A by the sea

Not a normal noise. Keep in mind, contrary to popular opinion the Model A was designed to run 60 MPH. That is not a mis-print! Running 55 MPH all day long in a stock A should be the normal as that was how they were driven back then. Well ya they tended to slow down on the more bumpy roads. When properly restored they will run that way. At least all the A's our family has owned have been driven that way. I should add they were run that fast, got in the low twenties for fuel mileage, and got 50,000 to 80,000 miles on the babbitt. The cars today are not mechanically restored to factory so 45 is what people drive them. Many I see have obvious safety issues and 45 is a bit fast for what they can safely drive. The caveat, If you can do all the work yourself it will cost around $10,000 to do all the mechanical work. That does not include paint, body work or interior which can easily run another $15 to $20K. Keep in mind that is not to make a show car, just a car that is mechanically like factory and looks nice. If you want to learn more ask me.

Juice brakes do not like to sit. The seals at the wheel cylinders are not held under pressure and will relax. This coupled with temp changes found throughout the day will allow fluid to move past the seal/ piston and back in again. This allows moisture access to the fluid. The end result is one or more wheel cylinders not fully working. You really need to take each drum off and check operation and leakage. Odds are one or more wheels are contaminated with fluid since you have a loss. The plan to add some fluid and see what happens is quite risky. You have critical safety problem that needs much further examination. Take the brakes apart and make sure they are safe. Odds are you need wheel cylinders and shoes. When putting new shoes on you really want to have the shoes arched to fit the drums. Most people do not drive the cars enough to fully wear the shoes into the drums. This will give you full braking action from day one. The scary thing is the number guys driving their cars knowing that their brakes are not working properly. I made the mistake of asking all the guys at a car show and found about half were like to or have less then 4 wheel brakes.

For what it is worth. The Watts process is done without organic oxidizers to cause it to b shiny. This means it does not have oxidizers to cause it to tarnish as fast. A story was related to me about a 29 Model A headlamp. A person managed to get a NOS headlamp bezel with original plating. The lamp body was plated with bright nickel. Every year the lamp body needs to be polished. The bezel goes years before needing polish. Keep in mind this was for a show car.

If you want quality paint at a good price get the SPI paint (southern polyurethanes). They make primers and filling primers and a limited amount of top coats. The owner frequently answers the phone. The spi stuff is universally liked throughout the hobby. You are not paying for heavy advertising and other costs that PPG and others have for marketing.

Some facts. Sandblasting only warps panels if you have too high a pressure or too much media. The warpage comes from the surface of the metal being expanded from the hits. Epoxy paint and bondo stick to properly 'etched' metal. Etching is done mechanically or with chemicals. Read the technical sheets for the proper prep, do not believe what someone tells you. Etching primer is a common fail point. Etching primer is intended for use on new metal to give paint adhesion, not to control rust. When improperly applied it makes for a paint fail point. Prepping the metal with Ospho, PickleX 20 or similar product will allow you to keep the metal bare for a while while you do metal work. Epoxy should be top coated during its recoat window. The owner of SPI paints says the best adhesion would be his primer on metal with bondo applied during the recoat window. The epoxy is not as bad as the 2K primers and top coats for your body. Epoxy has the solvents in it. The 2k primers and top coats have Isocyanates which are absorbed through the skin. With a proper mask and paint suit you can significantly reduce your exposure. The solvents tend to kill your organs and hurt your nervous system. The isocyanates are an allergic reaction that will start with chest pains and will tend to get worse with repeated exposure till it kills you with an asthma attack. A properly fitted charcoal mask with reasonable ventilation will significantly reduce your exposure. A pressure fed breathing system is expensive to buy, but they have very high resale values so you can effectively "rent one" and not be out too much money. The above is based on my conversations with the owner of SPI and talking to university researchers. Modern paints tend to attach to the previous layer. Epoxy has a porous surface while curing. The next layer gets its molecules in the microscopic holes and the holes close around the molecules causing a tight grip. Bondo attached to a properly roughed up surface. It will also stick into the porous surface of the epoxy and the heat will cure the epoxy faster. With bondo type products the more scratch per inch the more area there will be for a strong attachment. The 40 grit paper leaves to many flat spots between the deep scratch and the bondo type products I have worked with do not recommend such a low numbered grit. That is some of the basics. Get all the tech sheets and read them for any perspective products you are thinking of using. Poke around the metal working and autobody forums to get a better idea of different products and their proper usage. Be aware that just because the guy has 40 years experience does not mean he knows how to use a product properly. Double check what you learn. Keep in mind a paint shop only cares about a nice paint job out the door. A few years down the road and it is unlikely the product will come back. You need to try and get the prep right so the paint is still there 20 years from now.

