Tips for a new buyer?

Number98

Number98

Junior Member
Hello guys, I am fairly new to the site. I have been lurking for a while trying to learn as much as I can about these old girls. I have been around cars my whole life, restoring a few Mustangs and pickups but I have yet to venture back further than the 60's. It's strange because I have always loved old Fords, my grandfather had a 30 Model A Coupe that I used to get to ride in when I was little. Anyway, I have decided to start searching around and maybe find one of my own.

I am going to try and find a Model A Sedan, I love the long roof of the Tudors, plus there is room for the little ones :). I want to keep it as close to original as possible with full fenders and running boards.

So, I figure there is plenty of knowledge on this board, any tips or secrets you can share to help me in my search other than the usual stuff?

Thank you,
Jason
 
You may find some topics of interest on my site. Where to start, book recommendations comes to mind....
 
Jason

Welcome aboard and good luck with your search. I believe that you will find a fair choice of older restorations around with some (in my opinion), reasonably priced. Why? The fact that so many of us "older" folks are no longer driving and unfortunately some others have passed, it leaves the family with a car that may not have any value or interest for them.

So many guys are into muscle cars, rat rods, hot rods, resto rods, etc., that the original cars are often overlooked or are dumped onto the market. I have seen many nice older restorations that draw little interest because of the lack of connection between the current generation and the era the car came from. I would look for a nice car that has been left as part of an estate or inheritance to someone that really does not have a place for it in their own life.

If I personally had to do it all over again at this stage of my life, I would buy a car already restored by another quality craftsman. :-)

Have fun and enjoy the ride -

Regards, "SHEC"



Just a thought - have fun and enjoy the ride.
 
Half of the fun is in looking.

MARC Regions
The Model A Restorers Club is made up of almost 200 local clubs refereed to as "Regions" From Washington to Florida, Maine to California, you are almost certain to find a region close to where you live. Start your search by contacting a local regionand see if they know of an existing vehicle for sale

F.Y.I. Jim Masons site is one of the first sites I started with.
 
Welcome!!! As 30ccpickup stated find a local club (MARC or MAFCA). JOIN said club. Go to events, ask to sit in the various styles, ask if you may drive in the various styles. Bring member(s) along with you when you look for your new car.
 
I appreciate the input guys! I have bought a good many old rides so I am used to scouting out the best candidates, however I need to get to know the pricing and specific model a pitfalls to look for.

Jim Mason said:
You may find some topics of interest on my site. Where to start, book recommendations comes to mind....
Click to expand...

Thanks! There is some really good info there...

SHEC said:
Jason

Welcome aboard and good luck with your search. I believe that you will find a fair choice of older restorations around with some (in my opinion), reasonably priced. Why? The fact that so many of us "older" folks are no longer driving and unfortunately some others have passed, it leaves the family with a car that may not have any value or interest for them.

So many guys are into muscle cars, rat rods, hot rods, resto rods, etc., that the original cars are often overlooked or are dumped onto the market. I have seen many nice older restorations that draw little interest because of the lack of connection between the current generation and the era the car came from. I would look for a nice car that has been left as part of an estate or inheritance to someone that really does not have a place for it in their own life.

If I personally had to do it all over again at this stage of my life, I would buy a car already restored by another quality craftsman. :-)

Have fun and enjoy the ride -

Regards, "SHEC"



Just a thought - have fun and enjoy the ride.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info man... I am in my mid 30's and have been building cars for a while. I think that is my problem, I like the build more than having a finished ride I think :rolleyes:


Patrick L. said:
The 30-31s have a bit more front leg room if thats a concern.
Click to expand...

At 6'2" this may be some good info...

30ccpickup said:
Half of the fun is in looking.
Click to expand...

Very true!
 
Alot depends on where you want to startand what you want to end up with. It sounds like you are fairly skilled at general repair and restoration. For under $1000 you can get a rough body and a fairly complete chassis with some looking. For about 5-7K you can likely get a running older restoration that likely will mean quite abit of rework on improperly rebuilt brakes, weak engine, various mods most not done right or with substandard parts and shoddy body work and paint. Rod
 
Jason, for a long ride the worst seats are found in a Tudor Sedan (IMHO). If you want a sedan, you can't beat a 4 door, lots of room and easy to get into the back. A '31 slant is the best as the body is has a steel structure with a mininum of wood. Before you buy a car, find someone who has that style and ask him to take you for a ride at least 20 miles or so to help you select the one you like.
 
To really know what you're buying, I'd stock up on some reading material. There's lots published on Model A's. My favorites are The Model A Ford Judging Standards and Restoration Guidelines published jointly by The Model A Ford Club of America and The Model A Restorers Club. I also like The Ford Model A: As Henry Built It by DeAngelis, Francis, and Henry-- a good picture book and beginner's guide. I'd also join those two national clubs and a local chapter, if available. There's lots of resources out there for Model A's... and FordBarn is a great place to ask, too! Some of the experts who created the restoration guidelines frequent this forum.

