What drove you towards the Model A hobby?

[Steve Plucker]

What drove you towards the Model A hobby and not some other type of vehicle?

I was 8 years old when I was hooked. Used to sit in the drivers seat of our 1928-29 Closed Cab Pickup on the ranch and pretend to be driving it. Used to pull rye for a farmer friend of mine down the road and he had a restored 1928 Open Cab Pickup and used to take me for rides...I was really hooked then. He had a 1929 Standard Coupe in the barn that he was going to restore someday (how many times have we heard that?). One day in 1966 he asked me if I would like the coupe if I promised to restore it and not turn it into a hot rod. I said yes and was soon the proud owner of two 1929's. A Standard Coupe and a Closed Cab Pickup...all for $250.00.

Fourteen years later, 1980, I took my farmer friend for a ride in the coupe. He had a smile that went from ear to ear when I showed it to him for the first time since I had bought it. I will never forget that smile.

Pluck

[JoeWay]

I worked for my Dad the spring and summer I turned 15, in 1962. In the fall, he bought me a Model A as payment. Simple as that.

He was into old cars. He built a '24 T speedster which I have now, and for many years owned a nicely restored 1915 Dodge touring. Other old cars came and went. So I was raised in an old car environment. But the Model A was mine, and it stuck with me. I mean that literally; it's the one in my avatar and I still have it.

Joe

[JtownJoe]

Actually I had a 34 Ford V8 4 door when I was in high school in 63/64 & always wanted another one just like it, but just couldn't put that much $ into an old car hobby so I settled for the next best thing, my 30 Tudor & I still just love these old cars!

[Logan]

I've been in model a's my whole life. My grandpa bought his first model a when he was 12 years old in 1945, and has only spent 9 years since then w/o a model a. He bought the car i drive now in 1959, and since then has restored it twice, and put over 50,000 since its last restoration. Then my brother and i came along in 1993 and he knew he had to pass on the hobby. He has taken me to over 20 national and regional meets, and now it almost seems like i have started taking him along since i drive now. (around 8000 miles under my belt in a little more than a year) He is almost 77 now and has slowed down a lot, but always goes on the tours with us still. He has put the model a fever in my blood, and it will stick for the rest of my life. I will forever be gratefull to him for getting me into this wonderfull hobby.

[Roadster62]

Dad graduated High School in 1932, and thought a used '31 Roadster would be a great graduation present. Didn't get one until 1961, I wanted a Model T at that time. Still have both of them now plus the Roadster I found in 1962.

[TerryH]

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In 1963 when I was ready to get my first car, several of my friends just happened to have Model A's.....just drivers, nothing really special. I instantly became attracted to them and found myself looking for one. Found a one owner 1930 Standard Coupe in San Diego, and bought it for $360. The fun part was having my dad help me pull the engine and have a long block completed....I had no idea my dad knew anything about cars....but he had grown up with Model T's and A's.

[MikeK]

I was registered at an auction because I wanted to bid on a Packard. A Ford 40B was up on deck for the block. Wife thought it was real cute. Went home with the 40B. The Packard, in better condition, sold for 10K less. Started collecting spare "A" parts. Then the wife also wanted a 4dr. Enter, 160B.

[Jack '29 Sport Coupe]

Great question, Steve! I was 17 when I fell in love with my classmate's coupe. He was going off to college and needed to sell the car. My dad was going to give me 200.00 bucks to put toward a car for my 16th. birthday. That just happened to be
the amount of the coupe. Dad wouldn't allow me to have the Model A because he
was sure that I wanted to hot rod the car. He was dead wrong, but I couldn't convince him otherwise. I wound up with an old Chevy but never forgot the coupe.
At 19 I got a great job with a major corporation, and bought my first A a year later.
That was the longest four year wait of my life! Before dad died, he apologized for not
understanding my love for the A.

Jack

[Chris Haynes]

In 1961 when I was 151/2 I bought my first car. It was a $125.00 1931 Sport Coupe. There hasn't been one day of my life since then that I haven't owned a Model A.

[Kevin - Illinois]

Can't say I was driven to the hobby, more like I was inspired by my Dad who's first car was a 31 coupe in 1939.

[cradlescyth]

I envey you guys that have had A's in your life since youth.
I'm still looking for my first. Have loved them all my life but
other things got in the way. Soon Soon!!

[peters180a/170b]

Started in 1974 at age 19] [the high price of "GAS" 74 cents a gallon]that left me from racing to a old car. Turned out to be a 1931 Tudor sedan 1/2 restored. $1,550.00 later it was mine.Seem cool at the time since my friend had a late "T" coupe [26/27?] to drive to high school in 1970. Stuck with it ever since. Now at age 56 i just finished a 7 year project[180a] and now start fixing a 1930 standard Brigg fordor[170b] for driving. BUT i think it was going 120+ miles per hour in the 1/4 mile on the strip and the street racing that did it. Needed to slow down some..l.o.l.

[30ccpickup]

I have always wanted a 1930-31 pickup. My father had passed away a couple of years ago and my mom gave each of us kids $5,000. I promised myself I would do something fun with the money. My son was turning sixteen and I thought it would be fun to buy him a car, something I could help him work on. The more I looked the more I got the car fever. In our search we went to look at an old mustang and it was parked next to a Model T speedster. That’s when I broke, and that’s when I thought “why am I buying him car, It will be much more fun if I bought myself a car and he can help me work on it.” My wife, the good woman that she is, backed the idea, and made me promise not to just settle for any old car, but to buy the one I have always wanted. A year later I found my pickup.

[Aerocraft]

I have been told that my first ride home from the hospital as a newborn was in Dad's '31 40B. As an interested child, he gave me pictures of that car which also had been the folk's honeymoon transportation. It seemed natural at 16 when I began driving (1952) for me to locate and buy my own Roadster. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one I could afford so I settled for a $50 '30 Cabriolet. In 1959 I upgraded to a better "A"; this time a $125 '30 Coupe (couldn't afford a roadster) which later became our honeymoon car. I still own the Coupe and have used it to bring my now adult children (and grandchildren) home from the hospital as new babies. I 1998 I was hit by a speeding Honda while I was jogging and decided, while in the emergency room, that, if I survived, 1998 was the time I could afford a Roadster. A nice '31 40B identical to my Dad's car showed up in our driveway later that summer. Gar Williams

[Keith True]

I had one given to me by my uncle in 1968 when I was 12.It was an early 31 coupe with a box installed in place of the rumble.The box was made by a factory in Amesbury Mass,but the car was the family truck,tractor,and car all in one.The box had been beaten so badly the rear quarters were rubbing the tires.He had parked it in 1954 when he went off to get educated,and after his career took off he figured he was never going to need it again.Fast forward 40 years or so,he was looking at my roadster pickup and asked what I ever did with the A he had given me.I told him that was it.It is on it's third body,(original coupe,closed cab pkp,and now rdstr pkp)and it's second frame.The original was kinked badly from hauling firewood and rocks on the farm.He had expected me to tear it apart and learn on it,then wind up scrapping it,as kids all did then.He went home to California and a few weeks later my mother got a package from him in the mail.It was the original horn he had taken off when he went off to school.Everybody stole those things back then so he took it with him.It sat on his desk throughout his career as a rep for various construction manufacturers.I had the motor rewound,but I will not paint over the faded original paint.Before that car I had no interest in things mechanical,after I got it the only thing that came close was girls.I had a friend that used to tell people I had kept the A because they don't make A's any more,but they make new girls every day.That car got me started on what I do today.I learned early on I really didn't want to work on newer cars for a living,but but tractors,equipment,trucks,drill rigs,forestry equipment,and old cars were fine and I still do it today.

[Gary/IA]

Childhood memories of back in the 1940's riding in the family A. Just never got those memories out of my system so I bought one of my own in '71, now I have two.

[SteveM]

Our family has always been into cars.

My dad bought the coupe about 25 years ago from the second owner. He did the restoration on it. Eventually he decided he needed the space in the garage, so he gave it to me about 12 years ago. I didn't have the money to register or insure it at the time, so it sat for about 5 years. Once I started playing around with it, I got addicted.

Steve

[raceron1120]

Originally Posted by cradlescyth

I envey you guys that have had A's in your life since youth. I'm still looking for my first. Have loved them all my life but other things got in the way. Soon Soon!!

Sounds like my story too. I wish I had gotten one sooner but now that the kids are gone and retirement looms on the horizon I figure it's about time for one before it's too late.

I got my high school car done (my avatar). My son picked up a complete & unmolested '47 SuperDeluxe Fordor a year or so ago and we were thinking of restoring it but it's not really what either of us wants so might consider trading it off. I'm leaning toward an A (1st preference) or maybe a '42-'47 pickup project.

Don't know much about either model but I guess learning about them will be part of the challenge.

[ford31]

My uncle had a 31 coupe which I loved riding in but lived in St Louis about 160 miles away from Eldon and at that time was a railroad town our neighbor a railroader drove his 29 standard coupe to work, well he retired and walking to school noticed a for sale sign in window year maybe 1960 not yet old enough for lic but asked neighbor how much which he knew I couldn't buy anything said 25.00 that was more than I ever saw living with my grandparents and my grandmother at that time babysit to keep us going and I worked when could find something so I did mention to her about the A she made payments on 25.00 and have model a ever since,now have a 31 pickup

[roadster]

I was 14 years old my brother towed home a Model T Ford that
needed a lot of work.

He told me how he was going to fix this car up and run it.

He got me excited about it and I started reading all about the
Model T. In my reading I came across the Model A Ford and
I said I liked the Model A better.

At 15 years old I found a Model A Roadster for sale $75.00 (in 1953)
that started it. I now have 7 Model A's but not my first one.
1931 Roadster
1931 Cabrolet
1931 Pickup
1930 Coupe
1930 coupe
1929 Town Sedan
1929 Tudor

[Ray A from PA]

Restored tractors for years, then one day the light came on and I remembered my youth when I worked with my Dad in his garage. That was in the 40's and 50's when there were many Model A's still being used as every day drivers. I was inspired again, to get back to those years. So I bought my first A. A 29 Special Coupe, now I have 2 A's.

[Dennis Pereira]

I drove by my 29 standard coupe project on my way to work for over twenty years. The coupe had become a target on the side of a hill. Started on restoration about 3 years ago. Also have a 1928 closed cab pickup waiting for me to start on. My neighbor has 28 sport coupe from the same ranch that he bought 30 years ago I'm ahead of him ha ha.

[1931 flamingo]

got my first A, 29 sport coupe $100 about 1959-60, 2nd was a roadster 29 $75, . Then into 32,37 ,40 fords, etc. Sold e/thing in 72 when got married. Been out of work 16 mo (who's counting, $790 billion stimulous and NO jobs). I've been looking about 6-7 years for a p/up but settled on a late 31 tudor about 2 1/2 mo ago. Mainly because they're affordable and fun. I'm enjoying
Paul in CT

[Ron Lowe]

Dad had a 30 coupe always under the car-port, so as a child I would play on it and in it. I remember hot days laying on the fenders and running boards to keep cool. My first night to sleep away from our house was in the front seat. Many rides in the rumble to get ice cream. Today I'm 53 and own a 30 coupe, Dad is 86 and owns a 30 Roadster

[Jerry Parr WI]

In the late 50's my father-in-law was working part time in a used car lot. My wife and I were desperate for a car, so when a 29 Coupe was traded in he gave it to us. We drove it as an everyday car for some time. Years later in 1972 a friend decided to sell his 1930 Coupe and we decided to get back into Model A's. Still have the Coupe and some additions.

[Bruce]

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I think I got a spell put on me ... or I got a broken gene from my great grandfather who had the first car (a Model A -- the one with the wicker baskets) in Decatur Illinois ... or it was something that I ate. In fact, love happens.

[Robert/Texas]

My first Model A trip was in 1934 on the drive home from the hospital in the family 1930 2-door. Below is a picture of me and the car about four years later. My father built me the 6 foot pram (on top of the car).


I bought a nice '28 roadster in 1954 and had it for a couple of years (no pictures though). Now I have 2 A's, a '28 AR open pickup and a '28 roadster. Both are drivers.

[V4F]

to old & to broke to do anything else ..................... steve

[Clem Clement]

Daddy had 4 Model A's. His bud offered me an AA but no place to keep it. In 75 a fellow who worked for me said his bud was selling an A pickup next spring. a week later the bud's wife wanted it gone, so we dug out 4 foot of snow in front of the garage and it followed me home. Clem

[Brubaker]

Memories of riding around the apple ranch clinging to the spare tire well of a '28(or '29) PU. My uncles bought it from their shop teacher 'Mr. Hanies'. To this day, 'Mr Hanies'(the truck) survives. We also had(have) an Overland.
I finally acquired mine through marriage(father-in-laws). I think the real reason I am drawn to A's is the restoration aspect. Makes me feel like I'm saving a little bit of history.

[Glenn C.]

The first car that my dad bought me when I turned 14yrs. was a 1928 Briggs Body 60A Fordor. This car I still own, but is in a full frame off restoration. Too many pigeons and mice took it's toll over the years in storage. As he did not like the Copra Drab color of paint, he had me paint it with a brush, Fire Engine Red with bright yellow wheels. Looked neat for a couple of years, then it went yuc. As he did not want me to get into the mechanics to much with it.......I bought a non running 35 Ford Coupe for $5.00 to learn about "What makes it tick". (Wish I still had that car)Mechanical then became a way of life

[Steve Wastler]

I wanted a street rod at age 11, bought many books and liked the 'A' best, mowed a lot of grass and saved all my money. Found a 29 roadster in '81 at age 13 got it home and deceided it was too nice to make a rod out of it. Early on, I had slowly been replacing the repro crappy parts of the 70's and it segued into finding good originals then mint originals and n.o.s. parts. Roadster has been in a state of preservation, not fully restored, but a nice driver. Bought an almost abandoned farm house 6 years ago, focus was on that, but always was interested in the unique body styles of A'S hence the start of the hunt for the unrestored mail truck, three years later, with much joy I found it. I am hoping to have my third when I win the MAFFI raffle sedan. LOL ...

