Sold my Model T for a Model A : ( What did I do!

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2014: Sold my Model T for a Model A : ( What did I do!
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Brian Mettling on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 03:14 pm:

Hey all -

I did something really stupid last month- I sold my 1922 Model T for a 1930 Model A. The Model A was just too good to pass up, so I quickly switched the two out before I really knew what hit me. I quickly realized that the support network for T's is much better than A's, and it's just an all around more fun car to drive! I miss my touring already. In time I'll turn around and buy one again : )


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Brian Mettling on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 03:19 pm:


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Brian Mettling on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 03:20 pm:


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ed Baudoux on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 03:41 pm:

You done good. Many times I have wished I had been bitten by the Abug, instead of the Tbug.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Perry Hiebner on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 03:41 pm:

I have a 1914 Brass Touring I might consider a trade????


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Robert G. Hester Jr., Riverview, FL on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 04:03 pm:

Brian, love or something like it will sometimes make us do weird things. :-(


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Brian Mettling on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 04:08 pm:

@ Perry: Absolutely. I sent you a PM


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By James Chochole on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 04:27 pm:

I also did that- swapped a 1922 Touring for a 1931 Town Sedan...didn't last long. The A just didn't click with me- gear shifts and pre-synchro-mesh just didn't do it.

The diagnosis- the T is now bloodborne.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hap Tucker in Sumter SC on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 05:22 pm:

Brian,

I don’t think it is so much a “this is the only car” or “this is the best car” but more a which car or cars do you enjoy that you also can afford. Jay Leno has a lot more cars than I will ever have (ok – if they discovered oil in my back yard, and I suddenly had a lot of surplus money -- I would start a home for abandoned Model Ts. And in sheer numbers I would probably have more cars than Jay Leno). For most of us it is a matter of the determining which of the limited number of cars I can afford would I like to have. And if we are married – usually the spouse wants to decide her own daily driver and not have us offer her a project to drive (of course it’s safe. It’s only rusty, but you’ve had your tetanus shot…, “ won’t work with most spouses. However, with a short drive to work where the maximum speed limit was usually 35 and only a small stretch where it went to 45, my wife drove our 1931 Model A Town Sedan for about a year or so to-from work. And she agreed to allow us to ship it as our only car when we received an assignment to then West Germany. ) I would encourage you to drive it and get to know it. You can learn to shift the gears without “a grinding noise.” And you can learn quicker if you have someone show you a few ways that work well (double clutching isn’t hard to learn).

Just like Ts there are many Model A groups all over the world. The largest car club dedicated to one make of cars it the Model A Ford Club of America see their site at: http://www.mafca.com/ and they have three chapters in Ohio. The Model A Restorers Club is another very active Model A club. They also have chapters in many locations.

Many of the T folks are also A folks. My observation has been that the Model A Ford has a larger and better support group than even the Model T Ford Clubs. That may not be true in all areas, locations, or specific items. But the Model A Ford Foundation has scanned every available Factory Drawing for the 1928-1931 Model A Fords see: http://www.maffi.org/index.htm That is something I hope the Model T folks will someday move towards for the drawings related to the T. Parts are available and if you look at many of the folks that sell Model T and Model A parts, the A parts catalog is larger. And there is enough interest in the Model As that there is also a Canadian Model A Ford Foundation.

If you go to: http://www.mafca.com/data_assembly.html there is a good chance you can find out where you Model A was assembled. Many but not all of them have a plant assembly number/marking.

There is also a natural tendency for buyers and in your case traders to suffer what is called buyer’s remorse etc. see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buyer's_remorse yes it’s Wikipedia --- but it was easy to find.

I would encourage you to explore the car, learn to drive it without grinding the gears (it is a good feeling), and then decide if you want to trade it for a Model T or if you want to add a Model T to your Model A.

Good luck, and remember to keep it fun.

Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Norman T. Kling on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 05:47 pm:

Nice looking A, but you should have kept the T too. You can build a bigger garage like I did or if you don't have room for a bigger garage, trade your home for one with a larger garage or space to build one.

However, I know someone who lives in a high rise building and keeps his 2 T's in a storage facility.

