The Ford Barn

DrinkMan · 11-01-2015, 01:48 PM

Excuse this long post. It is a summary of a few years.

About 3 years ago we bought a Ford Model A. As you can see from my signature line, we have a lot of experience with older (but nothing as old as a Model A) cars. My wife and I do all the maintenance and keep all of them in top notch running order. I over estimated our ability to select a quality car and under estimated the effort to keep one in great condition.

Not going to address our mistakes in selection of the car but when we started we found that the car had a top speed of 25 mph, backfired constantly, had trouble starting and very poor brakes. We dove in and started doing small projects figuring each project would get us a perfect car.

Luckily, despite our naivete, we had some great resources to draw upon. This forum, our local club, and we only live 25 miles from Mike's Affordable A parts. First brakes needed rebuilding. Then, we started addressing the ignition system. Distributor wire, pop-out switch wire intermittently shorting out, and drive gear worn all hit us. Fix one, find another. Rebuilt carburetor, clean out fuel tank, and replaced gaskets on fuel gauge. A few things broke during the work - Bendix spring, light switch, etc...

Frustration was very high. We would get it running but not quite good enough (to my satisfaction). I would drive it to car shows and put a For Sale sign on it. After every drive, the car would need to have something fixed. Water pump, starter switch, condenser, and more. We would walk away from it and not touch it for months (it had us intimidated).

Last week, I finally thought I had everything working and sure enough, it wouldn't hold idle and ran worse than it did the week before. I contacted a local club member and asked for assistance. He came over, started the car up, ran it hard, checked each plug for spark, and then drove it with a vengeance (showed that car who was boss). He pointed out a couple of minor things, proclaimed that I had done a good job fixing it and left us to correct those things.

So, during the week, I changed the heat range of the plugs, installed a screen in the fuel tank after blowing it out, and replaced the carb since the GAV seat was beyond hope.
This video is the result. (I drove it 50 mph, brakes work, accelerates strongly)

https://youtu.be/IiYNZ7NBmUk

Now we have a serviceable Model A that we can enjoy. This is what we wanted when we bought it so long ago. We learned a lot (for example, just because you can rebuild an Opel engine, replace an entire Alfa Romeo brake system, and balance dual side draft carbs does not make you qualified to work on a Model A). So to all of you that are struggling, just keep finding those small problems and fixing them one at a time. Soon there will not be any more gremlins to vanquish. I'm looking forward to now only fixing things that break "normally" and doing some more upgrades (like turn signals).

Some picture of the journey:

Again, thanks to Hal, Harold, Mike & Erich at Mike's Affordable, and all the posts in this forum that I searched out and read of everyone adventures.

1931 flamingo · 11-01-2015, 01:51 PM

Looking good, now enjoy it.
Paul in CT

harleynut · 11-01-2015, 02:42 PM

You have the main ingredient.....mechanical ability....if you already haven't, get the Les Andrews books, Vol. 1and2 they are a big help.

mshmodela · 11-01-2015, 02:58 PM

Great story, great effort... Have fun!

Roadster Rich · 11-01-2015, 03:13 PM

Now here's another side of the same story. I did every bit of work on my Roadster, starting when I was 14. Now I have a 30 Town Sedan "barn find" moved into my shop. Just starting to go through the engine and I am clearly getting the feeling that I want to have this as a driver and much sooner than I think I can pull it off. Sounds so awful to say, but I think I am getting too old to put all the time in to do all of this. At 63, it might be time to part with a bit of this money I have made and get a real professional to do it in about 10% of the time. As you can see, my mind is almost made up.
P1010003.jpg

armchair67 · 11-01-2015, 06:19 PM

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Whether you do all the work or farm it out, as long as folks enjoy their cars, that is the important thing. Once you get it all sorted out, these cars are truly reliable and fun.

Larry Jenkins · 11-01-2015, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roadster Rich

Now here's another side of the same story. I did every bit of work on my Roadster, starting when I was 14. Now I have a 30 Town Sedan "barn find" moved into my shop. Just starting to go through the engine and I am clearly getting the feeling that I want to have this as a driver and much sooner than I think I can pull it off. Sounds so awful to say, but I think I am getting too old to put all the time in to do all of this. At 63, it might be time to part with a bit of this money I have made and get a real professional to do it in about 10% of the time. As you can see, my mind is almost made up.
Attachment 244612

"Getting too old at 63?" Gawd..

Yer just a kid. I got 21 years on ya and thoroughly enjoying my 1930 CCPU restoration.

In fact, I can't wait to get into the shop in the morning. If nothing else, the exercise keeps the A1C down..