The tapered shaft will turn with effort. It has to turn a lot of stuff cause it is connected to the pinion. Bearing preload on the axle must be measured with the pinion out. The pinion is then installed and checked for preload. The shims are then moved from side to side to get the correct pinion ring gear pattern. The questions I would ask. Is there oil and does it have metal sparkles in it? Is it noisy when driven. How does the noise change driving coasting and such? I would feel there is something wrong if there was no in out play on the axle shaft. The axle would likely go a long time with a lot of play here. The critical parts are the bearings and the gears. Look in the key way on the taper. Is it a tight fit on the key? Is it wallowed out some? If the key slot is not square then look close for cracks in the key slot. How are the brakes while you have the wheels off? Does it look like the whole shoe is hitting the drum?

If you mean you are grabbing the tapered axle shaft or the hub attached to the tapered shaft then it sounds like you are pretty good. The axle is a kind of full floating. There is a bushing where it enters the diff and the in out play from the center line is dependent on wear inside the diff carrier and the wear on the spyder gears. There is no axle bearing at the wheel hub. The bearing is in the wheel hub. You can not know the play on the bearings in the housing. You have to measure the resistance in turning to be sure it is preloaded properly.

It may not get rained out, but it may snow.

Classic and Vintage Bulbs makes a high quality direct replacement halogen bulb. They are made in Australia. It is available from Little British Car Company in the USA. The bulbs from Brattons and other are made for Bill Hirsch in India. They are not the same quality. The filaments are properly located for focus. There is a reason why they are much lower cost. The generator on the Model A is able to run the 35 watt versions with no problem.

You kind of have to be more specific. Do you need the frame or just the glass? I would ask over on fordbarn.com too. There were 2 sizes of glass used for all of A production (with exception to special bodies). If I remember correctly it would have used the larger glass as the short glass was used on the 30-31 deluxe roadster/ phaeton and all slant window. The major A suppliers carry glass and I believe the whole frame for your car is reproduced. The glass is just standard flat safety glass and the patterns are around that a local glass place could use to make up one from scratch.

Talk to other owners. The question is what does your cutout do? If the function is to prevent back current to the gen and not some other side function then you might consider the modern solution. While I like to keep original functioning parts sometimes it is worth looking at modern parts. A diode is not very likely to fail and will always function. Even when rebuilt the points could stick and burn up your gen. Talk to others who like to keep their cars stock and are not afraid to drive them. You really want the guys that rarely have a break down too.

Converting mechanical brakes to hydraulics is not something that is usually better than mechanical. At best you end up with a system that has more fail points and is going to require substantially more maintenance. You have the second problem if you use a single master cylinder you now have a single point failure if you lose the fluid to any line. When was the last time you heard of a mechanical brake rod failure with original parts. I can show you a repro Model A part failure, but that is another story. Since antique cars are not driven enough natural variations in temp through the day causes the fluid to seep past the seals. This causes the wheel cylinders to stop functioning if they are not used regularly over a period of a few years. The sad part is most owners just keep driving their cars with less than 100% braking. I made the mistake of asking a bunch of people at some car show one year. More cars than not were being driving with more than one wheel's brakes not working. I now try to make sure antique cars keep plenty of spacing behind me. Something you may need to be aware of about your system, regardless of how you actuate it. Your 3 shoe system most likely needs to have the lining sized to the drum for full contact area. You also need might need to be concerned with having the shoes all centered to the axle. For fixed post brake shoes, this is best done with a tool called the Barrett Brake Dokter. It is a disk sander that has a mount for the axle. You set the drum diameter on the movable center and mount it to the axle. Turn on the sander and spin the tool around the wheel. This sands the shoes to size and on center. It is a critical part of getting early brakes right. A secondary method is a tool such as the Ammco brake archer, but that only arches the shoes to the diameter of the drum.

