Greatest moment in a Model A

[Logan]

Not to steal Bill Williamson's thunder, with his thread on greatest disappointment in a model a. But i was wondering what everyone's greatest accomplishment, or moment, that they have experienced in an A. I have two that are pretty much tied,
1) Winning the youngest driver award at the 2008 world meet in Dallas with my brother Jordan.
2) The weekend before my grandpa passed away, the model a club went up to the nursing home to visit my grandpa and grandma. Well i just happened to be home from college that weekend, and i decided to drive my grandpas coupe (now mine) up to the nursing home so that he could see it. Well after all the other club members had left, i saw my grandpa open the door and get in the drivers seat. He started the car, and started driving around in the parking lot. (my dad and i thought he was going to make a break for it, and try to leave the nursing home) After about 4 trips up and down the parking lot, he pulled back up to where my dad and i were standing, and he shut if off and said good job. (I guess that meant at keeping the car running ) That was the last time i saw my grandpa, and that was the last car he ever rode in or drove. Its a special memory for me, as he owned the car since 1959 and had restored it and drove it all over the U.S.

Now lets hear all your stories

[RcT]

There was a point in my life when I had a '30 sport coupe and a new '65 Mustang at the same time. I would stay overnight at my grandmother's house most Friday nights and take her grocery shopping Saturday mornings before going home. She loved riding in the Model A far more than the Mustang; the running board was even with the curb and much easier for her to get in and out of the car. That's a great memory for me and that sport coupe, all $210 of it, was driven daily without any worries. It seemed to always get me there. The car got attention, but it wasn't really a curiosity, as they seem to be now. You could take it, park it, and not wonder if someone was messing with it. I can't say that now.

[Purdy Swoft]

The first was in 1955. I was maybe nine years old. The neighbors kid had a red strip down model a with a homemade wood pickup bed and seat. There were dirt trails and a large pasture that we would ride in sometimes after school. The neighbors kid was only 14 and not allowed to drive on the main roads, one afternoon he left the transmission in low gear and set the throttle so that it was going five mph or less, he stepped out on the running board and told me to slide over and take the wheel. That was quite a thrill for me at the time and the first time for me to sort of drive a model A. The next was the first time that I drove my strip down sept. 29 model A. I got the 29 in the spring of 1960 and it was the fall of 61 before it was running. The next was when I finally got my roadster in 03. The roadster was in rough shape and had not run since 63. I had just about given up that I would ever get a roadster. Here it is the day that I got it. xxxt

[Lawrie]

Pulling into the driveway at home after a 13500klm trip across Australia in the 28 pickup that never missed a beat
Lawrie

[700rpm]

I've owned my A since 1961, and with 50 years of great moments there isn't enough room here to even begin. But one of my funniest (now) and earliest moments was just after I got the car. My girlfriend and I were necking in it behind a local park when a cop car came up and the cops asked us what we were doing. Of course they knew, and were probably just having some fun with us, but at the time and the tender age of 17, we were very flustered, embarrassed, and scared. Flaming youth!

[zzlegend]

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Getting nook nooks in the back seat of a tudor sedan in 1965 when was 19 years old. She was a 30 year old waitress at the pancake house.

[700rpm]

Originally Posted by zzlegend

Getting nook nooks in the back seat of a tudor sedan in 1965 when was 19 years old. She was a 30 year old waitress at the pancake house.

At least you were legal! Her car or yours?

[Jason in TX]

There have been lots of very happy moments in the Model A.

The best day would have to be our wedding day. Got to marry my best friend and also a darn good Model A mechanic helper to boot!



One at the top of the list was having the opportunity to tour Yosemite National Park with my wife in one. Unforgettable!






The smartest day was 10 years ago when I drove 32 hours non stop round trip to trade my '48 Plymouth for my first Model A and I've been hooked ever since!

[BCCHOPIT]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Did he Just say NECKING

Mine is the day I brought my car home my younger brother came over at the time he was 20 years old. and to see him take off down the road and back was very cool.

I did a 300 mile drip with my 8 year old son this fall that was lots of fun for both

This past week end I got a new top speed in my car of 73mph on GPS not bad for the little bit of mods that I have done to it. 27 mph to go for my 100 mph goal.

