Model A clubs

V

Vetcol

Member
I was wondering if all Model A clubs are like the ones in my area. By that I mean I wrote a letter to the 4 clubs in my state,(which I got off of the MAFOA). this was done in the end of July or the first part of August. I asked for information on shows,swap meets and general information. And to this day I have not heard or recieved anything from the four clubs.
I'm beginning to wonder if I should restore or just street rod my 28.
I was just trying to get info and maybe some helpful info on how to properly restore the car, but have recieved NOTHING.

Is the other national club (MARC) the same?
 
Clubs are just a collection of people playing with their cars, and sometimes are pretty loose organizations, or may have no one who is responsible for PR. If you are sincere in your quest for information in your area, dig a little deeper. Do those clubs have a web site? Do they have a newsletter? Maybe you could join one of them and get their newsletter. Or, if they have web sites, just look there for information. Don't blame MAFCA; they have no control over what chapters do in this regard. No need to wave the bloody shirt. :rolleyes:
 
Did you tell them you were interested in the club and maybe ask when the next meeting was being held or just tell them you were looking for information from them? I am not sure what you include under "general information" but I don't consider it a club responsibility to provide information on shows and swap meets to a non member. Most clubs include this information in their monthly newsletter. I do agree that they should have gotten back to you but you might consider the slant of your request. I would expect that the local chapters of MAFCA and MARC clubs are about the same.

Charlie Stephens
 
Sounds like I should just go to the RRT and see what response I get.
Of course I asked for info on joining the clubs.
And why would you not answer any inquiries about your club and hobby, how else do you promote either?
 
It looks like the nearest MAFCA club for you is about 100 miles away in Hortonville. The contact is Mary Lou Hegner 920-779-4415. You could call her. In fact, all the MAFCA chapters listed on the MAFCA site have contact numbers as well as times, places, and dates of their meetings. Two of the clubs have web sites where you could also get information. If you need more, why not call them?
 
Been there done that, that's why I wrote letters. Called Mary got answering machine twice, left name and number and no call back. Maybe because there is no club in my area, or just don't care.
 
Yo, Vetcol,
Model A clubs & the people in them aren't perfect, either, BUT they are sure a lot of FUN! When you're sick, or BROKE, or need help, or parts, they come arunnin"! Bill W.
 
I had just the complete oposite experience.

Right after I purchased my PU (and before I actually received it -- 3 months later), I contacted MAFCA via eMail. They in turn sent it to their local contact, who sent it to another guy that contacted me -- all within a week. Turns out that the guy that contacted me lives within walking distance of my house!

Then, when my PU arrived via transport, and the battery was dead (among other things) and I needed help getting it home, one call to him and 4 guys showed up with a tow vehicle at the transporter's dock, all within 30 minutes.

I've never had to want for someone to help out. Great bunch of guys I never knew existed until I got my Model A.
 
It does seem that with all things, 'Your Milage Will Vary'..

I have been (in the hot rod scene) in good clubs, clubs that were so loosely organized that they were stretching the definition of 'club' and clubs that were so good ol boy and tight knit, that if you weren't born into the club, or could spend 20K on chrome plating your 6:71 blower powered ], 800HP crate motor, you might as well just stay at home.

This board does make for a good substitute or addition to a club. 90% of us are OK guys, 10% are grumps and the members of each grouping change randomly and frequently :)

Have a question? ask it! We are better than some, worse than some but always willing to give help and advice.
 
Vetcol, I have been an officer in our local club. One of the problems local clubs have is that the contact info takes FOREVER to get to the national offices and then disseminated. I still get mail at my house for our club, and I have been "off duty" for almost 3 years! As stated above, the best bet is to find a phone number or check a website and then attend a meeting.

As to the comments about this being a better source of info than a club, well I disagree. Granted, most in the local clubs don't know how to work on their cars beyond basic maintenance. But in our club (and I believe it is typical), there are retired mechanics, life-long car builders (no longer hot rods) and my best buddy is a retired mechanic that has been doing babbit since he learned in his grandpa's shop. Plus, he has a better machine shop at home than most shops do and he is a wealth of accurate information.

I have been messing with Model A's on and off since 1966, and was originally taught by a fellow that started in the Ford garage in 1919. Yes, I hear nonsense at the club. But I also read nonsense here on FB, too. Guys are free to share their opinion based on nothing more than their own experience or some article they read back when. Of course there are some guys here that are VERY knowledgeable. And I know that some of the more knowledgeable are members of local clubs. I have learned a ton here on FB from those guys. But just like in the club, I have had to side-step misinformation, too.

What you cannot get on FB is the camaraderie of friends who have the same interest in old Fords as you do. And of course there is the fun of tours. There is nothing like seeing a string of Model A's in your windshield heading toward a new adventure.

So, I encourage you to keep trying to get hooked up with your local club. Even if you have to call MARC or MAFCA and ask for their help.
 
CarlG said:
I had just the complete oposite experience.

Right after I purchased my PU (and before I actually received it -- 3 months later), I contacted MAFCA via eMail. They in turn sent it to their local contact, who sent it to another guy that contacted me -- all within a week. Turns out that the guy that contacted me lives within walking distance of my house!

Then, when my PU arrived via transport, and the battery was dead (among other things) and I needed help getting it home, one call to him and 4 guys showed up with a tow vehicle at the transporter's dock, all within 30 minutes.

I've never had to want for someone to help out. Great bunch of guys I never knew existed until I got my Model A.
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I too have had nothing but a wonderful experience with the local Model A Club if you can call them local as we are spread out over about a 100 mile radius. It makes it hard for me at least to attend events as they are usually far away.

Having said that its like the Calvary when you call for help and having in my opinion one of the best Model A mechanics in the country does not hurt ether:D

165 working days to go.

dusty
 
Like was mentioned above, you have to "push" yourself into a club. Most of them do not come to you. And this is not typical only of Model A clubs-a lot of clubs and organizations are hard to "break" into also. So if you really want something, (that is to join a club) then go for it! Like mentioned above, continue to try to contact by phone, email, find a meeting time and place and go to a meeting and say here I am.

Being you seem to be 100 mile away from the nearest club, it may be difficult, if you join, for you to participate in some of the club functions. So go to a meeting, find out what they do and see if it fits your needs. One extra bit of comradeship you also get out of a club, is you can go to a regional or national meeting where you meet people from all around your area within various states. This is well worth joining to be able to do this once or so a year to get together with other A people. Again like mentioned above you will meet some of the best down to earth people you have ever met but they are active people and do not wait for the person that expects everything to be handed to them on a silver platter.
 
There are many threads as to what's going to happen to the A culture in the coming generations and here is someone that's interested and all he's gotten so far is frustration. Maybe that's why there is a decline in interest.
 
newshirt said:
Skip the local clubs. Get your answers here.
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I would strongly disagree with this. Sure fordbarn is a great place to get answers, but you get so much more from a club. You get to go on tours & social activities that you don't get anywhere else. It puts you in contact with people in your area who have the same interest as you have. I've been a member of 3 local model a clubs, and both nationals. I feel like I've gained a lot more from belonging to these clubs than I have from fordbarn- no disrespect of course. It's just the internet can't give you the face-to-face interactions. Clubs are what hold our hobby together.
 
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