The Ford Barn

J Witt · 06-10-2015, 06:23 PM

My wife and I, along with my brother, who is also a car guy, went to the Grandfather's Day get together at Mike's last Saturday with the aim of meeting some Model A people and looking at a bunch of cars. I have been researching As for some months and this trip was part of the fun.

Didn't really expect to buy a car, but my wife had already said that when the time comes it's got to have a soft top. To make a long story short, a gentleman had this car for sale at a reasonable price and we ended up buying it. Not only that but he delivered it the same afternoon to our home in NW Atlanta.

IMAG0473.jpg

My goals were not for a show car, but for a nice driver that I could do fix-up on and not have the heavy bits to do, at least not immediately. We lucked out in finding a car that exactly meets the requirements. Pretty nice rebuild with new bits throughout. It is not a car that could be a judged show car because of its provenance, but will be a nice driver for tours and trips to the ice cream shop. And the horn goes hoogah...

The car was built up and driven few short trips by the PO, but needs the kind of detail adjustments and tuning that make any vehicle a pleasure and captures the full flavor of a Model A.

My brother and I had done a few adjustments to timing, cleaning and flushing the cooling system, adjusting clutch free play and made a trip out for lunch hamburgers. Later I tried to start it up to back out of the garage and it made a few coughs and then would not run at all. What could be wrong? After checking several things, the fuel tank turned out to be bone dry. Our previous trip had put us back in the garage on the fuel in the float bowl. It's better to be lucky than good!!!

1931 flamingo · 06-10-2015, 06:26 PM

VERY NICE ! ! !
Welcome to the Barn.
Paul in CT

J Wade · 06-10-2015, 06:37 PM

Welcome I know I'm lucky. Probably more than I deserve. Anyway ENJOY.

Wareagle · 06-10-2015, 06:45 PM

I have found that working on these babies is a lot of fun. I can only image being able to drive mine on some trips. Has to be a ball. I can hear Dad now, 'Boy, what the heck do you want with that old thing? I'd rather ride in a hay wagon." Enjoy!!

Jwilli · 06-10-2015, 07:41 PM

John, I guess you need to go to the Race Trac and get some E-free gas.

Anteek29 · 06-10-2015, 08:37 PM

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

I love the color combo plus the pristine whitewalls!

mhsprecher · 06-10-2015, 08:45 PM

Open cars are a blast. You have one smart wife.

C26Pinelake · 06-10-2015, 08:47 PM

Great looking car with white walls for a bonus ! Congratulations to all three of you ! Wayne

al's28/33 · 06-11-2015, 12:16 AM

Nice flashy red roadster.....drive it to enjoy with everyone you meet!

Mike V. Florida · 06-11-2015, 01:45 AM

Congrats and welcome. Enjoy the ride!!

Jim/GA · 06-11-2015, 03:18 AM

Looks good. Contact me if I can help you with it. I am in Atlanta pretty often, or can help by email or phone.

inex01 · 06-11-2015, 04:54 AM

Real nice looking Car and welcome to the wonderful world of Model As

Roadster Rich · 06-11-2015, 07:09 AM

Roadsters are a lot of fun. As stated already, there are lots of gas stations around us in northern Atlanta (I live in the Cumming/Alpharetta area) that sell ethanol free gas and you would be smart to use that. Let me know if you need any help along the way.

Goldhardt · 06-11-2015, 09:37 AM

That's a beautiful car. Now you need to join a local club. It is so much more fun driving around with a group of Model A's. Drive it, have fun and enjoy it!

J Witt · 06-11-2015, 05:42 PM

Thanks everyone for the kind words and wishes. I previously restored two Model Ts. a '26 roadster and a '12 touring and enjoyed them a lot, but no longer have the time and circumstances for a full body off restoration. I think one has to do some work on a car for it to be your own and this one fills the bill for that level of effort.

It was fun to meet Jwilli at the ROMEOs get together, so the activities have already started. And we did fill up the tank and made a dip stick to use until the fuel gauge is fixed (new float on the way).

I'll be after all of you on the forum for advice on adjustments and fixes. The first two are heavy, stiff steering and adjusting the door latches to close them without having to slam them hard.

