Hello all, new to the forum!

[FredK]

Regarding fun with positive ground. I had just bought a 1952 DeSoto and went to jump it with my Toyota truck. I put the jumper cables on incorrectly, started the truck and as the plastic coating on the cables melted on to the ground I suddenly remembered it was pos ground. Lucky enough both cars were fine, the cables not so much.

[firefirefire90]

Originally Posted by Chuck in the Burgh

It looks like you have a great basic car to start in any direction you decide to go - clean it up, get it running, save your money and drive it you will be surprised how much respect you will get from the "A" comunity andor the serious hotrod community. Last I knew they weren't making any more Henry Steel coupes!!! A very desireable car in either the A camp or the hotrod camp. Go Slowly!!!

It's always fun being one of the youngest guys in the community. I hang around a lot of MGB guys in San Diego who are well into their 50's 60's and they give me a lot of respect for being into these old cars! Thanks for the tips!

Originally Posted by Russell in Tulsa

Welcome, The oil will look brand new as all of the dirt has settled out and is setting in the bottom of the pan and the valve chamber. Do as Tom suggested and clean it up before actually starting it. You'll need to order the gaskets for reassembly and use lots of penetrating oil on the nuts and bolts to avoid surprises.

Originally Posted by fmayer

You have a diamond in the rough! You are young enough to take your time and as many of us have - learn by doing. Best advice - hook up with a local Model A club. There is more knowledge in those places than in all the books ever written about cars and 99% of them have friendly, helpful people. Most of all - enjoy, there is nothing like the Model A community.

The model A community up in Norcal seems alright.. too bad they want dues every year. First car club that's ever asked for that!

Originally Posted by Bud

Hi Nick,
My suggestion for what it is worth (and you probably know these things already) are to do the following:
Shine up the electrical contacts in the distributor, gap the plugs (.035"), remove corrosion from the plugs, shine up the coil wire ends plus the contact inside the coil & dist cap. Also shine up where plugs contact head. Then set your points (.018-.022). If you can, I would remove the popout switch cable from the dash and distributor. The reason for this is it will be easier to start the car if you replace the popout switch assembly with a simple switch (these are sold by the parts vendors: Sacramento Vintage Ford sells a replacement switch with keys--part number 606--for less than $20). This way if there is a problem with the popout switch you can just get it out of the picture (save it and restore later). These steps should take care of the ignition system. On old Fords corrosion of electrical connections is a problem, the better contact you can get the quicker it will start. When you get that ignition switch, order a set of points and condenser (these can also be readily obtained from NAPA). Make sure you have fresh gas and the gas does not have a lot of rust in it. I drain my gas tank into a gas can (be careful regarding fire) thru a gas filter. I do that 3 times and usually don't have problems with rust in the carburetor. Regarding the water pump, you could take it off to look at it but with a four blade fan you will have to take off the radiator and it's a long involved procedure (see Les Andrews book from MAFCA or the parts vendors). Perhaps you could back off the packing nut and it might turn. If the belt is off you can run the engine for a while on the battery (no generator) just to get a feel for noises and general initial performance. Hope this helps and good luck.

That's not a big deal, I don't think there is water in the radiator anyway. Do you need special tools to take it off?

Originally Posted by FredK

Regarding fun with positive ground. I had just bought a 1952 DeSoto and went to jump it with my Toyota truck. I put the jumper cables on incorrectly, started the truck and as the plastic coating on the cables melted on to the ground I suddenly remembered it was pos ground. Lucky enough both cars were fine, the cables not so much.

Haha thank you for the advice. I guess negative ground was standard until the 50's/60's on many cars. I will make sure to get some new leads to the generator this weekend!


Thank you all for the solid advice. This gives me a good place to start work on the Model A!

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by firefirefire90

The model A community up in Norcal seems alright.. too bad they want dues every year. First car club that's ever asked for that!


That's not a big deal, I don't think there is water in the radiator anyway. Do you need special tools to take it off?

Our club charges dues and most clubs that I know of. Money is needed for newsletters, mailings, special event insurance, mational dues, and the list goes on.

No special tools needed and the radiator does not have to be removed (I've done mine a couple of times). The procedue is rather simple, remove light bar, hood, hood retaining rods. Place cardboard between the fan and radiator. Pull radiator forward and remove fan/pump.

[Tom from Drippin']

A different take:

First, buy Model "A" Ford Mechanics Handbook - Vol. 1 by Les Andrews.

Second, don't buy a wiring harness (yet). It does NOT contain any of the wiring needed to make the car run. It only feeds the lights.

There are several wire "sets" (available from vendors) that allow the engine to run.

Before you fire it up for the first time..drain the oil, replace the plug, remove the distributor and shaft, pour 1 Qt. oil down dist. shaft hole, install dist., finish filling crankcase with oil.

[firefirefire90]

Originally Posted by Mike V. Florida

Our club charges dues and most clubs that I know of. Money is needed for newsletters, mailings, special event insurance, mational dues, and the list goes on.

No special tools needed and the radiator does not have to be removed (I've done mine a couple of times). The procedue is rather simple, remove light bar, hood, hood retaining rods. Place cardboard between the fan and radiator. Pull radiator forward and remove fan/pump.

Ah, that's fancy! Having newsletters, insurance, etc. Our BMW clubs consist of mainly online shenanigans/meetups at places to eat. I guess it makes sense with these 80+ year old vehicles!

Originally Posted by Tom from Drippin'

A different take:

First, buy Model "A" Ford Mechanics Handbook - Vol. 1 by Les Andrews.

Second, don't buy a wiring harness (yet). It does NOT contain any of the wiring needed to make the car run. It only feeds the lights.

There are several wire "sets" (available from vendors) that allow the engine to run.

Before you fire it up for the first time..drain the oil, replace the plug, remove the distributor and shaft, pour 1 Qt. oil down dist. shaft hole, install dist., finish filling crankcase with oil.

Thanks! I'll order that mechanics handbook. I feel silly not having one yet.

[firefirefire90]

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Hey everyone! Late bump, but new progress with my coupe. We fixed a lot of the electronics on the car, but still have a ways to go to get all the lights going. I think we need a new resistor or whatever that thing is, since power isn't being given to the headlights... then somehow both the headlight bulbs blew, haha. I washed the top end of the engine out and got out a whole lot of the rust, then we turned the engine over to get the juices flowing. On order is a new waterpump, need to get some new radiator hoses, a new 6V battery(do most kragens hold these?) and an oil change, then I think the car should be good to run!

thank you all for good help! Btw, is there a page for all the vendors?

[skip]

Where did you find that dash board?

skip.

[firefirefire90]

Originally Posted by skip

Where did you find that dash board?

skip.

Came with the car I recon! A few people keep sayin it's quite the sought after dash. I'm really excited. My waterpump is in the mail, i'm picking up new battery leads tomorrow along with a new battery, and also new radiator hoses. I washed out my rusted head and about 2 minutes worth of rusty water came out of the lower radiator pipe haha. Oh how much fun these cars are.

[Tom Wesenberg]

OK, this thread is almost 7 years old, so what's the latest?

Is it running, and do you have pictures?

This is back from when some good guys were posting, that have since left this site.

[Bob C]

I think he sold it. http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41241

Bob