Model A shops

[Brad in Germany]

Originally Posted by nkaminar

The Zenith carburetor uses some metric threads. Why?

.....maybe because Zenith is a French company...... and in case you did not know, and if you believe this flier, the Ford Model A is mostly a French made product.



Vive le métrique et Vive La France!

Brad in Maryland

[woofa.express]

???????????

Which is better? General Motors or Ford. ? one could argue all day without conclusion. Likewise imperial or metric.
The best answer is the one you grew up with. The transition in Australian was when I was aged between 18 and 24. I sometimes become confused between the both.
The younger generation here would say metric because that’s all they know.

[Oldbluoval]

Maybe USA should convert to driving in opposite lane? Convert all current
cars to right hand drive?
Because it’s better ! Yeah right ….I mean left…not sure I know what I mean.
Sorta like his whole thread! Whose on first?

[Synchro909]

Originally Posted by Oldbluoval

Maybe USA should convert to driving in opposite lane? Convert all current
cars to right hand drive?
Because it’s better ! Yeah right ….I mean left…not sure I know what I mean.
Sorta like his whole thread! Whose on first?

Good idea but it would be best if it were done gradually. Trucks and busses first, then cars a week later.

[Randy in ca]

Originally Posted by Synchro909

............. IMO, if there were a genuine attempt at change over there, people would adapt quickly and you'd be better off. We did and we are.

I think you are totally wrong in that regard. As an example, take Canada. The Metric system became official there about 50 years ago, yet still today many, many, many "things" are still commonly referred to and described using the former British system units. I could be here at this time tomorrow trying to list all commonly used in that manner that I know of.

I believe even in Australia and Europe wheel and tire sizes still use widths in metric units and diameters in inches.

[Synchro909]

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Originally Posted by Randy in ca

I think you are totally wrong in that regard. As an example, take Canada. The Metric system became official there about 50 years ago, yet still today many, many, many "things" are still commonly referred to and described using the former British system units. I could be here at this time tomorrow trying to list all commonly used in that manner that I know of.

I believe even in Australia and Europe wheel and tire sizes still use widths in metric units and diameters in inches.

I don't find it surprising that imperial is still used sometimes in Canada. Just look at their giant imperial neighbour to the south. Tyre sizes are a weird mixture. Widths are in metric, rim diameters in imperial

[bavArian]

Originally Posted by Randy in ca

I believe even in Australia and Europe wheel and tire sizes still use widths in metric units and diameters in inches.

Yes, interestingly the width of tires is in millimeters while the diameter is still in inches. But to my knowledge that is pretty much the case worldwide for modern tires. So there's at least a single "standard" around the world even if it doesn't make much sense apart from backwards-compatibility.

Originally Posted by Oldbluoval

Maybe USA should convert to driving in opposite lane? Convert all current
cars to right hand drive?
Because it’s better ! Yeah right ….I mean left…not sure I know what I mean.
Sorta like his whole thread! Whose on first?

In my opinion that's a wrong approach to this topic. 2/3rds of the world are driving on the right side of the road, therefore it would be logical for the nations that are driving on the left side to switch to the right side. It's the same with imperial vs. metric. One of them is used by very roughly 95 % of the world, the other is imperial.

[updraught]

[QUOTE=bavArian;2135108
In my opinion that's a wrong approach to this topic. 2/3rds of the world are driving on the right side of the road, therefore it would be logical for the nations that are driving on the left side to switch to the right side. It's the same with imperial vs. metric. One of them is used by very roughly 95 % of the world, the other is imperial. [/QUOTE]


https://www.nytimes.com/1975/01/25/a...de-of-the.html

[jack backer]

The US is truly the worlds economic superpower, it provides aid, is the anchor of NATO. The US provided the hard and soft goods..and men to defeat fascism 70 years ago. Our industrial prowess provided the car that brings us together here. Those of you who benefit from our largess don’t like the way we count and drive?. I don’t like the way my hard earned tax dollars make their way into your country..

[Oldbluoval]

Jack…….
Agreed 1000%
I just don’t know how to do that in metric!!!’
As in lane changes..tongue-in-cheek
I think America doesn’t need foreign advice!! We’ve footed the world’s bills for a century. Best advice would be to stop doing that!!
Where you folks gonna get your model a parts…oh yeah China!!

[bavArian]

Originally Posted by updraught

https://www.nytimes.com/1975/01/25/a...de-of-the.html

LOL

Originally Posted by jack backer

The US is truly the worlds economic superpower, it provides aid, is the anchor of NATO. The US provided the hard and soft goods..and men to defeat fascism 70 years ago. Our industrial prowess provided the car that brings us together here. Those of you who benefit from our largess don’t like the way we count and drive?. I don’t like the way my hard earned tax dollars make their way into your country..

Well, one could argue that we don't like the US still having their forces in Germany almost 80 years after the war ended, but let's not get political. It seems it didn't end well the last time that happened in this thread.


From my point of view (trying to be as unbiased as possible) the US isn't the superpower it once undenieably was. A lot of the manufacturing that was done in the US in the past has been outsourced to cheaper countries, just like it was done over here. That ofc. also weakens the power the US has internationally because it makes the US more dependent on these manufacturing countries. And in the future the US may have to switch to the metric system, at least in the areas where it's used worldwide. (with such exceptions as were mentioned above)



I personally don't have anything against the imperial system, but I also don't have to deal with it very often. And on the rare occasion that I have to, it's usually only inches and gallons/pints/quarts to convert into the metric equivalent.