[marc hildebrant]

In the 1960's, my father bought an old Edison record player. As he collected more machines/records, I started to catalog the records for him.

Since I had to play them, I found that I realy liked old music. From that, I found old antiques and things had a special place in my heart.

In college, I got a 1933 Chev. from my parents as a Christmas Present. It fit right in with the liking of "old" things. Along the way, I found that parts were not easy to find, but Model A parts were easy and cheap to get.

When our family started, I sold the old chev. as I had no money/time/space to work on cars. Family comes first......

Now that all the kids (5) have left home, I was looking again for a fun old car again as I still like old antiques !

The Model A seemed good as the parts are still easy to find.

Marc

[Tacoma Bob]

In 1954 at age 5 I walked what seemed a million miles with my Dad to pick up his newly acquired 30 ccpu. It was a gas station attendant truck and was beat to death. Dad bought it just to have something to go to the dump with. He parked it in the garage in 1962 with the promise it would be mine someday. I started tinkering with it about 1966 and by 1968 sporting a dirt ally paint job (not bad either) I was on my way. Although I eventually went the chevy V-8 route with it I have been forever bitten by the bug. My second A was a29 Tudor that I also streetrodded. Miss Wilma and I bought our 30 Tudor some seven years ago and love the hell out it four banger and all.

[anut]

about 1940 my older brother got out of the ccc camp baught a 1930 vicky we lived on a farm with a big barn and barn lot when no one was around i would drive around barn in first and second gear have loved model ays ever since am now working on number 7

[HoarseWhisperer]

I was motivated to obtain a Model A, just so I could see the look on their face when I drove into a Ford Dealer and ask for warranty service.

[asapguy]

Got my 1st 30 Cp in 1958 when I was 15 for $90. It had hyd. brakes & a sheet for a headliner. Built the 4 banger with a Super Winfield head two 94's. Always had at least one Model A since. We now have 5 & won't be w/o one. We've had collector cars from 1911(EMF) through 62 Corvetts but still love the Model A's.

[Terry, NJ]

On our family farm, we had two Mod AA trucks in the fifties and early sixties. At the time, I just thought of them as old junk from a past era that had been retained too long. You could see the ground trough the floor, one door was permanently shut with bailing wire. Everthing imaginable was wrong with them. But they ran and hauled stuff. And had been running for thirty some years with a minimum of maintenace. A fact that was nearly lost on me. Nearly, but not quite. You got an admiration for these old battle scarred warhorses. Not long after, My Cousin gave up the kind of farming that required them and parted them out.
Terry

[Ron/IA]

My Mom drove a '29 Coupe in high school, and for three years after graduation till in 1946 when she married Dad; they traded the A Coupe for a '46 Ford. In 1951 it was traded for a Chevy and their personal cars from then on were GM; but they never forgot the A Coupe and the '46 Ford. Dad was a machinist's mate in WW II, and was an excellant mechanic; rebuilding all of the farm's tractors for better power and reliability.

My interest in Model A's began when one Saturday in 1968 (I was 19 at the time), he annouced he and I were going to a farm sale. I figured he had his eye on a tractor or some implement for the farm, but to my surprised he went there to look at a Model A; a 1929 Fordor. We hauled it home that day, and spent many days and hours restoring it. Besides being a good mechanic, Dad was an equally skilled wood-worker. The top had rotted out of the A, and consequently the interior was destroyed too. He fashioned all the replacement wood for the top and interior, and then working with a local lady who recovered furniture; we replaced the interior. It turned out (too me) just as good as today's brand-name interior kits you can buy. Mechanically the A was in decent condition; it just needed tightening up, new seals, some bearings, etc., due to the many miles it traveled over the years. We were fortunate to find a '31 engine that was in good condition and only needed some rebuilding to make it fresh. After finishing it and driving it to the county courthouse, Dad transfered the title to me. Ever since, I have manitained and driven it. That was 41-years ago, and although Dad passed away in 2002; I know he is still with me in that A and knows I learned a lot from him. Although I have looked at others, it is the only A I have ever owned. Now my daughter gets her fingers greasy right along with me; keeping the A running. Next is her learning to drive it, and again Dad will be along to help.

[Cletus]

I have always thought A's were pretty neat. Of course, I'm younger (32) so most I have ever seen were restored. I happened to talking to an older friend of mine over a cold beverage and I mentioned something about an A. He said he had one out in his storage shop that he hadn't driven for 8 or 10 years. Well, me being interested in it prompted him to get his 1930 coupe out of storage. Seeing his car all of the time, prompted me to get more serious. Fast forward to Oct. 2008, I bought a 1931 Fordor. I'm currently in the middle of a complete restoration. My avatar is a pic before I started the tear down.

[Earle]

My Dad bought a very used '31 Dlx Rdstr for $50 in about 1936 while in high school in Wilkes Barre, PA. He courted my future Mom with it (Model A Roadsters are chick magnets - lucky for me!) and they got married in 1940. He drove the car until he was drafted into the Army in 1942 and then "put it up on blocks" in his garage as he shipped out for Europe.

He returned home from WW II in 1945 (also lucky for me!) and when he took his old friend (the roadster of course!) out for a spin, she threw a rod straight through the side of the block (metallic age embrittlement or dry bearings from non-use?? There's a lesson there!). - Off to the junk yard. It broke his heart - no money to get it repaired with a family (me!) on the way.

Fast-forward to 1983 when Dad got the bug to look for a '31 roadster "just like the one he had as a kid". We found a very-poorly "restored" roadster at Renninger's in the PA Dutch Country (Bird-in-Hand) in 1984 and bought it (for significantly more than $50.00!! We think we got taken for a ride (though not with dishonest intent) even before we had a restored, operating Model A to ride in!!. We were eager and naive. But after that, Gene and Dave Renninger were good friends and a great source of parts, books and restoration advice even to this day! (Dave now - as Gene has sadly passed on).

Dad and I then spent some of the best times we ever spent together over the following five years "restoring" the car to the best of our ability but we sure learned how very much we didn't know. No Ford Barn back then and few "how-to" books that we knew of. But lots of "friends" and "helpers" who offered lots of incorrect advice and help. But we got her into basic "drivable" shape - with extremely poor brakes and a criminally-poor engine rebuild job we got ripped off for in NJ.

From the poor out-sourced workmanship, rip-off prices and resulting poor road performance and on-going engine problems, Dad lost his excitement in the car and it sat unused in his NJ garage until he passed away in 2001. This all left a very sour taste in my mouth and a strong level of anger and impatience for any supplier or "restoration shop" in the Model A hobby that is either incompetent of dishonest toward their customers. That's what destroyed my Dad's dream.

I brought the car to my home in Delaware in 2001 and have worked to correct our earlier efforts and correctly complete the restoration - for real, this time. And I have tons of gratitude and credit to pass on Ora Landis at Schwalm's Babbitted Bearings in Strasburg, PA. His absolutely honest and thoroughly-expert approach to his work has helped me get the car completely straightened out in the engine, fuel system, drive train and electrical departments. What a professional to have the privilige to work with.

So, I caught my Dad's original love for the Model A in general - and the whole era of the 30's and 40's where it "grew up". And, all the fun I've had restoring her and driving her with my supportive wife (tours, parades, shows, grandchildren's ice cream safaris, etc.) has me hooked. I'm hoping I can get one of the grandchildren seriously hooked (not just the "cutesy/novelty" factor) and pass on this historic heirloom and love of the hobby to him (or her!).

Earle

[Jason in TX]

A hot rod show made me aware of Model As, but it was the helpfulness of my local Model A club that got me interested in keeping them stock.

I've always wanted an old car since I was 8 years old but never knew which model. My first car came at around age 22 and was a 1948 Plymouth. It was a great car. I drove it around to a few local cruise nights but no one seemed interested. During that time I also acquired a low mileage original 37 Plymouth. Dallas also has next to no one interested in 30s - 40s MoPars. I was a lost soul at the time.

I went to a large hot rod show in Las Vegas and fell in love with the Model A coupe hot rods. I had to have one. I started looking on eBay and found someone selling a very nice original coupe from Modesto, CA. We struck up a deal to trade even my 1948 Plymouth for the 1931 Coupe. I met him half way in Arizona, we both took the cars for a spin around the parking lot and the deal was made.

When I got home with my new toy, I could barely get it to run. I started doing my research and got in touch with some people in the Dallas Model A club to help me get it running. I think the saving grace was that a few people pushed me to jump right in and start driving the car with them on tours. So I did, rather than take the car apart and possibly head off in the wrong direction with it.

Lots of miles under the old coupe, I was hooked on the Model A hobby. Learning about the differences in body styles, parts used, year differences, everything. I couldn't read and learn enough about them.

Then along came the opportunity to buy my 1930 Cabriolet. I sold the 37 Plymouth and became a true and true Ford man. I've now began hopping up my original Ford coupe the way a teenager would have done in the late 40s and I'm still enjoying the Model A hobby with my Cabriolet. So in the long run, I came out with a great appreciation for all things Model A and also for the ways they have brought familys together both spatially and emotionally.

[1930artdeco]

Dad got into Model A's in HS as that was what he could afford. He had gone through two coupes and had a AA truck along with the sedan when I came along. I was born into the local Model A club and must have liked it-as I stayed in the hobby. Dad sold the AA in the early 70's but kept the sedan. The sedan was daily driver in the early 80's taking mom to and from work when the other cars died.

When I graduated from College in '95 he gave me the car-so long as I did not sell it or hot rod it-no problem there. I went to the Dallas meet and got rehooked on A's and vowed to get the car up to the Vancouver meet this year. 3 grand later we will be on our way in July to Canada!!!

Mike

[Thom IV]

Model A Fords were still plentiful & popular in the 1940's. There was a 29 roadster for $90.00 that i wanted very badly. Dad said "NO!" Bought a 30 tudor for $50.00 when a senior in high school. Later in life purchased a pick up in great condition. Just recently I finally got my roadster. Had to let the pick up go to make room. Figured I better do it before it was too late.

[Tom Foster]

When I was a teen in the '50s they were still fairly common on the roads. I fancied myself a hot rodder and wanted one for years, but had to wait until after college to buy one. We found a daily-driver '31 CC pickup in CC -- Corpus Christi, Texas. We bought it, found out its name was George, and used George two weeks later to help us move back to San Antonio. I had planned to put a V8 in it but learned that would be more work than I felt comfortable attempting, plus my Dad said if I keep it stock he would help with the expenses. Three months later my wife found Martha, our '30 Standard Coupe, behind a service station in San Marcos, and she's still in the family today, 46 years later. We also have a '29 roadster, a driver and parade car, and a '31 Tudor that's currently awaiting bodywork. Oh. George? He went down the road a few years later with a 'friend' who promptly sold him at a profit.
Fearless

[Ray in La Mesa]

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When I 4-5 years old the old Italion neighbor had a'29 A panel delivery. He grew fruit & flowers for the Los Angeles produce market. He used the A to deliver his products and would start it up every morning at 3:30-4:00 about 40' from my bedroom window.Sometimes I heard it, sometimes my subconcious did so the loveable chug of the Model A was ingrained in my mind before I even new it. I couldn't fight it so have loved them all my life. He traded the A in on a new 1954 Ford two door station wagon so I never had a chance to own it.

[Dennis L Oberer]

My Grandfather had several A's and I remember him when I drive mine.

Dennis L Oberer
Green Bay WI

[Barry B./ Ma.]

Back in 1979 I saw a picture in Automobile Quarterly of a 28 Model A Special coupe that really appealed to me. The next year I found a 29 Special coupe and did an amateur restoration. Although I've had several A's since I still have the coupe and it's been a Model A hobby ever since.

[roccaas]

Georgia Tech Grad, always wanted a convertible. Bought a Cabriolet.

[stevematta]

I'm new to the hobby and bought this truck - my first A just a few years ago. I owned a coffee company and wanted an old truck that would turn heads to draw attention to my business. This lil truck did the trick! But as the economy started to slow down, the demand for fresh roasted beans disappeared, I started spending more time with the truck and less time with the coffee roaster.

I'd love to own a larger Model A that could haul my whole family...but I guess that will have to wait until I retire!

[John Butts in CT]

Great thread!

Where to start?

I was born in '52. I recall several older cousins and friends of my parents who had "A's," either as daily drivers or "in the shed to be restored some day." A 1929 Fordor (nicknamed "Methuselah,") lived across the street fom me.

In '67 I acquired my first (and current) ride... a late '31 Tudor. At that time you could purchase 4.75/5.00 X 19 tires off the rack at the local Firestone store, and a visit to the local garage on a Saturday morning (if you could stand the cigar smoke) allowed a "kid" to learn about "A's" and, err, "stuff" from the "old-timers." (Much like Fordbarn today.... except for the cigar smoke.)

Anyway... I introduced my college girlfriend to my Ford in '71. Since '31, my Ford has morphed from Thorne Browne to rustbucket to Ford Maroon to Brewster Green, and from "my Ford" to "our Ford." That '71 girlfriend is still my wife, and remains remarkably unchanged. Today's our 36th anniversary. Our sons and future daughter-in-law tolerate my fixation with the "A." All's well.

In closing, if you're ever called upon to explain the allure of the "A," think of this: "If cars were dogs, Model 'A' Fords would be Golden Retriever puppies." 'Nuf said?

[Brian SATX]

I was in high school- 1966- and saved enough money to get a used car. I wanted a 56 Chev. My dad would not let me spend $250 on a 10 year old car but we found a 1929 Town Sedan that he let me spend it on!! Been hooked ever since.

[Jim Baskin III Pa.]