[MAG]

Three areas stand out in my mind. One is the honor of Lt. Col "Hank" Potter, Jimmy Dolittle's Navigator, riding in my roadster in a Veterans Day Parade. Another is driving eight of my grand children in the "getaway" for their weddings in the roadster. And the last was giving my 30 Coupe to my son. He helped retore it while he was going to college. I wanted to be able to see him enjoy it. That was and is a great moment for me.

[zzlegend]

Originally Posted by 700rpm

At least you were legal! Her car or yours?

My neighbors car. He was gone for the weekend and didn't lock the sedan. He never knew.

[TerryH]

This one is easy for me.......When I took my future wife out on our first, and "blind date" in 1967, I picked her up in my 1930 Coupe with rumble seat. She was surprised beyond words and loved it..........about 4 months later we were engaged, then married. The Model A date is a special memory, and we are still happily married!

[Chris in WNC]

3 years of going places in it with my sweet Judy..........

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Logan,
My "THUNDER" Went away when I sold "MINERVA," my black '30 coupe with a NASCAR lookin' exhaust that set off car alarms when I even idled by! The only thunder here now is when neighbors roll their dumpsters in and out or when the dog or me is f----rting. Don't feel sorry for me, as shortly I will fire off "VERMIN," my back up '29, with it's own unique exhaust sysem to annoy the neighbors. That will be my latest "GREAT MOMENT!" I'll take Buster T. Brown, my Rat Terrier, with me to deal with the ficticious White Rat that lives in the car!

[john in illinois]

Climbing McDonald's pass out of Helena Montana,July 2011,2,000 miles from home. Sure makes you appreciate what a good 81 year old car it is.

[roccaas]

Originally Posted by zzlegend

My neighbors car. He was gone for the weekend and didn't lock the sedan. He never knew.

Sounds like a ZZ Top song to me....

[quickchange]

A number of things, Seeing J B set a world record at Bonniville , Being asked to be team leader for modified at Riverside & receiving senior judges ticket, Helping & playing host to the Americans during our 2011 national meet , many other great times in the A , but one sticks out , Holding the arse out sideways in the delivery on Greymouth horse racing track at the national meet , Tops is all the great A folk we have met over the years in their Model A,s May it continue, Have a great xmas all.

[Aerocraft]

When my bride and I left our June, 1964 wedding in the '30 Coupe; when our new-born daughter came home in the Coupe from the hospital in May of '68; when our new-born son came home in the Coupe from the hospital in May of '71; when our daughter left her November '93 wedding in the Coupe and our son several years later left his wedding in the Coupe; when our son's first child came home from the hospital in Sept. '00 in the Coupe; when in '02 our son's second daughter, then in '05 his son, both made the "home from the hospital" trip in the Coupe; and earlier this year, my very sick wife (brain cancer) and I made the trip home in the Coupe from our church after our "renewal of vows" on the 47th anniversary of our wedding. Gar Williams

[eswanson]

So far... When my Grandpa sat next to me (2 years ago, helps to be young) and told me all his dating tricks from the Model A. Kinda freaked me out thinking he used them on Grandma but I got over it.

Eric

[Mike]

For me I grew up with my family's 29 pick-up, which I still have. Then getting married using my 31 tudor, bringing both kids home from the hospital when they were born in a Model "A" see my profile for pics

mike

]

[George Miller]

Boy that is a tough one there have been many.
When I was four years old, I ran away from home and went to school. It was close to home. A teacher and here husband put me in there 28 Model A coupe and give me a ride home. I was so scared that I still see the dash of that coupe in my mind. I can still see that little black 5 window coupe, like it was yesterday.

[Elcastor]

After having my 29 Model A pickup for the last 41 years, I can't say that this is the "greatest", but it is a recent "Good one"!

