Shay roadster

perhaps he can get another Model A wife who drives to teach his wife how.

some couples do not fare well in the "driving instructor & student" mode.
I tried to teach one of my lovely ex-wives how to drive a stick shift in 1974. the lesson was brief and unsuccessful. :D the following year we bought a VW bug from a female friend, the seller had the lovely wife shifting gears like an old hand in just a matter of minutes.....

I believe I have become a more patient teacher now, we'll know soon enough when the grandchildren get tall enough to drive the Model As.

for me, converting a real Model A to automatic transmission would be a far better choice than a Shay. j.m.h.o.
 
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You know, ....when you sit here and study all the advice that we have given, I am not real sure these poor folks that Mr. Heider knows are better off, --or worse off for knowing! Jeez. <...as I just shake my head.>

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Cold hard reality.

I bought a truck with an automatic thinking my wife could use it too. Guess what? She does not use it, she would rather drive her van. My next truck will be a manual.

As for Shays, they are only as good as the keepers maintained them, just the same as for Model A fords. As for the Shay drive train, I had a Pinto as a teenager in which I beat the hell out of and it kept on going.

GW
 
Chris in WNC said:
perhaps you can get another Model A wife who drives to teach your wife how.

some couples do not fare well in the "driving instructor & student" mode.
I tried to teach one of my lovely ex-wives how to drive a stick shift in 1974. the lesson was brief and unsuccessful. :D the following year we bought a VW bug from a female friend, the seller had the lovely wife shifting gears like an old hand in just a matter of minutes.....

I believe I have become a more patient teacher now, we'll know soon enough when the grandchildren get tall enough to drive the Model As.

as a last resort, converting a real Model A to automatic transmission would be a far better choice than a Shay. j.m.h.o.
Click to expand...
Chris, there may be a few benefits picked up with the Shay chassis wise such as dual hydraulic braking, more powerful and reliable engine, rack and pinion steering and better lighting with directionals. I sat in one once and found the seat very uncomfortable and I agree the trim items were terrible. I believe the roadster pickups had the steel repro beds. Oh, if they had just replaced those J.C. Whitney horns, goofy looking parking lamps and headlights/ tailights they might have been better.
 
The Shay is what it is.A nice little fun car,a plastic body with Pinto running gear.I've worked on a couple,mostly dried up brakes from sitting.Years ago it seemed like they were all herding up in Florida.Made sense,elderly people would buy them to feel like they had an A again.Lot of elderly in Florida with a little spending money.Most had them because they could no longer steer or maintain an A.Lots of older people can't bend over a fender to work on an engine,or once they get down they need a half hour to get back up again.With the Pinto they could at least take it to a garage and get it fixed,or,at least they could back when garages knew what Pinto's were.The Shay's and Pinto's really are antiques now anyway.An old fellow that owns one that I used to work on told me a big factor in buying the Shay's were the wives.They would ride in a modern,but old looking car,but not in a real A again.They remembered sitting on the side of the roads in an old A 50 years earlier all too well.They tend to think a little more about what can happen to them while sitting on the side of the road.
 
We are installing an automatic into a Model A at the Model A Times. We should have the article ready in the Spring issue.
 
Thanks Brent,

I will let them make the decision on wether to buy one or not.
I told him that there were some mfg. with automatics and he can go from there.

I would never purchase one but that is just me.
 
I changed a 71 Ford pickup I had one time from a 3-speed OD to C-6 automatic. Would I do it again? Probably not. It would have been a lot less headache had I just gone out and traded for one with an automatic. On the flip side, my son still has the PU, some 25 years and 200K miles later.
 
A friend of mine had a Shay until I convinced him to buy a real A. He had a regular problem with the wheels on the shay. The spokes would loosen and the wheels start to wobble. He would need to get the wheels rebuilt each time. Did that several times while he owned it.
 
Yes the wheels were terrible and looked it. I don't know why you couldn't use stock Model A wheels with adapters to go from 4 lug to 5.
 
I had a friend that owned several Model A's and then added a very low mileage Shay to his collection. After he did some changing of parts it was hard to tell it from an original A from 50 feet. He put original Model A radiator shell, headlights, bar, horn, cowl lights, bumpers, wheels and tires, spare tire, tail light, repainted body and fenders original Model A color complete with pro pinstripe, LeBarron B upholstery and top, etc.

He did such a good job of changing the Shay's looks that people at car shows would ask him why he had changed the steering wheel/column to a tilt........Most never even realized it was a Shay.
 
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