1931 model A performance

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by bdtutton

I have a stock 1930 Tudor that I often drive 10 miles each way to work. I travel about 47-53 mph during about 7 miles of the trip. The car seems happy up to about 54 mph, but the vibration starts increasing at about 55 mph. By 60 mph the engine sounds like it is really spinning hard and the wind noise sounds like a hurricane outside.
Some of the threads I read on the forums say that driving a stock 1930 Tudor at 50mph for any length of time will take out the center bearing. I am planning to take a 45 mile trip in the near future and I will need to run 45-53mph most of the way. Is this going to take out my center bearing the way several people say?? I run synthetic oil with a full filter and try to change the oil often.

Originally Posted by Conaway2

I’ve been driving a Model A since 1968, and I don’t feel comfortable driving at any speed over 45 - the steering and brakes just aren’ t up to it. I’ ve heard people say for many years that they drove their A’s at 60-65. that’s fine - personal choice. I would never do it from a safety point of view. A’s weren’t designed to drive that fast on a sustained basis.

Originally Posted by DannL

Since getting mine I haven't figured out how to go over 35, unless I can find a hill and then 40 it is. The engine sounds like it might explode as I push her beyond 35. "Explode" is really not a good word hear, but it makes my point. :-)

Originally Posted by daren007

Can you drive a model "A" at 60-65 mph...Umm yes but why would you .

Geez, how is it this topic just keeps getting hi-jacked with folks wanting to give opinions on their 2019 performance? Maybe it is ME that didn't understand the original question!

[History]

The photo with the road through the mill pond was taken in 1936 and if you could zoom in and the resolution would enhance you could see a model a coupe and what I think were at least three AA trucks, maybe a Tudor by the building to the lower right. The dirt road going up the hill in the middle is the main road through that area and was then also. (Just over the hill to the right my dad was two years old with his (10) brothers and sisters in the tiny shack (that's still standing) he grew up in. Walked barefoot to school in the snow and all that stuff (not a joke)). The road through the pond is the Blue Ridge Parkway being constructed and if you've driven it fully, you've crossed that pond which is only on the left (south) side of the road now. The parkway was put through (in) the pond as there was no road there when built.

The photo with the bridge is US hiway 21 (it used to be numbered 26 I believe) looking north toward Sparta. The bridge is the Parkway crossing 21. It's dirt in the photo but there are definitely spots where you could turn a car lose and hit 60-65 mph and more. I can imagine the dust cloud that covered bystanders while doing it on a dry day.

[M2M]

Originally Posted by DannL

Since getting mine I haven't figured out how to go over 35, unless I can find a hill and then 40 it is. The engine sounds like it might explode as I push her beyond 35. "Explode" is really not a good word hear, but it makes my point. :-)

Dude...are you sure you don't have a Model T rather than a Model A?

[5lugnuts]

As a reference for speed limits in NYS. The New York State Department of Transportation set up I think in 1927 The Long Island State Parkway System to construct and develop parkways on Long Island. These would be NY State Roads made of concrete and intended as major transportation routes for commuters going to work and for those attending State Parks like ocean beaches and picnic areas over the island. This is a quote from the history of that system of concrete roads that had similar speed limits as state roads around NYS : "General speed limits, originally set at 40 MPH, were raised to 45 MPH in 1959, 50 MPH in 1963, and 55 MPH in 1974." I remember riding in the family car in the fifties and the right lane traffic was doing 45 while the fast lane was doing 50 and sometimes above. There was an oil trail down the center of each lane. Model A was probably comfortable in the slow lane although I didn't notice at the time.

[Patrick L.]

The NYS Thruway wasn't built until the early-mid 50s.

[Railcarmover]

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Robert Moses

The Southern State Parkway (also known as the Southern State or Southern Parkway) is a 25.53-mile (41.09 km) limited-access highway on Long Island, New York, in the United States. The parkway begins at an interchange with the Belt and Cross Island parkways in Elmont, in Nassau County, and travels east to an interchange with the Sagtikos State Parkway in West Islip, Suffolk County, where it becomes the Heckscher State Parkway. The Southern State Parkway comprises the western portion of unsigned New York State Route 908M (NY 908M), with the Heckscher Parkway occupying the eastern section.