[Ron Lowe]

Dad always kept his coupe parked under the carport, about 30 feet from our backdoor. When I was about 8 years old, I got mad and told them I was running away from home. I only got 30 feet and slept in the seat of the coupe. Boy was I scared. I don't think I made it thru the night and later was told they waited looking thru the window until i came in. Been hooked on A's since then. Boy that seat look's short today. Ron

[2manycars]

Bringing my sons home from the hospital the day after they were born in the 29 tudor. Did not have health insurance when the second one was born, so sold my 40 ford deluxe to pay the hospital bill.

[Droobie]

The Day Grandpa Called me and told me that he was giving me the car. The next was the day that I backed out of the drive way with it (3 years later). Just the wife and I. Its was very special. I will always remember that day.

[Stretch Cab]

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Borrowed dad's 31 rdst and took my girlfriend on a date to ask her to marry me. 34 years later still have both!

[bucket t]

How were the pancakes that day?

[JBR]

Stretch,
Pretty car. What is the color combination?
Thanks,
Jon

[Barry B./ Ma.]

Seeing a 28/29 phaeton on my grandfathers farm when I was 9 in 1944 and wanting it. It was owned by one of the farm workers, had no top, poor paint and there was a shotgun on the front seat. I've been hooked on Model A's ever since. I can still picture that one.
I didn't actually get a Model A until 1980 and that one I still have.

[Brentwood Bob]

That would be the day when my son took the Huckster out and started washing it in the late afternoon. Next thing he did was ask to take it a few miles to see a girl he wanted to impress. This was his first solo. Best part was when he called about 30 minutes later when he couldn't get it restarted. By then it was dark. Took 2 trips out to get him running. The girl showed up with her brother and rode back to town with my son. He couldn't quit smiling for a while, me neither. Bob

[zzlegend]

Originally Posted by bucket t

How were the pancakes that day?

Just perfect. And so were the eggs. Over easy.

[400A-64]

The excvitement of seeing my 400-A being unloaded from the 747 from Sydney and touching the ground, being the FIRST MODEL A to drive Around the World. (1982)
Bruce Davis [email protected]

[Jim Kellett]

My greatest moment with a Model A took 5 years to come to fulfillment.
It started in 1987 as I was watching a TV commercial for Sun Raisins. The grandfather and grandson finished eating a small box of raisins and when finished the grandfather said something like "it's time to get some more raisins" so they got into an antique/ car and drove down the road.
After seeing that I thought that having an old car to drive around would be fun so the seed was planted. I started looking in the classified section of the local papers and found a 1928 Roadster (basket case) within 5 miles of my home. I convinced my wife that I only needed to assemble the parts and have it painted and we would have a neat old car. I bought the car and brought all the pieces home to start the project.
Our house has an attached two car garage so it was necessary to move my wife's Station Wagon outside so the Model A could be assembled in the garage.
From that time on, it took me 5 years to complete the restoration, she called the Roadster "That Thing in the Garage". She was not happy that her wagon was being kept outside.
I finished the restoration in June 1992 just in time to attend the MARC National meet in Buffalo, New York. I was able to put 200 miles on the car prior to the trip so was somewhat prepared for the trip. We live just north of Baltimore, MD so we were looking at a 350 mile trip. The local club, Greater Baltimore Model A Ford Club, had a group going up starting on Sunday, staying overnight part way and arriving Monday afternoon. My wife came down with a migraine headache and was unable to leave on Sunday with the other club members so we made the trip by ourself on Monday driving the entire trip with rain most of the way. Driving a Roadster with side curtains in the rain can be a challenge. Visibility is not great and with the mechanical wiper my wife had to operate the wiper while I drove. She was still getting over the headache so was not in a good mood. We made it, arriving early evening. The only problems encountered on the trip was a rear brake dragging causing the drum to heat up and running out of gas. I was checking the drums every stop by feeling for any excessive heat. Backing off the adjustment screw solved that problem. The other problem was running out of gas. The gas gauge was stuck somewhere just above 1/4 tank. I still can't believe I didn't realize that there was a problem and Model A's don't get that kind of mileage.