Here goes.The year is 2002,youngest son Matthew joins Marine Corp.Me and the misses are empty nesters.My wife owns her own business and isn't home much,I'm totally bored.My brilliant mind come up with the idea to restore another willys jeep(did one in 1977)maybe a 2A-3A or 3B not sure.Start looking around but nothing in my want to pay price range.My father-in-law calls me one evening,here you are looking for a project,yep Carl I am.Well I got this old car sitting in the corner of the garage at home.Its a 1930 Model A.Ok I say what is a model A.He says come over tomorrow and you can see for yourself.Next morning with little enthusiasm I go the whole 3 miles to see this Model A thing.Little did I know Carl has been moving stuff,boxes and whatever for 2hrs before I got there just so I could get a good look at this old,old,old car.I pull in the driveway to the garage,Carl comes out from the side door around the front.I get out of my truck and as I start walking,Carl opens the far left overhead door.The morning sun is now directly shinning on this old,old,old car.No hood,no engine,no front fenders or rear.No radiator or radiator shell.but the body(30 tudor) is on the frame,oh yea four flat tires.The stuff that is not attached to the car is inside the body.So its all there.Now there is one thing that I never anticipated and that was that old,old,old car shot one of Cupids arrows right thru my heart and the rest is history.I now own 3 model A's and a Model T.THANK YOU CARL you changed my life forever and I an eternally great-full.The only sad thing about this story is Carl never got to see the finished car as he died in 2004,one year before I finished and got her on the road.

[Karl]

For me I've always loved old cars but always believed if I had one that I should use it . The Model A was a clear winner in terms of availability of parts. Can you name another car from the 1930 s (excluding other Fords) that has the range of repo and original parts that we can get . Much as I might drool over some of the more exotic cars from the 1920/30s none of them are as usable or repairable as the Model A -Karl

[Jason in TX]

Cool story! But how did you never know your father in law had that in his garage??? If my wife's parents had an old car in the garage, I'd be all over it!

[Jim Baskin III Pa.]

Originally Posted by Elrod

Cool story! But how did you never know your father in law had that in his garage??? If my wife's parents had an old car in the garage, I'd be all over it!

Elrod,Carl had a 5 bay garage(with partitions between each bay) and I never heard him talk about the Model A.Beside I was into jeeps.I have owned 11 of them.

[Jason in TX]

Makes sense! Sounds like it was buried deep under a lot of stuff!

[d.j. moordigian]

My parents thought I needed something to tear-apart and work on(I was 13) , that was a 1917 Model T , 2 yrs later it was sold after making it run (the mag didn't work so I hooked it up to my model train transformer-couldn't travel very far). Next came the 1928 roadster in 1965, still have the car. I like the T's, most of the parts are not as heave to pick-up! Dudley

[Fred K-OR]

My first A was a pile of parts given to my brother and I. It was a 29 CCPU but had no bed, motor was out of it, no top, and was a mess. We let it set around for a few years and the weather did not do it any good.

Then in my high school years (the 1950's), I stated to get the old pickup put together. I took an engine from a 29 two door I purchased from my cousin for $50 that was running and some other parts and got the old pickup running. I did not like all the "junk" on it like fenders, running boards and a few other things so they had to go. Then I wanted a "topless" rig so cut the top off just above the bottom of the windows. Did not need the windshield and had to have a straight pipe come out through the top of the hood. This was a "rod" I only ran around on my dad's farm.





The above picture shows (I hope it worked) the rod in the 1950's.

Then about a year and one half ago I thought it was about time to do something with the old rig. So without a body to work with, I decided to make it into a huckster and get a wooden body for it. So the picture below (I hope again it works) shows the end result.




So that is where I am at with Model A's

[Franchise_24]

I was hooked at birth. Parents had a 1930 Model A Ford Deluxe Town Sedan. I've heard stories of my diaper being changed on the running boards during stops. I've been hooked ever since, and now I have the '29 Coupe, and my 2 year old is hooked already as well. It's a great hobby!

Neal

[tamagrouchy]

My father and grandfathers were Model A maniacs, I was hooked when I was 9 and got to drive dads coupe-ster. He couldn't afford a roadster so he "made" one. In this picture is my grandfather, sister and myself around 1976.

[Tony S,Fl.]

Bought my 29 Tudor with 43000 miles on it and it was 11 years old in summer of 1940. Model A Joe was located across from the Ford Highland Park Plant. Had a big sign out front. Any Model on lot $65.00. I bought the Tudor because the excellant condition it was in. Got drafted in 43 then my brother took over. He got drafted and my sister took over. Ahh! after she drove it a while they had to put in a rebuilt Sears engine to the tune of $85.00. Tony

[Ed Saniewski]

My father owned a drug store and one of his customers Mr. Appio had a 1931 closed cab pick up. I would always ask to go on deliveries to his house just to see the truck. It was the big round shiny headlights that I always remember. About 10 years ago I was over a friends house discussing my fire departments 1926 American La France fire engine and I mentioned I always loved the look of a model A. He told me I should meet John Hunter a local guy who was into model A's. That was the beginning of a great friendship.

[296 V8]

I found one in the blackberry's

[Richard/Ca]

When my brother gave me his in 1961. He brought it in the mid-50's for $25.00 with a spare motor. He drove the wheels off of it. My brothers all 7 always had an assortment of T's and A's in the 40's and 50's.

[Colorado Greg]

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I recently purchased a '29 Coupe in April of 2010 from my Dad. My Dad purchased this car in 1968 (I was only 6). My Granddad and Dad restored the car by 1972, but I was too young to have much interest. My parents got divorced and my father and the car moved 1200 miles away to California. I went to school in California and drove this car 30 miles one way to school in the early 80's. The car has not been drive 200 miles since then. I probably have racked up more total miles on this car then my Dad.

I went on to drag racing with my stepdad ('67 belvedere and a '48 Anglia, supergasser) and motorcycle racing (off road). It's a good thing I didn't have this can then as I was a speed freak! Now that I'm older I appreciate the original car and intend to keep it like it was.

It means so much to me to be able to keep this car in the family for many more years. You could say this hobby was thrust upon me, but Im a willing recipient.

[middletown]

My story is really not mine. While I had always loved anything with wheels and or an engine I had a particular sweet spot for Hot Rods; still do. I love all types of cars and desire to own many types but when I could not afford a 57 Chevy in High School, 1983, I settled for a Mercury Montego MX which I was very hard on but loved. This purchase moved me into the Ford camp and while I love some aspect of many cars it’s cheaper and easier to stay with what you know. My next car was a Red on Red 64 Galaxie 500XL 390, 4sp that I brought back to life, hopped up, from 1988-1992. So how does this relate to this topic…I’m getting closer. In 1995 I was taking classes at our local JC on course for a career change and I met a beautiful young woman on the first day of one of my classes. A couple mornings later my brother needed my Galaxie so he dropped me off for class and she was outside and saw us drive up. She loved the car and that sealed the deal and we will have been married for 10 years this September. Now for the A…... We got married in 2000 and I sold the Galaxie to get the down payment for a house. During this “toy” carless period we happened on a Model A meet while driving around checking out yard sales and she fell in love with a RPU that was at the meet. She explained that she had always wanted one but did not know what it was; she liked old cars but knew nothing about them. At the spring Pleasanton 2001 meet I found a little yellow 1928 RPU sitting on a trailer for sale. I not seen others for sale but I never really looked either. I could not afford the little truck and it needed a lot of work but the gentleman selling it told me it did run and drive but needed work. I made a call to a buddy to secure a loan and then called my wife to tell her I had just bought her the truck; she was very excited. I picked up the truck after the check cleared and fiddled with it for a weekend to get it started. I borrowed a trailer from a buddy and we took it to a car show in Lakeport in June. We parked a few blocks from the fairgrounds so we could drive it into the show. My wife spent hours talking with people that came to look at her little truck. Local MAFCA members offered assistance and knowledge and she was very excited. We moved into our first home that summer and drove it around the neighborhood on nice evenings but never ventured far from home. I enjoyed the truck but I wanted to hot rod it fortunately I got a huge thumbs down each time I broached the subject. In 2003 the driver’s side rear tire blew up with a bang while I was watching TV in the house so I pulled it into the garage and life flew by while the A languished under a pile junk in the garage. In December of 2009 I needed the garage space so the kids and I cleaned up around it a pushed it into day light for the first time in 6 years. We got it all cleaned up and I put on a used tire and tube so I could move it around. My son and I started working on it in the evenings and on a crisp January morning we took a spin around the block; the bed loaded with smiling kids. In March I had all the kids helping me put new tires and tubes on it and I showed my son how to drive it. This April my wife asked me what I wanted for my birthday so I told her I wanted to drive the RPU into town for Breakfast; a whopping 3.5 miles each way - we made it. The whole family is now hooked on this little truck. It runs rough, smokes, blows oil, the doors don't stay closed well and I don't fit behind the wheel very well but lately I have been moving my 64 Galaxie Convertible out of the way to get it out for short jaunts around the neighborhood, I guess I’m addicted. I’m not sure if I’ll add another A at some point but you never know, after all I didn’t even know I wanted the first one.

Have a great day,

Joe

[noyo55]

I remember riding in my dad's 30 coupe as a child--standing up and barely seeing over the dash exciting stuff!!! He gave me the car when I turned 12(1957) and of course I could not get it to run so I sold it to the older kid next door---it's still there and each year I try to buy it back but so far no luck. In 64 my girlfriend's roommate, in college, was getting married and her fiance shows up with this 30 coupe. I called my dad, who always said I should get rid of my 57 Pontaic, which I always drove to fast, and get another model A and slow down. He shows up a few days later, lays down 4 100's in front of the guy( he wanted 600)"take it or leave it" he took it.I've had it ever since and I'm on the third rebuild now and when I finish and I'm giving it to my daughter when I finish the rear brakes. She has two little boys and so that they don't fight over it, I'm either going to get the old one back or get another so they can each have one.

[eswanson]

I got hooked around a bon fire. I was 26 and just graduated from Seminary and was 1 month away from becoming a UMC pastor. I was offered parts for a Model A if I would promise to work on it and return it if I ever gave up. I have one of the roughest bodies of a 31 pickup you could have and still be functional but I am working on it and the chassis I have could use shocks but it drives. I have become hooked because I was given parts and the opportunity to build this myself and with the help of many great Model A enthusiasts. I will one day get the body done right (or not) but the important part to me is how it always excites people, starts conversations and in the last 4 years since I got my first rusty parts I have been writing sermons on it. Thanks to all those who give up a few parts and get a new partner in this hobby.

[Joe "D"]

Had A nabor horse -treader. in the summer of 62 he drug this 30 tudor. two days and 12 bears later I asked him whatya gane to do with it. first $50.00 takes it. ran home ,got the old john-deer and babby brouther, money and drug her home.
48 years and still mine.

[Jason in TX]

Heck eswanson! That pickup looks nice! Good job! I also like the 1930s neighborhood in the pictures. Matches the truck!

[HoarseWhisperer]

I had a difficult time remembering just when and what sparked my interest in Model A's, and then it came to me.
It was about the time I was researching my family ancestry and came across old photos of my parents.

My Dad and friend on the Model T in 1927.........

My parents Model A. Looks like a 30', but can't quite make out Tudor of Fordor. In any case, they were proud of it.

[Chris in WNC]

in 1962, 14-year-old Chris was riding his bike on the creek road between the villages of Bellpoint & Ostrander in Ohio. spotted a Model A Coupe in an open shed near the road. it was in gray primer, with no tires, roof, glass or upholstery. looked like a $50 car to me and of course I had visions of a V8-powered hotrod. knocked on the house door and they said yes, it's for sale, $350. that ended that fantasy. it was 1986 before opportunity, time, garage space and money were all present at the same moment........

[Steve Ciccalone]

It was a girl of course. At age 14 I was too young to drink. I quickly learned a coupe seat didn't give her much room to get far away.

[Afordman31]

My Dad bought a 1930 Two Door Sedan in 1952 for $25. He fixed it up to drive, my Mom used to take my brother an myself to town to mow lawns, My Dad had a wooden bumper on the front so he made a bracket out of wood to set the push mower in, we hooked the handle of the mower with a wire around the radiator cap. My brother and I sat in the back seat, the front passenger seat was tipped up and the gas can sat there inside the car. We mowed different lawns in town each week so my Mom would go visit her Mom while we mowed. My brother and I drove it to school when we got old enough . My Dad gave it to my brother when he was sixteen, he still owns it.

[BCCHOPIT]

I found this in a barn...

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by [email protected]

I found this in a barn...

That's an easy fix. Just nail in a new top board and tell your horse not to chew on it any more!

Nice coupe! Is that your barn? Wish I had a barn for storage.

[BCCHOPIT]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

That's an easy fix. Just nail in a new top board and tell your horse not to chew on it any more!

Nice coupe! Is that your barn? Wish I had a barn for storage.

If it was my barn my model a would not have be sitting for 50 years

[John in SATX]

My grandfather started me off at age 7, driving on our Iowa farm in about 1939. He had a 30 Coupe and for as long as I can remember we drove in that car all over the rural Iowa areas. He taught me to drive it and promised that I could have it when I reached 15. WWII came along and the Coupe was parked in our machine shed. Grandpaw passed early in the 40's. The government came through the farms early in the war and confuscated "old iron" for the war effort. My Coupe was taken away, never to be seen again. As soon as I could scrape together a little money at age 14 I bought a 1917 Model T for $17. Next an original cherry 1912 T Touring and have never looked back. Went back into A's because I found the T crowd would not let a youngster into their groups and would not help find parts or even barely talk to me. The A folks were entirely different and have been with them since.

Wonderful memories and many great cars. Now a 55B that is perfect for my needs.

Thanks Pluck for putting this up.

John Young, Alamo A's, San Antonio

[Al]

My parents did this to me. As a kid they were into Pierce-Arrows and we always went to the annual Pierce Arrow Society meeting as vacation. When I was about 14 (1974) I bought my first Model "A".......a chassis and running gear with three "extra" engines that was brought home in the back of a pick up...there went $210 of my hard earned cash.

Later we sold a 38 Packard to a guy who owned a '31 Tudor. I bought the tudor and worked on it during high school and sold it (shouldn't have done that). In hindsight.....it was my parents way of keeping me out of trouble....heck I'd be in garage and not running into other trouble.

Got married in'88 and in my wife heard stories and saw pictures of the cars. We were having lunch together in 2000 in a restaurant somewhere in Georgia and a model A roadster drives by...we run out of the restaurant just to see the roadster ......several months later we bought the phaeton!

My Dad, now in a long term care facility in Indiana at age 81 and suffering from dementia still asks about the Model A even though other topics of conversation are challenging. I'm planning on driving the A to Indiana in July so that we can have a visit and possibly a ride together.

