What Made You Choose The Model A Over the T

[Youngfordlover2007]

As the title says

[ronn]

The A can keep up with traffic- mostly. also nice to have a transmission.

[Ed in Maine]

I couldn't stand it, I chose both of them, 1914 T Touring, 1930 Cabriolet and 1931 Victoria. Ed

[CatMan1]

A friend of mine said that the A would be more driveable. As I look around I see Model T's I wouldn't mind having and someday I want to own one!

[WHN]

There both great cars. You really need a least one of each.

Enjoy.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Originally Posted by CatMan1

A friend of mine said that the A would be more driveable. As I look around I see Model T's I wouldn't mind having and someday I want to own one!

I am not sure I would agree with your friend. My wife Pennie & I just took our 1915 Model-T speedster on a 350 mile tour in the back country of West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. There were several 12% grades (-both up & down), along with plenty of mountainous but scenic secondary roads to test these cars on. I never put a wrench on mine the entire week. Randall Strickland who frequents here had his mid-1920s Model-T on the same tour, -and I doubt he did anything mechanical to his car during the week either. Both of our T's will easily run 50mph all day long. Even my Depot Hack, my Touring, and my daughter's boat tail speedster can do this.

Matter of fact, a couple of friends named George Akin and Dean Yoder just left Richmond, IN a couple of weeks ago and drove their Model-Ts to Spokane, WA for the national tour. Their plans are to leave the meet and drive them back home too. All of these cars I mentioned have stock appearing flathead T engines in them with babbitted bearings, ...and they are very driveable (reliable). So don't be mislead into thinking a Model-A will out-perform a T, because in most circumstances, a properly restored (prepped) Model-T can hang right in there with a Model-A. Below are a few Ts from my family's collection.


This was taken this past weekend with us on the Model-T tour in Maryland;



My wife & I on the 2018 Vagabond Tour with our Depot Hack. (We stayed at this hotel 100 years to the very date from when Henry Ford, Firestone, Edison, and Burroughs stayed there);



This was taken of my '15 Touring when we were driving the Blue Ridge Parkway & Skyline Pkwy from Blowing Rock, NC to Luray, VA. We drove 340 miles that day starting at 7:10 that morning and ending at 9:30 that evening;



My Daughter and Son with her 1925 Speedster on tour in Grand Rapids, MI.;



My son on the right in his 1926 Express pick-up, and my daughter in her speedster on a tour in Minnesota;



Me driving my son's Express pick-up and my son and his wife driving my daughter's speedster, followed by fellow Fordbarner Randall Strickland in Model-T;



.
.

.

[Mister Moose]

Because my Dad bought an A not a T. And driving in the rain. And driving in the dark. And the lack of visible T's on the road vs A's, outside of at car shows. Deserved or not, my inner voice says even though drivable, T's are more for display.

[fundytides]

Have one of each, a 27 T Touring and a 31 A Std. Roadster. Both cars are Canadian built. I drive the T regularly but am just completing a long term restoration on the A so we will see. I think I have more confidence in the A as I drove several A's in the 50's and 60's and they never let me down. The A seems like a more "regular" car. However, the T has never let me down either except the time the vaporizer plate burned through but I had another plate "in stock" so it was just a minor inconvenience. I think each of them will have their place in my driving adventures.

[Jeff/Illinois]

I've never owned or driven a Model T Ford, but I enjoy seeing them and I do appreciate them. In fact the only ones I've ever ridden in were at Dearborn Village.

I've driven a number of Model A's. Sedans ride the best. And are easier to get in and out of than Roadsters especially the Roadster PU.

[Will N]

I chose both! But an A is able to keep up with traffic on secondary roads, whereas a T is a back-roads tourer.

[CatMan1]

Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C

I am not sure I would agree with your friend. My wife Pennie & I just took our 1915 Model-T speedster on a 350 mile tour in the back country of West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. There were several 12% grades (-both up & down), along with plenty of mountainous but scenic secondary roads to test these cars on. I never put a wrench on mine the entire week. Randall Strickland who frequents here had his mid-1920s Model-T on the same tour, -and I doubt he did anything mechanical to his car during the week either. Both of our T's will easily run 50mph all day long. Even my Depot Hack, my Touring, and my daughter's boat tail speedster can do this.

Matter of fact, a couple of friends named George Akin and Dean Yoder just left Richmond, IN a couple of weeks ago and drove their Model-Ts to Spokane, WA for the national tour. Their plans are to leave the meet and drive them back home too. All of these cars I mentioned have stock appearing flathead T engines in them with babbitted bearings, ...and they are very driveable (reliable). So don't be mislead into thinking a Model-A will out-perform a T, because in most circumstances, a properly restored (prepped) Model-T can hang right in there with a Model-A. Below are a few Ts from my family's collection.