[JayJay]

Originally Posted by Bruce of MN

My US made 1977 Chevette had all metric thread fasteners.

Our two sons are engineers (ME and ChemE) who graduated in ~2011 from Wisconsin and they did all their calculations using metric units.

Interesting observation.

I did my undergraduate engineering study at a major US research institution (as is Wisconsin) in the early 70's and was taught in metric. Graduate school at a state university in the early 90's was much more focused on practice than theory, and we were taught in Imperial units. (In fact, there were two editions of some of the textbooks - one metric and one Imperial.) Working in the field (civil engineering) was all Imperial. So even though the metric system may make "sense" on an objective standpoint, the practicality is that Imperial system is here to stay in the US, at least in infrastructure. You can change a distance measurement from feet to meters, but you're not going to dig up an existing 6" underground pipe and replace it with a 150 mm.

Early in my adult life working on Detroit iron, including Model As, I accumulated Imperial tools. As time went on and I acquired European vehicles (Mercedes sedan, BMW motorcycles), and US production switched gradually over to metric fasterners, I had to accumulate metric tools. Then when I got back into the Model A hobby a few years ago I finally had a use for all those Imperial tools.


JayJay

[Brad in Germany]

I like my two liter bottles of Pepsi. Somehow buying two quarts of Pepsi or a half gallon of Pepsi just does not sound right......

Brad in Maryland

[Synchro909]

Originally Posted by Brad in Germany

I like my two liter bottles of Pepsi. Somehow buying two quarts of Pepsi or a half gallon of Pepsi just does not sound right......

Brad in Maryland

A few years ago, I was in a takeaway food shop in the US when a fellow in front of me was at the cash register. He stepped towards the drinks 'fridge and said, "I'll have a 600 ml Coke with that too." The girl at the register looked puzzled but I recognised a countryman's accent and said "They wouldn't know what 600 ml is, mate!"
He recognised my accent and smiled agreement. I'm sure we both had a chuckle about that later.

[updraught]

Any country that has a large manufacturing base will spend money out of the country protecting its supply lines and interests. The British did it with their navy years ago when they ruled half the world. The Chinese are doing it now.

The British sent our troops to Borneo to protect their rubber supplies during WW2. To them, rubber was more important than us.
But the British also knew that the Japanese wouldn't invade here because of the logistics.

The French govt. ruled that cars had to have more local content at the start of the depression. I'm not sure, but I think the same thing may have happened here.

[jack backer]

Originally Posted by bavArian

LOL







Well, one could argue that we don't like the US still having their forces in Germany almost 80 years after the war ended, but let's not get political. It seems it didn't end well the last time that happened in this thread.


From my point of view (trying to be as unbiased as possible) the US isn't the superpower it once undenieably was. A lot of the manufacturing that was done in the US in the past has been outsourced to cheaper countries, just like it was done over here. That ofc. also weakens the power the US has internationally because it makes the US more dependent on these manufacturing countries. And in the future the US may have to switch to the metric system, at least in the areas where it's used worldwide. (with such exceptions as were mentioned above)



I personally don't have anything against the imperial system, but I also don't have to deal with it very often. And on the rare occasion that I have to, it's usually only inches and gallons/pints/quarts to convert into the metric equivalent.

Well,we could have let Stalin have Germany after the war..you wouldnt have liked that at all,I dare say..And as for that whole 'liking' thing,winners write the history books,and call the shots..Nazi Germany came very close to winning,but thank god they didnt..

in fact,the Aussies would be speaking Japanese and the Germans Russian...under the yoke of tyrants.. if it wasnt for the US. What has either country done for the US?

[rotorwrench]

What happened to discussions about model As. We won't get anywhere discussing political stuff.

A lot of things have changed over the years and they will likely change more and more as time marches on. I'm just worried about my old A-bones when I come here.

[Oldbluoval]

Maybe time for Ryan to deep-six this one?

[Terry, NJ]

Oh! not that worn out old crap about "How we saved your asses in World War Two " I cringe every time I hear one of my countrymen dragging that old saw out. Believe or not Naziism would have run it's course and died a well deserved death with out us. It just would have taken longer. I always liked that part of Winston Churchill's speech where he told Hitler that the British would fight them "on the Beaches, etc. He meant it! The Nazis would have had a bad time trying to subdue the British. So let's forget that that worn out crap about who saved who. We helped, no doubt about it!But if you think that theNazis would not have died in droves from killing each other, your'e wrong! Think back to what Jefferson said "He who governs, least governs best" No "Ism" type of government can serve having total control!
Terry

[Terry, NJ]

Oh! not that worn out old crap about "How we saved your asses in World War Two " I cringe every time I hear one of my countrymen dragging that old saw out. Believe or not Naziism would have run it's course and died a well deserved death with out us. It just would have taken longer. I always liked that part of Winston Churchill's speech where he told Hitler that the British would fight them "on the Beaches, etc. He meant it! The Nazis would have had a bad time trying to subdue the British. So let's forget that that worn out crap about who saved who. We helped, no doubt about it!But if you think that theNazis would not have died in droves from killing each other, your'e wrong! Think back to what Jefferson said "He who governs, least governs best" No "Ism" type of government can serve having total control!
Terry