It's a great hobby!!
Thanks, Mom and Dad!

[Barry in St.Paul]

My dad had several old cars up on the farm, including a '26 T and '29 A Roadster he restored in the '70s. He and Mom were charter members of the Vintage Car Club in Alexandria, MN, and not too many summer weekends went by without a club activity or a local town's parade. (I grew to HATE driving politicians around, though the various "Queens" and "Princesses" weren't a bad duty! :-) As part of the '29 roadster restoration he accumulated a running "doodle-bug" chassis, literally just a chassis with a cowl, a bus seat welded on the frame and a Briggs&Stratton gas tank mounted on a stick (because cowl gas tank rusted through) and tractor hitch welded on the back. One day in 9th grade, I was looking at that jalopy sitting next to his shiny 'new' '29 roadster, and thought "I can do that!". I got the bright idea in my head that I would restore it that summer, in time to pull the float for my 10th grade Homecoming parade. :-) I recall my Dad's response was "go ahead, that will last you about two weeks, but anything you do to clean it up will make it worth a little more when I sell it".... which made me mad. We had nothing besides 'farm tools', so I wirebrushed by hand, etc.. I'd get frustrated over the summer and say "I'm done!", to which Dad would reply "I figured you'd quit!", which made me mad and sent me right back out to the old garage to dig in again. When he realized I was serious about it, he became very supportive. The turning point was when another friend of his drove on the farm one morning, and just happened to have two '30 coupe bodies in the back of his pickup/trailer, which was exactly what I wanted to build (the chassis/engine was a mid-30). Dad agreed to buy them, and we never looked back again. That was 1980, and I finished the mechanical part of the restoration in summer of 1982, then did the autobody work at a car-club member's bodyshop that summer, and before and after school by senior year. I drove it home with fresh paint the day I graduated from high school in 1983. I'll never forget my first car show, when I came up behind my dad while he was talking to one of his buddies, and overheard him say, 'yeah, that's my BOY'S car, isn't it beautiful?!" Proudest moment of my life. Fast-forward 20 years, to 2000. My niece wanted one of the old cars to drive away from her wedding in Mpls/St.Paul, so I agreed to drive my coupe down for it (3 hour drive). That was July, and in August, my shop blew down on top of it (96mph winds), and the car was the only thing holding the roof up. Crushed in the back, skewed the rumble seat about an inch, dents every 16" (every joist left its mark!). Took three years before I could bear to do anything with it, but in 2003 my then-7 yr old son seemed interested in helping, so I decided to a frame-off re-restoration and "do it right". This January, I took it home from the paint booth once again, and just re-installed the engine last weekend (after pulling it for some vibration issues with 200 miles on it). So, after 10 years, it is finally "done" once again! :-) If I ever figure out how to post pictures, I'll post a before-and-after on here sometime. In hindsight, it is the one thing my Dad and I truly shared, different from any of my four siblings, and I still go up to the farm and take care of his other cars, some of which I am gradually "purchasing", including the '28 Studebaker President and '53 Buick Super V8 convertible. And my now-14yr old son recently rebuilt Dad's '26 Model-T engine (w/ some help), as he thought it was just terrible how we all "neglected" the poor Model-T. (it is one car I never had much interest in, and to me, just isn't much fun to drive!). While he is now less-interested in cars and more interested in other things, I hope that our experiences the last few years will at least make my '30 coupe a treasured heirloom that is passed down to one of my grandchildren and keep the connection going that started back in 1980 with MY dad! What a great hobby!
By the way, this is a good opportunity to say THANKS to all you FordBarners, for countless questions answered, both directly and from archive searches! I can't count the number of improvements and corrections I've been able to make on things I never even considered or knew about the first time around, doing it 100% "solo". It is like having a hundred co-restorers at your beck & call, whenever you need a hand. Much appreciated!!

[Glen in Hillman MI]

Rich kid down the street had a 2 door that we'd run the old buggy trails with in the early 50's. Allways wanted to have my own and three years ago I got a 31 coupe. Spent one year rebuilding and two years driving 10,000 plus miles.
Will be in French Lick next week.

[bobpo]

In 1959, I bought a '32 Tudor, less the engine and tranny. Got it back to my Mom & Dad's and started hackin' away at it with a chisel. (didn't have any torches) starting with the top, then the rear seat area. Eventually gave up the idea of building my '32 Hot Rod Roadster and took the Remains to the City Dump.

It's bothered me ever since, I destroyed a piece of Americana. Forever..

So, last year my youngest son sold me his (almost done) '30 coupe. Ground-Up Restoration. I'll be driving it in a couple of months or so..... I love this little car..

[Michael in Sedona]

In 1957, I was a 10th grader in High School in southern Ohio, and bought a 1930 Coupe for $200. It ran, but had seen much better days. I planned to keep it stock except for removing the fenders, adding juice brakes, and putting on 16" wheels. I never really finished it, and sold it for $200 when it was time to leave for college. I never thought much more about Model A's as college, military service, and raising a family got in the way.

Fast forward to around 1990 in southern California. My wife and I were at the Cabazon Outlet Mall near Palm Springs, and a Model A Club was on an outing. There were about 20 Model A's all parked together, and they caught my eye in an instant. It was like a giant magnet, and all I could think of for the next dozen years was that I'd some day like to own another one.

We moved to Sedona, AZ in 2001, and a year later I bought a nicely restored '29 Tudor, then a couple of years after that an equally nice '29 Roadster. I drive one or the other almost daily, and the 2 cars have become fairly well known locally.

I certainly appreciate all I have learned from other Model A owners, many of whom are frequent contributors on this site.

[T.W.Dustin]

My Dad had afew Model As when he was younger. I found my first just 2 yrs ago (my avitar) but I have been messing around w/ classic cars for about 35 years. This is my first Model A. Probably not my last, I want a pickup too!

[fordcragar]

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My dad helped me get my first Model A, a 30 coupe in the last 1950's. Over the years I had quite a few Model A's, but never had one that I could drive until 1990. Even today, I only have two that are on the road, but have a number of projects.

[jim galli]

that's me in the front seat on my grandma's lap in 1955. I never recovered.

More here over at the H.A.M.B.

Need some help finding original seats for the '29.

[ScottNW/Ohio]

My dad ran his own truck garage, and had a Model A coupe in his younger days. I was 15 when he thought it would be a great way for me to learn on. He wanted to find a coupe, and ended up with a very rough 28 Tudor, towed it to the shop, and I spent my spare time 'learning' the Model A
A trucker from Iowa saw the Tudor, was telling dad about his '31 Pick-Up
He was going through a divorce and wanted to keep the wife from getting her hands on it, a deal was struck, and the Tudor became a spare parts donor. That was 38 years ago, and I am finally getting to play with it after getting 3 kids through college and weddings

[Mark Schwing]

Back in the mid-Fifties, my cousin who was a year or two older than me and his dad had a Model A Tudor. They attended all the Model A events in western Pennsylvania and would invite me along. Fine point judging in those days was a lot different than today. I also went with my cousin to explore attics of Ford dealers looking for NOS parts. We also went through some of the farming areas looking for parts. Farmers in those days often had a lot of parts stored away in their barn just in case. I remember one farm where we found three Model A roadsters. The old farmer wanted $450 for each one which seemed like a lot of money for a couple of teenagers back then.

I found a 1931 Deluxe coupe for sale close to home and bought it for $150. The former owner callled me on the first night to tell me that he never puit any anti-freeze in the radiator. Even though we had a closed garage it wasn't heated. The next morning I had a cracked head. I drove that car to high school nearly every day and to my summer life guard job and loved it.

[jaguar6165]

It was simple for me. My dad has owned our A since around 1980 and restored it between 80 and 82 not too exact on the years. I remember going for ice cream in it when my sister and I were very young and then it sat in the garage as he started a business and spent all of his time working or working around the house. The last time it was out of the garage was 6-8 years ago and that was just to be backed out to flush the fuel tank. I decided this past February that i wanted to work on a car. I would love to beef up my truck and turn it into a street rod but my budget is limited and I knew that my dad would help out with a lot of the expenses with the A. We were also selling the harley so i didnt have anything different and cool to ride around. I figured the wow factor and looks of the A would be cooler than any motorcycle so it became my project. Ive been working on it about 7 months now and drive it everyday to work and where ever else. Hopefully ill be able to get some speed parts to make it go and stop a little better. Now i want another chopped up one to make a unique hotrod. Not your typical v8 hotrod but a souped up for banger with all the bells and whistles with some hotrod looks.

[Russ/40]

Well when the time came for my first car, I had been helping a friend out with his Model A. I was 15 at the time and wanted an A badly. When the time came that I had scraped $50 together to buy my first car, My folks would not let me buy an A. I settled for an early V8. 15 years later I started looking for my Model A. About 30 at the time I purchased a solid 29RPU basket case that came out of the desert. I worked on it for a short while, mostly buying parts and restoring a few small parts. Well life got in the way and another 30 years passed before I got back to it. Here I am 50 years after my initial want, retired and I'm actively working on the '29. In retrospect, I'm far better prepared for such a project, and I think it'll be on the road chugging along in another 6 months or so.

[Maclab58]

In 1961 I was 3yrs old and my dad was in the military and was stationed in Pakistan. During his tour there we lived in a small Texas town close to my grandparents. We lived next door to an elderly couple Mr and Mrs Boyd that owned a 1930 coupe that they had bought new. They had no children and when we moved in they adopted me as their own. I can still remember him taking me to the store in that old car and I have been an old car nut ever since! I started out buying projects that I could barely afford let alone finish. Now that I am older, the kids are grown and I own a shop I got the fever again and bought a 53 Bel-Air hardtop and started on it. Then fate opened the door. I was cruising Craigslist late one note 6 months ago and there it was ............. a 1928 Sport Coupe that had been restored 35 yrs ago by Col Harry Smith (Smitty) here in town. Oddly enough I knew Smitty and knew of his A's but also knew he had passed away 12 yrs ago and assumed the cars had all been sold. I answered the add and went to see the car and to my amazement not only was my Sport Coupe in the backyard under the shed but there sat his 31 pickup and his beloved Huckster. My Avatar photo was taken the day we pushed it out and took it home. I am happy to say its running and a blast to drive around! A friend now has the Huckster and I am dying to get my hands on that Pickup! I have made some great friends since getting the car and cant imagine not having one in the future.

[Thom IV]

Have always enjoyed old cars. When I was young, I drove them because of necessity.(Little Money). Have owned several old Chevys & Fords. Restored a couple of each brand. Now have two, A '64 VW Beetle and my 31 Rdstr. Old cars have something that new cars lack. Character. You used to be able to tell the manufacturer of a car just by seeing its' silhoutte. Now they all look alike.

[JD Miller]

I've had my 1931 Briggs Fordor Town Sedan since 1954.

My grandfather, a mechanic, purchased the car from its original owner in 1933. The sedan was used for family transportation, but mostly as a service car for his garage. For two years my uncle drove the sedan back and forth each weeked from NW Ohio to his job in Detroit. He managed to throw a rod just about the time he was drafted into the Navy for WWII.

The car was stored in my grandfather's auto repair garage from 1944 till 1949. At that time grandfather installed a rebuilt engine and the car was used around the business for about three years and then stored.

I had always wanted the sedan. When it was in storage I'd take an air tank over to where it was stored to keep the tires inflated. Then I'd sit in the car and dream of driving it.

In 1954, at age 14, my Grandfather gave me the sedan. We towed it down home and put it in the back of the garage. I worked on the car and got it running. Then at age 15 I started to drive the car. In a small town no one seemed to care if you had a drivers license or not. From that point on I drove the car until 1957 when the car was given a cosmetic restoration. Along about 1955 I joined MARC.

I also joined the Pioneer Auto Club in NW Ohio. The club had monthly meetings so the Model A covered just about every road in NW, Ohio. I also belonged to the Penn-Ohio Region of MARC.

The sedan was first shown at the MARC National in 1957 just after it had been painted and a new interior installed. Interesting, at least to me, that the sedan was at the 2007 MARC National at Williamsburg, VA. fifty years later. Our club, the Colonial Virginia Model A Ford Club hosted the 2007 meet.

The sedan is a "keeper." Everytime I drive the car it brings back memories of my Grandfather and what a great person he was.

Over the years the family has had seven Model A Fords. But the sedan has always been my favorite.

There's nothing finer among old cars than a Model A Ford.

[Dusty]

For the life of me I cannot figure out why the Model A so appeals to me. I grew up during the muscle car period and you would think that is where my heart would be. In fact my first real car after a 3 cylinder Fiat (let’s not go there) was a 1966 Comet Cyclone.
I will admit to being a certified car nut and I love the head turners and have owned many different types including Corvettes, Porsches, 350z’s, Toyota Supras, Mercedes and a couple of Model A replicas.
For whatever reason could not get past owning a “Real Model A” even though there is nothing sporty about driving it, ride is rough, somewhat noisy at highway speeds (if there is such a thing) you got to double clutch it or shift real slow, strong arms are nice for steering, hot in the summer cold in the winter, won’t stop real fast, won’t go up hills real fast, hell it don’t go real fast anywhere but I love the hell out of it; I have had more fun with it than all the other performance/ luxury cars I have owned. I can’t stop anywhere without drawing a crowd followed by at least an hour of questions and answers.
I think the thing that most amazes me though is the fact that this 80 year old vehicle will get you from point A to point B and with a little loving (and some money) it will continue to put a smile on your face year after year, I know there’s one on mine.

Tinkering for the weekend in WV
dusty

[gilitos]

When I was 15 (in 1972) my Dad said "Giles, you're about to get your license. You better start with a Model A". We had recently moved to Cincinnati from Central Michigan and he knew that there were lots of A's up there. He put an ad in the local paper in Mt. Pleasant, and we went up for Thanksgiving to check out the responses. Finances being what they were, instead of a whole car I ended up with a pile of '30 Tudor body panels, a frame and axles, and a worn out motor and a bunch of worn out parts for $250. Did have a title, though! Kept me off the streets for a long time fixing it up. I love this car, I drive it all the time. The emotions it evokes in me I can't express in a public forum.

