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Old 01-20-2021, 03:36 PM   #981
woofa.express
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Default Re: tell a Model A related story

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Brierley View Post
woofa, come to think about it, I've never seen an ugly girl. When I was 20 I thought a 60 year old woman was not so good looking. Today I realize there a lot of good looking 80 year olds! :-)
a recent shot of you Jim?
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Old 01-24-2021, 11:30 AM   #982
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Default Re: tell a Model A related story

My story starts in 1961.I was 15 and a good friend was 16. He went out and bought a 1931 2dr sedan, running, driving and road worthy. He taught me how to drive it in his parents long driveway, first with him riding shotgun and after he figured i was ok with it, by myself. I rode to school and back home with him until i got to be 16 and got my license. He then goes out and buys another 31 2drbut in much better shape. He drives the better one and he lets me drive the other one all over town. Good times for a couple of years, but he totaled the better one, quit school and went in to the Navy. Before he left, he put the first 2dr into storage in his dads garage. When he got out of the Navy he started collecting old cars and putting them around an old farmhouse with an old wood floored barn. He moved the 2dr into the barn where it sat until the town started getting onto him about all the cars on the property. He bought property about 30 miles away with no zoning and had it cleared. Built a house and garage and started moving his hoard of cars to it, including the 2dr, which he put into an old 40 some odd foot trailer. It sits inside this dry trailer to this very day. I had moved away but kept in touch with him. This last May when talking to him he says" i'm having my will made up and i need your address and phone number because if i die first i want to leave the 2dr to you. But if you die first you don't get it."Didn't know what to say to him other than thanks for thinking of me. This past October he calls me and say's he's dying from cancer. Doctors gave him 5 days to 5 weeks. Over the years he has been buying and selling pre 70 cars and parts with approx. 1300 cars in his yard. He then tells me he want to leave me his grandmothers 67 Barracuda Formula Convert that he's had in a storage trailer since the early 70's. I was again lost for words. He past the end of October and will have to make arrangements to get the cars picked up. He was a true friend.
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Old 01-24-2021, 01:41 PM   #983
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Default Re: tell a Model A related story

A good friend of mine passed a couple of years ago, and left me his '31 Vicky! All body and paint had been done, Rutherford OHV conversion on a diamond B block, T-5 trans, 8" Ford diff, etc. All it needed was upholstery which I have done. His son had expressed an interest in the car but had no place to keep it, we registered it in both our names so anytime he wants it, it is his. Yes he was a true friend! My '31 pickup will go to my son when I pass, sooner if he wants it. The pickup has a 4-port Riley, B trans with Zephyr gears, a Columbia rear, etc.
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Old 01-24-2021, 01:51 PM   #984
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Default Re: tell a Model A related story

Request to Jim and Rust Runner.

How about you each post some pictures of these A's that were bequeathed to you.
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Old 01-24-2021, 03:34 PM   #985
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Default Re: tell a Model A related story

I haven't seen the Model A for years. Don't even know what shape it's in. Still in the trailer.
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Old 01-25-2021, 01:38 PM   #986
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I've tried to post pics here, without success. Maybe because of too many pixels, whatever that is??? Or maybe I'm just to dumb to do it!
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Old 01-27-2021, 05:04 PM   #987
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Default Re: tell a Model A related story

Is faster better?

This is a story about a farmer, his name is Graham. Graham was interested in learning to fly so he purchased a small Piper Cherokee. A 140hp aeroplane which has 4 seats. It would fly with 4 on a cool day and providing takeoff run was downhill. Otherwise 2 people on board was quite okay.
Well he learned to fly and I’d see him scooting around the local area in the afternoons, he was enjoying himself. The aeroplane was kept near his house which would have driven his wife made with dust he left her when he opened the throttle.
It took about 2 years and those would-be pilots who held themselves in high esteem; otherwise known as armchair authorities, convinced Graham he needed a faster aeroplane. Something that he could go touring in and with retractable wheels. Something that would look slick and make him feel proud when he stopped by airstrips and airports away from home. Well Graham went and purchased a 260hp Piper Comanche which met the specifications recommended. But more fuel burn, more dust for his wife to clean, more friends who liked to fly but didn’t have an aeroplane. Graham did very few tours in it and lost interest. He quit the afternoon local flights. The aeroplane was too fast and the pilot workload much greater. Not suitable for spying on his neighbours and to compare their crops. About a year later he sold it and said to me how he missed that little aeroplane. He has not replaced it.
As a side benefit his wife had no dust to clean. He probably has fewer friends now but more sincere ones.
The pictures are not of Graham’s aeroplanes but sourced from the internet.


