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Old 09-28-2019, 12:03 PM   #21
BRENT in 10-uh-C
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Default Re: 1931 model A performance

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Originally Posted by Patrick L. View Post
There was very little 60 mph driving in the 30s. The roads weren't up to it. A salesman driving one on probably the only paved road in the town he was trying to sell the car in was taken to 60 just to show the prospective buyer it would go that fast.



This simply just is not true. I guess I have paid more attention to this as I often route tours on paved secondary roads in the Appalachia areas that when I researched them I find they were old trails or dirt roads that were often hard paved in the mid to late 1920s. We are talking paved two-lane roads with a speed limit today of 55-60 mph however back in the Model-A era, these roads did not have posted speed limits. Paved sections of roads date back into the early teens with highways such as the Lincoln Highway. In the areas of major populous cities, there were WAY more well paved secondary roads than most would probably like to believe. These roads were very conducive to the advertised Ford speeds.


And one other point to note about these road conditions, -think about the high-end automobiles manufactured during the Model-A manufactured era. Why do you think manufacturers like Duesenberg equipped some of their automobiles with 320+ horsepower, -or Cadillac with V-12 & V-16 engines, ...or Peerless, Marmon, Lincoln, Pierce Arrows all with V-12 &/or V-16 engines making upwards of 4X the horsepower of a Model-A engine? These cars were not purchased and used by people who drove 30 mph on muddy roads. The reason these automobiles (-and by even more manufacturers that I did not mention) were equipped with big engines and had advertised speeds in excess of 80 mph were because there WERE many roads around the country that could be traveled at those 55-65 mph speeds. Their owners requested and purchased these larger engines because there was an ability to travel at faster speeds. Even the 1930-31 Chevrolet had an advertised top speed of 85 mph!! We are only kidding ourselves if we choose not to believe this simply because there were too many automobiles that were manufactured during the Model-A manufactured era that could be driven WAY faster than a Model-A.
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Old 09-28-2019, 12:06 PM   #22
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Default Re: 1931 model A performance

Do the major road maps of the early 30's show only paved roads?
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Old 09-28-2019, 01:06 PM   #23
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Default Re: 1931 model A performance

The challenge is to make the car viable transportation with today's cars and drivers.The ability to create the power and speed using stock components as a base to build on is possible. You can double the power of a stock model a engine with bolt on parts.you can add an overdrive to run modern highway speeds.Properly adjusted and maintained mechanical brakes are adequate for the job,provided you practice some common sense,smiths rule of air space for trucks is a good rule of thumb, 1 second for each 10 mph of speed between you and the car in front of you..add 1 second for a model a..Smiths basic rules havent changed in years..this is a neat Ford video..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8ECGHoMTu0
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Old 09-28-2019, 01:08 PM   #24
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Speaking of dirt roads..the lead dog doesn't need an air filter..all the others in the pack do..

a properly graded and maintained 'dirt' road can be driven at any speed you like..
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Old 09-28-2019, 01:38 PM   #25
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Default Re: 1931 model A performance

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...a properly graded and maintained 'dirt' road can be driven at any speed you like..

Very true, as we tend prove this on many Saturday nights which at times is over 100 mph in a circle!


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Old 09-28-2019, 01:50 PM   #26
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So let me get this straight, ...you are trying to convince us/me that in 1931 all other cars on the road had disc brakes? I say that is total BS ...just like the BS about having a Mitchell overdrive in 1931, -or horses everywhere on the roads in 1931.

Umm - maybe this will help - my post should have read " the ubiquitous disc brakes on all the other cars currently on the road" The context of the original post referres to today's circumstance as does my original post which should have been obvious, but I suppose it was not so to everybody.

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Old 09-28-2019, 09:05 PM   #27
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Maybe after the bank job!
I hit the Woolworths. Less security.
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Old 09-28-2019, 09:31 PM   #28
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Default Re: 1931 model A performance

Wow
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Old 09-28-2019, 09:46 PM   #29
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Can you drive a model "A" at 60-65 mph...Umm yes but why would you .
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Old 09-28-2019, 10:10 PM   #30
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Can you drive a model "A" at 60-65 mph...Umm yes but why would you .
Good on ya brother,but sacramento is a bit different than st cloud..
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Old 09-28-2019, 10:14 PM   #31
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Default Re: 1931 model A performance