This thread is beautiful and should be extracted from this website and printed as a book.

Giles in Cincinnati

[DeBordEngineMan]

Brent Terry from 10-uh-C got me started and didn't even know it! Last year he hosted a Model T meet in the surrounding areas of East Tennessee one of his tour stops was at my local Engine club for Hit and Miss gas engines a hobby that I have done for 20+ years, well we brought some old engines and we had a lot of Model T's and a few Model A's it was a blast! Each group had great fun looking at each others "TOYS" before the day was up I told the Wife that I had to have one so I settled on a Model A and had one sitting in the garage within a couple of months so thanks Brent for a great start in a fun hobby that you really didn't know you started! Oh by the way thanks for a few more gray hairs and a few brused knuckles to go along with the hobby but that is alright what fun me and the wife are having and we have not even really gotten to drive it much so look out when we do start driving it!!!! Thanks Robert DeBord

[kevinmac/toledo]

hi; my model a,ing started when i was about 12... got to ride/drive one of the a"s in a ride at cedar point in sandusky ohio... i was blown away by the fact that they would let me, a kid , drive a car... let alone that it was one of the beatup old antiques. they had a track system worked out where you could not drive off the track..had rails up about mid tire level..heard they still have the old cars in the park. im in mid 50's now. thats 33 years ago and you can still ride in them. darn spell checker... thanks kevinmac/toledo

[Geo. H]

My first car was a 1934 Studebaker Coupe. Nineteen years later, my first 'old car' was a 1931 Chrysler sedan. I wanted a roadster. After another 35 years I was out of the old car hobby, and getting out of old motorcycles. Then I had a chance to trade a 1949 Harley for a '31 roadster. That was fifteen years ago, and now I also have a 30 coupe. And yeah, I'm getting a bit long in the tooth.

[Brentwood Bob]

6, or so, when we used to go to uncle joe's in Rialto. He had a coupe as his car. He always took us kids to the local little store and bought us a crackerjack. I still remember the gas gage in front of me in his coupe.
I got a cutdown 28 AR sport coupe for $40 when I was 15, learned to drive it, and sold it for $65.
Had to wait until 1989 to get my next, a 1930 chassis, followed by more parts, a 30 coupe, and 2 years ago my son found a 1931 ccpu that followed us home.
I'm currently working on a 1930 huckster. Thru a convoluted business deal it is now at my house. I'm putting a motor in it, and its very close to being on the road again. My son has helped me with the huckster and most of the other projects, and kept me motivated. I've been in a club since 1989, and have backup when I need help. Great hobby.
One day I wanted to have my son sitting next to me looking at the gas gage like I did. Looks like he will be alot older than I was. Bob

[Terry, NJ]

My father's cousin had two Mod AA farm trucks. One was made out of an old school bus that had been in a fire. They were both "bailing wire" specials. Typical farm to market trucks and not much more. We were more amused by them than anything else. But thay were fun to ride in. All my life, since then, I wanted a early thirties Ford. A friend stopped by one Saturday and told me about a auction he was going to where there was a Mod A fordor going up for sale. By nightfall I was it's new and proud owner!
Terry

[PC/SR]

My pal Jerry, at 14 got a 1930 std coupe with a 4 speed transmission. Neither of us had drivers licenses but we drove that baby all over the logging roads around Shasta Lake and vicinity. We learned alot about A repairs through trial and a lot of errors. He was 2 years older than me and when he was 16 and got his license, he bought a 31 PU. He offered me the coupe for $6 but I would only pay $4 because part of the deal was to swap the 4 speed to the PU.

[Bob/Kansas City]

I always liked the look of the Model A's. The large variety of styles and body types was a factor also and the fact that it is modern enough to drive like a "regular" car.
Good supply of cars and parts, both original and reproductions, also helps the hobbyist.
I restored my first A about 30 + years ago, a '30 Std. Coupe, got out of the hobby for more years than I can count and just came back to it this year with the purchase of my Town Sedan.
Grease under the finger nails again!

[Dan Baron]

I used to build model cars when I was a kid. I had about 65 at one time. Most of them were old cars. I just liked the look I guess. Most of them were of Model A's. Hot rods mostly. I knew at the age of 12 that I would own a model A someday. Now, I have owned 4... So far..... Honey!!!!! Look what I found!!!!! I love youuuuuuu!!

[Dave in MN]

The summer I was 8 years old a retired neighbor, August Scheffler, took the time to take me fishing a couple times on a lake located 5 miles from our rural farm site. He would pick me up early in the morning in his CC ‘28 or ‘29 pickup. When he arrived, we had to dig for fresh worms on the north side of the barn where it was shaded. August's wife, Barbara, would always pack two ham sandwiches made with thick slabs of home baked bread, one slice buttered and 6 pink peppermint candies. August said that peppermint was "good for the stomach" but these peppermint candies were pretty strong and burned a bit in my mouth. When he wasn't looking, the lozenge would end up over the edge of the boat. On the way to the lake, we would stop at Busacker's corner store. This store was no bigger than 10 x 14 feet with one gas pump out front. At the store he would buy one bottle of Orange Crush for me to have with my sandwich. Soda pop was not something we ever had at home...this bottle of pop was a real treat for me. We would arrive at the lake and he would pull an old wooden row boat out of the weeds near the public landing and we would load our gear. August would row across the lake towards a spot thickly covered with lilly pads that was partially shaded from huge overhanging trees. August let me try rowing a couple times and I remember he would laugh when all I could do was make the boat go in circles. He always assured me that when I was a few years older, I would be able to row better than him. We would fish for a couple hours, have our sandwich and my bottle of Orange Crush about mid session and then he would row back to the landing. When he dropped me at home, I vividly remember the back end of the pickup and the unforgettable sound of the Model A as he pulled away. A few years later, the pickup fell into dis-repair and no longer ran. Often, when I went to visit and help him with his large fruit orchard, I would go into the barn and look at the pickup. I told myself; "That pickup was going to be mine someday." Time marches on and one day when I was going past his place while taking driver's training, I mentioned to the instructor that there was an old Ford pickup in that barn over there and I was going to buy it and fix it up. Unknown to me, he was a collector/seller and he went out and bought the pickup within a week. I later learned he had a buyer in a town 30 miles away and made $100.00 on the deal.
I was in college when my mother sent me a letter to tell me August had died. I still remember the empty feeling as I sat on my dorm room bed when I read the news of his passing. It took till I was almost 40 to finally buy my own '28 pickup and fit it up. I keep the one picture I have of August in my photo album of the pickup's restoration.
Good Memories!
Dave in MN

[cardoza]

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it was Just a coincidence, A "friend" needed some money to pay taxes and gave the car to me as a collateral...it has been 7 years...and he never came back!!! so I am into it now
($6000).. some taxes!!!

[700rpm]

I'm 65. My dad sold his last Model A in 1955 when I was 10, and I didn't get to vote on the sale. I loved that car, even at 10 years old! Six years later I bought my first Model A, a 1929 Tudor, which I still have. I've owned many A's since then, but I have never let the Tudor go. It owns me, now.

['29wagon]

'ooh that's a good one.
I'd been restoring a 1947 willys jeep and really enjoy the low compression.
I work on this hobby at a friends house who is a retired machinist and is into hit and miss engines, actual equipment. I came across this station wagon to restore and ran it buy him to see if it'd be alright to park it at his place a while, he said bring it in.
Then I learned he had over twenty of them at one time. So I work on it before and after work and on weekends, when I'm not reading what you guys have to say.
This car really get some stories told.
not yet drivable but here I am .
Thanks Barn.

[Scott Owens]

About 7 years ago, my grandmother made the statement that before she died, she wanting to drive a tractor, and a Model A. I began looking for one. When I found my 28 Tudor, I didn't let her know about my project. About half way through, I let her in on the secret. I worked day and night to complete the car within a year, and take her for a ride on her next birthday. On her birthday, everyone gathered at my parents home and I came pulling up, blowing the Ahooga horn, and enjoying her smiles. She got in that car and drove it like she had been driving one for all of her 86 years. I have added to my car collection since then, and took her out in T's and A's. We both enjoyed every minute. She passed away this past April, and I cherish the memories of our rides.

[CarlG]

I bought my first Model A when I was 14. It was one that my dad had owned several years earlier and had sold it when we moved. It was a 31 Ambulance. I had a little trouble finding it, but it was the exact one I wanted. (Paid $45 for it) I had it for several years and then bought a hulk of a 31 fordor and more or less canabalized the ambulance to make a good car out of the fordor. Sold the fordor when I was 18, and a Model A wasn't "cool" for a senior in High School. Fast Forward 50 years. This past February I bought a late 31 pickup. Just taking up where I left off 50 years ago. This one isn't for sale!

[pooch]

I always had a soft spot for fords.

My first car was a 39 fordor deluxe.

My first vintage car was a 28 plymouth tourer.

The plymouth is a far better car mechanically than the A model, but the A model has styling and history.

Ford goes back to 1896, but the first 1928 plymouth had hydraulic brakes, light steering, concealed door hinges, full pressure lubrication, adjustable camping body front seat, electric wiper, modern front styling (for 1928...slim radiator cowl and flowing body lines like a 30 ford).

But the overall style of the A model has class and it sounds great.

[steve s]

When in high school I got the bug to get an old car of the twenties or thirties era. I just thought they really looked cool. During summer between junior/senior years I took a summer course in forestry at Mich. Tech. and saw a '29 Plymouth for sale I tried to talk my dad into funding for me, thinking I would drive it home to Warren from Houghton. He avoided the most foolish par of the plan, saying if I wanted a car of that era I should get a Model A because parts would be more available. I vaguely understood he had a soft spot for Model A's from his own youth. I held him to it, and the following winter (1960) I saw a 29 town sedan for sale for $200 across town. That's the car in my avatar.

Steve

[Thom IV]

Back when I was in high school, I traded a 30 Chev coupe for a 30 Model a tudor. Sold it when I went into the service. Have always wanted another Model A. In 2000 I bought a 31 pick up. Ten years later I sold the pickup and bought a roadster. For an antique auto a model A is unbeatable. Many parts (used and repo's) are available, so you can keeep it running.

[dave in australia]

My start in A's was genetic. My dads first car was an A and he still has that. My first car was an A and I will finish restoring it one day. I've just purchased my fourth A, a 29 tudor, but the difference with this one is it is already on the road as a driver. I just have to keep the maintenance up and not decide to garage it and restore it. My other three A's are another tudor, although it's a 28, a 29 special coupe and my first A which is a 29 type 304 well side utility. The ute body was made in Australia for Ford and sold through their dealerships, it's similar to the pick-up except the tray and cab sides are one piece.

[TedG]

Like Dan Baron I also built lots of models when I was younger. I always wanted a Street Rod, after being into motorcycles and building Choppers back in the 70's (long before it was acceptable) I got married, built a house and finally reached a point in life where I was ready to build a car. Origianlly looking for a '34 Tudor I went all over trying to find a suitable starting point with no luck. I stumbled on a '35 Chevy Sedan which at the time wasn't too desirable, it was basically a rusted body sitting on a hacked up frame but since the price was right and it came with a good title that's the one I settled on. The car in my avatar is the final result.

Fastforward 15yrs, a good friend approaches me and asks me if I'd be willing to assemble a '29 Sport Coupe he's thinking about buying. Turns out he always wanted a restored Model A and though he's owned a few none of them ever got finished, said he always liked the way my car turned out, I'd had the bug to build another car so I agreed.

The more I get into the research and how much engineering it seems to have taken to make the A simple the more it intrigues me. So here I am reading, learnig and feeling like I'm back in school again, thank God for the internet and Ford Barn, I can only imagine what it must have been like to do a restoration 30yrs ago.

I'll always like Street Rods but one day I may also have an A parked next to mine, I do wish they had more legroom though.

[John LaVoy]

In the summer of 1961 I got a Model T, drove it all summer, figured out you couldn't go very fast or very far so I traded it off for a newer car a 1929 coupe!

[SGT in Ont.]

I was looking for parts for a 51 Dodge 36 years ago in the back field at a farm, when my Dad and I saw something shining through a clump of Cedar trees at the edge of the field. Went in to investigate and found a 30 Tudor. Went to ask if it was for sale. It was the fellows son's car. Went and found the son at his house, made the deal, brought the car home and been hooked ever since. I was 16 at the time.

[Peter J]

My uncle had a 30 pickup that I learned to drive in the 50's. Had my 31 coupe in HS and college 62/65 and eventually had to sell it. Missed having one ever since. Finally got my 29 earlier this year. Like coming home.

[Jim Brierley]

I was born in '37, and a Model B coupe was the family car, my seat was the package shelf. It was cool, I had my own roll-down window! What really hooked me was when I was 13 or 14 my brother took me to see a friends T roadster with a 2-port Riley under the hood, oops, no hood. I thought that was the neatest looking engine that I have ever seen. Later at the drag races the banger guys were friendly, the others were not. I've always been into performance bangers, but enjoy the stockers too.

[Jason in TX]

I like your comment Jim about "the banger guys were friendly, the others were not" It gets a little old to me sometimes that the hot rod shows consist of sitting next to a parked fast car in your lawn chair never driving and complaining about everyone else's static display.

I'd much rather be sitting IN the stock (ok... modified stock) banger powered car and GOING places with friendly people. Seems like a no brainer.

[Ray in La Mesa]

When I was 4-6 years old in 1950 the old Italian neighbor had a '28 A delivery he used to transport flowers and vegetables to the L.A. flower market in. Every morning about 3:30 he would start it up right outside my bedroom window and let it idle while he loaded it up. I guess it was a subcontious sugestion but it worked. A couple years later Dad bought a '28 Chevy roadster pickup to make dump runs and that reinforced the condition. I never had a chance to be cured so ,in high school, the folks gave me a '30 fordor. It was my first car and I was in heaven. Three months later I backed it into a pine tree in Big Bear Lake and destroyed the back end. I cried! Fixed it up while in college and sold it to buy the '30 cabriolet I am now restoring. The roadster p/u idea stuck because the same year I bought the cabriolet I pieced together a '28 A roadster p/u to drive temporarily while I restored the cabbie. It cost $147 in parts and is now part of the family too. Yes, it is the one with the faucet radiator cap.

