Our Model A wreck in Austin, TX

dont buy two frt axle assys :) you have it listed twice
that would be cool if you could get all the parts from the barners to rebuild your car... i can definitely help out also. it will be in perfect condition when done..
 
Haha, didn't notice that Mitch. Well you never know when you might need an extra right? :D Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate it!

So since the axle was bashed towards the back of the car on the passenger side, and was pretty much detached, I jacked the car up today and moved the axle forward so that I can back it up onto a trailer when I rent one. Otherwise, the car could only steer to the right. I jacked the whole front end up, pulled on the front wheel until I got it fairly straight, then lashed the remaining leaf spring attached to the shackle to the upper leaves, and then lashed that all to the frame. Boy, what on earth would I do without baling wire? I also jacked up the wishbone and tied it up to the frame so it wasn't dragging on the ground anymore.

Sorry for the blurry pictures, my camera lens got beat up during the wreck. In the last picture, you can see how bad the front of my frame is. Also note the nice bend on my tie rod!

 
The tie rod and brake rods are easy to straighten. I can't tell what's bent on the front axle, but that might also be an easy job to straighten with the right tools.
 
Starting with another chassis and dismantling your car and transferring bits, you may be surprised what you can straighten out and get it going again.
 
Yeah, I am very antsy to start working on it, but first I have to get it to Tennessee, then I have to wait and see if the other insurance company will accept liability so I can get the car inspected before I start messing with it. What a drag!
 
Headin out of Austin tomorrow, finally, towards Lafayette, LA as planned. No word yet on insurance, but we can't live in Austin forever, so shove on we must. We had to wait around for Lane to get his nose fixed up anyway. See you soon Louisiana!

Jay, I really appreciate your offer for transport, but it just makes more sense for us to rent a u-haul since there's other things we need to do along the way.
 
Man I am sure sorry to see that happen to you guys. Glad you are alright, though. I too bought my '31 Model A Tudor to drive daily-I sold my Cadillac CTS-V and replaced it with this. I own a plumbing service company with 8 vans-3 of which are restored '73'-79 VW Buses (I chose 73-up since they have a vastly safer front structure complete with crush zone). Well a few years ago, I put that crush zone to the test, when I pulled out from a light into the path of a semi. Not the vehicle to pull out in front of. This guy clipped me really good doing about 30mph. Needless to say, my veedub sustained considerable damage (having said that, this is one tough SOB-even with heavy damage, I was only half hour late to my first service call!). I fought the insurance company as my Bus was a super clean panel van, in perfect mechanical and body condition prior to my little incident. They ended up covering it. $7500 in damage. New drivers door, complete front clip, pulled the front floor.etc etc. I took it to a shop that normally does work on Ferraris, Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, six figure vintage muscle cars-and they did an absolutely amazing job getting this car back together. It is almost as though they took an eraser to the accident-no matter where you look, there is just no sign of it.

They made millions of VW vans, yes. Panels van versions are not common here in the USA. But they are not making any more of them (Germany stopped in'79 and Brazil stopped earlier this year), and above all, I LIKE the van, so I had it fixed. Three years later, she is still running great 20,000 miles a year running calls. So you know my vote is, if you like that car, Fix her up-she deserves another shot.
 
Great story armchair! I agree, she does deserve another shot. We brought her back to life after sitting for so long with the previous owners, didn't wake her up to just put her back down!
 
[
I hope you enjoy our music CD![/QUOTE]

The music is great -- I played it at full volume during the Devine Fall Festival parade yesterday. Got lots of good comments. Where do I send the royalty payments?
Y'all need to get some square dance calls on a couple of those (if anybody knows what they are). I've got a 1928 78rpm record called "Hell Among the Yearlings."
"Circle eight, and don't be late,
All go left like swingin on a gate..."
and so on...
Fearless
 
Update: Drove down to Wichita Falls, TX and picked up a bunch of parts generously donated by Jim Adams. Thanks a whole lot Jim, I can't thank you enough!

I will be driving the parts over to my parents' house over in Tennessee this week, still can't pull the car apart to fix it yet, need to wait until insurance business is done with. In the meantime, I can't afford to buy many parts right now, so if anyone else has any parts laying around that they'd like to donate, I would greatly appreciate it! Contact me if you'd like, and I can give a list of what I still don't have.
 
Resurrecting an old post here, just thought I'd update it in case anyone was curious. We got a lawyer and they're working on our case to hopefully settle the matter once and for all. With springtime getting closer, I'm getting more and more excited to finish up hunting down all of the parts I need to rebuild the car. Thanks to Jim Adams, most of it has been graciously taken care of. I am also looking forward to making it out to the Chickesha Pre War swap meet, I hear it's a good one. Also, my friend is looking for a not-so-shiny '29 tudor sedan, for a driver. We plan to drive around this spring picking up whatever else I need and trying to find him a car, so if anyone vaguely close to Arkansas/Tennessee knows of anything, let me know!

And for anyone who's interested in antique motorcycles, here's what I've been doing for a living in Arkansas, and hopefully will have a decent amount of money saved up to put into the rebuild of my car in the next year or two. I build motorbikes themed after antique motorcycles, I don't say replicas because they aren't exact copies, but they still honor most of the styling of early motorcycling:


 
Look forward to seeing you in Chickasha in a few weeks Sean. Will do my best to bring the frame with me. You will be impressed with what will be there! Ford Barners, if y'all have any parts you could donate to this young man's resurrection drop him a message. He's a great guy and could use our help. PM me if I can be of assistance.

Jim Adams
Wichita Falls, Tx
 
Have not forgotten about you Sean, and remained subscribed this thread in the hope of finding out how you are getting on. Good luck with the legals! :( For every downside, there's an upside - in your case the generosity of Jim. If I ever crash my car, I'm gonna do it in Wichita Falls TX, which will be no mean feat given where I live!

Those motor bikes in your post and blog look suitably fun and dangerous!! :D:D
 
Last edited:
Good to see your still at it. Yes we have been wondering about your progress. Glad
to see you posting again. I haven't seen a new list for any items still needed.

Dodge
 
Everyone should have an antique auto policy with "agreed value" coverage. I have mine through the Corvette Museum and insured by American Modern subsidiary in Texas.
 
Agreed, wish I could go back and do that but I was pinching pennies with a low budget. Big mistake, for it wouldn't have cost much more per month and obviously would have been well worth it, but it's always a little tricky to predict the future.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top