Stock model As are time machines

glenn in camino

glenn in camino

Well-known member
A local club member put a Toyota 4 banger and it's trans in his 30 tudor. It's too fast. I like my stock Model A time machines.
 
I've never understood the 'go faster' in a A. If the object is to spend as much time as possible driving, and the trip is planned from point X to point Y, doesn't it make more sense to drive slow and spend more time driving? Of course if driving is not the point but getting from X to Y is, then faster makes sense.
 
As Mike said, "different strokes..." is perhaps the answer to this phenomenon. It answers the question of why people modernize their A's.

Not everybody wants a "historically perfect" car. For many, small modernizations don't bother them. There's no nagging worries over changing the car from it's original state. And there's no emotional need to "connect" with bygone times. The car is not a "time machine" as you put it. It's just a fun car to tool around in. Swapping out the engine and drive train make it all that much more fun, I suppose...

That may explain why rodding an old A is no big deal to some. It doesn't shock them in the least.

Here's an example: if you had a 1,000 year old Samurai sword, wouldn't it be cool to throw a red plastic handle on it?

This subject has been hashed over so many times on this forum. But it's helpful for me (therapeutic?) to attempt to articulate why I believe people do these things.
 
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It's all about what YOU like. I enjoy them all ,but hate to see good old cars chopped up. They are getting too hard to find. My personal taste: I like the STOCK- original cars for what they were originally, problems and all, thats the way they were when they were new/ used. Why try to make them better? Drive them and have fun with them. I enjoy the ride, the way they were ment to be driven. They are only original once!
 
With overdrive & 5.9 head,I can cruise at 60 when on a busy hiway & not have to pull over to let traffic go by.When on less travelled secondary roads I can putt along at 40 or so & enjoy the scenery.I know that if my car was bone stock it would not get driven very often.If conditions were the same today as they were 50 or so years ago,I would have no need for more power or speed.
 
I will keep my Model A motor as I would like the keep my car reliable, in fact I considered putting an A motor in a Toyota :-)
 
I am going to try to keep mine as stock as possible.
If I do modify it it will be with as many Ford parts as possible.
I have all ready been given grief over installing an alternator over a generator, but oh well.
 
A stock model A that is restored to factory specs and tolerances is a very capable automobile ---60mph all day if needed, good reliable brakes, easy steering for the quick ratio it is ---a joy to drive

People that know me have come to me later---I saw you driving at xxxx, tried to catch up to you to wave but couldn't catch up (in their modern car)---it's not that I was driving faster than traffic (most times), but traffic was heavy and I wasn't going to go slower than traffic and make myself a hazard.

Buying all your parts out of the repro bin isn't good enough to restore factory fits and tolerances for many parts----it seems that modern manufacturing methods have trouble meeting the 80 year old specs---quality control??---many original parts show the mark of hardness testing ---on every part, not just samples, I have yet to see it on any repro part.(take a look at steering forgings--there will be a small grind mark with a small dimple, same for crankshafts)
 
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