The Ford Barn

oldguy41 · 08-14-2017, 06:26 PM

Back to the bricks, flint michigan, 3 days of events, then Saturday is the show down town, 25000 cars, Script A Model A Club has 40 to 50 cars coming. I picked my speeder, but if rain will drive the 28 or 31. Changed oil, new water, run it for 35 miles.

Seabees · 08-14-2017, 10:53 PM

Howdy boys, over the last few weeks I have installed an engine in a '29 model A snowbird and drove it around my field (that was fun!). Last week a club member called and asked if I could repair the seized up differential in his '30 coupe, so, reluctantly, I said yes. He had taken it to a local repair shop, they checked the rear end oil level, EMPTY! Uh oh. The shop didn't want to deal with a model A rear end, so I got the call.
I pulled it on to my trailer and took it home. Since the tires didn't screech pulling it on the trailer I thought I'd see if it would drive off. It did! I drove it in the shop, pulled the rear drums off and found the right E. brake was soaked with oil/grease. Cleaned it and the drum up, with brake cleaner, put the drum back on, filled the rear end with oil, and away she went! No damage to the diff! What luck for me! I've rebuilt a few, and it always takes more time than I think it should. And, I usually have to call Jim Brierley to help me out, since I tend to forget how to do things on occasion. Fixed the horn on this rig too, as it had a wire shorting to the conduit. Damn that's hot! I still have the blister! That poor rig needs a lot more work done to it, but, it'll have to wait until I get at least one of my Overlands running!

Bill G · 08-15-2017, 12:46 AM

Fixed a problem that has been plaguing me since I bought the car a couple months ago. Front-end had a nasty low-speed shimmy to it. Sometimes the only way to get it snapped out of it was to speed up to over 25.

Already checked toe-in and the wishbone, king pins and just about everything else I could think of, except for maybe the most obvious.

The Pittman arm was seemingly tight, but closer look revealed that while the nut looked tight, it had a definite wobble to it from around the shaft. Quite a bit, actually. I really had to reef on it to get it tight, but no more shimmy. Not even a hint!

Tony Hillyard · 08-15-2017, 01:31 AM

Magicbox51. I had exactly the same on my '28 Roadster. A very nasty shimmy at certain speeds. Tightened the pitman arm and no more shimmy!!!!

TRP · 08-20-2017, 10:27 AM

Yesterday I swapped out the gear oil in the transmission, the Borg Warner, and the banjo. I noticed right off the bat that gear changes were a lot more smooth. Im going to take the car out today to see if I can master the downshift.

Ray in La Mesa · 08-20-2017, 01:22 PM

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Moved our s/w and found a ripped black rubber ball under neath,guessed it came from the front radius rod ball by a previous restorer. Pulled the caps expecting to find them repro, but, I found the original caps had been installed upside down, letting the ball flop around. Installed the caps correctly and all is well, fortunately a cheap fix.

john charlton · 08-20-2017, 03:05 PM

Have had an annoying rattle from under the hood . I think I traced it to the throttle link rod touching the GAV rod sleeve . Delicately bent the Tilly throttle arm for a clearance . No time for a test run today so it will be tommorrow (this is one word I am never sure if I spell it right !!! )

John in dark cool evening Suffolk County England .

Jwilli · 08-20-2017, 07:31 PM

New brakes on the front of my 30 Murray fordor.

08-14-2017, 06:26 PM	#101
oldguy41 Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Holly, Michigan Posts: 30	Re: What did you do working on you Model A today Back to the bricks, flint michigan, 3 days of events, then Saturday is the show down town, 25000 cars, Script A Model A Club has 40 to 50 cars coming. I picked my speeder, but if rain will drive the 28 or 31. Changed oil, new water, run it for 35 miles.

08-14-2017, 10:53 PM	#102
Seabees Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: Eastern Oregon Posts: 204	Re: What did you do working on you Model A today Howdy boys, over the last few weeks I have installed an engine in a '29 model A snowbird and drove it around my field (that was fun!). Last week a club member called and asked if I could repair the seized up differential in his '30 coupe, so, reluctantly, I said yes. He had taken it to a local repair shop, they checked the rear end oil level, EMPTY! Uh oh. The shop didn't want to deal with a model A rear end, so I got the call. I pulled it on to my trailer and took it home. Since the tires didn't screech pulling it on the trailer I thought I'd see if it would drive off. It did! I drove it in the shop, pulled the rear drums off and found the right E. brake was soaked with oil/grease. Cleaned it and the drum up, with brake cleaner, put the drum back on, filled the rear end with oil, and away she went! No damage to the diff! What luck for me! I've rebuilt a few, and it always takes more time than I think it should. And, I usually have to call Jim Brierley to help me out, since I tend to forget how to do things on occasion. Fixed the horn on this rig too, as it had a wire shorting to the conduit. Damn that's hot! I still have the blister! That poor rig needs a lot more work done to it, but, it'll have to wait until I get at least one of my Overlands running!

08-15-2017, 12:46 AM	#103
Bill G Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Walla Walla, WA Posts: 1,045	Re: What did you do working on you Model A today Fixed a problem that has been plaguing me since I bought the car a couple months ago. Front-end had a nasty low-speed shimmy to it. Sometimes the only way to get it snapped out of it was to speed up to over 25. Already checked toe-in and the wishbone, king pins and just about everything else I could think of, except for maybe the most obvious. The Pittman arm was seemingly tight, but closer look revealed that while the nut looked tight, it had a definite wobble to it from around the shaft. Quite a bit, actually. I really had to reef on it to get it tight, but no more shimmy. Not even a hint!

08-15-2017, 01:31 AM	#104
Tony Hillyard Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Pleines Oeuvres, Normandy, France Posts: 194	Re: What did you do working on you Model A today Magicbox51. I had exactly the same on my '28 Roadster. A very nasty shimmy at certain speeds. Tightened the pitman arm and no more shimmy!!!!

08-20-2017, 10:27 AM	#105
TRP Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: San Francisco, Bay Area Posts: 101	Re: What did you do working on you Model A today Yesterday I swapped out the gear oil in the transmission, the Borg Warner, and the banjo. I noticed right off the bat that gear changes were a lot more smooth. Im going to take the car out today to see if I can master the downshift.

08-20-2017, 01:22 PM	#106
Ray in La Mesa Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: La Mesa Ca Posts: 1,166	Re: What did you do working on you Model A today Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Moved our s/w and found a ripped black rubber ball under neath,guessed it came from the front radius rod ball by a previous restorer. Pulled the caps expecting to find them repro, but, I found the original caps had been installed upside down, letting the ball flop around. Installed the caps correctly and all is well, fortunately a cheap fix.

08-20-2017, 03:05 PM	#107
john charlton Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 1,304	Re: What did you do working on you Model A today Have had an annoying rattle from under the hood . I think I traced it to the throttle link rod touching the GAV rod sleeve . Delicately bent the Tilly throttle arm for a clearance . No time for a test run today so it will be tommorrow (this is one word I am never sure if I spell it right !!! ) John in dark cool evening Suffolk County England .

08-20-2017, 07:31 PM	#108
Jwilli Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Kennesaw, Ga Posts: 511	Re: What did you do working on you Model A today New brakes on the front of my 30 Murray fordor.