Technical BUYING A ORIGINAL MODEL A TO BUILD A HOT ROD

I took a short ride just over the border to Hartwell, Georgia with my cousin to look at a 1931 Model A sedan that is a original running car and after we arrived the gentleman ask if we wanted to drive the car, only problem was nether one of us had ever driven a original Model A, the owner got in the car and took Charlie for a ride.

Charles came back with a big grin on his face which told me his pockets would be lighter on the way home, Charlie wants to keep the original look and paint

While they were driving down the back road I thought how many Model A's I have driven but only after they were built into hot rods.

Have you ever driven a original Model A? HRP

 

Yeah. We turned two "restored" A's for a customer into cruisers. One roadster and one Touring. We all took them around the block before tearing them down

 

Well, you really got to want to get into things like this. Its driving at its roots for sure. I have had modified and stock ones. There is a feeling driving a stock one 55 mph that is fun and borderline insane feeling also.

I build this banger coupe with a hot B motor, 32 front brakes, and some other upgrades here and there. Cruises 70 fine. Mech brakes work great when set up correctly. Bolt fenders and boards back on and its pretty much stock looking then. This car is at 95 hp mark, and it leaves normal DD traffic from lights. Its a hotrod.

You can make anything drive good with a good alignment, not worn out parts etc, so the experience can be fun all around. I have been stuck in a prewar kick lately and its a blast. Hell post up some pics of the A...

Forgot to mention, having the throttle lever on the column makes downshifting the non syncro box tons easier.

 

Never driven an unmolested A but we did drive a nice older restored 32 5w to lunch.
Drove great. Not much seat room with the package tray still there. Really nice car. A week later everything but the shell was listed for sell and eventually sold.

 

My A was stock original, sitting under a tree for years, just for shits my son and I got it running and learned the drill. We got in [me driving] got up to about 30 on my dead end road and proceeded to run the old girl into some heavy pucker brush, was one of those I cant breath we were laughing so hard.
the victim

img049 by harpo1313 posted Feb 16, 2010 at 10:40 PM

 

Drove a few. We had a 28 pickup on the farm-drove it all over the place and on the road some as well. Great for chasing rabbits etc on the desert. Low gear throttle up a bit-both of us sitting looking out the doors with doors open--shooting rabbits etc with 22's

 

I have owned several stock Model A's over the years.
This is my current one a '29 Coupe.
For sure they are not for everyone but there is just something about them that I like.

 

Drove one once and I think everyone should to see what it really means to drive a vehicle.

 

There is a big chapter of the Model A club in this area that gets a lot of nice restored cars out on tours and a few survivors. Most of those guys aren't into the survivor or patina nonsense though or at lest for the car (s) they drive to events and parades. A lot of them have Model A speedsters built out of left over parts that seem to be as much or more fun.
Around here older "restorations" meaning that they slapped a paint job on them and did a ring and valve job in the 60's or 70's often go for less than actual project cars. The same car would get torn down to the bare frame by most Model A restorers in this area rather than being driven as is.

 

I did this one. Rolled a Pete and Jakes chassis under it with a hot 8BA Flathead

 

My first car was a '29 standard coupe. I drove it for 18 months during college, summer jobs and all over the place. Scary as hell before rebuilding the front end, brakes, suspension, transmission, engine, differential and steering box. Quite a joy after all that. cold in the winter and not a highway cruiser, but I could double clutch like a pro and loved to crank start it in the college parking lot.

 

Also did this one.

 

I drove one after it got chopped and lowered...but still the original drivetrain. Definitely a step up from an original T.

 

If you'd have brought this up with me maybe ten years ago, I'd be awful protective of any stock A; but the reality is that , basically, everybody who wants a dead stock A probably already has one. And, unfortunately, most of those folks are in the twilight years and their kids/heirs aren't going to be interested in that old car unless they grew up with it. Sooooo..... I've changed my opinion and welcome the use of original A's as rods. I'd rather see a built A than hear of one sold for scrap (it will happen).

 

The Hitchhiker pickup was a stocker until I got it.

 

Because I suck at body work picking up an older restoration gave me a big head start. I picked it up in the spring and drove it around in the summer a few times before tearing into it in the winter. I was not really taken with the stock experience so went with the original plan.