Happy trails to all,

John

Jwilli · 06-11-2015, 06:13 PM

John, when you get ready to repair the gas gauge, I have the proper tools to do that, you are welcome to borrow.

monto · 06-11-2015, 06:49 PM

Congrats! Driving an A is a unique experience. A '30 A Tudor was my first car at age 16. Bought it for $50. Sold it for $20. Drove numbers of others in late 1950's and 60's. Time passed and a year ago I found a '31 Tudor driver. Original, but not a show car. Sounds rather similar to your find. Showing it is fun, but driving it is a blast. Its a keeper. Needless to say, I'm not going to part with this one. Drive often, drive safely. I wish you well.

stouchton · 06-11-2015, 07:18 PM

Great looking car - but I am biased!!!

modelAtony · 06-12-2015, 08:13 AM

Very nice and FLASHY roadster. WOW YEP your wife is a keeper, so glad she told you soft top . Happy, Happy for both of you. Have fun modelAtony tony white Lafayette, LA

jwaldrich · 06-12-2015, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhsprecher

Open cars are a blast. You have one smart wife.

My Bride refers to open cars as "going topless".

06-10-2015, 06:23 PM	#1
J Witt Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Acworth GA Posts: 534	Adventures in my new Model A My wife and I, along with my brother, who is also a car guy, went to the Grandfather's Day get together at Mike's last Saturday with the aim of meeting some Model A people and looking at a bunch of cars. I have been researching As for some months and this trip was part of the fun. Didn't really expect to buy a car, but my wife had already said that when the time comes it's got to have a soft top. To make a long story short, a gentleman had this car for sale at a reasonable price and we ended up buying it. Not only that but he delivered it the same afternoon to our home in NW Atlanta. IMAG0473.jpg My goals were not for a show car, but for a nice driver that I could do fix-up on and not have the heavy bits to do, at least not immediately. We lucked out in finding a car that exactly meets the requirements. Pretty nice rebuild with new bits throughout. It is not a car that could be a judged show car because of its provenance, but will be a nice driver for tours and trips to the ice cream shop. And the horn goes hoogah... The car was built up and driven few short trips by the PO, but needs the kind of detail adjustments and tuning that make any vehicle a pleasure and captures the full flavor of a Model A. My brother and I had done a few adjustments to timing, cleaning and flushing the cooling system, adjusting clutch free play and made a trip out for lunch hamburgers. Later I tried to start it up to back out of the garage and it made a few coughs and then would not run at all. What could be wrong? After checking several things, the fuel tank turned out to be bone dry. Our previous trip had put us back in the garage on the fuel in the float bowl. It's better to be lucky than good!!!

06-10-2015, 06:26 PM	#2
1931 flamingo Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: new britain,ct 06052 Posts: 9,393	Re: Adventures in my new Model A VERY NICE ! ! ! Welcome to the Barn. Paul in CT

06-10-2015, 06:37 PM	#3
J Wade Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: San Angelo Texas Posts: 112	Re: Adventures in my new Model A Welcome I know I'm lucky. Probably more than I deserve. Anyway ENJOY.

06-10-2015, 06:45 PM	#4
Wareagle Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Ohio Posts: 63	Re: Adventures in my new Model A I have found that working on these babies is a lot of fun. I can only image being able to drive mine on some trips. Has to be a ball. I can hear Dad now, 'Boy, what the heck do you want with that old thing? I'd rather ride in a hay wagon." Enjoy!! __________________ Jim P. central Ohio 1930 Tudor Sedan 15 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren and loving it!!

06-10-2015, 07:41 PM	#5
Jwilli Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Kennesaw, Ga Posts: 511	Re: Adventures in my new Model A John, I guess you need to go to the Race Trac and get some E-free gas.

06-10-2015, 08:37 PM	#6
Anteek29 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Santa Maria, CA Posts: 986	Re: Adventures in my new Model A Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) I love the color combo plus the pristine whitewalls! __________________ Alan 1929 Special Coupe 1941 Pick-Up 1955 Victoria

06-10-2015, 08:45 PM	#7
mhsprecher Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Takoma Park, MD Posts: 2,820	Re: Adventures in my new Model A Open cars are a blast. You have one smart wife.

