My First A - 1931 S/W Fordor

Cape Codder said:
NH-A This car of yours is a great start getting into this hobby! Everything looks so VERY sound!

I have two questions concerning the back of the front seat, mainly the pouch. I'm sure the pouch is for a blanket and would like to know if you could take a picture of it with the flap UP so we can see how it is constructed? Do you have a blanket in the pouch?

Good luck with your NEW acquisition!
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Yes, I can get that later today. Is there anything else you need photos of? No blanket, only a box of headlight bulbs.

The underside and firewall of the car WILL be painted, I plan on using this as a daily driver and want it nice and protected. The interior will be replaced, the photos make it look nice but the front seat has significant loss of the mohair(?) from moths or something in guessing? The front door panels are okay but worn, the rear door panels are okay, headliner is ripped, and the various interior hard panels are in okay shape but very dry feeling, and some are warped. I like to save things, so the interior will be put away for storage since it might be good for patterns? The wood graining is present but not sure how to describe it. Maybe dry and porous feeling? I think it's supposed to be hard and glossy, and it's very soft and dull. Looking into hydrodipping it all, I have an email to a known good woodgrainer but I have a feeling it's going to be thousands to have it done that way. AKA the interior feels kind of musty and almost gross as is, it's definitely good for knowing how it was built but usability is not there, I would not want to be driving it as is.

As for the body, still undecided. Keep providing your opinions, I find them very helpful! The bare minimum the exterior would need is the entire roof repainted, the header repainted, and the front drivers fender touched up. I'm not sure if that means the original paint is too far gone or if that's expected. The only fear I have with the original paint is how well it will protect the metal, unless every single scrape and chip gets touched up, and at that point, it's easier to paint the whole thing.

If it matters, if I were to repaint, it would be in single stage black in the factory style with apple green stripes.
 
Updates: Won't have time to start working on it until December, but in the meantime, I've been using a method I read about on here. I've been applying wax to various spots over and over to build up layers. It seems to have brought back the dash wood grain.
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I noticed something very strange about this car. This car was definitely originally black, as it is now. The door jambs are dark green...
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It appears this car was first shot in green, then black was a second coat with all the doors closed, explaining the clean line? Does someone know what's going on here?
 
What makes you think that the paint job is original?

Based off the green door jambs, I'd say it was probably originally green
 
Banditorama said:
What makes you think that the paint job is original?

Based off the green door jambs, I'd say it was probably originally green
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You know what, I think you're on to something. I noticed some black on the cowl band, however despite all this, the apple green pinstriping is present. That got me thinking, the door jambs I think would have been painted the lower body color, right? So if the pinstriping is present on the hood, the cowl, and the upper body, the only possible explanation is that someone carefully painted the green black, but left any black unpainted. This means the stripe on the hood is original, because that raised band with the stripe would have been black. The upper body is black with striping because it was black, and wasn't painted. The lower body was painted over. I'll have to look closer now. So it's a partial repaint.

I think that green is Brewster green? So the car would have been black upper body, brewster green lower body and jambs, green cowl and hood with black raised areas, apple green pinstripes.
 
You could get a better idea of the color by looking at the space between back of the firewall and the fuel tank!
 
NH-A said:
You know what, I think you're on to something. I noticed some black on the cowl band, however despite all this, the apple green pinstriping is present. That got me thinking, the door jambs I think would have been painted the lower body color, right? So if the pinstriping is present on the hood, the cowl, and the upper body, the only possible explanation is that someone carefully painted the green black, but left any black unpainted. This means the stripe on the hood is original, because that raised band with the stripe would have been black. The upper body is black with striping because it was black, and wasn't painted. The lower body was painted over. I'll have to look closer now. So it's a partial repaint.

I think that green is Brewster green? So the car would have been black upper body, brewster green lower body and jambs, green cowl and hood with black raised areas, apple green pinstripes.
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I'm not an expert in Model A paint. But if it that is Brewster Green then according to MAFCA, then yes the upper body would have been black.

https://www.mafca.com/tqa/p-colors3031.html

You never know what the guy before you did, or the guy before him, or so on and so forth. Its possible somebody tried to save a buck and decided to only paint the lower half
 
You picked a good one, I have a late modal with the indented firewall.
Congrat's and have fun
Pic below is my '31...daily driver
 

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burner31 said:
You picked a good one, I have a late modal with the indented firewall.
Congrat's and have fun
Pic below is my '31...daily driver
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Looks nice! I love the look of the 30s and 31s.

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Fordbarn is right once again. My car was definitely Brewster green and black on top. I've ordered the judging guidelines and paint books to assist the restoration progress. Now I won't feel bad about repainting it, I'll redo it exactly as it left the factory. The gas tank dash area looked black, but upon polishing and shining a very bright flashlight, it's a super dark green, which sounds like brewster. How lucky e am I, that was the exact color combo I wanted!
 
You have a beautiful car and it is yours to do as you please!