Larry

11-01-2015, 01:48 PM	#1
DrinkMan Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Hoschton, GA Posts: 30	Don't Give up - There is a finish line! Excuse this long post. It is a summary of a few years. About 3 years ago we bought a Ford Model A. As you can see from my signature line, we have a lot of experience with older (but nothing as old as a Model A) cars. My wife and I do all the maintenance and keep all of them in top notch running order. I over estimated our ability to select a quality car and under estimated the effort to keep one in great condition. Not going to address our mistakes in selection of the car but when we started we found that the car had a top speed of 25 mph, backfired constantly, had trouble starting and very poor brakes. We dove in and started doing small projects figuring each project would get us a perfect car. Luckily, despite our naivete, we had some great resources to draw upon. This forum, our local club, and we only live 25 miles from Mike's Affordable A parts. First brakes needed rebuilding. Then, we started addressing the ignition system. Distributor wire, pop-out switch wire intermittently shorting out, and drive gear worn all hit us. Fix one, find another. Rebuilt carburetor, clean out fuel tank, and replaced gaskets on fuel gauge. A few things broke during the work - Bendix spring, light switch, etc... Frustration was very high. We would get it running but not quite good enough (to my satisfaction). I would drive it to car shows and put a For Sale sign on it. After every drive, the car would need to have something fixed. Water pump, starter switch, condenser, and more. We would walk away from it and not touch it for months (it had us intimidated). Last week, I finally thought I had everything working and sure enough, it wouldn't hold idle and ran worse than it did the week before. I contacted a local club member and asked for assistance. He came over, started the car up, ran it hard, checked each plug for spark, and then drove it with a vengeance (showed that car who was boss). He pointed out a couple of minor things, proclaimed that I had done a good job fixing it and left us to correct those things. So, during the week, I changed the heat range of the plugs, installed a screen in the fuel tank after blowing it out, and replaced the carb since the GAV seat was beyond hope. This video is the result. (I drove it 50 mph, brakes work, accelerates strongly) https://youtu.be/IiYNZ7NBmUk Now we have a serviceable Model A that we can enjoy. This is what we wanted when we bought it so long ago. We learned a lot (for example, just because you can rebuild an Opel engine, replace an entire Alfa Romeo brake system, and balance dual side draft carbs does not make you qualified to work on a Model A). So to all of you that are struggling, just keep finding those small problems and fixing them one at a time. Soon there will not be any more gremlins to vanquish. I'm looking forward to now only fixing things that break "normally" and doing some more upgrades (like turn signals). Some picture of the journey: Again, thanks to Hal, Harold, Mike & Erich at Mike's Affordable, and all the posts in this forum that I searched out and read of everyone adventures. __________________ Life is too short to drive boring cars or drink boring beers. Just don't do them both at the same time. A diverse fleet - nothing boring: 1928 Ford Tudor 1969 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce (Duetto) 1973 Opel GT 1973 Triumph TR6 1979 Triumph Spitfire w/GT6+ engine: Spit6 2005 Lotus Elise

11-01-2015, 01:51 PM	#2
1931 flamingo Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: new britain,ct 06052 Posts: 9,390	Re: Don't Give up - There is a finish line! Looking good, now enjoy it. Paul in CT

11-01-2015, 02:42 PM	#3
harleynut Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Pittsburgh Pa Posts: 279	Re: Don't Give up - There is a finish line! You have the main ingredient.....mechanical ability....if you already haven't, get the Les Andrews books, Vol. 1and2 they are a big help.

11-01-2015, 02:58 PM	#4
mshmodela Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 2,763	Re: Don't Give up - There is a finish line! Great story, great effort... Have fun! __________________ -Mike Late 31' Ford Model A Tudor, Miss Daisy I don't work on cars --I'm learning about my Model A. Cleveland, Ohio

11-01-2015, 03:13 PM	#5
Roadster Rich Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Alpharetta, Georgia (Atlanta) Posts: 272	Re: Don't Give up - There is a finish line! Now here's another side of the same story. I did every bit of work on my Roadster, starting when I was 14. Now I have a 30 Town Sedan "barn find" moved into my shop. Just starting to go through the engine and I am clearly getting the feeling that I want to have this as a driver and much sooner than I think I can pull it off. Sounds so awful to say, but I think I am getting too old to put all the time in to do all of this. At 63, it might be time to part with a bit of this money I have made and get a real professional to do it in about 10% of the time. As you can see, my mind is almost made up. P1010003.jpg

11-01-2015, 06:19 PM	#6
armchair67 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Chicago, IL USA Posts: 115	Re: Don't Give up - There is a finish line! Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Whether you do all the work or farm it out, as long as folks enjoy their cars, that is the important thing. Once you get it all sorted out, these cars are truly reliable and fun.