service life

a_crazy

a_crazy

Member
Hey there fellas, I thought of yet another question.. if a guy drives the same Model A every day summer,winter,fall,and spring. at an average of 40 total miles a day, how many miles can he go before needing major engine and/or drive train work? I mean... how long are Babbitt bearings good for? wheel bearings, brake parts etc. etc. etc.??
 
No doubt much depends on:

1. The driver.
2. The driving habits.
3. Scheduled maintenance & check-ups..
4. Road conditions, e.g., gravel, dirt, paved, pot holes, etc.
5. Air filter, oil filter, scheduled lubrication.
6. Plus many more.
 
Are you planning on driving 14,000 miles per year and will it be a brand new vehicle when it starts and on and on! There is no factual answer! Wayne
 
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The Model A was launched into a Depression era when money was very tight and most cars probably didn't receive the recommended level of maintenance. I am struck by the run down appearance of many Model A's in pictures taken when they were only 5-6 years old. Doubtless, there were Model A's that were well cared for, driven carefully, and garaged away from the elements. A few years ago, I inspected a second owner 1930 Tudor that had 82,000 miles on the odometer. The engine was original to the car, had had the bearings adjusted once and new valves and rings at about 65,000 miles. The paint was faded and cracked in a few spots, but the interior was nearly flawless. It was the smoothest running Model A I have ever driven.
 
FWIW: Quite a few legends like this:

My grandmother's unmarried female neighbor had an original 1932 Chevrolet Tudor which was bought for this neighbor in 1932 and driven until the day she died in about 1970.

It had 50,000 miles on it with the same overhead valve engine that had never been overhauled. No blue or black exhaust smoke came out of the exhaust.

Aside from local trips, this neighbor backed this car out of the garage, washed it, cleaned the inside & engine compartment, and drove it back in the garage about every (2) weeks.

In late years, I remember driving it where everything worked great including pulling out the white "Free Wheeling" knob.

Looked to me like it could have easily lasted another 50,000 miles.
 
It's been my experience that them old 6 cylinder Chevys would last a long time as long as they weren't driven much at highway speeds. Sustained 50 or 60 mph would wear them out fast.
 
Into the 60's it was common to see Model A's running and being used as an everyday car at least where I grew up. I would think with proper attention they would go 80,000 or more and most of those would be on roads we wouldn't drive on now.
 
My limited experience:

Bought a field-rescued '28 Special Coupe in 2009: Cosmetically freshened ( new interior, new topping, primed and painted rattle-can black), original running gear made to function. Nothing was "restored" or rebuilt to factory specs; it was still "tired iron".

Odometer was showing 77,000 miles, speedo unit still sealed, date stamp agrees with manufacturing period of engine, gas-tank stamp, etc. - believe this to be authentic mileage.

Engine still un-bored ( original pistons and valves, pistons showing plenty of "Side-slop" at top of bores), would still pull 60-65 psi compression, warm.

I drove this car daily for 1.5 years, 2010 ( through the winter too ) through fall of 2012. At least 50 miles a day. Put about 11,000 miles on it.


Had some teething pains: head gasket blew and got replaced. ( no more trouble ), rotten 1940's aftermarket radiator (Kramer, Trenton, NJ ) caused some overheating issues, replaced with Brassworks HD (problems resolved), then piddling things like replacing worn brake tracks, brake adjustment, carb overhaul, headlight wiring (crappy repro connector plugs), replacing missing cotter pins through-out...

Except for the above-mentioned issues, most of my driving was trouble-free, and the only time I "came home on the hook", was returning to Scranton from Macungie 2011, during an incredible monsoon - car started to misfire after Lehighton exit on the PA Turnpike NE Extension, and I limped along the shoulder until the Service Plaza at White Haven... it seemed that water was flowing down the repro ignition conduit into the distributor, shorting the condensor. It was still monsooning, so I couldn't get the ignition dried out. After an hour of playing with it in the parking lot, I gave-up and made the rest of the trip on a flat-bed.

What finally sidelined the old girl was another trip on the NE Turnpike. At my fuel & oil stop before returning home, I mistakenly put a crumpled paper-towel in the top of the oil fill tube to reduce oil-spray under the hood. It created enough back-pressure for the blow-by to force the engine oil out the rear main. I didn't know what the problem was until rods started pounding about 40 miles from home. (Low oil, rods #1 and #2 starved for oil, burned-out the babbitt. Operator error. ). Babied it the last 40 miles home, praying it wouldn't throw a rod, and parked it. That was fall of 2012. 87,000 miles. It will still start and run.