This was taken this past weekend with us on the Model-T tour in Maryland;



My wife & I on the 2018 Vagabond Tour with our Depot Hack. (We stayed at this hotel 100 years to the very date from when Henry Ford, Firestone, Edison, and Burroughs stayed there);



This was taken of my '15 Touring when we were driving the Blue Ridge Parkway & Skyline Pkwy from Blowing Rock, NC to Luray, VA. We drove 340 miles that day starting at 7:10 that morning and ending at 9:30 that evening;



My Daughter and Son with her 1925 Speedster on tour in Grand Rapids, MI.;



My son on the right in his 1926 Express pick-up, and my daughter in her speedster on a tour in Minnesota;



Me driving my son's Express pick-up and my son and his wife driving my daughter's speedster, followed by fellow Fordbarner Randall Strickland in Model-T;



.
.

.

Well, to be fair I was thinking of a '26 TT at the time so maybe that is what he meant? Nice T's there! I really should consider one someday.

[Greg Jones]

I started with a 1926 Model T Coupe that was my grandfather's daily driver. I restored it and have driven it probably 40,000 miles or so. The later 26-27 Model T's gained weight over their predecessors and you can tell it. I have driven my car at 50 mph but don't feel comfortable doing it. In modern traffic, the Model T doesn't jackrabbit off the line like modern cars and it can be unnerving to drive a Model T in heavy traffic. Looking at Brent's speedster, I have no doubt that it zips along quite well. I find the heavier later closed cars to be a bit more sluggish, shall we say. When I got my Model A, it was like upgrading to a modern car! I have a 1930 Cabriolet 68B and a 1930 Standard Coupe. At least compared to my 26 Model T Coupe, the Model A's take off from the starting line faster, most certainly have better brakes than the transmission brake on a Model T, and just generally are more manueverable in traffic. Having said that, I am looking for an early brass Model T.......

[SHEC]

Real world driving ......

[gz]

They are both great cars and I like them both for different reasons.

However, if I could only own ONE old car of any year, make, or model, it would, hands down, be a Model T.

PS- The car in my avatar has been driven over 80,000 (yes, eighty thousand) miles since I have been its caretaker including TransCon tours, Glidden Tours, all the clubs national tours,trips up and down Pikes Peak, Mount Washington, etc.

[jb-ob]

A very good friend, now deceased, had a fleet of both Model T's and Model A's. His comment....

"Had I know what a blast touring in a brass T was, I never would have bothered with Model A's".

[mgambuzza]

Selected the Model A due to it being the closest to a "modern" car, especially when I'm doing city driving (I'm in a city). I'm easily able to keep up with traffic, have good maneuverability, and within a 5-10 minute drive access to some more "rural" roads. I had looked at some Model Ts, and although I loved their simplicity, I thought I may have more issues with some of the hills and city drivers in my area. If I move to the country eventually, I may add a T to my collection(ask forgiveness not permission from the Mrs).

[Jim Brierley]

Because I don't want/have anything old! In spite of what Terry says, the A is much better if you want to drive in modern traffic. My modified A's will cruise all day long at 65 mph with no problems, and the driver and passengers are much more comfortable while doing so.

[burner31]

I'm a reincarnated Model A mechanic...So I guess that explains it

[ETAModel]

Being a big guy, I rode in a Model T once, it was really crowded in the front seat. Now the A isn't as roomy as my F150, but I'm not rubbing shoulders in the Fordor. Also the A runs closer to highway speeds than the T's I've ridden in and seen. I'm sure you can tune them to run faster than 40, but I've never seen one.

Also worked a pretty bad wreck one night when the owner of a T decided to drive it home on a 4 lane highway. The limit was 55 then, he got a nice 4 door T totaled and everyone went to the hospital.
My dad had a T as a kid, my uncle an A. Their advice was get an A, cause it can keep up better in traffic. That being said, if I found a T in great shape and affordable I might jump on it.

[nkaminar]

In an ideal world I would own a brass car and a classic. I have a soft spot for the 1915 Cadillac. For the classic, I am talking about top end cars built in the late 1920's or early 1930's. I have a soft spot for the Duesenberg. Well, I cannot afford either the Caddy or the Duesy, and I can only afford one car, so it is a Model A. I had a Model T for 12 years and really enjoyed driving it around but have always owned Model A's since I was a teenager in the 1950's and I missed owning one. So I traded in the old T for an A. The Ford dealer made me an offer I could not refuse.