armchair67
Senior Member
I joined here in August of 2014, just as I was buying a 1931 Tudor for daily use. I sold my Cadillac CTS-V to buy it, and a lot of people though that I was a little crazy for replacing it with an 83 year old car with the intention of using as my main transportation. I didn't even drive my Cadillac in the winter-instead replacing it for those months with an old, rear engine VW Beetle. That Beetle stayed parked this past winter though, to stick with my plan of making the A a true daily driver.
The first month was very trying. The previous owner had the car since 1949,and about a dozen years ago did a full restoration. That restoration, as it turns out, was good for taking the car to parades or shows once or twice a year, not for actual use. I sorted out a number of issues, in large part thanks to the very great folks on this website. I also joined my local Model A club, and I cannot say enough about how inviting, fun and enthusiastic this group is. I have gained a whole new set of friends. My son, Rhyse, who is five now, and I attend as many tours and events as we can, and I look forward to trying to become more active in "giving back" to the club and the Model A hobby in general. By driving the car I hope that it is doing something in exposing the hobby.
I live in Chicago, and the A has not even had a garage. Yet even at fifteen below zero, she has fired up without an issue. Through deep snow (Chicago has had some real winters the past two years!), rain, heat, cold, etc, thic car has proven itself. In one year of driving, 12,000 miles or so, it has not left me stranded one time. I had but one mechanical failure, a blown head gasket, but it still got me home and to work the next day. I replaced it thanks to Antique Engine Rebuilders in nearby Skokie keeping those along with most other Model A parts in stock. I also replaced the radiator which kept clogging up early on, and rebuilt the front suspension as it had some pretty nasty shimmies when I got the car and worsened with time. Outside of normal servicing, there have been no other problems.
I am planning to not drive it this winter, as I do not want to ruin it by driving it for years in Chicago's salted streets. I am going to park the car once the weather turns nasty and rebuild the brakes, which have never been right, and trans, which has always been noisy and pops out of second gear. My original plan was to drive the car for one year and sell it, so I could have the experience of driving a pre war car every day for a year. But I like the car-and the people-so much that that plan has been nixed.
I wrote this because I know that a lot of people get nervous about driving these old cars, or buying them at all for fear of constant wrenching. I have always thought the Model A was a charming car, and good looking, but I never expected it to perform so well at just being a car that one can actually use in this day and age. But it has, and it has also made me a better, more patient and alert driver.
The first month was very trying. The previous owner had the car since 1949,and about a dozen years ago did a full restoration. That restoration, as it turns out, was good for taking the car to parades or shows once or twice a year, not for actual use. I sorted out a number of issues, in large part thanks to the very great folks on this website. I also joined my local Model A club, and I cannot say enough about how inviting, fun and enthusiastic this group is. I have gained a whole new set of friends. My son, Rhyse, who is five now, and I attend as many tours and events as we can, and I look forward to trying to become more active in "giving back" to the club and the Model A hobby in general. By driving the car I hope that it is doing something in exposing the hobby.
I live in Chicago, and the A has not even had a garage. Yet even at fifteen below zero, she has fired up without an issue. Through deep snow (Chicago has had some real winters the past two years!), rain, heat, cold, etc, thic car has proven itself. In one year of driving, 12,000 miles or so, it has not left me stranded one time. I had but one mechanical failure, a blown head gasket, but it still got me home and to work the next day. I replaced it thanks to Antique Engine Rebuilders in nearby Skokie keeping those along with most other Model A parts in stock. I also replaced the radiator which kept clogging up early on, and rebuilt the front suspension as it had some pretty nasty shimmies when I got the car and worsened with time. Outside of normal servicing, there have been no other problems.
I am planning to not drive it this winter, as I do not want to ruin it by driving it for years in Chicago's salted streets. I am going to park the car once the weather turns nasty and rebuild the brakes, which have never been right, and trans, which has always been noisy and pops out of second gear. My original plan was to drive the car for one year and sell it, so I could have the experience of driving a pre war car every day for a year. But I like the car-and the people-so much that that plan has been nixed.
I wrote this because I know that a lot of people get nervous about driving these old cars, or buying them at all for fear of constant wrenching. I have always thought the Model A was a charming car, and good looking, but I never expected it to perform so well at just being a car that one can actually use in this day and age. But it has, and it has also made me a better, more patient and alert driver.
