New to Model As, what to look for when buying?

Hello, It looks like I may have an opportunity to buy one of a few Model As. I've always admired the A but I don't have any real experience with them. I do have some antique car (well, truck) experience and I'm pretty good at pre-1960 tractors.

What should a newbie such as myself look out for when evaluating the car? What sort of cost would be typical for, say, an engine rebuild, new clutch, trans. rebuild? How maintenance - hungry are As? I assume that any pre-war car will have it's quirks and require TLC but I like to actually use old vehicles -- is it reasonable to expect a stock Model A to be able to do 1,000 - 2,000 mi / yr. without needing to do major repairs every few years (assuming good, regular PM of course.)

Thanks in advance,

Pete P.

Harborcreek, Penna.

You should join one or both of the national Model A Clubs -The Model A Ford Club of America (MAFCA) and the Model A Restorer's Club (MARC). Then join a regional group and become active even before you own a car. You can experience first hand what a Model A is like and begin to build a a network of local friends who can help you. When it comes to any old cars, there is no substitute to hands on experience. You will not gain practicle experience from the internet-especially if this is your first older car. Model A Fords are great cars. They are the backbone of the collector car hobby. They are lots of fun, easy to maintain and parts suppliers are abundant. Having logged nearly 80,000 miles in a couple of my own, I would highly recommend owning one, but get some real life, hands on experience to decide if this is the right car for you.

I had a Model A roadster pick up for 26 yrs and loved it, only thing was it took me 10 years to restore it and in that time I learned a lot about it's mechanics and operation. Model A's are cars that you have to drive, they don't automatically drive themselves. A good car will give good service, they're very reliable when repaired or restored correctly. There in lies the problem in acquisition, in my opinion. There are a lot of A's on the market but from what I see most are slip shod patch ups being marketed as "restored"! Many folks are trying to update with alternators, 12 vt systems and so forth and in my experience, if the car is repaired correctly, none of these upgrades are needed. Most are cheap attempts to cover major problems. I agree with the previous reply. If you're seriously interested in an "A" get some of the excellent books on them like, "the Model A Ford as Henry Built it and some of the restoration guides available from all the Model "A" parts houses. Read all you can and talk to people that belong to the MARC or MAFCA clubs as they will have the better cars, greater knowledge and a willingness to share. Don't ever buy the first thing you see, always insist on driving it, and I find that many casual owners really do not know how to operate or maintain their cars properly. I drove mine for 16 yrs. after restoration with no major problems,but that's not to say that there is no regular maintenance needed. Model "A's" are vehicles that will run with more things wrong with them than any other car I know and each one has it's own set of quirks. Pick up a couple of parts catalogs from Bratton's Parts, Snyder's or Mac's and they will give you an idea of what new parts can cost. Sometimes, parts can be had a lot cheaper at the flea markets. Have fun in your search, actually I've been thinking of going back to an "A" --my first love! Here is some pics of my truck started when I was 17. Totally stock but it does have a little extra shine on it from leftovers of a coupe!

Thanks, guys. The vehicles in question are definitely in need of restoration, one more so than the others. The fellow's asking price seems really reasonable even considering the amount that will need to go into the cars. On the other hand I really don't need another restoration project for a couple years. Of course the opportunity is now and if I pass I'm confident the cars will sell very quickly once they're made publicly available.

Decisions.

Thanks again

Pete P.