I figure if the body, paint, and upholstery are nice and correct; it handles and stops well; and the price is right... it is a good car. I think a well-restored Model A drives better than my 1960 Oldsmobile (up to 50 mph). I love the solid/manual feel of the old car. If done right, they handle well for 80+ years old.

I think the "older restoration" route is good advice. You can't restore a car for what most of the older restorations are selling for. The only real advantages to restoring your own car is the achievement factor and you know the work was complete and done right.

I have a Tudor. It is great for family trips, although my wife does complain about the lack of butt cheek support in the front seats. I installed LED tailights, turn signals, and seatbelts in consideration of safety for my son.
 

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I second Herb`s opinion . If you plan to take folks with you on rides of any length the S W has more room of all the Model "A" . It takes a little more time to find one but it is worth it . Presently I know of three for sale . One in Oklahoma ,one in Texas and one in California . I bought one last year at this time . I found that the average price for an old restoration in good shape was 16k. Another good place to start looking is the swap section of the ford barn forum . I believe the three cars I referenced are on that site.30ccpickup suggestion is spot on.By all means have someone that is experienced with model A drive the car. Have fun .
 
Hey Number98,
'pricing/specific pitfalls'...now we're getting somewhere!
Pitfalls: Rust..rusty..rusted out! Sifting thru bs/self interest of seller..,i.e.-'it's restored/was restored'..'it was driven into this (barn/shed?)location when parked' 50 whatever yrs ago. 'It's totally stock...with hyd brakes/ downdraft..'strongberg crab:rolleyes:' other improvements'
\
Pricing: Depending on myriad of factors, such as what are your goals , i.e- immediate or eventual driver/tourer/shower/hoarder/collector/rodder. What is size of your body/wallet /skill/ability/ego. Body styling,i.e.- you will pay more $ for A400/Victoria/slant window/roadster, etc...IMO basically that order!

All these things, you will learn the hard way or easy way. Lots of experience on this board and you are 'skilled' enough already to inquire and IMO that is a good start to stave off regrets/buyer remorse and by saving money.
BTW- if you ARE looking for stock/originality in a model a..you have come to the right place. Ask lots more questions/keep take notes..good luck and WELCOME aboard:)
 
I think I am going to stick with a Tudor sedan for sure. That's the body style I like. Seats can be taken care of, plus if I want luxury I can by a new Lincoln :D

As for direction, it will be close to stock but not a complete perfect restoration. I want to do most of the work myself because I enjoy projects and also there is the problem that I lack the "big wallet/collector" gene that someone mentioned before.

I know rust is an issue with any old car so I will be looking at that closely but then again I have welders/body hammers/clecos/breaks/shears/rollers, etc... I know sometimes a generation of car has specific issues to keep an eye out for, also I know that some cars have parts that you should try to make sure are present on the car because they are not reproduced or found easily.

I have seen several cars in varying prices from $2000 to $5000 that appear to be mostly complete and not tampered with too much, and not running but basically all there. A theme to these seems to be that they are in the possession of a person who lacks the desire, money, time or skills to get them running and driving. One of these may be where I start because this is where I may be able to find the best "deal"....

This is what I wanted though guys, things to think about during my search!
 
Number98 ... LESSONS LEARNED FROM THIS NEWBIE.....

I'm new here too and I'm new to buying Model As. I own two of them. What I wish I had done now was join a Model A Ford Club (MAFCA or MARC), go to meetings, break bread at the lunches, listen and ask advice and listen!! The talent in all of these clubs is amazing but not boostful. If you see or hear about a car ask a fellow club member to go with you. Dont go alone.

Or you can do the way I did. Buy off eBay or from a learned hand that says that the car is a straight up driver. For what I have in the restoration I could have bought a 500 point car (pefection) and not be hanging upside down by my toes trying to find someone else to finish the car. For what I have in the other, I could have bought two cars that actually work. Take the advice of a couple of club members. The cadre of the Model A Clubs is full of helpful people who understand all there is about A's.
 
as Shec said-buy the best you can afford-the tudors are going cheap

have seen nice older restorations in the 7-10k range.

good luck!
 
Don't get in a hurry on buying one. If you keep your eyes open you can find them pretty cheap. I see more and more for sale all the time. There are plenty out there. More and more people my grandfathers age are passing and there are more now than people thought there were a few years ago. Word of mouth is the best way to get cars. I buy a bunch of cars and hoard them away. I find them before they go up for sale. You can get some good deals that way. The clubs can be a good way to learn. But some can soure you pretty quick. Good luck
 
Would suggest you read all the posts ( 600 plus ) on this blog . After reading all of that you will have a pretty good understanding of a Model A . With out knowing your location it is hard to give you any heads up of cars for sale .
 
