What do you regret?

Back in the 90's, I passed up an opportunity to buy a very nice 09 T touring. Everything correct except the oil pan. Original wood body. Been kicking myself ever since.
 
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selling this in 1977 for 2500 bucks..
 
When I was 13 or 14 I let myself get swindled out of a pair of nice front fenders.They were in the barn my A was in,and I was supposed to take anything A.I didn't think they were A because they had a ridge around the front my A didn't.A couple of A guys said they weren't A,because of the ridge,but they could use them on a jalopy.They swapped me a carb for my A because I needed one.Then an older A fellow stopped by and told me those guys were bragging how they had gotten a nice set of eyebrow fenders for nothing from some kid.
 
I rebuilt my brakes doing everything as required except replacing my old steel brake drums which I had turned as you are advised not to do. I'm now taking care of that one omission.
 
H. L. Chauvin said:
About 22 years ago, after moving my 1930 coupe from one location to another after having it for 38 years in one location, my wonderful 85 year old Post Mistress neighbor approached me when she saw my Model A back out of my old carriage house garage.

She walked up to me, smiled, and told me she always wanted to have a ride in my Model A, but never asked.

I told her to hop in and took her for a spin.

Something tells me she knew what was about to happen ...... her kin from far away later sold her house and property against her will, and placed her in a nursing home where she died not long after.

Often think about how many young and senior people back then I never offered a ride; where many would have loved to have ridden in a 1930 Model A ......... but they just never asked.
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I hear that one. I took a 90 year old lady for a ride in my tudor last year, and she told me stories of how she drove a model A to Connecticut Agricultural College (now the University of Connecticut) when she was right out of high school.
 
Traded a sports coupe for a 35 4 door. Should have looked closer at the 35, mostly junk body. Ran okay with 411 rear was slower than my A's.
 
I sold my good running coupe in 1952 to my friend for $5.00. I thought that he really wanted a Model A to drive but he took the body off and made a doodle bug out of it. Wrecked a good car that I drove like I had stolen it. Jack
 
not buying a Duesenberg in the early 70's for 10k.....................

oh right, I was just a kid!
 
Barry B./ Ma. said:
Had a cracked head and took it to a machine shop in 1980, was charged $80 for stitching, Thats when you could get a good used head for $10. Live and learn.
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Good Morning, Barry,
I remember that being done, he drilled & tapped & screwed in cast iron plugs & snapped them off. FIRST, he dipped the threaded end in Sulphuric Acid, "maybe" as a thread locker???---Or as a RUST "starter" to plug up the crack????---Surely there was a METHOD TO HIS MADNESS???
Bill Watching
 
Using foot pounds instead of inch pounds to set bearing pre-load in rebuilding differential, and having to tear it all apart and redo it. Argh!!
 
I've been involved with Model A's since I was 14.....turn 70 in October.
I used to scrap parts that would be considered very nice parts today. Any broken, twisted slightly or light surface rust fender was thrown out. Any body part with pinholes....out it went.
Geez Louise, if I had a place to have laid all that back......
Coulda, shoulda, woulda
 
I have lots of regrets but don't date back as far as Model A's. H.L. Chauvin's post got me to thinking, My wife works at an Assisted Living Facility, the average age there is approx. 90. The residents like doing activities outside the home. What would be the best way to look up a local Model A chapter and contact them. It would be great if one of there fun runs could involve stopping in at the facility and show the A's or maybe even offer a ride.
 
With a heavy heart I will tell you my spectacular regrets
Regret no.1
Many years ago when I was new to the hobby a local farmer told me he had a combine harvester last used by his father. It had a Ford gasolene/kerosine engine, the combine had not been used in years and was destined to go for scrap . He knew I was into Fords and if I took the engine out I could have it free for nuddinks ,yes you know where this is going !!! .When it dawned on me a while later that most likely it was a "Claas" combine with the German G28T "B" engine in it . Yes I was too slow and the combine was cut up for scrap and yes I was told the engine did have an aluminum oil pan, SOB !!!
Regret no 2
I was at a country fair a few years ago with my 31 AA Truck . A man approached me and told me that on the farm near to him was an old Ford truck he wasnt really sure what model but it was old .I then had a mental picture of a 50/60s truck maybe a Thames Trader a 5 ton truck made by Ford .He gave me the name of the farm and a rough location . Some months later by chance I was passing the farms location and thought I would give this "old truck" a look . The farm was in deepest Norfolk County and would be sure to have a "sooner" about . A "sooner" is a farm dog called a "sooner" because sooner or later it will bite you .This dog is closely related to the the American "junk yard dog" and is of similar temprement that is if it doesnt move it will pee on it ,if it moves it will bite it .Maybe we brought these to USA on the Mayflower. Anyway drove into the farm entrance and was pleased to see "Fido" was safely chained on a long chain connected to his outside kennel . The dogs uproar brought the farmer out to investigate . He was affable when he realised I was not tryng to sell him insurance . Yes he did have a Ford truck and yes it was an AA and yes it did have a steel cab and yes it did run and yes it had been on the farm forever and no he no longer had it . He had gone to a farmers auction and left his son in charge . When he returned the truck had gone . It had been parked next to old farm machinery which was going for scrap . The scrap metal men had arrived to take the scrap and cut up the truck with oxy /acetalyne . The farmer told me his son "did not have a full kit bag" this had happened about a week before and yes I could have bought it for a song MORE SOBS !!!
Regret no 3
I went to an auction where a complete Budd cab AA LWB truck was being sold . I knew the buyer slightly he was a rodder and found he had only bought it for the cab and all sheet metal and of course the title . It had 6 excellent Budd wheels on it far better than my truck but I would have to buy the rolling frame to get them. He had sold the engine but the rest of it was there . He quoted a price which was a bit high and no demand here for a LWB frame . I thought I would wait a while to see if the price had come down . Sadly his wife lost her cool and wanted it out of the driveway . So he called in the scrap man who cut it up and carted it away . I had only missed it by a few days and he gave me the scrapyards telephone number . I phoned them and was told that very morning the truck wheels had been put in car shells a crushed to a cube in a hydraulic compactor . Even MORE SOBS !!!

To sum up lost a G28T engine a running AA truck and 6 Budd truck wheels,axles and transmission . And did I tell you how I dropped a still rotating angle grinder on a near NOS roadster door handle , Oh woe is me !!!

John in weather was cancelled today Suffolk County England .
 
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Number 1 regret is not saving all the vintage cars I have had in my life starting with a 35 Chevy coupe, then a 40 Ford pickup, and on and on (ooooo still hurts to talk about it)!

Most recent is starting out replacing old parts (mostly nuts/bolts/pins, etc) with new replacement parts before I realized what a mistake I was making.

And last was throwing away all those old nuts/bolts/pins, etc before I REALLY realized what a mistake I had made. Oh well as they say you never stop learning but when do you STOP being stupid??
 
my dad and uncles model a regret was in 1950 they had a 2door touring that was like new with dual side mounts they kept it in the barn at there junk yard and drove it to lunch and just played with it but wouldn't sell it until a good friend and customer begged and pestered until they sold it to him they never knew it was for his kids 16th birthday then they got to watch the car get slowly destroyed over the summer until he finally totaled it. Then when my uncle got the 28 we still have in 51 they hung onto it. Back then there were lots of nice sedans but nice open cars were hard to find at least in Illinois
 
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