If I hadn't blocked that breather tube, I might still be driving it. :(

Now waiting for Schwalm's to finish rebuild on a diamond block replacement engine.

If a Model A Ford had received the best of maintenance and was not abused in service, I don't see why they couldn't run close to 100,000 miles...

If you rebuild one stock, and equip it with a modern air filter, run detergent multi-weight oil, and keep it well lubed, it should easily last 75,000 miles....

Back in the old days, it was common for cars to need a valve-grind every 10-20,000 miles, and a re-ring around 30,000 miles.

In college, I acquired and drove a '48 Chrysler New Yorker. During its resurrection, I had to pull the cylinder head to fix some stuck valves, and was surprised to find that the engine had been bored 0.030", with only 76,000 miles on the odometer.
 
I live in North West Indiana Around here the State and County Road Dept. Salt the Roads in the Winter time, The practise Of salting really cuts the life of a car in Half. We old car people put our cars up after Holloween and keep the cars Salt free. This would be something he needs to think about! SALT is BAD Rust never Sleeps.:)
 
Indiana A. Lover said:
I live in North West Indiana Around here the State and County Road Dept. Salt the Roads in the Winter time, The practise Of salting really cuts the life of a car in Half. We old car people put our cars up after Holloween and keep the cars Salt free. This would be something he needs to think about! SALT is BAD Rust never Sleeps.:)
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I will second this.... after driving my A through one NE PA winter, and seeing what it did to the vehicle, I will never again subject an antique to winter roads. :(

( Read: aggressive road treatments. :mad: )
 
Depends on how the drive line is rebuilt.

If you pay close attention to detail and maintain the tight accuracy in the rebuilding, keeping to factory specs you would expect the 80,000 miles on the engine before needing to be rebuilt. Keep in mind rebuilding the drive line needs to be approached like you are building a race car in keeping the tolerances. The factory built to tight specs. Bear in mind the car was designed to run 60 MPH and get over 20 MPG.

Then you need to know about proper setting of the advance and not 'lugging' the engine. The babbitt likes a spinning crank over lugging as long as you properly balanced all the rotating parts. Notice I have not said you need counter balanced or an overdrive. While a properly counter balanced crank would not hurt, it is not required. An overdrive is not critical and for the money you really need to consider if it is really needed. Lots of local driving does not need over drive.

Finally, I do not have more details, but they do make radial 19" tires for the A. This would improve your traction and may be one of the more important consideration.
 
I can only give you some input on babbit. My car was used by my dad and uncle all through high school and college. When I started to fix it up the speedo had 97,000 miles on it and my uncle said it failed about mid way through his college use. I found the babbit to be very good (about 0.016 on the plastigage) back in 1966 so I reground the valve seats, put new rings on the pistons, adjustable tappits, new valves and buttoned it back up. Probably have only put about 20,000 miles on since the 60's, but it is on the original babbit bearings.
 
H. L. Chauvin said:
No doubt much depends on:

1. The driver.
2. The driving habits.
3. Scheduled maintenance & check-ups..
4. Road conditions, e.g., gravel, dirt, paved, pot holes, etc.
5. Air filter, oil filter, scheduled lubrication.
6. Plus many more.
Click to expand...

Henry always introduces an element of logic to confuse the issue..haha ! Wayne
 
Our '29 Tudor had 67,000 original miles. Bought new and owned by the same guy in Wisconsin from 1929-1967. Came out of the Twin Cities plant first week of 1929. He took excellent care of the car. All original never been apart. Stored winters.

One of the best running Model A Fords I have ever been around;)
 
JonC said:
Into the 60's it was common to see Model A's running and being used as an everyday car at least where I grew up. I would think with proper attention they would go 80,000 or more and most of those would be on roads we wouldn't drive on now.
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This is what attracted me to the Model A in the first place. Of all the cars of that era, it seemed to be the only one still used as a daily driver by some people in the 50's and 60's. Most showed some degree of modification such as 16 inch or sealed beam lights.
 
H. L. Chauvin said:
FWIW:

Aside from local trips, this neighbor backed this car out of the garage, washed it, cleaned the inside & engine compartment, and drove it back in the garage about every (2) weeks.

.
Click to expand...
That really does sound like a list of things not to do if you want the engine and bodywork to last.
 
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