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Old 11-03-2015, 08:41 PM   #21
Jwilli
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Default Re: Model a----a simple car

Personally I like the humor that everyone has shown with their answers.
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Old 11-03-2015, 10:31 PM   #22
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Default Re: Model a----a simple car

If something electrical isn't working & you suspect a bad connection in the loop up to the ammeter & dash light, put a jumper across the junction box wing nuts. If it then works, the problem IS IN THAT LOOP. Study it in the WIRING DIAGRAM.
Bill W.
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Old 11-03-2015, 11:20 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by Mitch//pa View Post
use a straight screwdriver and a hammer to work on a model A.
No - do not force it use a bigger hammer
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Old 11-03-2015, 11:32 PM   #24
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Default Re: Model a----a simple car

you can use a bicycle pump to inflate a Model "A" tire.
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Old 11-04-2015, 11:02 AM   #25
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Default Re: Model a----a simple car

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Originally Posted by Jwilli View Post
Personally I like the humor that everyone has shown with their answers.
HUMOR is GOOD, to keep you from gettin' KRAZY, when something mysterious happens with your car. It always seems worse when it happens to your OWN CAR MY CAR'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BREAK!!
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Old 11-04-2015, 11:25 AM   #26
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Default Re: Model a----a simple car

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Originally Posted by BILL WILLIAMSON View Post
The Model A is a somewhat SIMPLE car.
Maybe we could share some SIMPLE ways that you all have found, to DIAGNOSE/REPAIR problems, in a SIMPLE/QUICK WAY
Bill W.
I think Bill is on to something here.
The vast amount of knowledge stored here in the Barn is mind boggling, and we seem to lose a little bit everyday as we all seem to age and pass on.
If that untapped "simple knowledge" could be tapped...hell...you could fill a book.
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Old 11-04-2015, 11:51 PM   #27
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Default Re: Model a----a simple car

A couple of years back a friend and I were at a meet and he unfortunately experienced two flat tyres in quick succession which left him without a spare. As the second appeared to be a slow leak we decided to add some air via a 12 volt pump which he was carrying.
While we were inflating the tyre we noticed that the air was leaking from the valve passing between the inner metal part of the valve and the rubber outer layer. As a temporary fix we tied an electrical Zippy cable tie around the base of the valve to slow the leak and to our amazement it not only slowed the leak but stopped it all together. A quick inspection of the other valves on the car showed that all were failing in the same way to some degree. All showing some air pockets rising up from the base of the valve. Cable ties were applied to all valves and a couple of years later the ties were still there with no further leaks. The one tube that had failed initially was replaced.
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Old 11-05-2015, 04:48 AM   #28
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Default Re: Model a----a simple car

I like that with a few screwdrivers and handful of basic spanners you can work on 95% of an A Model
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Old 11-05-2015, 07:02 AM   #29
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Default Re: Model a----a simple car

Take one step at a time... Never change more than one part at a time esp. Electrical.
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Old 11-05-2015, 09:05 AM   #30
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Default Re: Model a----a simple car

If one tire always gets LOW, spit on the end of the stem & see if it blows a "bubble"--Then re-tighten it.
For the guy that was a pain in the ass, we'd put a TINY pebble in the valve cap, tighten it, & in about a day or two, it would go FLAT!
Bill W.
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Old 11-05-2015, 09:12 AM   #31
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Default Re: Model a----a simple car

Ok, now that's useful! You older fellows have a responsibility to make sure the next generation knows all of those practical jokes too!
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Old 11-05-2015, 10:19 AM   #32
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Default Re: Model a----a simple car

Quote:
Originally Posted by BILL WILLIAMSON View Post
If something electrical isn't working & you suspect a bad connection in the loop up to the ammeter & dash light, put a jumper across the junction box wing nuts. If it then works, the problem IS IN THAT LOOP. Study it in the WIRING DIAGRAM.
Bill W.
that is something I have never read before nor even thought about! I take it you are referring to an engine not firing since lights and horn get power elsewhere.