Construction of the highway, designed by Robert Moses, began in 1925. The first section of the parkway opened in 1927. It reached its original eastern terminus (Bay Shore Road) in 1949 and was extended to its current eastern terminus in 1962.

an absolutely beautiful system,built for low speeds (45) well before safety was paramount in road construction..

[Railcarmover]

and yes,there were New York drivers in the 30's..damn fool tailgaters have been around for awhile

[DannL]

Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C

Geez, how is it this topic just keeps getting hi-jacked with folks wanting to give opinions on their 2019 performance? Maybe it is ME that didn't understand the original question!

Isn't that a case of the pot calling the kettle black? Oooops . . . . There I went and added my two cents again. ;-)

[FrankWest]

I have a 1933 model B and I am afraid to go over 50, don't want to over stress the unrestored 86 year old car, Actually, 45 is fast enough for me. I just wanted to know what the 1931 model A customer considered a typical fast speed. Probably most people drove those cars under 40 mpg typically, right?

[Railcarmover]

Originally Posted by FrankWest

I have a 1933 model B and I am afraid to go over 50, don't want to over stress the unrestored 86 year old car, Actually, 45 is fast enough for me. I just wanted to know what the 1931 model A customer considered a typical fast speed. Probably most people drove those cars under 40 mpg typically, right?

'33 B motor is a good start to build an engine that will go as a fast as you could want..counterbalanced crankshaft,pressurized main bearings..

[40 Deluxe]

Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C

Geez, how is it this topic just keeps getting hi-jacked with folks wanting to give opinions on their 2019 performance? Maybe it is ME that didn't understand the original question!

You are 100% right, Brent! The original poster was asking about 1931 conditions, not present day. Perhaps a course in Reading Comprehension 101 is needed!!

[Kevin in NJ]

I love the speculation.

Over the years I have read many articles about people driving their cars back in the 30's.

Sorry guys, if the car could go 65 they ran them 65 when they could (no horses in front). Especially the kids out flying around. There were lots of deaths, but just like today people try to drive as fast as they can. Everything on the edge.

As for today, yes most of the A's are not safe to drive. I actually disagree with the people saying 45 MPH is the safest speed for their car. What I have observed looking at hundreds of A's is that most of the cars people only run 45 I did not believe they were safe to run over 30 MPH. They always have obvious problems and were not rebuilt properly to Fords specs.

Of course the guys that talk about returning to Ford specs and know how to do it are the ones saying the car runs 65 no problem.

[pj's junkers]

year 1963. driving the newly acquired A home from Henderson Texas no speedometer but Dad and I were being followed by Mom. We were clocked at 55 and no strain on the car

[5lugnuts]

Thanks Railcarmover for the pictures. If you look carefully you can see that every lane had an oil trail down the middle of it. As a kid I remember every busy road had that oil trail. When it rained that oil trail became very slippery. Fords weren't the only cars that marked their spot.

[ursus]

My Dad always told this story, probably to discourage us kids from driving too fast: Grandpa and his brother each bought a new '28 Model-A Tudor when they first came out. Grandpa always drove the highways at 45-50 and the brother always drove at 55-60. When they arrived at a certain destination about 4 hours away, Grandpa was relaxed and ready for fishing but the brother was all worn out and needed a rest. By 1935, the brothers Model-A engine was all worn out but Grandpa's car was running like new.

[barnstuf]

I am older than the Model A and I lived at the top of a hill on a paved road. Salesmen demonstrating a new car to a prospective buyer in my town always had to show the prospective buyer it could climb that hill in high gear. In the Model A era unpaved side roads were plentiful and main highways were two lane paved roads with curves, hills and not built for speed. I often heard the phrase "he was going like 60" when referring to a fast moving car.