the history of your car ???????

[al's28/33]

How many of you know the entire history of your "A" since it was brand new ???

I got mine from upstate Illinois and had it shipped via cargo truck to California in 2001. Besides that, the seller told me it was owned by a couple in Illinois for ten years.

[John Duden]

My early 28 AA truck was made in st paul mn, it was ordered by the stockton sawmill , it hauled logs until it was time was up (newer machinery) then it was parked in a shed and the back wheels jacked up and turned the saw rig, when the mill closed it was sold to a man in rochester who used it personally and then sold it to the scrap yard, dad found it and it became our project
John

[Jordan]

Bought from Uncle Bob back in the '70's by Joe York. Fully restored in '77 along side of my grandpa's coupe (Joe & Pawpaw restored them kind of together). Then sold to Joe Moon in the 80's. Bought back by Joe York in the mid 80's. Joe then sold it to his son, Mark, in the late 80's. Mark then sold it to a guy in Mineola, TX. My grandpa finally bought the car from him in October of '96 at the Autumn Trails event in Winnsboro, TX. And now it's mine.

[Roadster Rich]

My 30 Roadster was bought by Mrs Hawks, a wealthy summer resident of Bar Harbor, Maine, in July 1930 for a niece visiting her for the summer. My Grandfather was the caretaker of the estate. My father born in 1929, turned 16 and the car was still in the estate garage and his father bought the car. In the family ever since.

[Great Lakes Greg]

My family Tudor was purchased new by Enos "Zip" Wright, who was the fire chief in Litchfeild, Michigan. His widow sold it to a good friend of my dads here in Jackson in 1965. My father bought it from him in 1984. Dad passed in 2007, and now I am the caretaker. I often wonder who will be next.

[1930artdeco]

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Dad go his from a guy who drug it out of a junk yard in 1962. Prior to that nobody knows. I got after graduation in 1995.

Mike

[modelAtony]

my 31 tudor was purchased in Dallas,tx 1931 . The orig owner owned lunber yard in Little Rock,ar. he was in dallas for convention. Shiped car home on railroad. Orig owner died 1988 and son and grandson restored car and it was willed to next door neighbor Mr. Mc callister, he received car in 1989 . Mr mc callister was around 70 years old he and his wife drove it first time to church and radiator got hot on him, he said it was really hot. This was the last time he drove it. The year was 1989. June 2000 my father an I went to look at car and i bought it Mr Mc callister was about same age then as my dad around 82 years old, He said it had been in museum at peti jean on display for about 6 years just a few months before I found it. Orig miles on car was 75222 when i purchased it . Great RACE 2003 X - cup 2nd place . and I averaged about 1500 miles per month before I retired because I drove 60 miles per day round trip to work. since 2009 I only average about 1100- 1200 per month have fun modelAtony lafayette,la

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

We get a lot of cars in here where the history is known. My family owns two Model A's that someone in our family purchased them new. In my line of work, there is redundancy in the tasks so knowing the car's history or lineage often highlights the project.

[Mike V. Florida]

I wish I had a car with a lineage. Mine was built with parts from 3 cars in the early '80's.

[Modelakid31]

My dad's model T has linage. My great grandfather bought it from the original owner in the 50s and my father had it willed to him along with the A's in the mid to late 80's, someday I'll be the 4 owner of the car but we still will be the second family to own the car. The cars a cherry all original except the paint. The engine had the original bore till the early 80s when my great grandfather rebuilt it with a few other T and A friends. The engine now only has a few hundred miles on it. Amazing when you can follow the history of you car. I think it's so cool!!!!

[JD Miller]

This is an easy question to answer. My 31 Briggs SW Sedan has been in the family since 1933.

My Grandfather bought the car from Earl Koon. Mr. Koon purchased the car new from Ed McCrate the local Ford dealer in Columbus Grove, Ohio. When Mr. Koon purchased a new 1933 Ford Coupe he sold the Model A. The car was like new when my Grandfather purchased the car. The car was used for family transportation but mostly as a service car for my Grandfather's auto repair business.

I was given the car in 1954 by my Grandfather. Drove the car for three years while in high school. At the time Mr. Koon was alive and in the summer I'd pick him up and we'd go fishing at Riley creek. Mr. Koon liked the sedan and the fact a "young fellow" was driving the car.

The Sedan was first displayed at the 1957 MARC National at Greenfield Village. Fifty years later it was at the MARC National held at Williamsburg, VA.

