I'm not a Model A person

[Slowmotoring]

Pictures look nice. I got my A last fall and have about 1500 miles on it since the salt has washed off the roads. Im still grinding gears occasionally. Ive found that its a lot easier to shift smoothly if you keep the rpms on the low side. You’ll get a feel for it and be able to start shifting at higher rpms. Paul shinn has a lot of how to videos on you tube that are very handy to watch. He has at least one on how to shift. Some people double clutch. I just do a 5 second count and seems to work good. You have to play with the timing based on rpms though. Maybe double clutching is the better way. Many ways to skin a cat...

mine steers pretty stiff as well. Im thinking thats why henry installed such a large steering wheel for us to crank on.

I have found that the timing plays a pretty big role in the vibrations of my car. Wether it be at idle or cruising down the road. When i got my car it had roughly 100 miles on it since its restoration in 1995. My journey started with fuel issues and it stalling much like yours to blowing fuses much like yours but from a short in the horn. And several other minor issues along the way. Point is, if your car only has 400 miles on it since it was restored, it probably hasnt been sorted. Your going to have issues that pop up after a restoration no matter the depth of the restoration.

Did you have other issues on your test drive other than the vibrations and the clunky tranny?

[CWPASADENA]

Good looking Model A,

I suspect the basics are OK, it will just take some sorting and you will have a good car.

Hang in there and now that you can actually drive it, you can take it a step at a time and in the end, you will have a nice car that you can drive with confidence and enjoy.

My opinion,

Chris W.

[GeneBob]

As far as shifting, as others have said, double clutch and eventually, you will find the timing of the shift to stop double clutching; but it is still a pretty slow shift. Use the 600W oil recommended for the trans, it helps. The Model A trans is geared for first and second up to like 35 mph, then a big gap to 3rd for high speed driving (45-50 mph). When this car was manufactured, a lot of roads were still unpaved so first and second were appropriate. I changed to a 1935 trans to get better gear ratios for modern driving. However, many, many drivers stick with the original trans.
As for steering, make sure your joints are lubed in the steering linkage. These respond well to fresh lube. Later, you can check alignment and check for worn parts but just to get a few miles to get used to the car, lube the steering joints, the king pins and check for lube in the steering box. As I recall, the steering box will take the same 600W oil (as does the rear end).

[GeneBob]

BTW, just had a look at your posted pictures. Sure is a pretty car. Sure looks like a good foundation to build from. I think the car will eventually win you over and you will need to change the title of your posting thread. Kinda like Green Eggs and Ham :-)