[Cory Moffat]

There was a wrecking yard on the side of town that had placed a coupe on the roof of there shop in the earley 60s.
As we drove to Town from the Ranch in my childhood. I would gaze up at that old girl and wish i could find one somewhere.

My dad said good luck as they are scarce up here. Most of them had gone to the recyclers for use in the war. Or just to our local landfill. He told me stories of getting his coupe for $20.00 when he was a kid.
They were a dime a dozen he said.

I finaly found my 30 Coupe and restored Her to original. She is a sweet ride :>)

About 8 years ago that old coupe was taken down and the body was restored with fiderglass panels then put back up there on the roof.
It does not look the same. :>(

[1928Pickuppain]

Well I was born in 1990; in 91 on my first birthday, my father gave my mother an abandoned farm for a wedding gift?? She still has no idea why. Well every weekend of my life sence then i have spent clearing land and ridding dirt bikes ect... For my whole life there has alwase been this memorie of myself about 2 years old playing in this old truck; its very foggy and very dull but its there, it started a love of every thing old in my life expecaly old cars. For years I never new if the dreem was real. I was going though cregs list and I saw an add for a 28 ford pick up I came home with it the next weekend. When my mother saw it she said it is just like the one on the mountain ( that old farm we call the mountain) Thats when I was filled in. When they bought the land there was no trace of it ever being a farm left it was full out forist coverage. They bought the land in the premis that there shough be some were in the 100 acers a small cabin a large barn and a well. Eventaly the well was found , also the foundation to a barn and also the foundation to a House along with a small grave yard. Next to the well was a model A Roadster pickup. That I used to play in when I was about 2. my farther tryed to remove it one day and it jsut fell apart so he junked it. Thats earlest memory i have. Latter thes history of the land and its piculare abandondment was found out. In the year of 36 there was a blizard the farmer took his truck down to the well to get watter to hopfully boil, to put in the barn to keep the cows from freesing. He got lost in the white out and died his wife and one son also died in the stom. He had one remaining some who surved he was 16 or so. He burried his family and left never to come back the bank seized the property from him in 1987 when he could no longer aford the taxs and we bought it. He is who told us the story when we tracked him down for a deed confliction. That old truck sat there from the night the farmer died till my farther halled it out of there 56 years later. Back to the point that memory hooked me in before i knew what a truck was.

[howie123]

I have always loved old cars. When I started shopping for one I decided on a Model A because of the mechanical simplicity. I was pretty sure I could work on it myself. I couldn't afford a complete car so I purchased a collection of parts and built one. I finally decided to put a speedster body on it because I didn't have a body and I wanted to get it done. It is not original but the chassis is all Model A and it is great fun to drive. I think Henry Ford would be proud to know he built a car that could be ressurected from the junk heap.

[RichPA]

As a kid, I built models and really enjoyed building the Model A. In High School, buddy's dad bought him a Model A Pickup which he let me drive sometimes.The auto shop teacher said it had a missfire.A compression test revealed 2 dead holes. We pulled the head, replaced all the valves.There was a crack in the block between two valves. The Metal shop teacher (an old timer) welded it up , we ground it down and ground the seats . Lapped em in, put it together and it ran like a top. I always wanted one after that and recently had my chance.I bought a 29 Fordor thats mostly original in fair running condition. I plan on getting it reliable and safe and driving it.My wife and I are thrilled.

[Geo. H]

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I've been into old cars since 1969 (Mostly Mopar). I wanted a roadster but couldn't afford one. Then I traded a 49 Harley for a 31 A roadster and the rest is history.

[Farrell In Vancouver]

This has been a fanatastic thread and a good read!
It seems almost all were bitten early on and either started right away or came back after raising kids and getting established.
I too was bitten early and did not know it.
My Father courted Mom in a 1930 coupe which he paid little for, he was a salesman of brake and clutch linings and traveled all over three provinces of prairies. He tells of some harrowing trips in blizzards and wind storms to make sales and deliver to garages and such, he soon wished for a car that would be better suited and sold the the 30 for $20.00 to some friend who really need it for work. I think he picked up a meteor of something and brought it home. Mom was not amused, (especially when he revealed that not only had he laid out money for a newer car but never got paid for the old one. I was too young to hear the row, but Pop finally promised her he would buy another coupe for her one day.
Fast forward to 1962-63 and while traveling through Fisher Branch Manitoba on Highway 17 in the north Interlake region of the province, Dad spots the 1928 Special Coupe in a Farmers field. The car was of course not for sale, as the gent had sold it to another guy two weeks before for $20.00! The farmer went on to say he had not yet been paid, so Pop offers $25.00 and the deal was made. Here's where my first memory of a Model A Comes in. At the time we lived in Winnipeg and towing the coupe from Fisher Branch was accomplished with the family car a long way South to home. My job as a 5 year old was to yell to dad when ever the coupe started to wander off the road as he had it tethered on about 30 feet of rope. Some how he made it, how I don't know how, as I fell asleep in the back seat of the car at some point.

Zoom ahaead to 1967 and Dad and Mom have decided to move us four kids to the Wet Coast to try their luck in the West. The coupe followed by train in 1974 and then was stored in the car port while Dad started a restoration of his beloved 30 CC P/U. He justified this by telling Mom he "needed the truck to haul parts home for the coupe".
Now ten years ago Mom asked me and my new bride if we would restore the coupe and get it running for her. This we did with much help from my Dad and it was a great bonding time for me and Dad. Mom unfortunatley did not seee it finished but I still think she would have love to ride in it just like the old days.
Now we are working on saving another, a 29' Tudor which should be on the road next spring and then we'll tear Dad's P/u down for a much needed restoration after 30 years of service.
I have built a few 60's trucks a lot of Japanese and American bikes, and loved my hot rod Pontiac but driving the coupe is a lot like when I sold my first sport bike and bought my Shovel Head FLHP. Suddenly I could hear the engine and feel the machine under me, not just a high frequency buzzing noise. The Model A sings a beautiful song to your heart and imagination. I am sometimes (rightfully) accused of not listening to my passengers as we chug a long the road. The song is too deep to ignore. I am now passing this love on to my Kids, (my eldest Daughter will inherit the coupe and I am hunting for a truck for the younger one) My wife now understands, and calls herself the Model A Widow. I hope to spend many more years driving and restoring these music makers.
Thanks for all the Barners and thier help!

[5window]

Initially, because I couldn't afford a Deuce. Now, I much prefer Model A's-restored, original or hotrodded. Parts are more reasonable, and there are just so many variations on '32's before you just look like everyone else's.

[John Stone]

When I was about 12 years old, I watched the Untouchables. My parents said they really didn't like me seeing all the violence. Told them I was watching the old cars. I'm not sure they believed me. In 1959 (15 years old) I worked driving a truck during wheat harvest. The farmer had a Model T chasis in the trees. I wanted to buy it but he said no. Later that year my Dad (section forman for the Sante Fe railroad) came home and talked about seeing an old car at abandoned farm. I ended up buying a 1920 Essex tourning car for $55 (sold it later for $500). My Dad and brothers got interested and picked up a lot of Model T stuff. I found a 26 T coupe which I was working on. Needed some tires so I bought a Model A farm trailer that had 21" wheels and tires for $10 which I removed for further use. Then Dad (bless his heart) came home and said he had traded the trailer for a Model A pickup. The farmer was going to cut it up to make a trailer. We went and towed it home that evening. About 10 miles on a dirt road. Turned out it was a late 31 steel top/wide bed. That got me started. Only have 4 Model A's right now and the 16 Model T that Dad fixed up in the late 60's. As you can see, Dad helped a lot. He never owned a Model A. Bought a new 1928 Chevy. He always called Model A's "Old ass breakers".

[Yankee]

I cannot remember what drove me to buying an A, but it has brought new friends, frustration, headaches and alot of satisfaction. It is all worth it when I am driving and people wave or give a thumbs up as they pass by. It puts a smile on my face.

[SamIyam]

I was born into it, really.

My dad was a car lover and bought our families Model A in 1972 and we joined the Modesto Area A's in '72... I was two years old.

I joke with people that I have been going to the Turlock Swap Meet since I was a fetus... which, I actually have been.

My mom was pregnant with me in January of 1970... and then I was born that March. I've been every year since.

This will be my 41st year going... and I'm 40 years old! Top that! hahaha!!

Through the years my dad had built a couple of other Model A's... and owned a few more...

Highlights are the monthly tours that we went on and all of the Northern California Round Ups that we attended.

Then of course there was the trip we took from California to Kansas when I was 9 years old. Family of five in a Model A coupe pulling a Mullins trailer... very fun, and one hell of an adventure.

My dad had built a Model A coupe almost identical to his for my grandfather in 1974... and then we took it to him in I think 1975...

When he became too old to drive, he gave it back to my dad... this was about 1988.

He then sold our familie's Model A in 1991... and it disappeared.

On a cold January day in 1995 my dad passed away... at the time, my dad and I were planning on buying a Model A to build a hot rod out of. My mom ended upo giving me my grandfather's Model A... which I proceeded to turn into a hot rod.

Since building that car... I have built several other hot rods, drag cars and a Bonneville car... and a handful of other cars for others. I think I have owned somwhere in the neighborhood of 60 cars cince my first car, a '55 Chevy, that I bought when I was 14 in 1984.

Anyway, during a search for a Model A for a friend (to build a hot rod out of) I found our families original Model A.

I found the car on e-bay... but the auction ended early.

Through several e-mails and some phone calls... I tracked the car down. It was in Bentonville Arkansas!

I called the guy on a Sunday to seal the deal... wired him the money the next day... called a shipper and he said "You're in luck! I have a truck going through Bentonville tomorrow!"

I had the car that Friday...

I put my hot rod up for sale to buy the stocker back... and actually got more than twice what the stocker was worth.

But you know, I'm having a lot of fun with my dad's old A... the car is virtually unchanged from when he built it in the early 70's... same paint, same interior... everything.

The last two years of my free time have been taken up with work on our Model B powered Bonneville car... so now that THAT is done... I have drug out dad's A and have been messing with it.

Got her running real sweet and decided to take the A to my mom's for a Thanksgiving dinner. Well, we lost a rod about 45 min into the trip. Pulled the motor tonight and want to go through it.

In short... that's how I got into these little cars!

Sam

[jr-41ford]

I originally bought my 1928 Model AR Roadster to make it into a street rod. After putting it together, I actually liked it but still was favoring making it into a street rod.

After owning it now for about four years, it's going to stay stock and I'm hoping to buy another Model A, preferably a 30-31 sedan.

The 28 AR Roadster will be taken apart next winter to finish the restoration, this winter I'm busy wiring, sheet rocking, and installing the new 2-pole lift in my new shop for the Roadster and my '41 Ford.

[Chris Haynes]

In 1961 I had saved $150.00 from my Evening Outlook newspaper route. While pedaling home one day I saw a for sale sign on a 1931 Sport Coupe. The price was $150.00. I haven't lived one day of my life without owing a Model A since.

[gunmetal blue]

I was hooked on Model A's from very little, I was told at age 4 I would tell people that some day I would own one. When I turned 15 I bought a 1929 Town Sedan, twin side mounts cowl lights, a murray body. When I was 16 I bought a 1929 CCPU. When I was 17 I bought 1929 and 1930 Tudor Sedan. I meet a woman and............that was the end of my A's. I always said I will one day own anough one. But this time I want a AA's. At age 54 I got my first AA. Its a 1929 CCPU 188-A. The avator pics is of my truck the day I bought it. Total restoration but not for points to drive and have fun. My photo album will show disassemble. A restore and put back to look better than when I bought it. Don't know how long it will take.

[dean from bozeman]

When I was a kid my dad would tell me stories about the cars he owned before World War ll. He spoke fondly of the Model A's that he had owned. When I saw a Model A for the first time there was something that I liked about it. I saved every penny that I made from the third grade on so I could eventually buy an "A". That actually happened the summer before my sophomore year in '66.

I found a '29 Tudor in a want ad. I bought it, brought it home and started restoring it. I spent every non working minute working on it in our inner city garage. I spent every available penny I had getting parts for it. I had finished the chassis and did all the body work. All I needed to do was to put the final coat of paint on it. College approached. Since I worked my way through college, I had no money to spare. I moved away and thus it sat for 35 years.

When my son asked about it, we drove the 1300 miles to my dad's house to pick it up. However someone had beat me to it. My dad's garage was nearly empty. Someone had stole everything except for the chassis and the body. Gone were all the sheet metal parts: fenders, gas tank, doors, aprons, hood, etc. The parts were gone but not the dream.

The Tudor will be restored after we finish A495 (a phaeton) and A7191 (a coupe).

[TomW]

My father bought this truck from a farmer in NH for $50 sometime around 1958-60. (I was 3 or 4 at the time) It was being used with a wooden flatbed on it as a hay hauler. The guy still had the original bed out in back of the barn. Dad put it back together, and throughout my childhood we rode all through the woods with it. I first learned to drive in that truck - at age 11!
Dad gave it to me some years ago and we brought it to Florida where I live. I have done the necessary work to keep it safe and in good repair - and a coat of paint - but it essentially has never been restored. Dad doesn't drive anymore, but I took him for a ride this morning and he just loved it. Someday one of the kids will have it. They have both expressed an interest!

(BTW - marvelous stories here!)

[GregLast]

I guess I'll chip in. I'm new here and don't own a Model A just yet. I love these cars though. My love of these cars started with my grandfather. He's been driving working on and restoring pre 1931 Fords for the last 50 years. My earliest memories of visiting him and my Grandmother involve his 1930 Coupe and a Tin Lizzie that has since been sold. He's had several different A's throughout the last 20 years but his favorite is that Coupe. Right now he owns his prized Coupe and a 29 Tudor. Both beautiful cars.

I'm on the hunt currently for an engine to restore and go from there. He's teaching me all I need to know and I couldn't be happier about it.

[Bob Tedrow]

My grandfather had an old ford that sat in a barn. I got*behind that wheel as a kid *in the 50's and drove around the world.*
Grandmother drove a '53 MG TD, played hot jazz piano and painted landscapes in oils. She smelled like turpentine and cookies.*

About twenty years ago I decided that I had to have a Model A and thought that owning one would make me happy.

