any boiling. It just melted the condensor. I installed another condensor, reinstalled the disconnected hose, and put salt water in the radiator until I got home and did a quick flush.

Drove home from a Club meeting 100 miles from home one night, clutch failure. Another "A" gave me a push to about 15 mph and I eased it into high gear and headed out into traffic. I carefully avoided coming to a dead stop and was able to shift up and down thru the gears with no clutch as like any Model A driver with experience it can be done with no gear grinding.

I have many more incidents, but no disasters. No AAA card in my younger days.













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[M2M]

barnstuf, wonderful post, thanks for sharing.

[dumb person]

Modern batteries. Aside from the cutout sticking (i can see that when the ammeter drops with the engine off) the only other thing that bothers me is other peoples driving. They don't know anything about physics now do they?.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Exactly! Texting, speeding, tailgating drivers are the only thing I worry about.

[RUNNERBUN]

I have put on 98,000 miles in my A since restoration (22 years) and 98% of my problems were caused by poor quality TUBES

[Bill G]

I consider myself to be pretty good with average complexity mechanical issues of any car, so not much concerns or worries me, If it did, my beloved wife and I would probably not venture out on tours as we occasionally do. Worries are things like kids, dogs, cats, deer, skunk (pick one) that I would not be able to avoid hitting in any car, but a Model A needs a bit more room. If parts do fail, then I have to rely on others in the group who may have a spare, or a car trailer or a paid-up AAA card. People in general don't realize and understand that our cars are not as mechanically capable of stopping, starting and maneuvering as newer cars. We have to be especailly vigillant in avoiding collisions with thrm. I take it that the original person was fishing for "what is the weakest mechanical link do you loose sleep over?" Mine= "None". But, on the other hand the only thing I have experienced on a tour so far is a coil wire that came out of the coil because I didn;t push it in far enough in the first place. Cars were made to drive the heck out of before they fall apart, and mine still hasn't fallen apart.

[Jim Huseby]

Dear Mr. Barnstuff- That was rich! Please post any and all of your Model A and other experiences!

[ryanheacox]

Been on the side of the road four times. Two were my own damn fault.

First was a bad condenser. Second was a burnt set of points caused by forgetting the key on overnight. Third was a worn down rubbing block on the replacement set of points. Fourth was a sunk float about two weeks after a supposedly effective repair.

So I would say I worry about reproduction ignition parts and my own stupid mistakes

[24ruxstel1339]

This is a T story, but relevant.
Years ago, when I was a kid [pre teen?]
Father and I went to our family reunion in Pataskala Oh, about 150 miles ?
Coming through Homerville [a one stop sign town], she just died.
Coasted into a guys driveway and Pop started tearing it down.
Ended up being the fiber cam gear had lost it's teeth !!
I sat with the car as he walked into the little town, where a corner store was.
Got to talking to a guy who said "my grandpa? had a couple Ts and a barn down the road where they used to be.
Old man and him went to the barn and was kicking the dirt on the floor around and up popped a timing gear !!!
All totaled we were on the road in about 4-6 hrs.

He always carried a spare gear under the back seat after that, along with the other "help kit".

[Fordfan29]

I can't think of a part that concerns me that hasn't been mentioned. I have spent at least a week on the road each year since 1984 & I have been part of those "roadside seminars".

At regional or national meets I check out the trouble repair tent to see what breaks. From that and first hand experience I have been carrying the stuff I see being repaired or replaced. This is all commonly practiced by most folks that drive a lot. One thing I have found is having a "For Sale" sign under the seat to threaten the car seems to help.

[24ruxstel1339]

Originally Posted by fordfan29

i can't think of a part that concerns me that hasn't been mentioned. I have spent at least a week on the road each year since 1984 & i have been part of those "roadside seminars".

One thing i have found is having a "for sale" sign under the seat to threaten the car seems to help.

lmao !!

[Brobrian]

I take my grandson home from school every day or so for the last 7 years. Different than highway driving, I know. But we’ve run out of gas twice. I tell him it’s the truck’s fault, but he doesn’t believe me now that he’s old enough to read the gauge. Had a battery fail at Baskin Robbins. Thank God for cranks. Once it died at a light and wouldn’t restart for a while. Turned out the youngest grandson had been playing in the car and turned the Gav several turns. I know you are just wanting to be prepared which is great, but the along with preparation in terms of parts and tools is an attitude of adventure. We always get home, and sometimes it’s an adventure too.