Model A as Daily Driver?

N

Noblebeidoun

Junior Member
Hey everyone, I'm looking to possibly making a 1931 Ford Model A tudor as my daily driver. I would be keeping the stock inline 4 motor and trans, basically keep the entire car stock with the exception of maybe LED taillights and strong headlights.

My questions are this.

Is this stupid or is it possible?
How Reliable would the Model A be? assuming the car is in excellent condition.
And last but not least, are these things safe at all? i mean if i crash at 45mph into another vehicle, what are my chances of walking out alive haha.

id be willing to change a few things if it meant better safety and reliability! If anyone has advice on what to change let me know as well

God bless!

Oliver
 
Last edited:
Take a look at history.

The Model A was a very successful car because it was reliable. It was designed to run 60 MPH and could do that.

The main issues you would read about in the day would be condensers, batteries, and tires. With gas and oils still being developed and understood.

All of those issues are cured today.

The other issue would be the manual attention to setting the charge rate. Here a voltage regulator would help, but is not required.

If and that is a big IF you properly returned the mechanical parts to factory specs then you would expect to go 50,000 to 80,000 before major engine work would be needed.

Safety, well they are not modern cars.

To that they do survive well in some pretty nasty accidents. With seat belts people have lived through head ons against SUV's. They were injured, but they survived.

So it is quite possible to drive the car everyday. If you rebuilt it properly you would not expect any failures, the car should just keep humming along happy.
 
Our model As are daily drivers, around town you will be fine, add turn siginals and a second brake light. our As are highly modified to run at freeway speeds. don't panic all! everything we do is bolt on.
 
i did read up on that 365 days of A, i happen to also be in MI, however i wouldn't drive her in the winter. But good point Kevin, they were daily drivers back then, i suppose with the right attitude they can be now. My biggest concern with it would be reliability and safety, is it fairly easy to install seat belts?
 
The A is a great car but if you are really thinking about safty you may not walk away from a crash at 40mph like you will in a modern car. so drive like your life depends on it
 
bikejunk said:
The A is a great car but if you are really thinking about safty you may not walk away from a crash at 40mph like you will in a modern car. so drive like your life depends on it
Click to expand...

Even in a modern car, never take your eyes off the road because there are too many morons that don't have their eyes on the road.:eek:

If you're not driving defensively every second, you'll get in an accident sooner or later.
 
While stationed at Fort Benning, GA from 1983-1986, and living in town, my '29 roadster was often my DD. It alternated with my '53 Chevy 5-window pickup, but the Model A was more reliable. I would not use a Model A as a DD in a busy place like Washington, DC, but In Columbus, GA it was fine. The MP's were too startled to stop me.
 
I really like to drive my Model A's. I feel like I am really driving a car and in the roadster I could not imagine a better driving experience unless I was in an open midget on a track. I especially like discussing their importance in America's transportation history: such discussion occur about 50% of the time when I take a Model A to a shopping center. Interstate driving is out of the question for me unless I have a modern following with flashers on. A second tail light and seat belts are a must for the older federal and state roads. Directional lights communicate better than hand signals to most of today's drivers.
 
I drive one of mine for a parts chaser so not every day but 2 or 3 times a week.
It is capable of 150+ mph and has a roll cage, 4 wheel discs brakes, fat rubber and quick steering. It still looks stock though.
When it was bone stock, I drove it to parades, meets and tours. That was fun but I lead a faster life now. I still love stock model A's though.
 
Back in the sixties I drove my 68A cabriolet every day, every where. I had no problems or worries about taking a quick 120 mile round trip to Medford OR from Yreka, CA. I had installed Hydraulic Brakes at my father's insistence, but the drive train was essentially original, excepting tires and brakes. I will be driving the car again soon, it being much the same as it was back then, and my only concern is I will be hesitant to drive on the congested commute hour freeways of the San Francisco Bay area where I live now. But otherwise, I would have no concerns driving the car daily. Just remember that it will not perform like a radial tired, four wheel disk brake, modern steering & suspension car; and you should drive the Model A with appropriate adjustments when in traffic.

My '51 Ford is much more modern with good steering, radial tires, and newer suspension; but it only has a disk-drum combination for brakes, so I have to make adjustments for its poorer stopping ability when driving it regularly in significant freeway traffic. Use care, but drive it!
 
I think a lot depends on what your daily drive is like. I drive mine several times a week in S. Calif., in busy traffic and also on freeways some of the time. As others have said, for sure I would use turn signals, 2 LED tail lights, and seatbelts. As long as the car is in good operating condition, and running well, it should be quite reliable. But many Model A's are just in so-so condition, and are nowhere near being like a new car......a lot will depend on the condition and what your drive is like.
 
From 1961 to 1968 my 29 tudor was my daily driver and it was quite reliable--even starting one day at -35. I even drove it on the Waterson Expressway in 1966-67 in Louisville KY but even then modern cars stopped much faster than I could. Keeping up with expressway traffic and potential for being rear ended concern me now. I suppose you could argue that people are so busy looking at the A that they would probably run into someone else. I think it would be fine in small communities and quiet streets. Windshield wipers, lights, defrost and heater quality are possible issues.
 
I bought my Model A to be a daily driver. For the most part I did that all last summer, and will do that as well this summer. On days when I don't drive it to work, people I don't even know notice that it's not there and ask about it. It is always parked right near the entrance to our 8 story building.

I plan on probably close to 3,000 miles between now and winter! I now have a heater in it so may extend it even later into winter this year.

And like Machine Girl says (post #4) any and all modifications are strictly bolt on and can be reversed at any time.
 
I would say seatbelts PROPERLY installed is a must along with LED tails and turnsignals. you still wont stop as good as a modern car, cant do evasive maneuvers like a modern car and cant accelerate like a modern car.

They were daily drivers when they were new but so was everything else on the road and everything pretty much drove stopped and cornered the same.

Now its like a needle in a haystack where everything else is much faster and can maneuver better so your at risk. Your now the horse and buggy in model A day traffic...
 
you don't say where you are from, like a lot of posters. we can't give good advice. If you are country you will be fine. City? not so much. Safety? surely you are joking. Survive head on with SUV surely another joke. My own opinion, and I love my A more than any car I own.
 
sorry, Im from Michigan, i do live in a rather urban area, fairly moderate traffic, highest speed limit i would go would be 55mph
 
Noblebeidoun said:
Hey everyone, I'm looking to possibly making a 1931 Ford Model A tudor as my daily driver.

My questions are this.

Is this stupid or is it possible?
How Reliable would the Model A be? assuming the car is in excellent condition.
Click to expand...
i tried this, found it was too pricy for me. (that and people drive like idiots when they see it.)

Reliability is good if you maintain it. It would be fun if i could afford it.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top