I talked to a guy who did abatement for a living. He told me that statistically 80% of the people who smoked when they worked with asbestos got cancer. Only 20% of those who did not smoke. Size matters. A certain size particle is less likely to be pushed out by the cillia that smoking prevents from clearing particles from your lungs. Having a scared population is important for the jury awards. Keep in mind the asbestos awards is a huge industry for the litigation attorneys. I read something that the lawyers have made 10 billion off this. Keep in mind I am saying the asbestos is bad. Frequently the schools with asbestos only contribute a minor exposure when compared to the dirt kids play in when they get home. Now you need to keep in mind that you do not have an asbestos backing. For future reference, it is a mineral fiber backing. You go around mentioning the A word and you are just asking for trouble!

I can be there in 10 minutes. I have not wasted my time in years. The AC show was just way to expensive for the normal flea market guys to afford. Many were lucky to break even. It is a waste of time and lots of cash these days. I will only go if I get free tickets and that has not happened in a long time.

I was surprised that I was not able to buy some parts from a major Ford hardware dealer. It seems the sales tax issue for major corp is not economically feasible. As I understand it for an out of state corp to get a sales tax permit they must submit to a considerable opening of their books and a huge potential tax liability. I have noticed that several vendors just brought some display items and all sales had to be via telephone and mailed to your door. I have also noticed a lot of better tool dealers and just others that no longer attend. I personally have stopped selling and dropped my transient vendor tax because it was not worth the potential problems. I just go to walk around and buy stuff anymore anyway. I assume not much can be done about this problem. Are there any changes expected in the future? I have to wonder how the increased need for state revenue might impact the face to face sales at places like Hershey. Please note I have intentionally steered clear of political comments. Please keep to the subject in any comments.

What is interesting is that Ford had already gone over to floaters by late 36. The brake adjusters were free to slide fore and aft. This is documented in the Ford Service Bulletins. These aftermarket floater kits were to help compensate for people not understanding how to properly put together the brakes. The shoes need to be arched to fit the drum diameter and for the earlier brakes they needed to be properly centered. If you want good brakes on a Ford. Put all new parts in and make the shoes fit the drums. Pay attention to details. The brakes work great when they are done right.

This look like a car that should only get the needed mechanical work done to it. It is just a good looking car as is. From experience I can tell you that your car is likely to get more attention then some high end show cars. I would pull the wheels off of it and see what the brakes are like. Frequently they are worn and or cobbled together over the years. I dont know about you, but I like to stop. With the mechanical brakes it is important to have properly redone brakes and they will stop the car as well as juice brakes. The best part is they need very little maintenance and do not go bad just sitting. This means lots of new or NOS parts, shoe arced to good drums and properly centered. For driving at speed, keep in mind this car should run 55+ MPH all day long, you will need 4 good shocks and well lubricated springs. You should be able to keep the work in to well divided projects and keep the car on the road. Seatbelts are highly recommended given how well the have been working as retrofits so far. There have been some well documented 'saves' in some bad accidents involving the Model A's.

What are you trying to clean off? Just some basic dirt on the outside or are they soaked in something? If they are soaked in something that bad then please do not try to reuse them. It is yours and my safety your a talking about. The soaked brake shoes rarely come back 100% and do you really want to risk less than 100%. Sadly, I made the mistake of asking guys at the local car show how their brakes worked one year. I will not ask that again. I made sure they all were way behind me or in front of me on the road after that. Most admitted to non-working or contaminated brakes or complained of the symptoms of those problems. The excuse was, they do not drive the car much so what does it matter.

My family has done flat towing it several times at long distances with A's and V8's with no problems. You can not legally be able to do it anymore most places!!!! Most states require the tow vehicle to have functioning brakes. This means a tow dolly or some special rigs to use a tow bar. If the cops catch you then you will be in for a towing bill as they will not allow you continue down the highway. You have a dually. Some states the cops have been pulling guys over with dually's and trailers as you are over the weight where you will need a CDL or at least a log book and a health thing from a Dr. There are valid stories around from guys that had to hire guys to move their rigs after being pulled over. The two I am pretty sure are true are from the New England area and out west into Nevada I think. Check the laws before you go. It can get pretty expensive if the cops have a bug up their butts.

