My New Car

johnr9q@yahoo.com

johnr9q@yahoo.com

Senior Member
1931 Slant windshield fordor. Been in a contanier for 60 years and hasn't been started since then. First priority is to see if it will run. Following is the time line for the Car:
1960 Duane Brooks bought the car and was going to restore it. He bought it from a place called Sacramento Oaks. I have no history before this.
1964 Duane's sons Jim and John drove it back and forth to Johnson High school in Sacramento.
1973 The last year the car was driven. Duane died and his wife kept the car stored in her garage. Duane never restored the car.
2008 Duane's wife died and Duane's son, Jim moved the car to Russell Traver's junk yard (2111 March Road, Roseville, Ca) and placed it in a container
2021 Jim sold the car to Russell and it stayed in the container.
8/13/25 I bought the car
 

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With hand crank see if motor turns over.Drain replace fluids,oil water etc. Check points. 60 years long time sitting- check fuel tank for debris.Welcome to Barn Continue to ask questions!!! All here to help out... Enjoy your Model A..
 
I'm sure you will take good care of her. New tires for Christmas?.
Check the brakes and steering linkage too .......
 
Gary WA said:
With hand crank see if motor turns over.Drain replace fluids,oil water etc. Check points. 60 years long time sitting- check fuel tank for debris.Welcome to Barn Continue to ask questions!!! All here to help out... Enjoy your Model A..
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When you get to the point of changing the oil on a car that has been sitting this long, after draining the old oil, it's a good practice to remove the distributor and pour at least 2 quarts of fresh oil down the distributor hole and then reinstall the dist. and add the remaining oil down the filler tube. Doing this will ensure that the camshaft/crankshaft bearings, lifters, etc., along with the rest of the bottom end are flooded with oil BEFORE you attempt to start the engine.
 
Very nice car.

Before you crank it over, I would first remove plugs and pour some oil in each cylinder and let it sit for a day. Check the gap on the plugs as well as the points.
 
60 years ago there is a good chance that the oil was non detergent. That means that the dirt in the oil would settle to the bottom of the pan and valve chamber. When you drain the oil, insert your finger in the drain hole and see if there is a layer of sludge in the bottom of the pan. If so, you will have to remove the pan and the valve chamber cover and clean out the sludge before starting the car.
 
nkaminar said:
60 years ago there is a good chance that the oil was non detergent. That means that the dirt in the oil would settle to the bottom of the pan and valve chamber. When you drain the oil, insert your finger in the drain hole and see if there is a layer of sludge in the bottom of the pan. If so, you will have to remove the pan and the valve chamber cover and clean out the sludge before starting the car.
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*I had a Model A that had been sitting about the same time as yours and it had the problems nkaminar describes above. I had to scoop out the sludge with an old table spoon inside the valve chamber - a nasty mess, but it needed to be removed. Same with my oil pan. While the pan is off, don't forget to remove the oil pump and thoroughly clean it too. I would strongly encourage you to follow his recommendations on removing sludge before attempting to run the engine.
 
katy said:
I don't remember their being "containers" 60 years ago.
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Found this.

Containerization in shipping began to develop significantly after World War II, particularly in the 1950s, when Malcolm McLean introduced the standardized shipping container in 1956. This innovation revolutionized the transport of goods and greatly increased efficiency in global trade.maritime-executive.com.png
 
Containers came into use sometime in the 50's.A lot of them back then were considered one way usage tools.We left thousands of them in Southeast Asia through the 60's.No matter what the brand or company was,most of them were referred to as Conex containers.There are lots of the single use overseas containers around here.Back then containers were not going back and forth,so if it came from across the pond the container usually stayed for good.The shoeshop here would get a few a year,and an automotive rubber extruding plant would get some.I park one of my A's for the winter in a can that was placed on my dads land in 1963.
 
An original Standard Fordor. No center arm rest or cowl lights. Darn rare, most have been converted to Deluxe. Looks like original interior. Looks like partial original paint?. Great original car. Congratulations.
 
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The seal beam headlights have some historical significance. I agree to switch back to the original but save the seal beam units and put them on the wall in your shop. When switching back, use the LED bulbs with the built in lenses that do not need to be focused. Lots of Model A's used the seal beam headlights when the original reflectors were not available and re silvering was expensive. They draw a lot of amps and the LED's that are now available are much better.
 
nkaminar: I have the originals and will put them back on. gs: Are you saying it is not a deluxe? From my research the things that separate my car from the standard are: Cowl Lights (I have them but they have been removed), rear arm rests, pull rope on rear of front seat, scrolled door and window handles, wood grained front dash, dome lite over rear window and switch on the door post and carpet. My car has all these. Katy: you said they didn't have containers 60 years ago. I am editing my initial thread to clear that up with a time line.
 
Welcome yo the Barn and with a darn nice original car too boot! To me and I would have to look it up, but what you describe is a late 31 Townsedan. I say that because the dome light is right above the rear window. But by 31 they had a bunch of different delux bodies that are fairly similar. Also, REPLACE ALL OF THE GLASS! IT IS ALL PLATE GLASS EXCEPT FOR THE WINDSHIELD. Sorry don't meant to shout but it is a huge safety concern.


Mike
 
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