So the sedan has been a member of the family since 1933.

[Pete in Michigan]

My 1929 Standard coupe was built in Indianapolis, Ind. and spent its first 36 years in Joplin, Missouri. The original owners son brought it to Michigan and I bought it in 1966 when he was moving to Alaska to work in the oil pipeline. I didn't know at the time that I could have the original title voided and keep it, oh well. The gas tank date is 7/29/29 which is my birth month and day. The car was built 18 yrs before I was born and I bought it when I was 18. I finished the restoration in 1976 and have owned it for 46 yrs.

[Rowdy]

My 1929 Deluxe Delivery Sedan was purchased new by Clyde Peterson locally. In 1934 Clyde and his family went to Ca., which began the missing years that I do not know much about. The body was used as a line shack by the Spradlin Ranch which was purchased by Lloyd Peterson (no relation to Clyde as far as we know) in 1954. I purchased it from the widow of Lloyd Peterson in 2005. I do not know what happenned to the original chassis or about when it was purchased by the Spradlins. Rod

[Ray in La Mesa]

Bought my '30 cabriolet the spring of '68 from Truly Nolen Pest Control in San Diego. It was being used in their fleet to advertise the business and was #13. All I new was, it was registered in Arizona. 20 years later on a reunion tour to Yuma I was talking to a fellow about two A's we were looking at, town car and cabriolet. I mentioned I had a cabriolet painted metallic blue with a black vinal top I got from Truly Nolen. He then asked if my cabriolet was registered as a '31 coupe. I got a chill down my spine as it was! I took him to breakfast and learned the history of my cab. back to 1953, after 20 years of owning it. Seems he was living in Chicago and got a job transfer to Tucson and had this '31 coupe. It was really ratty and he couldn't afford a moving company so he took the body off and made a farm box on the chassis, loaded up the household stuff and moved to Tucson. After getting settled in he and a buddy decided to redue the model A. They found the body in a wash on an indian reservation outside town and restored it. That also explained why the bottom 4" of the body was fiberglass.I'm just now restoring it. My '28 roadster pickup was pieced together in '68 also ( for a total of $147) as a temporary tour car till the cabriolet was restored. I didn't figure it was going to be 44 years later.

[28Annie]

My 28 Phaeton (not an AR) was built at the Ford plant in Argentina. I don't know if it was just the final assembly being done there but that's where she was from 1928 until 2002. The guy I got the car from was in Argentina on a business trip & saw it sitting in an old building that was going to be torn down. The car was in horrible shape as the sun had baked the paint off & the mice had long since stripped out the upholstery but the metal was all solid & complete. The area in Argentina has very mild winters so the metal held up well & the motor never went through decades of freeze/thaw cycles. He learned from the owner that the car had been in service as a local taxi cab for decades! He managed to buy the car from the owner & had it put in a crate & shipped up to Boston via ocean freighter. Once the car arrived in New Hampshire it was completely disassembled & built back up using both original & aftermarket parts. After a few years of signing restoration checks he got frustrated with it as they could never get it running right. It then sat covered in his garage until 2 years ago when he decided to cut his losses & sold it to me. It only had 74 miles on it since the restoration began! After a complete motor and drive train rebuild, I now am the current caretaker of "Annie" (named after my late Mother) and she's my pride & joy as this was a lifetime desire to have a Model A.

[Paul in Colorado]

My Town sedan has an interesting history, which I have written up below. It was won as a door prize at the Kalamazoo Antique Auto Restorers Club swap meet on February 4, 1968. The swap meet is still going on, and will be on February 4 again this year. I wonder if they still have door prizes which are this valuable.

Is there anyone from Kalamazoo (or elsewhere) who remembers this car? If so, I would love to hear from you and maybe learn some more details about the car's history, such as the specific work which was done. I am currently replacing the engine with a rebuilt one, which cost me much less than rebuilding the original. I will keep the original engine, which is rebuildable, for the next owner.