For me, I could have taken more time before committing to changes. I switched the trunk on my 1929 Roadster into a rumble seat and have kicked myself ever since. Most Roadsters have rumble seats and I had a chance at something more rare if I left it alone. It would also be more convenient for my junk collecting, having a trunk lower to the ground.

I won't embarrass myself by mentioning my other decisions. What I am getting at, it is only original once. I for one, love to see these cars for what they are, time capsules for the most part for everyone to learn from. There is minimal work to make it roadworthy, Mostly clean and perverse.

After a few years of having fun and sharing it with the world, you might decide a different fate. Reading your posts, it sure seems like you love it and enjoy sharing it with us posters from internet land! How much more can be gained by showing up at a meet and having lots of knowledgeable Model A men at your disposal.

The car is yours, and people will enjoy it no matter what you do.

For possible future consideration, I mention the hubcap behind the seat along with one I see on the car. Those two have the squashed outer rim on them. When I bought my 1930 standard Sedan in 1967 those were the caps. Thought to be reproductions, they were finally accepted as original to Canadian Cars this year. Discussions for use on US cars still undetermined. If they become available, I will buy them or trade for ones without the rim.

Thank you for sharing your story and enjoy the car, your way!
 
Original and Model A are terms that generally do not go together. Unless you can document entire ownership chain and the story as to why it has escaped restoration for 90+ years it's a guess at best. See if there is a MAFCA or MARC judge near you who knows the details between original and even very good restoration parts.

I'd say it's a repaint due to the thickness of the peeling paint on the top - https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/f...PnhJfkJyOXYllYfcFEw6f59SiK=s320-w320-h200-p-k - it appears there was a thin skim coat to level out the area and like all of those products from the 60-90s it has failed an peeled off.

Remember NO ONE knows exactly how a car left the factory (except one of those very rare unrestored ones) so build it the way you want it.
 
ModelA29 said:
Original and Model A are terms that generally do not go together. Unless you can document entire ownership chain and the story as to why it has escaped restoration for 90+ years it's a guess at best. See if there is a MAFCA or MARC judge near you who knows the details between original and even very good restoration parts.

I'd say it's a repaint due to the thickness of the peeling paint on the top - https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/f...PnhJfkJyOXYllYfcFEw6f59SiK=s320-w320-h200-p-k - it appears there was a thin skim coat to level out the area and like all of those products from the 60-90s it has failed an peeled off.

Remember NO ONE knows exactly how a car left the factory (except one of those very rare unrestored ones) so build it the way you want it.
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Thank you very much for your post. I completely agree. I've read factory paint should not flake like that, and it had me wondering. So, starting at the bottom: wheels are not original apple green (deluxe models had painted wheels (?)), fenders repainted, lower body painted black over original green, beltline original black with green stripe, upper body original black with green stripe, roof area repainted black and blended to original side black paint. AKA, nothing worth saving anymore.

This A intrigued me because the fact it's relatively unmolested (besides a repaint, as I now know), rot free, and very complete, and I'm glad a possible restoration won't destroy any originality worth saving.

I welcome continued responses, and will continue to think about my plan for this A. All responses and opinions thus far have been greatly appreciated!
 
ModelA29 said:
Unless you can document entire ownership chain and the story as to why it has escaped restoration for 90+ years it's a guess at best. See if there is a MAFCA or MARC judge near you who knows the details between original and even very good restoration parts.

I'd say it's a repaint due to the thickness of the peeling paint on the top - it appears there was a thin skim coat to level out the area and like all of those products from the 60-90s it has failed an peeled off.

Remember NO ONE knows exactly how a car left the factory (except one of those very rare unrestored ones) so build it the way you want it.
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I agree, "original and Model A are terms that generally do not go together". My point is, before making the leap, keep an open mind.

I talked about the 1930 hubcaps on my car when I bought it in 1967 that had a lip on the circumference. I expected them to be original as the car was stored for years before I bought it. The judging Standards to this day say there was no lip or crimping marks. I picked up any hubcaps with the lip I saw and most people pointed out that they were reproduction. I appreciated there comments because the Standards were clear, "no lip"

I still believed different. Years later, film from Ford Canada's assembly line was discovered which shows that cap on the cars. Although it made a great impression, it wasn't enough.

Finally someone showed up with a NOS cap with Ford Canada markings on it. Dumbfounded, I remarked, I need four more! He turned and pulled out four more. As I mentioned, they are accepted to be part of the Canadian revisions for the Judging Standards.

The dark blue in my door jams, behind the dash and other protected spots didn't match US colors. I worked as I did on the hubcaps and Canadian Service Bulletins finally surfaced with different colors. Mine was "Classic Blue" and was used to make color chips available for Canadian cars. It is now accepted.
 
the woodgraining looks great as-is.
clean it gently and leave it.
new woodgrain NEVER looks as good as factory.

Put off a repaint as long as possible, both because of the cost and the "look" of unrestored......
 
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