Gosh, sounds like folks likely drove 60-65 very frequently....probably faster than most drive them today....I sure didn’t know that
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Old 09-28-2019, 10:23 PM   #32
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Default Re: 1931 model A performance

I have a stock 1930 Tudor that I often drive 10 miles each way to work. I travel about 47-53 mph during about 7 miles of the trip. The car seems happy up to about 54 mph, but the vibration starts increasing at about 55 mph. By 60 mph the engine sounds like it is really spinning hard and the wind noise sounds like a hurricane outside.
Some of the threads I read on the forums say that driving a stock 1930 Tudor at 50mph for any length of time will take out the center bearing. I am planning to take a 45 mile trip in the near future and I will need to run 45-53mph most of the way. Is this going to take out my center bearing the way several people say?? I run synthetic oil with a full filter and try to change the oil often.
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Old 09-28-2019, 11:02 PM   #33
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Default Re: 1931 model A performance

I’ve been driving a Model A since 1968, and I don’t feel comfortable driving at any speed over 45 - the steering and brakes just aren’ t up to it. I’ ve heard people say for many years that they drove their A’s at 60-65. that’s fine - personal choice. I would never do it from a safety point of view. A’s weren’t designed to drive that fast on a sustained basis.
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Old 09-28-2019, 11:15 PM   #34
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I’ve been driving a Model A since 1968, and I don’t feel comfortable driving at any speed over 45 - the steering and brakes just aren’ t up to it. I’ ve heard people say for many years that they drove their A’s at 60-65. that’s fine - personal choice. I would never do it from a safety point of view. A’s weren’t designed to drive that fast on a sustained basis.

Since getting mine I haven't figured out how to go over 35, unless I can find a hill and then 40 it is. The engine sounds like it might explode as I push her beyond 35. "Explode" is really not a good word hear, but it makes my point. :-)
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Old 09-28-2019, 11:46 PM   #35
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Since getting mine I haven't figured out how to go over 35, unless I can find a hill and then 40 it is. The engine sounds like it might explode as I push her beyond 35. "Explode" is really not a good word hear, but it makes my point. :-)
FYI that stick in the middle of the floor will allow you to shift the gears! Have you determined the gearing is not 4-11 in the differential?
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Old 09-29-2019, 12:03 AM   #36
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FYI that stick in the middle of the floor will allow you to shift the gears! Have you determined the gearing is not 4-11 in the differential?

:-) I looked yesterday on the differential and found no markings. I have no idea what the ratio might be. If we had a fourth gear that would be perfect. I could get to 45 with the engine at a medium RPM.


When I was a kid we had an old Ford end-loader. I think it had the same engine and transmission. It probably went down the road faster than this car.

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Old 09-29-2019, 01:06 AM   #37
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Default Re: 1931 model A performance

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Umm - maybe this will help - my post should have read " the ubiquitous disc brakes on all the other cars currently on the road" The context of the original post referres to today's circumstance as doss my original post which should have been obvious, but suppose it was not so to everybody.
Hmm, the original post starts out: "Let's say it's 1931 and...". So it would seem that the "context of the original post" was referring to conditions in 1931, not today's circumstances.
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Old 09-29-2019, 02:39 AM   #38
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Default Re: 1931 model A performance

I think a few people need to check the accuracy of their speedos.
When I'm asked (always by a younger person) "How fast does it go?" I answer "I don't know. I've never tried to find out." Boy does that confuse them.
BTW,There WERE a few horses on the roads even in the 1950s. I remember them. I'm sure there would have been enough there is 1931 that you's need to be aware of them.
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Old 09-29-2019, 05:51 AM   #39
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Paved smooth good roads in the '30s ! Sure.

There weren't many where I come from. We had gravel roads into the late 70s. Try driving at those break neck 60 mph speeds on those. As often as the gravel or dirt roads were graded they turned to corduroy in a hurry. As soon as you left the city limits the pavement ended, but, that must have been just in the area where I was brought up. Even the highways [ mostly just state roads] that were paved had a 40 mph limit.
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Old 09-29-2019, 10:14 AM   #40
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Umm - maybe this will help - my post should have read " the ubiquitous disc brakes on all the other cars currently on the road" The context of the original post referres to today's circumstance as does my original post which should have been obvious, but I suppose it was not so to everybody.
Ok, I guess I see where the confusion came from but I don't think the original poster asked anything about "Currently". I think we were supposed to answer what the performance was in 1931.
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