How do you handle "A Adventures"

Brobrian

Brobrian

Senior Member
How does your family handle the Adventure of driving around in an 80-year-old car?

Recently, I replaced the motor in my '31 PU. Lots of fun, runs well. Suddenly at the gas station the other day it quit. I had no lights or horn and no spark. Had to get a tow home from my neighbor. I tightened the connection at the starter switch and looked behind the dash for any possible shorts. The truck fired right up and I've been driving it all over town again. Figured I'd nabbed that gremlin.

Then last night it did it again. No lights, no horn, no spark. Got towed home by my son this time. And, ominously, my wife rode home with a friend. Today I tinkered around until I found the real culprit, the nut on the ammeter had come loose. I assured my wife, who has always been so happy to go places with me, that the mischief had been managed. She, however, declared that she didn't think my "A's" were reliable and she didn't want to go too far from home in them anymore.

I've always looked at these events as Adventures, and I admit I've had a few (though most were running out of gas, or headlights winking out), but I guess the charm has worn off for her. When I offered her a ride to the store today, she declined and hopped in her Subaru. She'll probably forget her concern after I've been tooling around town adventure-free for a few months. But today I was sad when she headed down the street in her new reliable car.
 
My wife is wonderful about it, but we have had few misadventures. If we had more probs, her attitude might change. I think the proof is in the pudding: fewer mishaps, more acceptance.
 
I warn all passengers that by agreeing to go for a ride they have consented to join the "push team" in event of a mishap.

If you are willing to put your money where your mechanics are, promise the family that you will take them out for ice cream every time the car fails on a trip. Watch out though, they may start to sabotage the car.
 
Treat it as a positive!! She should give you a blank check now for doing any Model A mechanical improvements.

I also have a wonderful and understanding wife. She has been supportive and by my side for broken U-joints, broken rear axle, sudden major short in a brake switch that killed the car in a busy intersection, etc.etc. etc. This has been over 30 years though and by small bits of improvements over these years both her and I have the confidence in our Model A's. She also trusts my learned ability to fix on the fly so we can drive them anywhere at anytime. So far our one single longest single Model A trip was 1800 miles round trip and it was trouble-free.. We also have developed a Model A network of friends over the years that can come to our rescue with a tow, etc. if absolutely necessary.

Also another thought is that she now has some of her best friends that are the other local Model A wives and if I were to mention getting out of this hobby she would be the first one to talk me out of it. It is one of her social outlets. I also think that she realizes that my time and energy spent in this wonderful hobby keeps me out of the bars....:)
 
My Wife always looks at an Adventure as "another great story in the making".

She also is a true "A" fan.
 
My wife has always been supportive and more than willing to ride along. I may have pushed the limit last month when we were 600 miles from home and had what could be called "catastrophic engine failure" and had to be towed home.

She allowed as how she would like to go back there sometime, but in HER Model A (Lincoln Aviator).:)
 
When one of our cars breaks down, it's usually in some remote location without cell phone coverage and for some strange reason, more often than not, my wife is driving at the time.
These situations are always challenges of ingenuity and whilst we don't like our cars letting us down, the challenges and the tall stories afterwards all contribute to interesting motoring.
Keith
 
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If you don't already have it, get AAA Plus membership in So Cal for piece of mind.

100 mile towing!
 
We were on a tour one time up in central California where gold was first discovered. As we were leaving the hotel early in the morning I discovered I had forgotten to gas up the night before. I told everyone to go on and we would catch up at the lunch stop. Later we were by ourselves climbing a grade in the middle of nowhere around highway 49 when the radiator started spitting water, the temp gauge reading went up, and the ammeter started wig waging from - to +.

I pulled off the road and casually told her we had just blown a fan belt. With a look of horror she asked what are we going to do.

I told her when the engine cools down a little I am going to replace it with the one I have under the seat. When I raised the hood there was shredded fan belt all over the place, but a string of it had been intermittently turning the alternator, the reason for the ammeter wig wag.

Tom Endy
 
Tom Endy said:
We were on a tour one time up in central California where gold was first discovered. As we were leaving the hotel early in the morning I discovered I had forgotten to gas up the night before. I told everyone to go on and we would catch up at the lunch stop. Later we were by ourselves climbing a grade in the middle of nowhere around highway 49 when the radiator started spitting water, the temp gauge reading went up, and the ammeter started wig waging from - to +.

