What drove you towards the Model A hobby?
 

What drove you towards the Model A hobby and not some other type of vehicle?

I was 8 years old when I was hooked. Used to sit in the drivers seat of our 1928-29 Closed Cab Pickup on the ranch and pretend to be driving it. Used to pull rye for a farmer friend of mine down the road and he had a restored 1928 Open Cab Pickup and used to take me for rides...I was really hooked then. He had a 1929 Standard Coupe in the barn that he was going to restore someday (how many times have we heard that?). One day in 1966 he asked me if I would like the coupe if I promised to restore it and not turn it into a hot rod. I said yes and was soon the proud owner of two 1929's. A Standard Coupe and a Closed Cab Pickup...all for $250.00.

Fourteen years later, 1980, I took my farmer friend for a ride in the coupe. He had a smile that went from ear to ear when I showed it to him for the first time since I had bought it. I will never forget that smile.

Pluck

Re: What drove you towards the Model A hobby?
 

I worked for my Dad the spring and summer I turned 15, in 1962. In the fall, he bought me a Model A as payment. Simple as that.

He was into old cars. He built a '24 T speedster which I have now, and for many years owned a nicely restored 1915 Dodge touring. Other old cars came and went. So I was raised in an old car environment. But the Model A was mine, and it stuck with me. I mean that literally; it's the one in my avatar and I still have it.

Joe

Re: What drove you towards the Model A hobby?
 

Actually I had a 34 Ford V8 4 door when I was in high school in 63/64 & always wanted another one just like it, but just couldn't put that much $ into an old car hobby so I settled for the next best thing, my 30 Tudor & I still just love these old cars!

Re: What drove you towards the Model A hobby?
 

I've been in model a's my whole life. My grandpa bought his first model a when he was 12 years old in 1945, and has only spent 9 years since then w/o a model a. He bought the car i drive now in 1959, and since then has restored it twice, and put over 50,000 since its last restoration. Then my brother and i came along in 1993 and he knew he had to pass on the hobby. He has taken me to over 20 national and regional meets, and now it almost seems like i have started taking him along since i drive now. (around 8000 miles under my belt in a little more than a year) He is almost 77 now and has slowed down a lot, but always goes on the tours with us still. He has put the model a fever in my blood, and it will stick for the rest of my life. I will forever be gratefull to him for getting me into this wonderfull hobby.

Re: What drove you towards the Model A hobby?
 

Dad graduated High School in 1932, and thought a used '31 Roadster would be a great graduation present. Didn't get one until 1961, I wanted a Model T at that time. Still have both of them now plus the Roadster I found in 1962.

Re: What drove you towards the Model A hobby?
 

In 1963 when I was ready to get my first car, several of my friends just happened to have Model A's.....just drivers, nothing really special. I instantly became attracted to them and found myself looking for one. Found a one owner 1930 Standard Coupe in San Diego, and bought it for $360. The fun part was having my dad help me pull the engine and have a long block completed....I had no idea my dad knew anything about cars....but he had grown up with Model T's and A's.

Re: What drove you towards the Model A hobby?
 

Re: What drove you towards the Model A hobby?
 

Great question, Steve! I was 17 when I fell in love with my classmate's coupe. He was going off to college and needed to sell the car. My dad was going to give me 200.00 bucks to put toward a car for my 16th. birthday. That just happened to be
the amount of the coupe. Dad wouldn't allow me to have the Model A because he
was sure that I wanted to hot rod the car. He was dead wrong, but I couldn't convince him otherwise. I wound up with an old Chevy but never forgot the coupe.
At 19 I got a great job with a major corporation, and bought my first A a year later.
That was the longest four year wait of my life! Before dad died, he apologized for not
understanding my love for the A.

Jack

Re: What drove you towards the Model A hobby?
 

In 1961 when I was 151/2 I bought my first car. It was a $125.00 1931 Sport Coupe. There hasn't been one day of my life since then that I haven't owned a Model A.

Re: What drove you towards the Model A hobby?
 

Can't say I was driven to the hobby, more like I was inspired by my Dad who's first car was a 31 coupe in 1939.

Re: What drove you towards the Model A hobby?
 

I envey you guys that have had A's in your life since youth.
I'm still looking for my first. Have loved them all my life but
other things got in the way. Soon Soon!!

Re: What drove you towards the Model A hobby?
 

Started in 1974 at age 19] [the high price of "GAS" 74 cents a gallon]that left me from racing to a old car. Turned out to be a 1931 Tudor sedan 1/2 restored. $1,550.00 later it was mine.Seem cool at the time since my friend had a late "T" coupe [26/27?] to drive to high school in 1970. Stuck with it ever since. Now at age 56 i just finished a 7 year project[180a] and now start fixing a 1930 standard Brigg fordor[170b] for driving. BUT i think it was going 120+ miles per hour in the 1/4 mile on the strip and the street racing that did it. Needed to slow down some..l.o.l.