Jim, if you send me the pictures of your A's to my email address I will see if I can post them for you. g
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Old 01-28-2021, 08:08 AM   #988
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Default Re: tell a Model A related story

I've always said I have a few true friends and allot of acquaintances . Fewer friends for him but he probably had more money and happy wife happy life .
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Old 01-30-2021, 06:17 AM   #989
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Modern motorcars. What have manufacturers learned in 92 years?

All $ values expressed are AUD.
I have always liked diesel powered motorcars. They are cheaper to run because fuel is cheaper, they burn less of it and there is less engine maintenance, yet they have plenty of power. The last 7 motorcars I’ve owned have all been diesels. Three Mercedes, three VW’s and a Toyota Landcruiser tray. All pleasant and easy to drive. As I said cheap to run. Except for 1. That is my current VW, a Tiguan. A lemon. Firstly fuel pump failure, the local dealer quoted $10,700 to repair. I purchased a fuel pump, plus a timing belt, and a water pump on eBay, and had them replaced by a local mechanic for $1,700 all up. This motorcar was a used vehicle and prior to purchase I enquired about its accident history and was told there was none but the man lied. I know this because I found documents to the contrary. A local panel rebuild man said the repair was very well done but I discovered the front drive train was not. In addition to the repair mentioned above I have further spent another $5,300 on front drive and breaking system which now brings the total rebuild to $7k total. But now it needs a transmission rebuild. Five grand quoted. Yes, it’s a lemon.
None of the 3 Mercedes nor other 2 VW’s have required any repairs and were all high milage when I replaced them. Nor has the Toyota required repairs and it is now 27 years old and driven 330,000km and I still use it most every day. My Model A’s are much cheaper to operate than this current and troublesome VW and I understand most everything about them. They’re simple and I love simplicity. Even considering my ordinary mechanical skill I can make minor adjustments and repairs. With these modern motorcars it’s not even easy to locate the battery!
What have I learned? My next motorcar will have radiator, engine, transmission, drive shaft and diff all in line, ie simple. No all-wheel drive. No front wheel drive. Yes, that has narrowed my choice. Furthermore I will take heed of the opinion of my local motor mechanic. He said he won’t buy anything after 2005. Older low Km vehicles can be found and don’t use too much capital which I can better spend on my Model A’s. So what have motorcar manufacturers learned since the Model A? I can say with clarity, “not very much at all”.

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Old 01-31-2021, 10:47 AM   #990
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Default Re: tell a Model A related story

Modernisation, is it always for the better?

My wife’s name is Patricia but she gets Patsy. She finds humour in the movies starring Chevy Chase and that bloke, whatever his name is, that featured in Dumb and Dumber. So I decided to show her what humour really was. I downloaded the movie “the secret life of Walter Mitty”. This starred Danny Kaye. Not only was it humorous but Kaye had talent unlike modern movie actors. Then I downloaded “the 5 pennies” then “The Inspector General”. She enjoyed them all. It bought back memories from the Saturday matinees in Gin Gin she watched when she was a kid.

My favourite music is from the 30’s and 40’s. The 50’s still okay but today has become mostly beat, non melody and without tune. Which modern artist has comparable class to that of Al Jolson, Bing Crosby or the Andrews Sisters? Or composers such as Cole Porter, Johann Strauss or George Gershwin and many many others of yesteryear? The answer is very few.

How about the agreeable and pleasing lines of the older motorcars? One in particular of course. Do new vehicles still have agreeable and pleasing lines? Only a very few. And the simplicity of the mechanics our Model A’s incorporated? The answer is none.

Another thing that has changed is people’s attitudes and behaviour. I included this but decided to delete it because this is not the forum to express such an opinion.

So my question is, has modernisation always been for the better?


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Old 02-04-2021, 03:54 PM   #991
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I prepared this some 2 days ago in response to another thread and this morning I can't find that thread so here it is.-

Yes Richard, like you, I have difficulty in getting up when I am kneeling. But I don’t get down without knee pads. Two new hips improved my life but I don’t wish for any further rebuild; my knees.
Anyone who is experiencing hip difficulties it is my suggestion Get them replaced early and get the use from them. What a difference it has made to my life. I'd be in a wheel chair had I not.
You will see left and right are different joints. The joint on your right is a Birmingham joint, named for the location where it was invented. Johnson and Johnson copied it but ran into big trouble because the metal they used created major health problems including death. The joint on your left is more traditional. The surgeon wouldn't use Birmingham when the patient was Over 60 yo.
If you will be needing a hip replacement do have it early and get more years use from it. The recovery is not a walk in the park.

