Model A specific tasks for evaluating car & seller before buying?

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dochawk

Junior Member
I'm comfortable evaluating cars in general, but the Model A has parts I'm not used to and lacks others I take for granted.

What Model A specifics should I be looking for?

A few musings . . .

What speed should I insist on taking it to momentarily, and what warning signs should I be watching for? [I'm sure not going to do the three open-throttle 0-85 bursts I do on a Northstar Cadillac!:eek:]

What speed should I take it to before testing soft, then hard, braking?

Any particular warning signs to watch for on sellers? I didn't bid on one I otherwise might have recently due to excessive flags suggesting, among other things, a complete lack of familiarity with the model in spite of alleged term of ownership.
 
Find a vehicle within driving distance that you can inspect
in person before purchase.
Take someone with you with a practical working knowledge
of Model A to do a pre-purchase inspection.
Don’t do business with someone you don’t trust.


Jim
 
I have driven perfectly painted show winning cars that I was afraid at 35 mph.
My car although the paint is coming off is comfortable to drive at speeds of 65,the steering should have less than 1” of play ,should have a steady idle low enough to steadily go at walking speed,the brake should stop the car like a fully loaded truck stops
 
In terms of the seller.....an old salesman once told me there are two kinds...a seller who wants to sell and one who focuses on making money. Avoid the later. They are not hard to differentiate.
 
There is a MAFCA Chapter in Vegas. Join and get to know the car. Someone in the club will be happy to give you hands on experience with the marque.
Remember anyone selling a Model A is the dreaded "used car salesman".
I've found buying a Model A on the open market is far less reliable than one from a long term owner in a club newsletter. The open market seems to be flippers or kids/grandkids getting rid of a car they don't want and know nothing about - this type also seems to think they are worth gold.
 
Education is key. There are dozens of videos on YouTube that cover almost every aspect. Look for Paul Shinn's channel, he has at least a couple on doing pre-purchase evaluations.

Essentially, that's what I did last November when I bought mine. I read and watched everything I could. I bought the basic books. I studied. Then I started visiting the nearest sales (only two). Then I expanded my search...and drove nearly 2K miles to visit a variety of A's for sale. What I got was a "driver" that needed basic, simple work. I've enjoyed doing the work as much as driving it.
 
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Test the brakes at 20 mph on asphalt. Pick a road with no traffic and nothing to hit on the side of the road. Good brakes should stop straight ahead in about 24 feet at 20 mph. Push the pedal hard to test the brakes.

Do not drive the car if it does not check out with your Model A mechanic. Everything should be working with good tires and no looseness anywhere in the suspension, wheel bearings, or steering. All the safety systems should be working, such as the horn and stop light. The tires should be good, no cracks, and have 35 psi pressure.

You are welcome to buy one that needs a lot of work, but trailer it home and be prepared to spend a lot of money and time.
 
nkaminar said:
You are welcome to buy one that needs a lot of work, but trailer it home and be prepared to spend a lot of money and time.
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This is sage advice. Buy the BEST car you can afford. Paint and interior prices are crazy. Mechanically they are basic and parts plentiful. I put more value on a great paint and interior than how it runs and drives - that's the cheaper and easier part to fix.
 
Since you are new to the Model A world, be advised that closed cars have a lot of wood in the bodies. Some more than others-like the fordoors. If are looking at one make sure you look at the roof, it should have a slight bulging from the bows and the padding. There should be a welting around the edge-either tacked down or what is called hide-em-welt. It should all look nice and secure, if not it could or did leak. For the body make sure the doors close smoothly and securely, and the belt line from door to body matches ups. You may also want to bring an awl with you to test the wood subframe on the fordoors. Their entire body is wood covered in metal.

Mike
 
1930artdeco said:
If are looking at one make sure you look at the roof, it should have a slight bulging from the bows and the padding.
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This top is probably 30 years old - inside storage.
 

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I echo the advice about figuring out whether the seller knows what he’s talking about. The old “I’m selling this for a friend” is a huge red flag. More importantly, tune up your BS filter to highest intensity.

Here are a few cars I’ve walked away from:

Seller would not let me test drive, just started it up and proved it ran. (That was a nice road trip to an area that I’d never been, however).

Seller let me test drive up and down his driveway, but not on the open road. “Last time a guy test drove it on the road it broke down and I had to call a tow truck.”

‘31 with an indented firewall and a 28-30 carb with Home Depot shutoff valve and copper fuel line, seller didn’t know what I was talking about.

Decent exterior, but the underside of the fenders looked like craters on the moon - a real Bondo bucket. “My dad restored it.”

In short - if it doesn’t feel right, walk. There are plenty of good cars out there. Join a club and buy from a club member. Cars I feel comfortable with I’m happy to offer to folks I know. Cars I’m just trying to get out of my life, never to someone I know.
 
first- decide your budget and then pick a model you would enjoy.


while being cautionary, dont drive yourself nutz to the point of not buying anything. If you are too critical, you wont buy a car at all. I know of someone who has been looking for a particular model for over a dozen yrs and has bought nothing. life is passing him by...............
 
ronn said:
first- decide your budget and then pick a model you would enjoy.


while being cautionary, dont drive yourself nutz to the point of not buying anything. If you are too critical, you wont buy a car at all. I know of someone who has been looking for a particular model for over a dozen yrs and has bought nothing. life is passing him by...............
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Wise words from an A man !
 
I did, in fact, going the local club and attend my first meeting last week.

There's even a member apparently looking to sell the model I'm leaning towards due to aging out of being able to drive it!

I appreciate all these bits. And, believe me, I know about trusting gut: as a young lawyer, I finally correlated that funny feeling in my stomach when interviewing clients and the hard-core cluster--**** cases. I started declining cases and my life got so much better. (And the same for detecting BS artists!)

I'm most definitely looking for something turnkey that I can just start driving; I have too many projects (such as building a not-a-garage in the back), the '72 Eldorado that needs a weld (nut for water pump) and a carb tune to run, and then a bunch more; the Miata that needs an engine (probably a ford 2.5), the '97 Eldorado Touirng Coupe that needs the alternator swapped out and the FR suspension replaced, and so forth. I need something that I cn drive right now!
 
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dochawk said:
There's even a member apparently looking to sell the model I'm leaning towards due to aging out of being able to drive it!
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Sounds like a win-win. That guy has loved the car for many years and is facing the fact he needs to move it on.
The Tudor I posted for the top picture was similar. The car was undriven for about 10 years - covered up in the garage, The owner had neuropathy in his legs so had trouble with clutch/brake. He actually screened who could come look at the car. After an extensive walk around where he pointed out every detail he insisted I take him on a drive of about 3 miles. It was more like he was looking for a suitable home than a sale.
 
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