You do not know which springs might have been used. It may have the incorrect springs and there are a LOT of possibilities. Find a copy of the Ford Green part book. That lists the correct springs and which spring leafs make up the spring. Yes, the correct spring leafs too. Ford used different thickness springs too. So just because you count the correct amount of springs that does not mean it is the correct spring for the application. Then throw in springs that are rusty between the leaves so they do not function properly, worn springs, bad shocks and wrong parts. Get the Green book and talk to someone in the Ford V8 club that knows the parts. There are too many variables and an inexperienced person could quickly get things mixed up and really wrong.

You should not be looking for opinions. Opinions can get you killed. You need the facts. The facts as best I can sort out is this. Based on calling and talking to a researcher doing a study on isocyanate paints. A properly fit charcoal filter mask that is not too old will filter out he airborne contaminates. The problem is they are not always properly fit. The main entry source for isocyanate is your skin. Isocyanates cause an allergic reaction. The first time you feel it you may only feel some chest pressure later. Eventually you get industrial asthma. Do not forget the other chemicals in the paints kill your liver and kidneys. They also have neuro effects. The cost of the positive pressure breathing systems is offset by a very high resale value. Check out what they sell for used. By new use for a few years and sell for a $100 loss. That is cheap, look at what it will cost to buy good masks. Do not worry about keeping dust from your airflow. The main source of dust in paint is from the part or from your cloths. Wear a suit, it protects you from isos and keeps the dust away. You want to have a lot of airflow to keep the overspray down and plastic to keep the paint from landing on your tools. Do not spray when your family or neighbors could get a lot of fumes.

This one had been bashed to death. The facts based on science: Detergent oil does not break up the sludge and will not cause it to break up. The detergent is to keep the microscopic particles in suspension so they drain out and do not make more sludge. What is critical to your engine are the additives that prevent corrosion and damage to the babbitt from the chemical by products of combustion. These are in detergent oils and some non-detergent oils. Please do not believe me. Do some searches on oil properties and the myth of detergent oils breaking up sludge and read it all for yourself. Be sure you are read technical facts from oil engineers and not just opinions.

This is a tuff one as there is a lot of bad info. A Model A guy followed the path of standards changes from the 30's to modern oils. What he found was the following as equivalent to the original gear oil. Mobil: Mobilgear 636 BP: Energol GR-XP 680 Castrol: Castrol Alpha LS680 Shell: Omala 680 Texaco: Meropa 680 A common sub is to take 140 wt and add in STP. Some have even run only on STP. STP is not a lubricant, it is a viscosity modifier. The above oil is only available in 5 gallon cans so you will want to find friends to share the oil. Keep in mind the stuff is not very expensive.

What people do not realize about hydraulic brakes is they need to be driven. We had a 39 Ford and were always into the brakes. We did not drive the car much. Must later I learned that more cars than you might want to believe at a car show do not have fully functioning hydraulic brakes. This goes for all years of cars and is dependent climate. Normally they are driven regularly and the seals are held up some with the pressure check valve. Normally they try to keep about 6 PSI in the drum brake lines. Now lets think about cars that sit for a while. The car sitting in the garage is subject to a constant variation in temps from day to night. As the metal heats up the juice expands at a different rate. You also have variations in barometric pressure. So you get the fluid inside the lines expanding and contracting different from the metal. This allows the fluid to move past the seals and get sucked back in the lines. While it is out the metal is holding moisture, warm metal at night with cooling air is condensation. So you have fluid moving out into the air. It picks up moisture and leaves a film behind. This allows for rust and scum. The scum will cause one or more pistons to not move so good and the rust, well need I say more. Driving the car regularly exposes the brakes to heat to keep things dry. The piston motion helps to keep scum from forming. The only solution is the car needs to be driven regularly. I view converting mechanical brakes to juice a safety hazard. In most cases, the mechanical brakes are as effective as the juice brakes with tires being the real limiting factor. The problem with both types of brakes that overshadows all is a failure to properly restore the brakes. Too many guys just slam the brakes together with worn parts and not paying attention to all the details.

Do you have the tooling to arc the shoes to match the radius of the drums once you install the linings? This step is often not done on antique car brakes and causes a significant reduction in brake power.