Touring with a Model A ?

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by Karl

Maybe I'm dumb but on all my long trips I've only ever carried the standard tools the car came with when new . The only addition I have made is a small length of safety wire -which served me well when I had to bypass the ammeter when it failed. I have a spare dizzy and carb but they sit in my shed at home. The Model A is pretty rugged.

Heck, next time that happens I can save you a piece of safety wire too. Just unscrew the thumbnuts on the backside of the ammeter and place both wires on the same stud. Reinstall the thumbnuts and away you go.

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[Jerry Parr WI]

Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C

Heck, next time that happens I can save you a piece of safety wire too. Just unscrew the thumbnuts on the backside of the ammeter and place both wires on the same stud. Reinstall the thumbnuts and away you go.

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Almost true except for the hex nuts under the cover that are really holding the wires. Piece of barb wire from a fence post also works.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by Jerry Parr WI

Almost true except for the hex nuts under the cover that are really holding the wires. Piece of barb wire from a fence post also works.

Not on mine....


I believe it was engineered this way from the factory as a way to limp home in the event the ammeter blows in the middle of nowhere. Otherwise why would they have installed those thumbnuts instead of a regular nut??.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C

Not on mine....


I believe it was engineered this way from the factory as a way to limp home in the event the ammeter blows in the middle of nowhere. Otherwise why would they have installed those thumbnuts instead of a regular nut??.

Safety against rubbing on the gas tank. If my ammeter failed I'd just junp a paper clip across the two terminal box wing nuts. That way you bypass the short wires and ammeter.

[James Rogers]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

Safety against rubbing on the gas tank. If my ammeter failed I'd just junp a paper clip across the two terminal box wing nuts. That way you bypass the short wires and ammeter.

I had one to fail and fixed it this way to get home. I also lost the nut on the back of the alternator and lost charge at night. Fixed that one with a cap from a ball point pen. I also had the fuel pump fail on a 66 Galaxie and drove it 18 miles without a pump. Long story but it worked and I will never forget how it was done. I don't get stranded no matter what tools I have. There is always a way.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

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I wonder, with all these posts, will any folks change their ways of "packing" for a tour??? I recon' most never change their ways, their brand of beer, weight of motor oil, their breed of dog, brand of coffee, their type of shorts, (I do hope the're CHANGED on a reglar basis!)
Now, me, If I changed too much, it would screw up my routine & confuse the Dog!! Bill W.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Not saying this to brag as much as to instill some confidence in some folks who are "on the fence" regarding this touring. Pennie & I (along with another couple in their 1925 Coupe) just got back from a 5 day trip where we covered a little over 700 miles driving the Blue Ridge Parkway up to Luray, VA in the Shenendoah Valley and back down the Lee Highway and we made the entire trip without carrying a bunch of spare parts. If we can do it in an old Model-T, you can surely do it the same way in a Model-A!!

The only maintenance outside of checking/adding oil along the way is I tightened the low speed band ¼ turn once I arrived in Luray. The only spare parts that I took was two extra ign. coils, -which if you know about Model-Ts, these are the weak link of the ignition system. I personally think the key to our "mechanical success" is that my car is mechanically prepared and almost totally stock with the exception of a Scat crankshaft and a Ruckstell rear axle. Also (...and I feel like this is a huge contributing factor), we drove around 38 mph for most of the trip (...sometimes a little faster going down the mountain, -and sometimes a little slower going up the mountain! ) where we did not "abuse" the cars.

The picture above was taken about 7:10 AM as we were readying to enter the B/R Parkway at Milepost 291, ...and we arrived in Luray after dark at about 8:10 PM that night. Not counting where we exited the Parkway for fuel or for lunch in Roanoke, we traveled 291 miles on the Parkway, and about 60 miles from Waynesboro to Luray totaling about 350 miles of travel in that one day.

Ironically, we met up with two other Model-As and one 'T' and all three cars had mechanical issues on the trip. The Model-T lost an alternator somewhere on the parkway and had to be towed in because the alternator came apart and shorted out the electrical. He also lost a universal joint on the way home. The Model-A Phaeton blew a headgasket between #3 & #4 on the way up due to overheating from water loss. I replaced the headgasket for him that nite, ...and I am of the opinion that most of his other mechanical issues stemmed from much "MacGuyvering" of the car and poor mechanical maintenance/condition of the car. A discussion/debate did come up regarding carrying spare parts and causes of mechanical failures. The final agreement from that group was that if someone is going to drive their car with worn parts or at speeds that tend to 'tax' those worn parts, then maybe carrying these spare parts to replace the broken ones with is a good idea afterall.


Ohh well, here are some other random pix from the trip...
1) Our car, a 1915 T
2) 5 days of luggage & snacks loaded in the rear seat
3) Cooler, battery pack for GPS/cell charging, 1 gal water, & more luggage.
4) North Carolina scenery from the Parkway
5) ...more scenery.
6) ...and more scenery.
7) Disregard the Max Speed but everything was pretty accurate!
8) Virginia scenery on the Parkway
9) Speeding a tad bit.
10) Met some Model-As w/ Maryland & VA tages. Presumed they were traveling to Gilmore for the dedication.
11) The last hour on Wednesday we traveled by headlights.
12) Cooked on the manifolds some. Pulled into a Conv. Store parking lot. Made tables from what was available behind the store. Ate BBQ pork, Hot Dogs, and some warmed Cherries over some store-bought Pound Cake. 13 ppl in our group and we had food leftover.
13) Drove on quite a few dirt roads through the G Washington Nat'l Park.
14) Left at 6:15AM on Sun morning going home. Got to see the sun rise.
15) Traveled home down the Lee Hwy to Roanoke.

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[Fred K-OR]

Looks like a great trip Brent. Good looking T's. Still wish I had my T that my Dad sold for 20 bucks back in the 50's when I way away at college. I had put a A transmission and rear end in it. With that, had 7 speeds forward and 3 in reverse.

Thanks for giving us a "picture(s)" of your trip. That must be beautiful country.