Possible First Model A

DJ S

DJ S

Well-known member
Hello Everyone,
While browsing my local listings for Model As for sale, I noticed one that I'd looked at a few months ago. It's a '30 Murray Fordor. The car is in extremely poor condition. All the body mounts are rusted off and the rear end is locked up. The interior pieces are missing, along with things like the generator and starter. It has an engine, not sure if it's seized or not, I have yet to call the current owner. I was wondering what your opinions are on whether or not this is a good start for a 15 year old.
http://hartford.craigslist.org/cto/4689399682.html
 
I would highly recommend against this for a first model A. Yes the price is attractive but you will spend easy five to ten times that just to get it road worthy. I understand at your age you are eager but this is a multi year projct you are looking at. The rust, coupled with the missing parts and the fact that this particular car uses a wooden body support structure that is surely shot... I wouldnt do it.

The asking is $1,000. For about double that you can find a much better candidate that is leaps and bounds ahead of where you want to be. I made this same mistake,I wanted a model A and I wanted it right away. Settled on a four door that needed much more work than I was comfortable with. Long story short after a year it was up and running but I spent way more than I was willing to and hit periods of frustration where I nearly gave up.

take your time, find the right car for you, it will come up i promise you.
 
As a new Model A owner myself, and not a experienced auto mechanic, I got a car that was at my level --a working car. I would recommend you look into model A clubs to learn more about the cars what it takes to own and or repair one..
 
I agree completely. I'll just have too keep looking around for something more "together". There are better deals and better cars out there. The only this that really caught my attention was the price. Things like the wood kit would cost me a fortune. Someone of my skill level would have a tough time making something of this condition road worthy. The more I think about it, the less appealing this car becomes. This car would probably need a complete brake job and we all know Model A brakes get extremely involved.
 
mshmodela said:
As a new Model A owner myself, and not a experienced auto mechanic, I got a car that was at my level --a working car. I would recommend you look into model A clubs to learn more about the cars what it takes to own and or repair one..
Click to expand...
I'm part of my local Model A club and I enjoy every minute of being there. These past 2 years have been packed with new knowledge. I'll just keep looking and saving my pennies until i find a suitable car for my experience level.
 
The amount of work required on that car, along with locating the necessary parts specific to that body style makes it a poor choice. I was your age when I got my first Model A and it was a coupe. Not near as much wood to deal with and the parts are readily available. Of course I eventually went to the sedan for the extra room etc. But for getting it on the road a more standard body style, coupe, tudor sedan, roadster, pickup or phaeton all pretty plentiful in most areas of the country.
 
I highly recommend a running project as well. Jumping right in and taking it for a drive can do wonders when you're fed up with a task. It gives you hope that you're not that far away from the finished product.
 
Pass it by. This would be a daunting project for an experienced restorer. I'd also say it's overpriced. There probably isn't $500 worth of parts in that pile. If -- and that's a big if -- this car could be saved, you'll need at the least $25,000 to restore it, and that's if you want to spend 5 or 10 years to do the work yourself. Fugeddaboudit.
 
I was told by a very experienced auto restorer, "Buy the best most complete car you can find. You will never be reimbursed for your time and labor doing the restoration process yourself". I have found this to be true. I also see many tarp covered cars "in the process of restoration" which haven't been touched for years.
 
I'm sure most if not all the wood will need replacing-that's chassis wood, door wood,
top and roof wood. That's about 3 times what you'd be paying for whats left of this car just to BUY the wood (not installed) and then you'll have the running gear to contend with. If you look at my avatar, behind the coupe you'll see a 31 Murray TS. Been sitting for a few years now. The coupe is a lot more fun to work on. PASS!
 
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DJ S, if you could have them give you this car and you wanted to put a lot of effort and money to make something of it, then it could be a great challenge for you. The body may not be worth rebuilding so you could look for another body. But in the mean time you could work on the chassis and get that part up and running. Think of how you would feel it you could drive the chassis around your place after YOU got the chassis up and running.

Yes if you want a car to drive around town, school or wherever this would be a very long term project. But if you want a challenge, then go for it!

Below are a few pictures of my "project" over the years. Granted I have been around a few more years than you, but it was fun.
 

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I would look for a better unrestored Model A. My first restoration was a 28 tudor that was pretty complete but needed everything. That was in 1968. I was 21. I worked on it for 2-1/2 years and replaced many parts but it turned out really nice and I still have it. I've upgraded several parts over the years but most of the the paint is still original to 1971. I'm 72 now and It regularly wins a trophy at local and regional MAFCA meets. Restore a Model A and keep it for life.
 
I agree with all above. If you purchase a Model A with that much work, you will spend a ton of money or get discouraged and sell it. Find a good driver and you will enjoy it and still have a chance to fix it as you enjoy it.

A Model A is a Great car,

Henry's 31
 
I'm 17 and restoring a 1928 aa truck. It is a challenge in itself to fit the wood and do the body work. If I were you I would look for a truck, pickup, roadster, or a roadster pickup. There is not as much wood to be fit. Also if you have wood shop in school, JOIN it! I have made several pieces for my truck, lad have sold some. I have taken original pieces and repaired them and used them and copied them.
John
 
Not good for a 15 or a 30 year old. In my opinion it is a parts car at best. The first rule you should adhere to is be patient ! There are a lot of Model A's out there and the right driver may be just around the corner. Good luck. Wayne
 
Looks really good to me, but i am stubborn. Depends how many hours you want to spend on it, could take a fair few.
 
DJ S,

Pass on this one. You will be money and hours ahead by buying something that runs.

I bought my first Model A when I was 15 years old. My idea was to do an off frame restoration. Don't do that. Buy a driver and drive it.

Join your local club(s) and let your desire to buy a Model A be known. Folks in the club will help you find one and then will help keep it running.

Keep looking, you'll find the right one.
 
I was completely ignorant of mod.As when I bought my 1930 Briggs Town Sedan that might have been in slightly better condition, for $1500. Had I known what I know now, I would have passed it up. I've got about $10 K into it and a heckofa lot of time. This car has a lot more rust than mine had, or at least much of my tin looked solid. Go to my profile and look under "My 30 TS" . As has been said, spend a little more and get a better car for a starting point.
Terry
 
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