Shay model "a"

sturgis 39

sturgis 39

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I have never been close to a Shay Model "A". Are the bodies steel? Will the body parts inter change with an original model "A"?
 
There's a Shay roadster around here... a fairly hideous thing, if you know much at all about Model A Fords...

Four-lug wheels, modern dash & steering column, "trailer" tail-light assemblies, "wrong" headlights...
 
Like Groucho Marx used to say....."Close, but no cigar".
In my opinion though,not even close.
 
The Shay's were made with a late 70's Ford drivetrain. The radiators are close to original in appearance but they are pressurized. The rear springs load rate was also decreased since a car in the 80's weighed alot more than an A. It was supposed to be a new car that looked like it was 50 years old. The earliest cars made were not made very well - the doors did not fit to the body and rattled. The rims were not perfectly round and were made out of very thin material. To me the price people are selling them for - people should buy the real deal.
 
I wonder how many were made. A friend of mine has a car museum and he thought he might put one in the museum. It is kind of funny how things go. Cars will hit rock bottom prices because nobody wants them and then they skyrocket in price probably do to supply and demand. People always seem to want something they can not have. I am not sure what the Shay production was maybe 200 per year for four or five years. That is really low compared to a real model "A".
 
I have had many Model Ts And As. I presently have a 29 Town Sedan and a 31 Tudor, plus a Shay which I have had for 8 trouble free years. I enjoy them all, The shay is a keeper. even though it is plastic with pinto power not many people can tell the difference, I agree it is a shame they are sometimes sold for more than the real car
 
There is a Shay owned locally. There is also a Shay club here in Iowa based in Des Moines. It is fairly active. I saw somewhere on the internet a list of Shay owners nationally. I think it was on the club's national site.

We invite this local owner to our annual Iowa Model A Day. We have a seperate area from the "real" A's to show cars like that, plus vehicles that use A power trains, etc.
 
Around 10,000 Shay's were built. If more than that were produced all the cars would need to follow U. S. Federal standards on designs and safety. I recall an article about Shay production of T-birds and other American icon cars.
 
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