I am giving all this background so you fully understand my wife's experiences and opinion of the Roadster.
We spent the week attending the meet and sightseeing around the Buffalo area. Everyone commented on how great the Roadster looked and how great it ran. One evening we stopped at a local restaurant for dinner and when the owner saw the car she insisted that we park it on the lawn right in front of the place. She had the people in the bar go out and look at it and in general made a big deal out of it. Ever where we went people made a fuss over the car.
We drove home with the club and one day about a week after our return my wife asked: "When are we going for a ride in "THE A"?
It was no longer "That Thing in the Garage" It was now "THE A"
That was 19 years ago and some 10,000 miles later she still likes to go in the Roadster. We also have a 1930 Town Sedan for touring but she prefers the Roadster.
So I consider the point when she started to like the Roadster as my greatest moment/satisfaction dealing with the Model A.

[Stretch Cab]

JBR, I have to admit that I don't know what the colors are beside the wheels being orange. Sad to say the car is in storage in NC and I work in S. Florida.

[Richard Wilson]

I have had many great momments in Model A's but one of the most exciting was driving my just rebuilt 28 roadster over 400 miles one way to my first MARC National meet in Indianapolis in the early 1990's. This was my second ground up rebuild of a Model A. No one in my Model A club had ever driven their Model A more than 20 miles on a club trip at the time. Nearly everyone of them said that my Model A could NOT make the trip there and back. The day of the grand tour to the speedway I was so excited that I could have carried that roadster around the track on my back if needed! Oh yeah....the only problem was one flat tire in 900 miles. Once I returned home I was able to get my local club members to make longer day tours in their Model A's.

[Robert/Texas]

When I was born I was brought home from the hospital in this Model A. My father bought the car new. Here is a picture of me with the car about 3 or 4 years later. My father built this 6 foot pram in the garage and the picture was taken at Lake Hopatcong, NJ. He traded the 1930 Model A in for a new 1939 Plymouth Road King in December 1938 and got $50 for the trade. I was quite upset at the time as I feared he would not haul the boat on top of the new car. He did however as soon as the weather got warm enough.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

My dear wife, Pat, was on a downhill slide with dementia along about the time I was making sure "MINERVA," our black '30 coupe was de-bugged and ready for cruising. My neighbor was doing likewise with his his just completed '30 roadster, just short area trips to build confidence. Not knowing how much she understood, I was telling her about our escapades. She replied, "Why don't you & the other Bill go for a drive in country, but be sure to take a CHAIN." I was so elated at her understanding and reply, that the next day, we loaded up in the coupe, along with the rubber chicken, and did a 97 mile round trip up and around the Sierra Nevada foothills. It was hotter than a 2 dollar pistol, but Minerva performed flawlessly, climbing hills like a goat in high gear. Used second gear a couple of times just to see what it felt like. Pat had a BALL! She would hold the chicken out the window to cool her off, OOPS, she accidentally dropped it! After an unscheduled u-turn to retrieve the chicken from the gravel, she wiped and nursed that fowl the rest of the way home. I should name that chicken, "GRAVEL GERTY." The best part of the trip was that Pat had a smile on her face for 3 days.--Bill W.

[metalho]

Cabs too small for a Greatest moment , bwaahahaaaaaaaaaaa.

[Osage Orange]

More like "most memorable" moment. I had been drinking with some friends and went home late in the evening, but knew I needed to clear my head - and drain the bladder - so I headed to the nearby park and decided a drive my '29 A coupe around the circular lagoon would be a good idea. No other cars, and no streetlights, so I put the throttle just above idle, stepped out onto the running board, unzipped and solved the problem, holding onto the steering wheel through the window with one hand. I opened the door, climbed back in and circled the lagoon about three or four more times, then drove home. I am older, wiser and adamantly against driving if I've had even one beer nowadays, but laugh to myself every time I think of that foolish episode.

[tbirdtbird]

Missouri winters must be long and cold

[davehc]

I believe my favorite would be when I think I really got the itch to have an " A " . When I was three years old , my dad moved up here to Michigan , from Alabama looking for work , 68 years ago , and after finding a good job he sent for the rest of the family . We met him at the railroad depot where he picked us up in his "A" that for some reason was missing the rear window . To this day I'm reminded by my sister's how I embarrassed the family by sticking my head out the window and yelling " hello " to everyone we passed , [ this was our first car , so it was a real treat for me ] . All those years since , I always had had a soft spot for the " A 's " .