The xray shot didn't show.
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Old 02-06-2021, 01:56 AM   #992
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Gary was unable to get this x-ray picture onto his story so here it is. It relates to the story below number 992

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Old 02-11-2021, 06:04 AM   #993
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I will relate how I became a Model A Ford owner. Please understand that I know very little about writing so please excuse my grammatical errors, etc.
At a young age I became fascinated by old cars. I played with cars, drew pictures of cars and even as a young teenager "built" (fantasy builds) many cars through my handy J.C.Whitney catalog. A friend and I once rode our bikes about seven miles to see a '56 Chevy that was rumored to have a 427 engine in it. It wasn't anything special and we never got to hear it run or even see the guy that owned it.... but it was cool then.
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Old 02-15-2021, 02:19 PM   #994
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What comes to mind on this -5 deg F night here in Missouri, is a ritual my dad performed in the bad winter mornings in Chicago, on some days -15 deg and his model A had to start. There was no garage just a tarp put over the hood, and his cart of 3 6 volt batteries hooked in series that were kept on the warm porch, that he would wheel out, and rig, so as not to burn out any lights, and he would rig starting his model A, with 18 volts! And once he got the car engine running and warmed up, he would rewire things, pack the cart in the back seat area, (rear seat out) and haul his car starting batteries to his workplace truck garage, bring them inside, and do the same thing to get the car started at the end of the day. He had one of those Tungar chargers and would hook those batteries to it at night, getting ready for the next day! He would wind up with holes in his overalls and mom. would sew them up, over and over! This day today here in Missouri brings back that memory! He was still driving that Model A to work in the early 50's.

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Old 02-15-2021, 07:02 PM   #995
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GreJac apologies for his grammar and spelling (story number 994).

Apologies not required sir. The fact that you can get your story across is all that is required.
I failed our most junior school exam because I didn’t achieve the minimum pass of 30% for English. My story telling ability has improved greatly since I started writing in this forum.
Just keep writing and you too will develop confidence and skill and us readers will enjoy your stories.
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Old 02-17-2021, 01:58 PM   #996
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Sympathy for those living in extremely cold climates.

Mr Zieman’s account of his dad cranking up the A on a cold Chicago morning. What and effort required and in such a miserable cold temp. Story number 995.

I climbed out of bed this morning and the temp was a pleasant 20 Celsius (68F) but I did turn off our overhead fan during the night as it was getting just a little cool. Mind you our winter temps drop to -4 (25F) on a few occasions. We, living in warm climates, become sooks don’t we. Yes. My sympathy to those of you who live in the high latitudes although I guess you become quite accustomed to it. I once knew a geologist who worked in the top end of the Northern Territory. He did a term in the Antarctic and whilst there an experiment was performed on him. Laying naked on a wire bed for an hour at a time, with a thermometer up his anus. Results were clear he said. Because he lived in a climate of extreme (heat) he was able to cope better than others who had come from a temperate climate.
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Old 02-18-2021, 05:53 AM   #997
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Homeless people.

It used to be a family rule that we all eat at the dining table. Now our kids have all left home (baby is now mid-forties) Patsy and I slob out in the lounge to eat off a tray and watch TV. Quite slovenly isn’t it? I say TV but that is mostly trash and advertisements that is insulting to any person’s intelligence. So we watch YouTube (on our TV) instead where one has a large choice of content that appeals. In the morning we listen to internet radio and find what happed in the world during the past 24 hours or any one of many stations, sometimes those playing music only.
And at bedtime it's radio as well. And again it's most informative. World events and interesting commentaries. One station reads articles from major newspapers. It’s RPH or “reading for the print handy capped”. One such story was of a bloke named Lee Stinger who was homeless on New York streets delivering newspapers for a little money. He later became the editor and columnist for the paper “the street news”. His articles became popular and influential and sometimes printed in other papers, some very prominent. Local versions of “street news” started in some cities in other countries. He went on to write 4 books and the broadcast went on to say he became rather wealthy. He can be found in Wikipedia if you care to research the fellow.