Hey, 98. Welcome!

Having a year ago been through what you're going through right now, let me channel "future you" and give you some advice-

1: Don't buy a non-running car. Not for your first one, anyway. Yes, you have the skill to make a car run, but you do not yet know what a proper running A is supposed to be like. Spend a little more on a car that runs and drives good, you'll be LOTS of money ahead! See what Skibb wrote. He speaks from experience.

2: Get involved with a club. I didn't say "join a club", but you should at least show up and introduce yourself as a prospective member. I still haven't joined any clubs, except one club made me a member without even asking, but they have good intentions and just want to help (and they do). Tell some of the members that you want help buying your first Model A. Weed through the people trying to get you to buy their friend's car that they have been trying to unload, but no other members want it for various reasons. How I wish I had spent more time looking at cars WITH experienced people... Could have saved literally thousands of dollars.

3: Don't buy the first car you see/drive. Everyone says this, and for good reason. Best bet is to bum a ride with some of the club members on a tour or something and get an idea for how a Model A drives and feels. Some think they feel nice (I do), some do not think they feel better than a modern car. Ride with a guy whose wife couldn't make it that day or vice-verse. Don't ride with a couple (made that mistake, never again).

4: Choose a car in good mechanical condition, even though you do have skills. Man, this is the best advice ever, assuming this is your first Model A. If you don't listen to anything else, please listen to this. So many Model A's get bought by people with lots of mechanical ability that either never get completed or never get used. You don't want to go through "repro part hell" like I did. Then, you end up having to buy original parts anyway.

5: If you care how it looks, don't buy a car with bad paint. It costs a LOT more to paint a Model A than a modern car. Ask me how I know... If you want good paint and not some Maaco mask&spray job, you could spend more than a fully restored car on paint alone. The car has to come all the way apart to paint it right. While it's apart, you might as well do this, and you might as well do that, etc. Life gets in the way... Next thing you know..... Pile of parts for sale.

Now, some kudos-
Your choice of a Tudor Sedan is sound. The Tudors have the easiest entry/exit and are very comfortable. I don't know what Brian is talking about. Maybe his seats are done improperly? Despite being a younger guy and physically fit, genetics have dealt me a bad hand- I have arthritis of the spine, and do not take any sort of drugs so therefore, nothing for pain. I cannot get into our out of anything but a Tudor without great pain. Also, long rides in anything but the Tudor are killer. Have been on several longer rides in the Tudor both as driver and front seat passenger and feel refreshed at the end. Sit in a fordor (park bench seats) for a couple hours, and I'm ready for a hospital bed.

The tudor Sedans have wider doors and more room between the steering wheel and the seat. You drive with your arms almost fully extended or bent about 30 degrees from straight instead of having the steering wheel almost in your chest with other cars or the pickups. That's really helpful on long rides.

Also, the Tudors have LOTS of room for rear seat passengers, which helps for bringing along little ones or a dog. The front seats fold in half, then fold forward and completely out of the way. Entry/exit for back seat riders is effortless as long as they are not too overweight.

Last, and I am sorry for being long winded, I really do wish you the best! These funny little cars are a lot of fun. We use ours all the time, and it's so much better for the wife since the car isn't a long-term unfinished project, but instead a useful family car. She drives it now, and doesn't give me flak for spending time in the garage on it because she gets to enjoy it too. She eagerly helped on the interior work when we redid it.
 
P.S. said:
Now, some kudos-
Your choice of a Tudor Sedan is sound. The Tudors have the easiest entry/exit and are very comfortable. I don't know what Brian is talking about. Maybe his seats are done improperly? Despite being a younger guy and physically fit, genetics have dealt me a bad hand- I have arthritis of the spine, and do not take any sort of drugs so therefore, nothing for pain. I cannot get into our out of anything but a Tudor without great pain. Also, long rides in anything but the Tudor are killer. Have been on several longer rides in the Tudor both as driver and front seat passenger and feel refreshed at the end. Sit in a fordor (park bench seats) for a couple hours, and I'm ready for a hospital bed.
Click to expand...

I said my wife complains about the seats... Consider the source. :rolleyes: I've also heard other people complain that they do not have good side-to-side support. My springs were new and maybe they don't have the same comfort as originals. I don't think they are bad, and I'm 6'1" with a chronic lower back problem, plus I like beer. I don't have much trouble with room in the Tudor, and I have driven it on some week-long trips, 500+ miles in one day. I did buy a seat adjuster that gives me a couple extra inches. Anyway, I'd recommend a Tudor. Don't take me wrong.

More so I like Tudors because they are cheap. I like cheap. Cheap fun especially. I say a Tudor for the trips, an AA for the hauling, and a roadster for the sunny days. Getting into the roadster with the top up is a contortion act for me and the AA on a bumpy road will fix any back problem.
 
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