I ordered a wiring diagram from one of the big suppliers and it shows the junction box sitting vertically, with no reference that tells you which is driv- er/passenger side. very helpful. would it have taken a lot of forethought to show the box in its true position?
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Old 11-05-2015, 11:22 AM   #33
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Default Re: Model a----a simple car

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A couple of years back a friend and I were at a meet and he unfortunately experienced two flat tyres in quick succession which left him without a spare.
Where was his tire irons and patch kit?
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Old 11-05-2015, 09:55 PM   #34
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Originally Posted by Mitch//pa View Post
use a straight screwdriver and a hammer to work on a model A.
Use a Robertson screwdriver on a Canadian car
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Old 11-05-2015, 09:58 PM   #35
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Take one step at a time... Never change more than one part at a time esp. Electrical.
Never throw the old broken pieces out.
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Old 11-06-2015, 04:19 AM   #36
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Default Re: Model a----a simple car

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Originally Posted by ericr View Post
that is something I have never read before nor even thought about! I take it you are referring to an engine not firing since lights and horn get power elsewhere.

I ordered a wiring diagram from one of the big suppliers and it shows the junction box sitting vertically, with no reference that tells you which is driv- er/passenger side. very helpful. would it have taken a lot of forethought to show the box in its true position?
Ericr,
Wiring diagrams usually don't show stuff in it's true position, a schematic, usually does.
Bill W.
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Old 11-06-2015, 07:26 AM   #37
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Default Re: Model a----a simple car

Quote:
Originally Posted by ericr View Post
that is something I have never read before nor even thought about! I take it you are referring to an engine not firing since lights and horn get power elsewhere.

I ordered a wiring diagram from one of the big suppliers and it shows the junction box sitting vertically, with no reference that tells you which is driv- er/passenger side. very helpful. would it have taken a lot of forethought to show the box in its true position?
Dad's right on about a diagram vs a schematic. you can figure out the orientation of the compnents by using the wire colors.
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Old 11-06-2015, 10:00 AM   #38
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Default Re: Model a----a simple car

Print out a wiring diagram & follow the current flows, like a ROAD MAP. It'll help you understand that electrical stuff ain't SPOOKY or hard to understand.
Just understand CIRCUIT, from the root word, CIRCLE. The body, frame, & ALL the metal stuff, is your SECOND wire, returning the current to the ground cable at the crossmember & back into the battery.
Fiberglass contraptions & boats, have to run a mess of individual GROUND wires, to complete THEIR CIRCUITS!
Bill W.
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Old 11-06-2015, 11:03 AM   #39
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Default Re: Model a----a simple car

Quote:
Originally Posted by BILL WILLIAMSON View Post
If one tire always gets LOW, spit on the end of the stem & see if it blows a "bubble"--Then re-tighten it.
For the guy that was a pain in the ass, we'd put a TINY pebble in the valve cap, tighten it, & in about a day or two, it would go FLAT!
Bill W.
Back in the day when cars still had hub caps, we'd pop them off and stick a penny in them, it would make a heck of a racket when they were just taking off or slowing down for a light, leaving the driveway or what have you.
Painting the headlights was always fun, vaseline on the windshield wipers was a thrill on a rainy day, a wood ash paste in all the door locks would harden like rock when dry and a pair of dikes could cut all four tire valve stems off in under 30 seconds.
I'm not even going to mention what we did with brake fluid.
Now that I think about it, my friends and I were pretty much dicks...back then.
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Old 11-09-2015, 11:24 PM   #40
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Default Re: Model a----a simple car

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Back in the day when cars still had hub caps, we'd pop them off and stick a penny in them, it would make a heck of a racket when they were just taking off or slowing down for a light, leaving the driveway or what have you.
Painting the headlights was always fun, vaseline on the windshield wipers was a thrill on a rainy day, a wood ash paste in all the door locks would harden like rock when dry and a pair of dikes could cut all four tire valve stems off in under 30 seconds.
I'm not even going to mention what we did with brake fluid.
Now that I think about it, my friends and I were pretty much dicks...back then.
So YOU'RE THE GUY that painted my headlights!
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