Messtoration

John S

John S

Senior Member
I'm about to start stripping paint and old bodywork off my "restored 30 years ago" roadster that I bought in pieces from an estate but before I tore down the car I'm going to repair the front axle. The old car steers hard and has a low speed shimmy on rough roads. One thing I knew for sure was the front spring was weak and that was not helping things. When I tore down the drag link, tie rod, spindles, etc. this morning I found all the parts including the balls on the steering arms and spindle bolts and bushings like new. EZ-steer teflon tie rod ends too. Good for me, less money to spend.:D
When the guy that restored the chassis installed the spindles he put the shims on the bottom with the cup washer and felt. Looks like all I need is a good spring and a re-shim job on the spindles. Just goes to show that when you buy someone's car you best plan on finding some of the work not done right or not done at all.
 
" Just goes to show that when you buy someone's car you best plan on finding some of the work not done right or not done at all."

I have found that to always be true.
 
John S said:
Just goes to show that when you buy someone's car you best plan on finding some of the work not done right or not done at all.
Click to expand...

Yea... I bought my '30 Town Sedan from a well known local Model A mechanic. I was looking for a driver because I have another project, a '55 Ranchwagon and wasn't looking for another. I didn't know anything about Model A's but trusted this man, mainly because he is well know and he has quite a few Model A's and T's.

Don't get me wrong here, I love the car and love driving it but my learning curve has been way steeper than I could have imagined and some of the workmanship is NOT up to my standards and other work is just plain wrong.

And I'm finding stuff that needs to be done that I wish he would have just told me about instead of me finding them the hard way.

The good side is I am learning, learning about Model A's, learning who has fast shipping and learning who not to trust, haha.

Sorry for the rant...
 
The deal with this car was it was somewhat apart for paint work when I bought it. The fellow died with it apart and his widow really didn't know anything. I couldn't see the car very well, much less start it up and run it or drive it as it was shoved into a corner of a small shop with a dead Hillman Minx right next to it. I'm not complaining about anything but some of the workmanship is beyond belief. Such as the fuel shut-off installed with JB weld and the threads all stripped out. My goodness, didn't the man know riggins like that could get him killed?
This isn't the only "restored" A I've seen this way. A while back I went to look at a Tudor that had been restored and never driven, another estate deal and it was a nice looking car. Got underneath and there were three body bolts with no nuts and the rest were loose. Looked at the steering and the tie rod was loose, like it could fall off if you looked at it wrong much less drove it. Told the guy that was selling the car about the tie rod and all he could say was "Well, it's been restored". Sheesh :eek:
 
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My PU was advertised as "Restored". Beautiful body work and upholstery. Mechanicals matched the "Messtoration" definition perfectly.
 
Sounds like you got luckier than I did. The brakes were hust rebuilt before I bought the chassis I am using for the delivery sedan. Rebuilt yes, but the idiot that rebuilt them did not have a clue. The axle seal were leaking and the wheel studs had been welded in. NOS brake linings and e-brake carriers and bands were toast. Rod
 
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