06-10-2015, 08:47 PM	#8
C26Pinelake BANNED Join Date: May 2010 Location: Michigan / Ontario border, Sarnia, Ontario. 50 miles from Detroit and 150 from Toronto. Posts: 5,800	Re: Adventures in my new Model A Great looking car with white walls for a bonus ! Congratulations to all three of you ! Wayne

06-11-2015, 12:16 AM	#9
al's28/33 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Redwood City, CA Posts: 1,594	Re: Adventures in my new Model A Nice flashy red roadster.....drive it to enjoy with everyone you meet! __________________ 1928 "A" Phaeton (mid year with many early features) 1933 "V8" Closed-Cab Pickup Truck (originally a Model B, 4 Cylinder dating to May, 1933)

06-11-2015, 01:45 AM	#10
Mike V. Florida Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: South Florida Posts: 14,054	Re: Adventures in my new Model A Congrats and welcome. Enjoy the ride!! __________________ What's right about America is that although we have a mess of problems, we have great capacity - intellect and resources - to do some thing about them. - Henry Ford II

06-11-2015, 03:18 AM	#11
Jim/GA Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Young Harris, GA Posts: 1,830	Re: Adventures in my new Model A Looks good. Contact me if I can help you with it. I am in Atlanta pretty often, or can help by email or phone. __________________ Jim Cannon Former MAFCA Technical Director "Have a Model A day!"

06-11-2015, 04:54 AM	#12
inex01 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Rockville, Maryland Posts: 350	Re: Adventures in my new Model A Real nice looking Car and welcome to the wonderful world of Model As __________________ Chuck McDonald, Member of AACA, Model A Club, NRA

06-11-2015, 07:09 AM	#13
Roadster Rich Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Alpharetta, Georgia (Atlanta) Posts: 272	Re: Adventures in my new Model A Roadsters are a lot of fun. As stated already, there are lots of gas stations around us in northern Atlanta (I live in the Cumming/Alpharetta area) that sell ethanol free gas and you would be smart to use that. Let me know if you need any help along the way.

06-11-2015, 09:37 AM	#14
Goldhardt Senior Member Join Date: May 2014 Location: Commercial Point, Ohio Posts: 239	Re: Adventures in my new Model A That's a beautiful car. Now you need to join a local club. It is so much more fun driving around with a group of Model A's. Drive it, have fun and enjoy it!

06-11-2015, 05:42 PM	#15
J Witt Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Acworth GA Posts: 534	Re: Adventures in my new Model A Thanks everyone for the kind words and wishes. I previously restored two Model Ts. a '26 roadster and a '12 touring and enjoyed them a lot, but no longer have the time and circumstances for a full body off restoration. I think one has to do some work on a car for it to be your own and this one fills the bill for that level of effort. It was fun to meet Jwilli at the ROMEOs get together, so the activities have already started. And we did fill up the tank and made a dip stick to use until the fuel gauge is fixed (new float on the way). I'll be after all of you on the forum for advice on adjustments and fixes. The first two are heavy, stiff steering and adjusting the door latches to close them without having to slam them hard. Happy trails to all, John

06-11-2015, 06:13 PM	#16
Jwilli Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Kennesaw, Ga Posts: 511	Re: Adventures in my new Model A John, when you get ready to repair the gas gauge, I have the proper tools to do that, you are welcome to borrow.

06-11-2015, 06:49 PM	#17
monto Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: NH Posts: 182	Re: Adventures in my new Model A Congrats! Driving an A is a unique experience. A '30 A Tudor was my first car at age 16. Bought it for $50. Sold it for $20. Drove numbers of others in late 1950's and 60's. Time passed and a year ago I found a '31 Tudor driver. Original, but not a show car. Sounds rather similar to your find. Showing it is fun, but driving it is a blast. Its a keeper. Needless to say, I'm not going to part with this one. Drive often, drive safely. I wish you well.

06-11-2015, 07:18 PM	#18
stouchton Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Pottstown, PA Posts: 342	Re: Adventures in my new Model A Great looking car - but I am biased!!!

06-12-2015, 08:13 AM	#19
modelAtony Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: lafayette,la Posts: 459	Re: Adventures in my new Model A Very nice and FLASHY roadster. WOW YEP your wife is a keeper, so glad she told you soft top . Happy, Happy for both of you. Have fun modelAtony tony white Lafayette, LA