Fortunately, I am a shallow materialistic man. Owning a Model A does indeed make me happy.*

For the last twenty or so years, I have driven my Ford almost every day in all seasons and weather. I have only been towed home three times!!*

I build musical instruments for a living...what does that say about me?

Bob Tedrow

[bobbycoke]

A model t

[bogiediver]

My story is simpler (I think...)

My wife's Dad had a few Model 'A's - '28 Phaeton, '31 Roadster and '30 firetruck. I never met the man - he passed before I met his daughter. Story is Mom always replied when asked about Christmas presents - "an elephant or a firetruck". Well, one year it was the firetruck...

Don't know the order of the cars, or how many at once; only know the '31 Roadster was the only one left when I came in the picture. Brother-in-law had taken it apart 7 years ago to "update it', but never got to the putting it back together part.

The car meant a lot to my wife since 6 months before Dad passed away, she & he went for a ride - Chicago to Santa Fe - their first, and last, trip just the two of them. It was also the car she learned to drive in...

Well bro-in-law wanted it out of his garage and a long string of happenstances brought together myself with a friend of a friend who had just gotten a job at an 'A' museum, who had a couple of friends who restore 'A's...

Well it was a re-do (as opposed to a restore) to be a driver (as opposed to a show car) and we are as happy with it as can be. Took Mom out the day after Christmas and she giggled and was telling stories of past trips - absolutely priceless.

Having done a bunch of reading and looking - I would like to add another 'A' to my garage (when I fall into that vat of money; oh yeah, and build that extra garage) - a '31 Town Sedan - what a beautiful car...

Dreams...

[gilitos]

Bob, I would have given quite a bit to have met your grandparents!

Come to think of it, you sound pretty darn interesting yourself.......

Originally Posted by Bob Tedrow

My grandfather had an old ford that sat in a barn. I got*behind that wheel as a kid *in the 50's and drove around the world.*
Grandmother drove a '53 MG TD, played hot jazz piano and painted landscapes in oils. She smelled like turpentine and cookies.*

About twenty years ago I decided that I had to have a Model A and thought that owning one would make me happy.

Fortunately, I am a shallow materialistic man. Owning a Model A does indeed make me happy.*

For the last twenty or so years, I have driven my Ford almost every day in all seasons and weather. I have only been towed home three times!!*

I build musical instruments for a living...what does that say about me?

Bob Tedrow

[bobpo]

My son bought a partially restored coupe in 2001. I knew he'd never have the time, effort or funds to complete the car, so I bugged him until 2009 when he reluctantly sold it to me. Not much had been done to it in the 8 years he owned it.

I was driving it 2 weeks after I got it. (sittin' on folded blankets for a seat and with no windshield). Spent the next couple of years finishing it.

I just always loved that little car...............Now fondly referred to as;
"Miss Tillie"...

[Tim Armstrong]

My Mother, its her fault that I got the disease ! I was in the 4th grade and wanted a car, she told me to get a Model A, that they were easy to work on. Saved my money, bought a 30 coupe for 100 dollars, had to give the guy an extra dollar to drive it home, I didn't know how to drive. Been a hell of a ride since.

[2935ford]

I used to play in a junk yard full of old (20's - 30's) cars when I was a 8/9 years old.
Then around 10, I spied my Grandfathers '19 Gray-Dort in my Great Grandfathers barn. I could pick out old cars miles away.

Ok, so, getting to my first A. I was a teenager and my friends neighbour's boyfriend pulls up in a raked '28/29 dark blue, Tudor Hot Rod.......bing!!!!! That was it......I knew I had to have one. It took many years before I actually bought one and have enjoyed then ever since!

[Tim Armstrong]

MY MOTHER ! I got the disease. I wanted to buy a car to work on, in the 4th grade, she told me to get a Model A, they were easy to work on. I don't think she thought I was serious. Bought a 30 coupe for 100 dollars. Cost me an extra dollar for the seller to drive it home for me. I didn't know how to drive.

It has been on hell of a ride ever since.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mikeinnj]

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What drove me towards the Model A hobby?.....A passion for skinned and broken. bloodied knuckles, the ability to learn a whole new vocabulary using only four letter words, driving a heater-less car to work in sub zero temperatures, being stuck on an interstate in New England for 18 hours, viewing my right front wheel pass me and several other cars downhill, to name a few reasons....and saving the best for last, to see the look on my little girls face when she first pushed the horn button....(: )

[al's28/33]

My Dad learned to drive in a '29 closed cab pickup back in 1944. He always told me the story how he would reve up the engine then throw it into 3rd and let go...........he never told my Grandfather why the rear end always broke apart!!!! Then another story of he and a buddy driving all around hunting rabbits from a '31 roadster. That's when there was still acres of open land in California.

Ah the good ol' days!

I always loved old cars and when I finally had the money I searched for my Model "A". I decided on a '28 Phaeton. The year my Dad was born. A fun car to pile in a bunch of friends to drive around and be seen. Then I got the V8 bug, and since my Mom felt left out, I got a '33 Pickup too!

[Russ B]

It just came to me. My dad's first new car was a '29 cabriolet; but he soon gave it to his mother, who drove it until she died. My cousin drove it a year or two and then went in the Navy, so in 1958, my uncle brought the car back to my dad for me to have as my first car. The first requirement dad had was to put hydraulic brakes on it before I drove it. I stopped driving it in 1964, but kept it and am rebuilding it now.

By '63 I wanted a hot rod, but was not about to turn the cabriolet into one, so I got another '29, free, as my second car. It had been abandoned and left along the side of the road, partially buried in silt for years from an earlier flood. I turned the heavily rusted tudor into a V8 powered hot rod. Later came a roadster, then a closed cab PU, and, recently, a standard coupe, all '29s. The Cabriolet was my first car and was never original or fully restored in the 50+ years I have had it; but soon it will be in its best condition, by far, still with its original motor.

A's have just been a part of my life, but the cabriolet is part of my family history.

[Paul_nz]

My Dad had a Model A when I was 17 years old, I remember going down to the family farm to pick up the remnants of a 28 Pickup, after Dad have restored it, I got to drive it often, I remember one day when starting it, that it back fired and stripped the timing gear, so my Dad said you broke it, you fix it, well I did. 30 years later, I got the bug and had to buy a 1928 Tudor, fantastic car, fantastic people and what a great community Ford barn is.

[V4F]

old age & lack of money ..................... steve

[Elcastor]

When I was 13 years old (1960) I had saved $75 from the money I had earned from my summer job. I wanted a go-cart and had found one but my dad said that what I should do is spend the money on an old car instead. Owning a car at 13 had never crossed my mind!

After looking a a few old cars in our area I picked this one because it had the best tires. New to me when I was 13 in Bend, Oregon. Am I proud looking, or what?






I drove it to high school and for a while after that, then took it completely apart and started restoring it. For many years it sat untouched due to lack of money and time, but especially money.


In 2000 I retired and we moved to Baja California Sur, Mexico. I took it with me as I wanted a project to work on, and I wanted to restore this vehicle that had been such a big part of my life since 13 years old.







With the help of a wonderful body and fender man in a nearby town I was able to finish the restoration in 2007.

One of the big celebrations in Mexico is November 20th, Revolution Day, and our small town always has a big parade. I have taken my Model A to the parade each year since it was restored, and I almost always have Revolution Day princesses or the Queen riding in my vehicle since it is the nicest vehicle in the parade. This year was no exception as I had the queen and 2 princesses in my pickup!! Eat your heart out guys! (Yes, there is one with me in the front seat!)
This picture taken November 20, 2011




As you can see, I enjoy the hobby and the driving as it always brings smiles to everyone's face. Now I am working on a wood bodied station wagon. The chassis is 1928 Ford model A and the body was made by Martin-Parry. I hope to have the station wagon done enough to be drivable in a couple months.

[Droobie]

I grew up Playing in and hiding in my grandpa's Tudor. While my brother played in the yard I played in the Model A. So about three years ago My whole family was all getting together for thanksgiving at grandpas house. I flew into town a couple days earlier than anyone else. With nothing to do I decided to go out and piddle around with it and try to get it started. A couple days later Grandpa and I had the Tudor barely running when my older brother and cousin showed up from the airport. They walked over and were looking at the car and saying stuff like " i cant believe it runs" and "Man this thing is in good condition".... Then my cousin said " I hope I get this thing, I would love to chop 6 inches out of the top" then my brother said " it would be hard to build a Z'd up chassis for it...... I looked at my grandpa and thought he was gonna have a heart attack! He didnt say a word about it. he just shook his head. So later that night Grandpa and were drinking a beer together and he looked at me and said " You got room for the A Model? And the rest is history. This Tudor is the second love of my life!!

[Bruce,Upstate NY]

My folks' car was an A when I was born. During the war the U S Mail trucks went by the house. Loved that exhaust note! Bought my first roadworthy A in 1950 for $75 and have driven them ever since. (I sure got razzed for paying so much)

[SANTA Ray]

When growing up in the 50/60/s there was a lady that worked for the DMV, in southwest MI, that drove a 30/31 coupe daily. I always loved that car and drove by her garage to look in frequently first on my bicycle later in my 56 Ford. In the 70's a friend, in VA, had a 30 Tudor that was my first hands on experience, helping him, I was driving a 37 Dodge Coupe. Not until the 90's did I get closer to the total "A" experience. A close friend purchased a one owner 31 Coupe and had it shipped fron CA to GA. I liked the car from first sight. The car was soon in pieces. I helped with restoration of the rolling chassis then the project sat for a few years. I purchased the car and started in. I payed someone to do final assembly and paint. Since then I have had to do almost all of thet work over to correct spec. I later found out my parents dated in a pair of "A" roadsters years unknown. My mother had at this time moved to GA and was under my care so the coupe project became something I wanted to do for myself and also her. We have been driving the Coupe since 2004 45K miles. Longest trip from GA to AK last summer. My wife and I love these cars and will probably have one until they pull my cold dead hands off the steering wheel.

[ora masters]

Originally Posted by anut

about 1940 my older brother got out of the ccc camp baught a 1930 vicky we lived on a farm with a big barn and barn lot when no one was around i would drive around barn in first and second gear have loved model ays ever since am now working on number 7

i am now ora masters my ANUT got deleted and i could not get it back now working on number 8

[TD]

I found the "31" pick up my Dad use to drive to town. It was buried in a barn down to the frame. The man who owned it said he buried it so a thief would have to dig all night long in the dark to steal it!. He became paralised and I got it to restore. My wife and I replaced the floor pans and the bottom of all the panels but the frame was good. I had lots of doubles and traded off parts. I restored it down to new paint and sold it to move to North Carolina in 2003 to a well driller from Conn. My wife cried all day after it was gone. Before the man passed away that I got it from, I gave him the original gear shift ball. He cried and held on to it the whole time I was there.
Since then, I've fretted over loosing it until last year, when my son found a 29 Murry in the Dakota's. Now I'm knee deep in model A. It's taken over my garage and my spare time. Just try to wipe this smile of my face! Oh yea.

[RcT]

Back in the late '50s, our neighbor owned a gas station and had a '30 Model A he would start every morning and had a cup of coffee letting it warm up out on the street. I would lay in bed about 6:00 a.m. and listen to that car... the sound of it was music to me.
When i was 14, my Dad knew I wanted an A and came home one evening and told me he found one in a small city nearby. We went to take a look at it and it was stored in the back of this old guy's cabinet shop, covered with cardboard boxes of stuff. We removed all that and there was a '30 sport coupe, six wheels and rumble, white top on a maroon body; look like it had been brush painted maroon, fenders and all. He wanted $250 for it and Dad got him down to $210. I repaid Dad with my paper route money and we towed it home with Dad's '59 Ranchero.
I was 14. I had it running in about two months and took it out for a ride one afternnon. Dad was waiting in the driveway when I got home; I saw him and wanted to keep driving, but pulled in. He just told me to drive the car into the garage and he got an old rusty chain and strung it through all four wheels and locked it up.
The A stayed ther until I reached 15 1/2 years old, when I could get a learners permit. The chains were removed and I drove that car for another four years before selling it for a new '65 Mustang. Yeah, I wish I had kept it...
While in college, I bought a Model A pick-up, converted from an ols tudor. That was followed by a '29 tudor, then a ground up on a '29 special coupe. Then a good 25 years with no A until I bought this last special coupe in Feb, 2010.
Can;t seem to shake the habit...

[Jim/GA]

My dad...

[Bill in Al]

My first memory of riding in a car was in 1939 when I was three years old.I was standing behind my folks and looking out over the green hood of a Model A. I don't know what year it was but I remember it was a tudor and it was bought from my Moms cousin. I always remembered the sound and smell of it. Finally got my own a few years ago.

[rpm2831]

A Chevrolet!

[kartknut36]

a 1966 Mustang !

[Popeye31]

I was looking through the craigs list adds and there was an add that read scrap metal antique car parts free for the taking. Well I jumped in my truck and went to the house. The yard was open and I didn’t see anything in there so I knocked on the door and a lady came out and said, come this way. so she brought me to the side of the house and said right here look under the house you think you can use any of this . So I bent down and low and behold there under the house is a model a frame, model t frame, An A front and rearend, T front and rear end. And she said there is more under there but you will have to get the stuff I’m not going to get under there. I started to crawl under and she said wait I have one more thing in the back behind the garage. So we walked about 100 feet to the back and there on homemade saw horses was a 30 Tudor sedan body rusty but in good shape. She said if you think you can use it its yours but you have to take everything .I said yes mam I can definitely use the parts. I told her I would have to go get someone to help me load it but I will be back in 30 min. Please don’t let anyone take the parts I promise I will be right back. She said ok I’ll give you an hour. I sped out of there as fast as I could drove 15 miles back to my dad’s and told him to drop what he was doing and come help me. I made it back in 27 min and the rest is history. I now have 4 As and am loving the hobby and the old farts I mean the people I meet along the way.

[Gumpy]

just by reading your stories particularily the ones with ownership of 50 years!

