Shay reproductions

Art Bjornestad

Art Bjornestad

Senior Member
I just read a thread that mentioned Shays. I think they have a legitimate place in our hobby and seem to be a well thought out and dependable car.

Are they a Model A.....no.

Are they a car for old timers that can't keep up with shifting and repairs...yes.

We had one in our Chapter and it did not break down and the owner went on all our tours. Before you call them junk, be careful, you may need on someday.
 
Art,

I can understand your point; I find the Shay objectionable for picayune aethetic details, chiefly things like the 4-lug wheels, modern sealed-beam headlight assemblies, the "camper" taillights, and some other details.

There are two of them around here, both owned and driven by older folks.

I have the same sort of aesthetic issues with the Glenn Pray (sp?) repo Auburn 835s... they came real close...

SC Frank
 
Well, a lot of folks love to hate Pintos, but my brother had a '73 Pinto wagon, with the 2.0 litre German Ford OHC engine, in metallic brown.

When he got a newer car, he gave the Pinto to my Dad, who ran it back & forth from Baltimore to Wash. D.C. for several years... when we finally got rid of it, circa 1985, it had over 200,000 miles on it... original engine & ****** (which was showing signs of needing an overhaul).

Would I want another one? No... but it was decent transportation... heckuva lot better than the Vega or Chevette...

SC Frank
 
I have thought about buying one ,not as a model A replacement but as a daily driver to go to the store and stuff like that. At 8-12k cheaper and better looking then the junk auto manufactures are making today
 
We have a couple here in OKC that dated in a model A and kept it for their first three of their marriage. Well into their eighties and pretty frail their Shay allows them to make almost every event we do. YES the Shay has a place in model A community.

We have one of the 240 or so Shay 55 Tbirds--it's kinda fun too!
 
We have one in the Hangtown A's. He has a real Model A too and switches between them. He's a great guy and is our club's Vice President this year.
 
Why are some SO critical of other's car choices, soon, the WORLD will think that "REAL" Model A guys are just a bunch of +*#%&&% OLD FUSS-BUDJETS & KRANKY, TOO!! And there goes the "HOBBY"! Bill W.
 
Our roadster pick up project falls into this discussion. It isn't a Pinto!
 

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BILL WILLIAMSON said:
Why are some SO critical of other's car choices, soon, the WORLD will think that "REAL" Model A guys are just a bunch of +*#%&&% OLD FUSS-BUDJETS & KRANKY, TOO!! And there goes the "HOBBY"! Bill W.
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I don't think that's the issue at all. It's primarily the misrepresentation by some calling them a "Model A", or worse a "1929 Model A"! If anyone loves their Shay there is nothing wrong with that and they should proudly display their "Shay"! I don't recall what year they were but think it was around 1973-74. There are many "collectibles" with real value from that period. That makes it almost as old as my REAL '29 Roadster was when it was my everyday car!
 
Marco Tahtaras said:
I don't think that's the issue at all. It's primarily the misrepresentation by some calling them a "Model A", or worse a "1929 Model A"! If anyone loves their Shay there is nothing wrong with that and they should proudly display their "Shay"! I don't recall what year they were but think it was around 1973-74. There are many "collectibles" with real value from that period. That makes it almost as old as my REAL '29 Roadster was when it was my everyday car!
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But, Marco,
We can't POLICE the WORLD! I tried and FAILED!
(You can LAUGH NOW, I can take it!):D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D Bill W.
 
BILL WILLIAMSON said:
But, Marco,
We can't POLICE the WORLD! I tried and FAILED!
(You can LAUGH NOW, I can take it!):D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D Bill W.
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Nope, but that doesn't mean folks should be chastised for being irked at certain practices or behaviors, or expressing their frustration with such. Maybe even that has become "politically incorrect".
 
The Shay was sold in 1980, they made quite a few of them. Had a good strong chassis with modern running gear. I often wondered why they didn't make them more authentic looking, it wouldn't have taken much more with proper headlights, horn, dropping the cowl lights, more authentic tail lights, I could go on. All the right stuff was available in 1980. Oh well, I still have a colored sales brochure of the models available. They produced a standard and deluxe version of the 29 roadster , a 29 roadster pickup and a look a like 55 t'bird that was a little rough around the edges. They were all geared for 5000 each production. I think they sold around 3000 of the roadsters before trouble began.
 
like Marco stated above I have NO quarrel with Shays,
just with people who call them "Model As" or imply that they are in some way an authentic 1928-1931 Ford.
 
When you create a new car for sale, you have to meet the same requirements any manufacturer has to meet. Some of the differences you guys dislike were probably caused by meeting standards and in a fashion that was reasonably priced.
 
Actualy I dislike the fact it has a Pinto chassis. I know I beat on the Pinto pretty hard, but with the stuff available to Ford when they made these I think there were better choices. Rod
 
I believe the Shays were limited to a production of 10,000 so they would NOT have to conform to modern automobile safety practices.

Ford provided the Pinto platform for the reproductions, and later Fairmount platforms were used.

The Shay's undoing involved that each car was hand assembled by 6 people and they only completed 2 cars a day. Orders were coming in faster than the manufacturing could keep up. The final straw was that the company was 9.5 million dollars in debt and only possessed 8 million in assets. Also there were 125 lawsuits against them in several states.
 
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