So you see there is just no excuse to sell the T :-)
Norm


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Harold Schwendeman - Sumner,WA on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 05:55 pm:

Brian Mettling & Ed Baudoux - As Hap just so aptly explained, there are many of us "T" nuts that have been bitten by BOTH bugs,.....Model "T" and Model "A". Me for sure, as my first car was a 1928 Model "A" Ford Standard Coupe while in high school. And NO, I didn't buy it new! Altho' now that I think about it, it really wasn't all THAT old when I bought it in 1957. (foolishly sold the "A" in '65)

Anyway, don't let some "T" guys discourage you about the "A", because there are a few guys that for some reason, seem to think that the only good Fords are Model "T's, and Model "A's are just no good! To me, that's absolutely extreme "blind prejudice", and frankly, rather silly in my opinion. I have four Model "T's, one of which I've had since 1973, and I recently purchased a very nice 1929 Model "A" Briggs Town Sedan, and my wife and I absolutely cherish every one of them! My best Model "T" is a '27 Depot Hack (see profile photo) and it's kinda' fun to compare the differences (and yet many similarities) between a late "T" and an early "A". And Hap is absolutely right,....with a little practice, you can shift gears as smooth as hot butter by double clutching the "A", or for that matter, just hesitating just right between shifts will do the same thing, and it's a nice feeling when you get it right. My advice,........put at least a couple hundred miles of in-town driving on that Model "A" before you decide you made a mistake. I'm betting it'll "grow on you" just like the Model "T's did! FWIW,.......harold


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Dewey, N. California on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 06:03 pm:

It does look nice. A's one who started with As, for decades, I was converted to Ts a number of years ago. Just yesterday I investigated an estate sale with a '30 A Cabriolet. A car that, looking at the wood, etc. it is a shame it was taken apart. Somehow the estate sellers have 'lost" the landau irons, the door window inner trim and other parts of the top mechanism. The passed-on owner had a lot of the window stuff rechromed, so a lot of the expensive stuff is to be done, but all the wood has to be finished and the car assembled. It is literally a Kit Car. Probably can be had for around $2K, but after thinking it over (spent an hour looking around to see if all the pieces were there--he had other A's and some stuff apparently got mixed up by the estate guys--and thinking it over, I'm not goin' there, would rather work on my Ts.
I do still have the A I started with back in 8th grade, so still have a "foot" in "the other camp".
:-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Shawn Hayward on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 06:43 pm:

Lets just accept some facts ....
antique vehicles are a disease,
(Automobile's Anonymous)
it.s contagious
but not often fatal
and once you have it ,
there is no cure
A "T" or an "A" just different symptoms
best just to enjoy them all



23 roadster pickup , dad and a fellow club member

30 standard roadster right out of the barn , and that's how I drive it


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ron Mc Willie on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 06:49 pm:

I really think everyone should own at least one Model T and one Model A. That green tudor is a great looking car. Enjoy it and find another Model T to park next to it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tim Wrenn on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 07:10 pm:

Brian, your "new" model A looks just like mine. It was actually the "A" that got me into the "T's", dying to get into the antique car hobby, yet between everyone telling me how hard T's are to drive (not true I subsequently found out) and not being able to find the right one for my budget, I got the A first. I drive it a bit, but of course not near as much as any one of my four T's. I say, though, keep the A and get another T. Lord knows after a great ride with the dog in the backseat of the A in only 40 degree weather yesterday, I'm glad I have it. Today it was 62 so I got the '15 out on the road again. Great variety!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ed in California on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 07:24 pm:

I have a 31 coupe in my collection as well.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mark Gregush Portland Oregon on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 07:52 pm:

Fordbarn.com has a great Model A forum with just about as much activity as this one. By day I work on Model A's by night Model T. Can't tell with the stone guard in place but looks to be a 31? Nice looking driver.
Unless these upgrades are in place I would suggest adding a 2ed tail/brake light and go through the brakes. The new cast iron drums sold by Snyders and others are top notch and are a very good upgrade over the pressed steel drums along with the woven lining. While some information is missing or not quite right on some things, Les's Model A repair manual is a good item to get.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ron Patterson-Nicholasville, Kentucky on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 07:58 pm:

Mark
Look at the splash aprons,
Ron the Coilman


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dan Killecut on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 08:10 pm:

Mines a 28 phaeton. I love all old Fords, new ones as well.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mark Gregush Portland Oregon on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 08:12 pm:

Ron, your eyes way are better then mine! :-)
Now I see the seam. Also helps to read ALL the words. LOL 1930

(Message edited by redmodelt on October 24, 2014)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Harold Schwendeman - Sumner,WA on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 08:14 pm:

Good eye Ron,....the seam is just barely visible,....so, a '30, right? Hard to tell in that photo though, what that little triangular spot is that looks like red primer,....??? As stated above however, a very nice "driver" Model A,.....harold


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Harold Schwendeman - Sumner,WA on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 08:32 pm:

Well I'll be darned,.....the original post DOES say 1930! You're right Mark,....it would help to "read ALL the words! Been fooln' around on this computer too long today. Funny how I can spot ALL the "goodies" on Brian's photo of the Model A,....step plates, wind wings, windshield wiper, quail on the radiator, radiator stone guard, even stainless conduit on the headlight wires, but I can read "1930" and it doesn't register! Time to shut this thing down and do something else for awhile!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By P.S. on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 08:35 pm:

Looking at the running boards and splash aprons, it's a 30.