Paul

TOWN SEDAN HISTORY
By Paul Scherer

My 1930 Town Sedan, Model 155C, Serial Number A2746427, was originally purchased in early 1930 by Mr. Herman Cook of Kalamazoo, Michigan. It served him faithfully for 22 years. In 1952 he sold it to Mr. Elza Osborn, an old time friend and excellent mechanic. Mr. Osborn kept it running until 1957, when he put it up on blocks at his wife’s request. The neighbor ladies thought Mrs. Osborn was getting snooty, or at least they got tired of looking up to her as the Osborns drove by.
On October 16, 1967, the Town Sedan was purchased by the Kalamazoo Antique Auto Restorers Club for $250. It was restored by the Kalamazoo Antique Auto Restorers Club. The club newsletter for January 1968 states that:
“The car was stripped and transformed into a very desirable antique vehicle. Many club members helped in the restoration by sanding, grinding, painting, rebuilding and replacing parts. All chrome has been refinished; the steering gear sector, generator, and starter have been rebuilt, new spring shackles and wiring installed, and complete new upholstery and top have been fabricated. The car looks resplendent in its Ford maroon and black lacquer paint. The red wheels offer a pleasing contrast in color.”
My Arvada next door neighbors, Joe and Rebecca Balog, lived in Mishawaka Indiana during the 1960s and were very involved with hot rods. On February 4, 1968 they took a friend, Richard Ewald, with them to a swap meet held by the Kalamazoo Antique Auto Restorers Club in Kalamazoo. There was a $1.00 admission fee. When they went to buy their tickets, Rebecca told Richard to go first, since he was their guest. In the middle of the afternoon, there was a drawing for the door prize. Richard won the door prize, which was the restored Town Sedan. He drove it home to Mishawaka, but probably drove it no more than 100 miles after that. He did run it occasionally, and changed the oil and greased it. It was always garaged. Joe Balog told me about it in 2005, and said that Richard was considering selling it. I talked to Richard and we agreed on a price. Joe Balog and I borrowed a trailer and went to get it in October of 2005. I got it running after replacing a condenser, and we brought it home.
After bringing it home, I found that the body and interior are in very good shape, except for some minor moth holes. The wood appears to be sound, without any rot. The Kalamazoo club did a good job in these areas. However, I have had to completely rebuild the front end and brakes. The kingpins were very loose, and the brakes were in very poor shape. It now has cast iron drums with Flathead Ted’s floaters. The club apparently did nothing in these areas. I don’t think they did anything with the drive train either, but the engine runs fairly well and the transmission and rear end are quiet. One unusual feature is that it has a Northeast speedometer with no trip odometer, and the instrument panel does not have the usual notch for the trip odometer knob. I had it back on the road the following Spring, just in time for driving season. I alternate driving it with my 1930 coupe, and it is sometimes in parades with my son driving the coupe. I am only the fourth owner (not counting the club), and enjoy knowing the past history of the car.

[charlesea]

We bought our 1929 Fodor July, 2010 from the original family. The prior owner got the car from his brother in 1959 who still lives in Buffalo, Wy. The car was bought new by their dad & mom. . His brother got the car after both parents passed away. Not sure if we are the 2nd owner or not. It was restored in the mid 70's and made into a touring car along the way with a B engine, Mitchell OD and hydrolic brakes. Their dad had twin side mounts put on the car and a Lincoln Trunk. The reason was that he was a cattle buyer and auctioneer and wanted more than one spare in the event of two flats while on a buying & auctioneering trip. The roads was not good in those days therefore flats occured often
Her name is Shasta. She hasta have gas, oil and parts to keep her purring for the touring we plan to do in 2012. She now resides in the Heart of Dixie.

[Russ B]

My 1929 cabriolet was bought new by my father in the fall of 1929. After a year or so he gave it to his mother. She had it until she died. My cousin had it for a year or two, went in the Navy, and his father brought it back to my dad to give to me. I have had it since 1958-59. By the time I got it, it had sealed beam head lights, 16" wire wheels, push button starter, rotted out rumble, and other changes for better aftermarket parts availability. I added hydraulic brakes at my father's insistence in 1962, mol. It will never be a "points" car, during my lifetime at least, and most of the modifications previously made as the car gracelessly aged will stay. I am bringing the car back to life and putting in new wood, paint and interior.

[Droobie]

My grandfather bought my tudor new in 1930. He drove up until my uncle could drive. My uncle Tom drove the car all through high school and collage. It sat around for about at grandpas house for about 40 years until my Grandpa asked me to take it and restore it and never sell it or cut it up. My wife says I love the A model more than her....EEK!

[Dennis/CT]

Bought my 1930 Tudor from Joliet,Ill and shipped it to Connecticut in 2008. I bought it from the estate of John Bill which he purchased it on Jan 8 1965. The only thing his daughter remembers is that it was painted sometime in the late 1960's. I contacted a member of the local Model A club in Joliet but, he only heard of Mr. Bill and knew nothing about his car.