Before FordBarn

[rfitzpatrick]

Where did yall get your advise/help/encouragement for this era?
Just wondering - TKS

[lrf]

I got it from the national clubs and older (which I am now) local club members that lived back then and well into the 1950s-early 80s. Past history IS important! LRF

[Gary WA]

Ahooga.com was the place for info.

[Chuck Dempsey]

Originally Posted by Gary WA

Ahooga.com was the place for info.

Ditto.

[Marshall V. Daut]

In the 1960's and 1970's my knowledge and advice came from the village old coots who used to repair Model A's back in the day and from the current owners, who were generally well-versed in Model A's because their parents owned and maintained one. Also, for me it was MAFCA's "The Restorer" issues, which only came out once every two months. In the late 1990's the "go to" place was the "Ahooga" website, which sadly hasn't been too active in recent years. What a lively place it was for a few years, though! There wasn't much printed matter or "how to" literature worthy of the name back then. The service bulletins and Victor Page's tome were about it. Lesser booklets were riddled with errors, omissions and poor advice. I won't even get into Rick's "Restoration" manual. Model A people who have entered the hobby since 2000 just don't know how fortunate they are to have so many excellent printed help books/booklets and on-line resources. There's virtually no longer any excuse for making poor repairs based on lack of knowledge, parts availability or resources to guide one. They're all there at your fingertips!
Marshall

[Bigsnapper43]

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I grew up in the 50's. Starting with bicycles then graduating to A Fords. Working and loafing in repair shops and asking many questions to the old time wrench turners.

[mass A man]

My Dad and school of hard knocks.

[jb-ob]

Paul Moller, 'Model A Handbook' Volumes 1 & 2.

Like any skill, practice, practice, & more practice, if you want to learn.

[Gene F]

Ahooga.

[Benson]

deleted

[Marshall V. Daut]

Returning to my comment about "old coots" in Post #5, let me make it clear that I used that term in a positive meaning. In the 1960's there were still plenty of people alive who had bought Model A's new or had driven used ones for decades previously. These people were only in their late 50's and 60's when I first got interested in Model A's (NEVER a thought about Model T's!), so it's hard to believe that during the 1960's, these same people were YOUNGER than most of us on this website today! YIKES!!! To a teenager, those people WERE old coots! When I finally got my first Model A in 1966, I never tired of "old" people stopped next to me at a red light leaning over and telling me about the new Model A they had bought or their experiences in a rumble seat - much to the embarrassment of the old ladies sitting next to them. It seemed that every block in town had at least one "old coot" who was willing to offer advice about fixing my car and/or telling me stories about their Model A days. I think it made them feel young again with a whole lifetime ahead of them - instead of behind them. Jeez, how I wish those folks were still around these days. I'd appreciate their stories even more as an old coot myself than when I was a "know-it-all" teenager (Who wasn't a know-it-all as a teenager after all?) What a crying shame that they took their experience and knowledge with them to the grave. You can't replace that kind of loss. The human element from the Model A days is all but gone now.
Marshall

[ModelA29]

My dad taught me a car is a car. The old Motor Manual covered enough of the variances to keep any $35 car running until a better $35 car came along.

[Benson]

.... Wednesday morning 9 AM

[Mtn Wudy]

As for me I had Model T’s and Flathead V-8s….. Never had an A….except the ‘30 Tudor Sedan I bought in 1962 for $5.00 mostly just a body ,,but when you are 14 it was a car that just needed a little fixin’up..I got my first A two years ago ‘bout 95% done …It is running now ,, and ready to start on the interior……
I learned from the old guys that saw me driving em ,,my Ts …They all had a story to tell,,as I do now….Swapmeets ,,neighbors,,my friends dads and mine…The group right here and MAFClub , along with Paul Shinn videos are my Go to Model A info…Thanks Guys..

[mercman from oz]

[Y-Blockhead]

I got my start in High School Auto Shop Class in the late 60's and just learned along the way on old "junk" my friends and I would drag home to work on.

[ThirstyThirty]

the nuts n bolts side of things, mostly from a handful of knowledgeable friends. all had daily driver Model A's. not much tech references then, early 60's, but a few vintage car suppliers in area, I never got to their shops. prob had books... I earned the $ for my first Model A from mowing lawns. my 1930 A coupe, primer... original interior... cost me $200.00!

we towed it home...

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by Benson

She bought FB from a guy who slips my mind just now.

That was Gus Stangeland from the Dallas area. Gus' forum was actually started as a venue for his Dallas club to discuss Dallas area info but was overtaken by non-Dallas club members and so he formed Fordbarn. Ironically, the bigger forum for Model-As at that time was also founded by a fellow Texan named Dale Clinton from Houston area. I actually started with Ahooga and also joined Gus' site a few months after it was founded.

As for where I gathered my info on Model-As prior to that, it was my father and my father's friends. My dad began collecting Model-As in 1958. I have joked that I attended my first antique car tour before I was even born in 1960. This is true however it would be nearly 6 years before we would have a local Model-A club. Dad, his friend Bill, and a few other friends formed a Houston club in 1966. Prior to that, knowledge was gathered by going to a Model-A friend's house to work on Model-As. There were a few publications that guys had back then that they would reference but my dad and others commented there was as much wrong as was correct info. The irony was this was a frustration by many for the next few decades. That was likely one of the major differences between Ahooga and Fordbarn. In the early days of Fordbarn, misinformation was a huge deal. People quickly learned that if you didn't know what you were talking about, then you didn't post followup answers. This happened for many years which is likely why that Fordbarn was known in the hobby for being a 'purist forum'.

Over the years, ownership has changed ...and so has the content. It is a different day now, and ironically it appears that most hobbyists get their information now from YouTube content providers. In my line of work, I field a lot of Technical questions, ...and when they tell me the background of why they are doing something, I ask where did you get that information from ...and invariably they say from YouTube or on Facebook.

[rfitzpatrick]

@ Brent: "YouTube Or On Facebook"
Then all the forums are domed is reality I'm regretful to observe.

[Joop]

“Paul would call me whenever he had trouble with "That Damned Computer" which is how I found out about Shelley Kaplin's Ford Barn. She bought FB from a guy who slips my mind just now.”

Her name was Shelly Kaptain and she worked for Lang’s Model T and her husband Peter was into Model A’s, and members of the Minuteman Model A Club.