[Greg Jones]

Guess I will tell my tale here. I grew up in Aberdeen SD on Melody Lane, and my Dad had saved his father's 1926 Model T coupe. Always sat out in the barn, rather forlornly. Our neighbor, Dan Jarman (anyone know him???) was into old cars and I remember him buying a 31 Tudor for the princely sum of $250-this was in 1966. He showed the car to Dad and me-it was green with pin striping, and mohair upholstery. It had about 8000 miles on it, and smelled kinda new inside. I fell in love with that Model A and just had to have one. I went on to restore my grandfather's Model T, but got myself a "modern car" later in life, i.e. a Model A. The Model A was such a technological advance over the Model T, it is amazing.

[Tom in SW VA]

My first car was a 30 coupe that I bought for $95 in 1956. It was a great car, but I had to sell it to have a ride to/from college. I will forever regret it. However, in 1966, I bought a 29 Tudor turned into a truck for $300. I replaced the body with a 29 60C Fordor body. And 44 years later and with a 4 year restoration, this car won a MARC at French Lick in 2010. I also have a 28 roadster fully restored.

What drove me to Model As? Answer-My friends had Model As and it was the only car that I could afford as a 15 year old. And, I have always loved cars and the thrill of driving them. The older the better; just like me.

[Brobrian]

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Wow, I can't believe I read the whole thing! Great stories.

Here's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Tie enough thin strands together and you can make a rope strong enough to bind. Strands of memory, old stories about Model A's on the farm, the need to bring something good from the shadows of my childhood into the light of present day, the desire to please my father and have something of his put away for the time when he's passed on,.. all these threads seem to weave together to bind me to my Model A's.

When I was a little bugger Dad had a '28 pickup he'd gotten in 1959 as payment for painting a house. It was just sort of a running rust bucket. I recall one morning seeing him fill the radiator with hot water as he drove it through the snow to work. Our Jeep Wagoneer must have been broke down again. In another image I can see my brother hanging his feet out the tailgate of that truck as I stand in the back looking down through the topless cab past the open floor watching the pavement rush under Dad's feet as we drive down a hill near our house in Incline Village Lake Tahoe, Nevada. From childhood until I left for college that pickup was always there, but never again running. We played in it, abused it, revered it as our only valuable possession.
Dad had paid my tuition in college so when I'd married, had a son and finally rented a place with a garage I offered to repay him by restoring his Model A. "You're not getting your hands on my Model A," was his curt response.
I assured him the car would be his, undriven, from the day I finished it until the day I drove him to the cemetery in it, but he wasn't biting.

Within a year he called and asked, "What do you want the title to read on this Model A I've got?"

"Same thing it's always read," I replied. "I don't want your car, I just want to .."

"No, this is a different one I got for you," he cut me off. And a couple of months later he trailered down my '29 Special Coupe. It's a driver, with a shiny black spray job covering an original body and chassis. An absolute treasure. I've been driving the car for 23 years now. I've kept it running using an old book, phone calls to my dad, and trial and error. I love the look of the cowl through the windshield, the sound (of course), and the smell. I feel the car is mine in a very personal and intimate way. I know every nut and bolt and its every rattle and mannerism. I've never wanted to share it with anyone. Never joined a club or sought out other owners. Didn't want to be made to feel bad by a bunch of wealthy restorers who may subject it and me to snide snipes. (Probably a very unfair prejudice, I know. I apologize to all of you who have put in your time and are so free with your knowledge.) I've been private and protective about the car just like I have been about our childhood.
Dad bought my brother a '31 pickup at about the same time he gave me the coupe. I guess he thought we'd all share them together, but mostly it was just me and Dad. My brother really likes stuff that goes fast. Just this past October my brother sold me his pickup. Because of Dad's old '28 I've always loved Model A pickups. So now I have a '28 and a pickup. Dad is working on his Model A a little bit in his shop. Mostly, I think, he's tearing it down. I don't know if he'll get it all back together, but it's an original and a family heirloom now.
I wouldn't qualify as a restorer, just a loving driver. This is not my hobby, it's my lifestyle.

[montanafordman]

Sorry Double post. Mods can delete this one

[montanafordman]

I can thank my grandpa for my interest in classic cars and in particular, his 1931 Ford Model A. My earliest memories of the car were when it was barricaded behind years of accumulated "stuff" and covered in dust in his garage. I would get myself filthy getting to the car and climbing inside where I would admire the graceful curved fenders and running boards while I pretended to drive the car. Even at the young age of 5 or so I knew it was something special. Cars of the day looked much more alike and bland compared to the Model A buried in my grandfathers garage with its large external headlights and swooping fenders.

To my knowledge my grandpa bought the car roughly around 1962 from a local farmer. He put it in the garage where it sat for nearly 30 years until after he retired from farming in 1988. He began working on it around the spring of 1989 and had it back on the road around 1993. I'll never forget my first ride in the car. It hadn't been upholstered yet and he had plenty of work left but we cruised around the dusty roads of his rural town of Gildford, MT anyway with my Grandpa sitting on a 5 gallon bucket while I sat on the floor since he didn't have the seat finished. We were both grinning ear to ear! He tinkered with it as much as his time, pateince and health allowed until his passing in 2008. He always said it was going to be my car one day and now its my turn to tinker with his Ford Model A and carry on the history!

Naturally I miss my Grandpa with his gruff sense of humor and our shared interest in Model A's and hunting but working on his car has been a great way to remember him. I still get some laughs when I see his personality come out in the work he did. Some details he did right, and did well. Important things he cared about like the engine tuning and bodywork turned out great while other details that took a lot of tedious work and time to get right, or were beyond his level he either left as is or "improvised" around. I guess it was a combination of his type A personality and his farmers ingenuity.Thanks for the car Grandpa!




^ My Grandad, Charlie Griffith. 6/9/24 - 8/31/08

[sconnors]

A few years ago my buddy calls me and tells me he won an auction on Ebay for a Model A. I asked him what he paid and he said he wasn't sure as he was 'drunk bidding' and woke up the next morning to find out he won the bid! Lo and behold we went and picked it up and as that car rolled out of the shed I was in love! Wanted one ever since. Bought a '50 Buick a couple years ago and restored that, but still couldn't get the Model A out of my mind. So I found a 1930 Model A pickup. It's got some scratches and dings and is not perfect but I'm gonna drive it! I'm done with the whole restoration thing. I'm going to drive it and have fun!!!!!!!!!!

[tierod]

Prior to "growing up" my first car was an A cpe bought from a junk yard. While being towed home by another A I popped the clutch and it was running like a charm. Used it mostly to race the other A on dirt roads. Grew up and got into the hobby with a nice 29 Rdstr PU that I did not race.

[OC1Dave]

Wow, what a great thread. Reading all of these stories brought memories gushing back and caused me to answer the question posed. My Grandfather bought a brand new 1929 Roadster Pickup and used it hard on his dairy farm as the family's only vehicle. My mom remembers riding in the middle of the seat to church, the store, etc, covered by a horse blanket in the winter - no heater. From 4 or 5 years old I was facinated by the truck and it was the first vehicle I ever drove at about 7 years old. When my grandfather died in 1955 eveything was sold at auction - cows, tractors, machinery, but not the Model A. It sat in the shed for a few years until my grandmother finally gave it to me. I partially restored it and drove hundreds of laps before I had a license around a vacant lot near our house. One day it was sitting outside and a collector stopped by and offered me three times what I thought it was worth and it was gone. I took the money and bought a perfect low mileage 49 coupe and used the rest of the money for college. Fast forward until last year through Cadillacs, Corvettes, race cars and about 70 cars, I stumbled upon a Closed Cab 1929 being sold on Ebay by the AACA Museum at Hershey, 100 miles from my home. I drove down to see it and the minute I saw it the bug hit me hard! I was way outbid for the museum quality restored pickup, but while following the auction, I found a cheap very old restoration also on EBay near home. The elderly owner allowed me about five minutes to look at it and make him an offer, which I did. It was dirty enough to be a true barn find but was mostly rust free and all there. As soon as I sat in it, memories of riding with my grandfather hauling snow fence, milk cans and such came flooding back. I have been slowly working on it and have not decided if it will be a good looking driver or more. The owner couldn't remember who he bought it from, but he owned it for 30+ years and had not done anything to it but drive once or twice a year. If all goes well, I hope to have it on the road soon.

[Frank Nemo]

My first car in 1952 was a 1931 Tudor. I drove it during highschool and sold it prior to going to college. I always loved the Model A and after marriage, kids, kid's college, career and retirement I finally got around to my second Model A, a 1930 Sport Coupe. That's her in my avatar. I guess that is a fairly common theme to "What drove you towards the Model A hobby?"

[TAG29A]

My Dad. He bought a 29 Tudor when he was in high school in 1957. (his first car) I was 3 years old when he finished the first restoration. When I was going to college he did a frame off restoration in the early 90's. We used that car as our get away car in our wedding, and 3 years ago he passed the car on to me! Basically everything I learned about cars was on a Model A.

[chiliman]

Well in early 60's Iwas 14 saw a add in local paper 225.00 foe a 31 coupe called at 6.30 am on sat my dad loaned me the money we pulled it home tightend the rods and a few gaskets and poff it started lived on a dead end road wasnt long and I had the shifting down any way still have that same A its might get restored but starting on a rodster pickup right now and of course drive old mighty manfred friend and faithful companion right now the fourdoor then my wife has a 31 coupe that drives really nice and then her 30 two door life is good and God has blessed me have a blessed day

[Napa Skip]

In the early 1950's when I was about 10 or so and we were living in Reseda CA, my Dad was a tool and die maker for Lockheed Aircraft. One day he came home with a 1931 Model "A" coupe, having won it in a raffle for $1. The black paint was (as I recall, all these years later) pretty worn, in some areas through to the primer, but it ran well. I recall my Dad saying that all he had to do was replace the head gasket. I do remember that the coupe had a rumble seat and the upholstery inside consisted of neatly installed burlap over which clear plastic seat covers had been fitted.

I tried the best I could to get my Dad to save the car for me but these were pretty lean times (I remember we still had an ice box and used a red/blue sign in the window to tell the Union ice delivery man whether we needed ice that day, the washing machine - although electric - had a mangle for removing the water, we still got bread from the Helmes bread truck, milk was still delivered in glass bottles by Arden Farms, and the television - a major purchase - was a 12" Hoffman in a maple cabinet) as evidenced by the fact that it wasn't until 1954 that my parents bought their first new car, our transportation at the time being a c1950 Studebaker Commander, purchased used.

In the event, failing to find a buyer, my Dad finally sold the Model "A" to a local teenager who made no bones about the fact that it was headed for a new life as a hot rod. But, for whatever reason, my desire for a Model "A" of my own remained, albeit on the back burner through marriage, college and grad school until - as a young submarine officer stationed on a boat home-ported at Ballast Point, San Diego - I had the wherewithal to purchase my first Model "A" - a 1931 indented-firewall Standard Coupe painted Chicle Drab and Copra Drab, still one of the sharpest-looking color combinations I've seen.

I'v had a Model "A" ever since.

[Gumpy]

Brobrian--

thankyou for sharing your story I must confess I have never owned a model A but would love to own a cabriolet some day, ive made up my mind I WILL!...just cause your story inspired me, gump

[Chris H]

I never cared for Ford products. I have always liked the British roadsters, such as the MGs. Someone gave me a die cast model of a Model A for my 8th or 9th birthday. I did not even know what it was, calling it a Model T. It was one of my favorite models though. I did not see a real Model A until about 25 - 30 years ago at a car show. I fell in love with them, and have wanted one ever since.

The MGs came first, though, and I still have them. When I finally figured the time was right, I started looking for an A. Found one 2 years ago, and have been happy with it ever since. There are other vintage cars that I would love to have, such as the Packards, but the Model A is affordable. I don't think I could afford to own any of the Packards. No regrets. I am satisfied with what I have.

[Geo. H]

I started with a 31 Chrysler. I wanted a roadster. Couldn't afford a Chrysler roadster, so I traded a 49 Harley for a 1931 Model A roadster. The rest is history.

[Barney]

Hi guys,
American Cars have fascinated me since I was a little child. When I was growing up in the 70s I always looked "TheWaltons". And the cars of the family interested me more than the plot. The sheriff also drove a great car. Does anyone know yet what it was?

Since that time, I knew I will even have a pre-war car. Prefer a Coupe as John-Boy. Now i have a Coupe.

My dream car is a Packard 740 Roadster This is in my opinion the most beautiful car ever built. Unfortunately, such a car is hard to find and very expensive. So for now we are very happy with Lady Rose (Name of my Model A).

Best regards
Barney

[mmindling]

Originally Posted by JoeWay

I worked for my Dad the spring and summer I turned 15, in 1962. In the fall, he bought me a Model A as payment. Simple as that.

He was into old cars. He built a '24 T speedster which I have now, and for many years owned a nicely restored 1915 Dodge touring. Other old cars came and went. So I was raised in an old car environment. But the Model A was mine, and it stuck with me. I mean that literally; it's the one in my avatar and I still have it.

Joe

Hi Joe, I also turned 15 in the summer of 1962. My dad and I bought a 28 Tudor for $125 and we restored it together. Although we lived in Chicago at that time, dad grew up on a farm in Ohio and knew how to fix anything. After we joined the club, we saw many fine restored cars and re-restored the 28 three times. I passed my drivers test in that car - wow, the employees at the DMV were impressed. Would love to find it now - it was A 457909.
Glad to hear you kept your car,
Regards,

Martin Mindling [email protected]

[29restorod]

It was my dad that got me started. At age fifteen he wanted to restore a model"A",the car of his youth. The restored car was to be my daily driver when finished. Of course I was happy just to have wheels. The restoration was a real amature job,with rear fenders welded to the body. Paint was by Earl Schieb. My Dads rules were"No drilling holes","No v8's" "leave the fenders on". Modifing the A or a B engine was OK,as were hydraulic brakes,dual tail lights with turn signals,16" wire wheels,(tires were cheaper). I also had push button relay start. The last engine was a "B" with a 3/4 cam 2 holly 94's, mallory distributor, and Ansen head. I drove it year round for 2 years,then kept it as toy for 11 more years.