theres a 28 model coupe forsale in my area, and i really like it. the ad says This is a 1928 Ford Model A Special Coupe. It is an all steel car that runs and drives. The body is in good shape and is a rumble seat coupe. It has the original mechanical brakes that have been relined and stops good. The engine is the original model a with a mallory electronic ignition so its turn the key and hit the starter switch. It has a dual downdraft Riley intake with twin Holley 94's and a Reds header. It runs rich and has a little smoke. Its 12 volt with a new alternator. The headlights are hallogen with turn signals built in and it has rear lights and signals. Its all new wiring and it all works great. I have a clear Ontario registration in my name. they are asking $8900 canadian for it. ive hear it run and it sounds badass. Do you Think its worth that price?
Sounds quite reasonable to me. That interior looks like a bad dream I had once though! Un-mellow yellow...
well heres the thing it will be a trade deal and my vehicle is worth a little more so i just want to get an idea of the general value of this car or if 8900 is right around where it should be.
since im new to dealing with engines this old, the oldest ive ever played with was a 35 flathead strait 6. with the mods this banger has, how much power should it be making roughly? can it be driven on highway and get up to those speeds? how bad are the mechanical rod brakes? thanks for the input so far keep it coming!
I'd say it's fair. $8900 is like 8300 US more or less. I think the body would need a bit of work-or more. The interior's a no-no and basically it's a nice car with a wild mix-neither fish,nor foul. Mechanical brakes but modern wheels and tires. Have cool engine but half really weird mods.Original headlights but converted to halogen. I think it has potential-I'd not want to drive it as is. You can pretty much buy a nice stock A coupe for 8-10K and a not bad street rod for $15. So if you like the car and it really is solid, buy it and either drive as is, thumbing your nose all the while, or plan to spend abit more to get it into rod shape.
The A motor was listed at 40HP and top speed was about 60. The brakes were designed to stop at these ratings. Not sure what your intake mods will do but wvenn so, your acceleration and top speed will be sort of-Tuesday. The good things are the Model A was/is easy to work on and there are a ton of used and new parts available. Try Mac's for their online catalog and they'll mail you one free,too.
first thing id probly do is add juice brakes and the wheels may get changed. it would just be a fun driver for puttin around town and entering the highway once and a while.
I drove a stock engined Model A across the country twice in the Great Race. The key to highway speeds with a Model A engine is a good overdrive unit. We had our speedster doing 85 and the motor was probably similar output to this one. But as-is you'll be winding it kinda hard at 60. Mechanical brakes are scary, personally I would upgrade to the later "juice" brakes even on a totally stock car. So if I were looking at this, I'd be figuring on swapping out brakes, dropping the money for an overdrive (was about $1500 10 years ago) and doing something else with that interior. Personally I don't like those wheels either. It's not a screaming deal but it's not outrageous either. What exactly are you trading the guy that's "worth a little more"?
ok well im just waiting for an email back from the guy to set up a date to look over the cars better. i hope the deal happens cuz it would be so much fun to drive that thing around.
Buy it! I picked this up for less money, but it needs more cash thrown at it than yours. I'd love to have the hop up parts off your motor!
From what i see, only has linkage to one carb. Unless they have smaller jets, 94s will be to much for an A. I believe the car is worth the money, but expect to spend more. Sold this one for 10,000 a year ago.
That interior will keep you from falling asleep at the wheel- if I had the money, I'd take "serious look" at it...
ya he says its running rich so that could be why. oh i expend to spend more, lots of changes will be made to make it my own, but id like to always keep it drivable through the process. so ill still have the drive to work on my other project.
Here is my 1928 Special Coupe in the middle of Australia, and the engine that took it there, one of three trips across the country in it. The Special Coupe was only made from July 1928 to June 1929 and is a relatively rare model. It featured mohair upholstery and other enhancements; reportedly it was "Henry's Favorite" of all the Model A bodies. Mechanical brakes will stop it provided they are correctly adjusted. At that price you should jump on it.
Yes, or Special Coupe. At first glance, they look like a regular coupe, but they are kind of unique. It's actually a Sport/Business coupe from the beltline down with unique roof stampings that are grooved for the leatherback moldings. Here's a couple pictures of mine before and after I rodded it:
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