Street people are not all dumb or druggies although Mr Stringer was a habitual crack user until he became important. I got that from Wikipedia and am not sure what drug crack is. Readers will probably know.

The next two stories are of the homeless and swagmen and blokes with huge imaginations.

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Old 02-18-2021, 03:31 PM   #998
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Possum. Follows on from story 998.

Some years ago I flew out to the corner of NSW, Victoria and South Australia to aerial muster cattle. The property owner and I flew the area and he briefed me. In the sandhills surrounding the property he showed me a cemetery in which possum was buried. The Possum story was unknown to me and it is part of my story of homeless people. Here it is.

David Jones was born in New Zealand and was a shearer in Australia. He had his wallet stolen and couldn’t pay his subscription to the powerful and domineering shearers union. so elected to live as a hermit along the banks of the Murray River where he acquired the name Possum. Everybody along the river knew of him, but only a very few had ever met him. For more than 50 years he lived alone eating fish, ducks and rabbits and making camp in various locations.

The story is told much better in a newspaper, so here it is.

Possum was a shy, gentle person who didn’t do any harm. He always kept himself clean and fit and his pride would not allow him to accept food or shelter. Station owners often found fences and gates mended, wood chopped, sheep crutched, weeds cleared and newspapers missing (although always put back a few days later!). The only payment he ever accepted was for salt and matches. He was well trusted, although if no-one was about, he also habitually released station dogs which were chained up.
Possum lived till he was 82 and is buried at Wangumma Cemetery. Wangumma doesn’t show on Google Maps however Wangumma Billabong does. It is at the southern end of Lake Victoria. That is where 3 states boarders meet. A statue of the man stands in Wentworth where the Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers join.
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Old 02-18-2021, 03:45 PM   #999
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John Caboret.

I start this story with part of an article from a newspaper dated Feb. 2017.

ONCE a jolly swagman worked at a Melbourne bank, tired of his office job, camped behind a desk.
So he packed up his things and he headed for the open road, 40 years on and he is yet to take a rest.
Born in 1954 in the Western Victorian town of Minyip, John Cadoret was in his early twenties when he decided to leave his shared flat and party life behind, simply because he wanted to.
“I don’t regret anything. Regrets are useless. You just hopefully learn. I have learnt to take each day as it comes,” he said in the shade next to the Oxley Highway as he was passing through Wauchope.
“I didn’t really decide to do this, I just took a break from life and fell into it. I decided an office job wasn’t what I wanted. I didn’t know what I wanted.”


I have seen this fellow on the road some three times now. The first, I stopped and offered him a ride. He seemed unhappy about that and I got the message, he didn’t need a ride and was in no hurry.
He featured on a TV program once so I don’t know how the producer talked him into revealing his life. He was taken to his parents’ home and I remember his mother was so angry with him. Understandably. He hadn’t made contact with them for some 28 years and mum presumed him dead. I don’t recall much more for it was many years ago.
Unlike the swagmen of yesteryear Caboret was carrying his swag over one shoulder. Traditionally it was carried over two shoulders like one carries a knapsack.


I receive many email funnies and decided to share one with you. The clip won’t transfer so I’ll tell it. Because it involves motoring I’ll post it because this forum involves just that.
In Ireland, a motorist needed some directions so he stopped and asked a local for help. It goes like this.

Motorist to local. Could you tell me the quickest way to Donegal please.
Local. Are you walking or driving?
The slightly perplexed motorist answers, driving.
Irish man. Well that’s the quickest way then.
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Old 02-19-2021, 03:10 AM   #1000
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I met Walter Mitty.

On several occasions I had noticed a swaggie walk along the levee bank outside our house. I spoke to him and he was interesting. He was clean and tidy so I invited him in. His knowledge was current of national and world events. His name is Clifford but prefers Neil and his life story too was interesting and incredible in so far as travels and people he had met. World leaders, religious leaders, royalty and God. He spoke of an accident in his life and we figured much of this was in his mind. The man was not telling lies for he believed all this to be true happenings. No, I am not ridiculing him and would have him in my house again. He was courteous, respectful and well mannered. He was also well travelled and I have been enough places to know what he said was quite true. I learned from my neighbour he would appear at our local hotel and entertain everyone by playing the piano.
Neil would walk to Queensland, yes walk, when the weather here in the south turned cool and return when weather in Queensland became too hot as summer there approached. He was homeless and enjoyed his life.
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