Re: What drove you towards the Model A hobby?
 

Re: What drove you towards the Model A hobby?
 

I have been told that my first ride home from the hospital as a newborn was in Dad's '31 40B. As an interested child, he gave me pictures of that car which also had been the folk's honeymoon transportation. It seemed natural at 16 when I began driving (1952) for me to locate and buy my own Roadster. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one I could afford so I settled for a $50 '30 Cabriolet. In 1959 I upgraded to a better "A"; this time a $125 '30 Coupe (couldn't afford a roadster) which later became our honeymoon car. I still own the Coupe and have used it to bring my now adult children (and grandchildren) home from the hospital as new babies. I 1998 I was hit by a speeding Honda while I was jogging and decided, while in the emergency room, that, if I survived, 1998 was the time I could afford a Roadster. A nice '31 40B identical to my Dad's car showed up in our driveway later that summer. Gar Williams

Re: What drove you towards the Model A hobby?
 

I had one given to me by my uncle in 1968 when I was 12.It was an early 31 coupe with a box installed in place of the rumble.The box was made by a factory in Amesbury Mass,but the car was the family truck,tractor,and car all in one.The box had been beaten so badly the rear quarters were rubbing the tires.He had parked it in 1954 when he went off to get educated,and after his career took off he figured he was never going to need it again.Fast forward 40 years or so,he was looking at my roadster pickup and asked what I ever did with the A he had given me.I told him that was it.It is on it's third body,(original coupe,closed cab pkp,and now rdstr pkp)and it's second frame.The original was kinked badly from hauling firewood and rocks on the farm.He had expected me to tear it apart and learn on it,then wind up scrapping it,as kids all did then.He went home to California and a few weeks later my mother got a package from him in the mail.It was the original horn he had taken off when he went off to school.Everybody stole those things back then so he took it with him.It sat on his desk throughout his career as a rep for various construction manufacturers.I had the motor rewound,but I will not paint over the faded original paint.Before that car I had no interest in things mechanical,after I got it the only thing that came close was girls.I had a friend that used to tell people I had kept the A because they don't make A's any more,but they make new girls every day.That car got me started on what I do today.I learned early on I really didn't want to work on newer cars for a living,but but tractors,equipment,trucks,drill rigs,forestry equipment,and old cars were fine and I still do it today.

Re: What drove you towards the Model A hobby?
 

Childhood memories of back in the 1940's riding in the family A. Just never got those memories out of my system so I bought one of my own in '71, now I have two.

Re: What drove you towards the Model A hobby?
 

Our family has always been into cars.

My dad bought the coupe about 25 years ago from the second owner. He did the restoration on it. Eventually he decided he needed the space in the garage, so he gave it to me about 12 years ago. I didn't have the money to register or insure it at the time, so it sat for about 5 years. Once I started playing around with it, I got addicted.

Steve

Re: What drove you towards the Model A hobby?
 

Sounds like my story too. I wish I had gotten one sooner but now that the kids are gone and retirement looms on the horizon I figure it's about time for one before it's too late.

I got my high school car done (my avatar). My son picked up a complete & unmolested '47 SuperDeluxe Fordor a year or so ago and we were thinking of restoring it but it's not really what either of us wants so might consider trading it off. I'm leaning toward an A (1st preference) or maybe a '42-'47 pickup project.

Don't know much about either model but I guess learning about them will be part of the challenge.

Re: What drove you towards the Model A hobby?
 

My uncle had a 31 coupe which I loved riding in but lived in St Louis about 160 miles away from Eldon and at that time was a railroad town our neighbor a railroader drove his 29 standard coupe to work, well he retired and walking to school noticed a for sale sign in window year maybe 1960 not yet old enough for lic but asked neighbor how much which he knew I couldn't buy anything said 25.00 that was more than I ever saw living with my grandparents and my grandmother at that time babysit to keep us going and I worked when could find something so I did mention to her about the A she made payments on 25.00 and have model a ever since,now have a 31 pickup

Re: What drove you towards the Model A hobby?
 

I was 14 years old my brother towed home a Model T Ford that
needed a lot of work.

He told me how he was going to fix this car up and run it.

He got me excited about it and I started reading all about the
Model T. In my reading I came across the Model A Ford and
I said I liked the Model A better.

At 15 years old I found a Model A Roadster for sale $75.00 (in 1953)
that started it. I now have 7 Model A's but not my first one.
1931 Roadster
1931 Cabrolet
1931 Pickup
1930 Coupe
1930 coupe
1929 Town Sedan
1929 Tudor