I pulled off the road and casually told her we had just blown a fan belt. With a look of horror she asked what are we going to do.

I told her when the engine cools down a little I am going to replace it with the one I have under the seat. When I raised the hood there was shredded fan belt all over the place, but a string of it had been intermittently turning the alternator, the reason for the ammeter wig wag.

Tom Endy
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From my location, seems like I cannot get anywhere without being on Highway 49 for at least part of the way. I think I know which grade you are talking about too. The only time I have ever heard my Model A motor "ping" was on that grade. More of a loud metal "chirp" than a modern car "ping" sound, but I knew what it was instantly and backed off. When I use premium fuel, it doesn't do it on that grade.

Matter of fact, I will be driving the Model A on that stretch of 49 day after tomorrow.
 
From another angle, my first buggies did the same only being 10 years old but mistreated. I learned, repaired and drove many reliable miles. It's all about the attitude, keep a stiff upper lip and look forward to the next adventure with glee!
 
Hmm, interesting thread. My wife takes a picture when we break down, posts it on Facebook, and tags me in the post. That leads to tons of grief from my friends. The first time she did that it was due to running out of gas. My Dad had "fixed" the gas gauge just days prior and it was my first ever outing in the car without Dad. I learned the gas gauge was more broke than before... :-)

My kids groan when a breakdown occurs and start to question my sanity. I think the ice-cream idea may be the workaround I need until they are ready to participate in a roadside "seminar" and learn/help.
 
My wife has never had to take her car to a repair shop ever, so she appreciates how well I take care of her ride. Her friends moan about the expense and inconvenience of doing so. The favor I get in return is never a complaint in an antique car. And if you drive an antique anything, there WILL be breakdowns
 
Brobrian said:
How does your family handle the Adventure of driving around in an 80-year-old car?

Recently, I replaced the motor in my '31 PU. Lots of fun, runs well. Suddenly at the gas station the other day it quit. I had no lights or horn and no spark. Had to get a tow home from my neighbor. I tightened the connection at the starter switch and looked behind the dash for any possible shorts. The truck fired right up and I've been driving it all over town again. Figured I'd nabbed that gremlin.

Then last night it did it again. No lights, no horn, no spark. Got towed home by my son this time. And, ominously, my wife rode home with a friend. Today I tinkered around until I found the real culprit, the nut on the ammeter had come loose. I assured my wife, who has always been so happy to go places with me, that the mischief had been managed. She, however, declared that she didn't think my "A's" were reliable and she didn't want to go too far from home in them anymore.

I've always looked at these events as Adventures, and I admit I've had a few (though most were running out of gas, or headlights winking out), but I guess the charm has worn off for her. When I offered her a ride to the store today, she declined and hopped in her Subaru. She'll probably forget her concern after I've been tooling around town adventure-free for a few months. But today I was sad when she headed down the street in her new reliable

Obviously the two of you have very different interests ! Maybe you should refuse to ride in her reliable car or have anything to do with it.
Wayne
Wayne
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Pat NEVER hesitated when we took Minerva on her first out of town voyage! We did an 87 mile trip into the Sierra Mountains, car ran flawlessly. The RUBBER CHICKEN didn't even get carsick!
Bill W.
 
Guess I didn't give my wife enough credit. Tonight we ran errands together in the pickup, just like usual. She just hopped in and asked if we had enough gas. Didn't even inquire about why the truck wouldn't start last night. She chattered away about how blessed we are etc.
At one point I had thought we should have amended our vows to include "in good repair or bad." Perhaps it was just implied.
 
You'll be vindicated down the road, Bryan! Just wait until HER car fails, & you fix it for her, in a jiffy! She might get you a cool Baseball hat, with "SUPERWRENCH" embroidered on it!
Bill W.
 
These cars are very easy to fix on the side of the road but I didn't even need to do that (other than change the water pump) on a 6,500 mile trip through the Australian outback last year. My wife and I are soon to depart on an even bigger trip - at least double that distance to the National meet in our 1929 Phaeton. On both trips we are towing a camper trailer that weighs in at about the same as the car. I have every confidence that we will make it but if we don't well, that will be just another life enriching experience we didn't expect.
 
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