Brian- Do not fret. I have a 1931 Tudor Model A, and it is absolutely fantastic. I drive it almost every day when I have a day off from work. Wife and I have done many long trips in the Model A, and it easily keeps up with modern traffic. It is rock solid reliable, in all weather. Very little maintenance is required to keep it in tip top shape.

In my newbie opinion, the Model A is the oldest type of car there is that you can still use as a practical and reliable daily driver.

As for support network, the Ford Barn is jam packed with people that will go out of their way to help you. http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=3

You will either grow to love the Model A, or you will sell it to someone that does.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Brian Mettling on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 09:35 pm:

Thanks guys, I figured with kids on the way by next summer the A is a much safer choice to drive in since it's enclosed. Then I'll save up and buy a brass T. You could put a child seat in the model a for a very short trip, but would look really funny in a touring with a baby seat! :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Royce in Georgetown TX on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 09:41 pm:

The 22 touring looks like moe fun to me. Maybe you can find someone to trade an open T for the closed A?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Charlie B actually in Toms River N.J. on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 10:00 pm:

Drive the car and enjoy it. Yeah, it's a different animal but it has it's own charm. I know where your coming from.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 10:50 pm:

Maybe I'll get one of those modern cars someday, but for now I'm busy enough. :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By keith g barrier on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 10:55 pm:

I love the A's but am to fat to slide behind the wheel! KGB


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By brass car guy on Friday, October 24, 2014 - 11:44 pm:

We have both and my wife prefers to drive our 1930 touring, while I prefer to drive our barn fresh 1912 touring.

I suggest to keep the model a, and start looking for a well priced T of your liking.

just sayin'

brasscarguy


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Burger in Spokane on Saturday, October 25, 2014 - 12:25 am:

Got no use for A's. Don't even really care for 26-27 T's ... too "modern" looking. It's black era T's for me, or no Ford at all.

As a guy who still owns his childhood Schwinn Stingray, skateboard, and first and second cars, I'd give a big thumbs-down to selling your toys to better fit your family situation. Buy a minivan for that and don't give up your dreams. Your kids will find you much more interesting in the end. :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Aldrich Orting Wa on Saturday, October 25, 2014 - 01:11 am:

Finally broke down and bought an A myself. 29 Sport Coupe.

Still a T guy though...


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Craig Anderson, central Wisconsin on Saturday, October 25, 2014 - 01:46 am:

I kinda, sorta, did something like that but I didn't sell a T to get an A.
I had a notion I "needed" a Model A so I bought a driver.........but my '27 Tudor is SO much more fun AND comfortable to drive I prefer the T.
Then I bought a '65 Mustang, besides my '59 Chevy.
The A quickly lost favor so it's leaving for Germany soon.
I still have the '19 Touring and '25 Dodge for backups....... :-O


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Clipner-Los Angeles on Saturday, October 25, 2014 - 03:33 am:

Once you've gone Planetary you'll never go back.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mark Gregush Portland Oregon on Saturday, October 25, 2014 - 01:35 pm:

Not everyone has the space or money for two cars. Drive the Model A for a while, if you like it and enjoy driving it, stick with it. If not then sell it and buy a closed T, there are many for sale. Read the drivers manual, learn how to use the choke and GVA. Learn how to double clutch, you'll have fun.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Harold Schwendeman - Sumner,WA on Saturday, October 25, 2014 - 02:43 pm:

Mark - What's "GVA"?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mark Gregush Portland Oregon on Saturday, October 25, 2014 - 06:08 pm:

It's the Model A spray needle "gas valve adjustor". It the needle that fits in the brass housing on the side of the carb.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Harold Schwendeman - Sumner,WA on Saturday, October 25, 2014 - 07:56 pm:

Aaaahaaa,....got it! Guess I should have known, right? Some of us old guys (me anyway,...) need whole words and whole sentences,.....(and then still sometimes don't understand). This not only makes sense (even to me) but I fully agree! A good running Model A can sure grow on a person, even if you think you don't like them! And if you think it's too "modern", well, all Model A's came with a hand crank too, so crank the darn thing if it makes ya' feel better, right? Thanx Mark,....harold


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Dewey, N. California on Saturday, October 25, 2014 - 11:20 pm:

I had my model A in high school; no money for good battery, so I parked on hills, and used the hand crank often!
I wondered what GVA meant!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Harold Schwendeman - Sumner,WA on Sunday, October 26, 2014 - 02:21 am:

Thanks for the "after the fact support" David,.....I guess,.....even if ya' did let me be the one to show my ignorance! Ha, ha,.....harold


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