[Ray in La Mesa]

My "greatest moment" was & is the 30 years my wife & I have been enjoying our two Model A's together with one highlight being reaching the top of Pike's Peak, colorado.

[barnstuf]

In September 1928 Dad traded in his 1926 Model T Sedan on a 1928 Model A Fordor. I was a youngster and fell in love with the Model A immediately. I rode with him standing up holding onto the dash rail and did not sit in the passenger front seat. My most memorable experience in that car was in the 1928-29 winter when a major snowstorm blocked U S Route 6 in my town and Dad simply turned onto the parallel railroad tracks after the train went by and we bumped along the rails 3 miles to a cross road. Dad was a physician responding to an emergency and I was with him. Because of that 28 Fordor, which Dad traded for a 1933 Ford in 1933, I got my first Model A in 1937, before I was old enough to be legally licensed. I have had many adventures of my own too numerous to outline here.

[C26Pinelake]

Originally Posted by Osage Orange

More like "most memorable" moment. I had been drinking with some friends and went home late in the evening, but knew I needed to clear my head - and drain the bladder - so I headed to the nearby park and decided a drive my '29 A coupe around the circular lagoon would be a good idea. No other cars, and no streetlights, so I put the throttle just above idle, stepped out onto the running board, unzipped and solved the problem, holding onto the steering wheel through the window with one hand. I opened the door, climbed back in and circled the lagoon about three or four more times, then drove home. I am older, wiser and adamantly against driving if I've had even one beer nowadays, but laugh to myself every time I think of that foolish episode.

You were not very smart back then were you ? Wayne

[bettlesr]

My greatest moment was one week after my son (who pulled it down our driveway with a rope around his waist) and I dragged my '30 Sport Coupe home from my next door neighbors garage. It had been her fathers and had been sitting there from before she was born. After one week (actually one days work) my 78 year old father (who had a '29 Cabriolet in High school and was a mechanic all his life), my son and I, put in a new battery, plugs, coil and changed the oil. We got the the ground to the distributor plate fixed and started her up. As we had poured oil into the cylinders the week before, the look on elation on my fathers face when she fired up and the entire car disappeared an a cloud of smoke was something I will never forget. By the end of that day I drove my mother and father and then my neighbor up and down my driveway. My father is now 96 and mother at 93 still enjoy seeing it whenever I take it to their house. It took the three of us 8 years, working just one day a week, to change her from the before picture to the after.

[Steve Plucker]

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There are actually two for me.

The first was when I bought my 1929 Standard Coupe in 1966. I had been after this car for two years when I first saw it (I was 14 at the time). I asked him several times if he wanted to sell it but I always got the same old answer a lot of us have heard before..."Nope...going to restore it one of these days" he would always tell me. Well, about once a month I would stop by and talk to him and look at that coupe. So one day in September 1966 I stoped by and I guess he was getting tired of me so he asked me if I still wanted to buy it. "Yes" I said. He said to me that I could have it on one condition and that I was to restore it and not turn it into a hotrod. Well I told him that is what I wanted to do so it was settled. I bought the coupe (he also threw in a 1929 Closed Cab Pickup) for $250.00. I couldn't get them home fast enough. They sat for about 10 years or so while I was in California but when I returned home in 1977 I restored the coupe. By 1980 it was finished. I called my friend for whom I had bought it from and told him that I had something that he might would like to see. When I drove up to his house with it and when he saw it, I will never ever forget the smile he had on his face...a grin from ear to ear! I took him for a ride and did he ever enjoy it.

The second was when I was in Chico, California in 1982. I was at a local car wash cleaning up the coupe when this little old lady came walking by. She was looking it over real good and asking all sorts of questions. She asked me if it had a rumble seat. I said yes and she wanted to look at it. She told me in these words "Young man, when I was young, that was the place to be on a date, oh the fun I had back there" as she was smiling. I said to her "I bet you really had some fun". She said "You bet I did" still smiling.