 

I had a 30 A about 12 years ago. It was all orginal with one laquer repaint from long ago. Brakes sucked and the head gasket leaked. So.... I bought a mech brake upgrade kit, put a higher compression head on it and found myself with a good solid 50 mph car. I bought it to hot rod, but my better half liked it original. I think I kept it a couple of years and sold it to a fellow in S. Indiana and he ended up keeping it that way and drove to Alaska in it. Something I would never do.

 

My first Model A in 1958 was a '31 Pickup. He wanted $85 for it. Got it down to $50. Had that in the bank, but they'd only give me $49. Cashed in some Coke bottles for 90 cents. Still owe him a dime. Loved it! Took X-Eliminator at Colton beating a Willys station wagon and a GoKart (who broke his chain and I had to haul him back to the pits!). Painted it red primer with a brush (not certain I washed it first). Had a white canvas top and had a shifter extension with an 8-ball that rippled the canvas roof that snapped off. Plus an extension that went another foot thru the roof. You'd put in the clutch and it would fall into 3rd! Unfortunately it ended up with a Chevy V-8 and fiberglass T body. Wish I had it back just like it was.

 

I have a hotrod and 2 stockers.... I enjoy stock and hotroded about the same myself.

 

Had a AA pickup back in 68. Put lawn chairs in the back and drove it all over Detroit. Bought it on the east side and drove it home to Redford, didn't have a clue how it operated.

 

Can't say as I have HRP.

 

Only driven mine around the block, will have rego in early July.

Has some minor mods but a 4 speed OD tranny and it shifts like a dream. Its staying banger powered with mech brakes.

 

I seem to always have a stock Model A kicking around here. They really are a lot of fun and there’s nothing like the sound of a banger motor.

​

ironandsteele.com
​

 

I think what you are used to driving gives you a new mindset quickly. My neighbor at the end of the road had a Chevy Cameo that he drove the wheels off . One day he sold it too his youngest boy . Two weeks later he had a beautiful restored 1930 Model A coupe sitting in the garage. I stopped by for a chat and he said those thin tires caught every groove going down the Main Street. He mainly drove it within 4/5 miles of the house.

 

I've drove a couple stock Model A's, they seem pretty modern after learning to drive my neighbors one family owned survivor Model T !!

 

Driving mine while collecting parts.

 

I have not, but I have been wanting to for a while. I've been watching videos of people starting and driving a stock Model A. I think I could do it if I got the opportunity.

My next vehicle will be a Model A for sure. Just need to build a new shop first so I have somewhere to put it.

 

I currently have 3 Model A's. A stock '31 Roadster pickup with 2 exceptions, 12 volt GM single wire alternator and a Snyder 5.5 high compression head. We have put thousands of miles on it and others out in the mountains and secondary paved roads and some barely trails! I also have a '31 coupe with B engine and hyd. brakes and a Ryan overdrive and 16" '35 ford wires. Then there is my avatar, a '29 Sedan with 59ab flathead and '39 trans. Of the 3, I like and use the '31 Roadster pickup the most. They all drive nearly like newer cars. Now if you want to drive something that takes plenty of practice, try my '27 T Roadster. Original engine w/ "B" exhaust manifold and carb, Model A intake, and a 2" pipe with glass pack muffler and a Ruckstell 2 speed rear axle. Only takes 3 hands and 3 feet to drive a T. When I did the manifold/carb swap I also modified a Model A throttle pedal assembly to make things easier because stock T's only have a hand throttle.

Dave

 

Early fifties my father's buddy had about ten or twelve. All different models but all closed type cpes sdns p/ups and a hearse. Dad had one it seemed, every weekend. Too young to drive but very familiar with the dance. When if it came time for me to get an antique I chose a T tudor. Dad would have objected, he always knocked them as primitive. BTW the first wreck I was in was an A tudor. Late one night in south Jersey, A dude ran a stop sign. Mother's shotgun seat folded forward as she kissed the windshield. I would have been under her seat when she fell back, Except for the crate of eggs that had been set on the floor in front of me.
When I next do drive an A it will have a 59AB.