Pluck

[jfreddie]

My happy time was two years ago when I drove the Alcan from Anchorage to Dixon, Illinois with my son in Jewely, my '30 Tudor.
He had never driven an A so he got used to the clutch pretty quick. Very humbling.
We stopped at Chisolm, MN to visit the widow of the former owner of the car. Rather emotional as it had been 20 years since she'd seen it. I hadn't made any changes to the car other than tires and brakes).
When we arrived in Illinois the local paper interviewed us and put us on page one.
A great father/son experience as well as the A.
Only one flat tire, on arrival in the driveway. It knew it was done!

[ursus]

Around 1960, the neighbor had a 29 coupe as his work car. Our dog had developed a habit of sleeping in the shade on the passenger side running board. One day the neighbor fired up the "A" and took off before the dog could get off and there he stayed put until the neighbor arrived at his job 5 miles away and discovered the stowaway. He worked in a burger joint and let the dog graze on leftovers from the restaurant all day. By afternoon, we were worried about the dog's whereabouts and I was sent to look for him. We were finally relieved to see him arrive home at the end of the day, riding on the front seat of the coupe with what appeared to be an ear to ear grin.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by ursus

Around 1960, the neighbor had a 29 coupe as his work car. Our dog had developed a habit of sleeping in the shade on the passenger side running board. One day the neighbor fired up the "A" and took off before the dog could get off and there he stayed put until the neighbor arrived at his job 5 miles away and discovered the stowaway. He worked in a burger joint and let the dog graze on leftovers from the restaurant all day. By afternoon, we were worried about the dog's whereabouts and I was sent to look for him. We were finally relieved to see him arrive home at the end of the day, riding on the front seat of the coupe with what appeared to be an ear to ear grin.

Ursus,
Our Dog, Bulger, rode Chiefs' running board to Grannies' House!
He would drive KRAZY & TRY to dump him off-----NO WAY!
Bill Fun

[Dave in MN]

Going-to-the-Sun Road scenic drive in Glacier National Park, Montana with the top down in our Phaeton. It is difficult to describe the natural beauty.

[Seth Swoboda]

Here is my wife and I on our wedding day in my 1931 Victoria, for a Christmas Card photo and on an overnight road trip to St. Genevieve, MO.

[Cornishman]

Originally Posted by eswanson

So far... When my Grandpa sat next to me (2 years ago, helps to be young) and told me all his dating tricks from the Model A. Kinda freaked me out thinking he used them on Grandma but I got over it.

Eric

I've got my grandad's five year diary from 1919. It's a bit like that.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Some great stories here. Some memorable ones for me:

First ride in an "A" around age 13, restored '31 roadster in W-blue that friends were working on, rumble seat ride, I was hooked...

Same car, a few years later, dad and I were into antique cars by then and stored one at my grandmother's place. She got a ride in the A roadster - it was a big highlight for her and very nostalgic.

In 2001, I finally bought a '30 tudor, older restoration. A neighbor and I got it running in an afternoon and drove it around the neighborhood. First A I ever drove.

Most recently, we bought a '30 roadster that we use a lot, and are having a lot of fun with that car. I need to be sure to give a kid a ride in the rumble seat this season!!

oh, my friend still has the '31 - in the family for 45 years or so now!

[1930-fordor]

Only had my 30 four door for less than 2 years.
My wife and I were on our way back home from the national meet in Toledo Ohio (1500 mile round trip)
She looks over at me and said
" If anything ever happened to you, I'm keeping this car"
Priceless moment

[mshmodela]

Too new of an owner but that first drive was scary and amazing to think how old a car I was in and driving...

[Will Ziegler in LI NY]

Seeing my 16 year old son, Riley, drive my 1931 phaeton on the New England meet tour through the north shore of Long Island. The smile on his face was worth a million dollars.

[Bill Lee/Virginia]

Driving my 1930 Cabriolet (that I prepared myself) across the finish line in Mexico City, Mexico at the end of the 1995 Great North American Race.

Bill Lee/Virginia Peninsula

[tagroff]

The 28 roadster pick up I now own was bought new by my grampa. He owned an apple orchard and I can remember my brothers and I taking turns when I was around 10 hauling apples up to the bank barn and unloading them..We always talk about it whenever we have a family reunion I make sure and drive it to the reunion.