Why would they do that?

Safewiz

Safewiz

Senior Member
Anyone following my post know I purchased my A end of last year and made it my daily driver. The car had been restored in the late 80s by a well known restorer. It had sat for many yrs before I got it and only had 252 miles on it. The only thing as enjoyable as driving this car is maintaining it. That being said, since I do put a lot of miles on it, 120 to 150 miles a week, I run through the service every month. Having put enough miles on it to feel like it was time to check grease in the yolk, after finishing the rest of the grease job. I know I should have done this by now but thought since a well known restorer had built this, it should be good for at least 5000 miles. I grabbed my channel locks for the speedo cable removal and my large grease gun and crawled under prepared to pump my arm off. Surprise, no grease fitting. Did not even see a place for one. I know were it was suppose to be, just was not there. After running my finger around the area it was suppose to be I found a soft spot. I knew I had a problem. Got my drain pan placed under an took a ice pick, no tool box should be without, and pulled out a chunk of silicone. As expected out came a small amount of trans oil. Letting it drain, I wiped the spot, and was relieved to see the threads. Having a set of grease fitting on hand, installed one. My question is why would a reputable restorer do that. And how many other things will I find. I guess they hadn"t done very many Model A fords.
 
I've spent the last 7 years "fixin" things that the "restorer" didn't do, or didn't do correctly, including the "rebuilt" engine by a "reputable" engine builder.

Mine was also a late '80s build with only 1,500 miles on it when I bought it.
 
I performed warranty repair work for over 4 decades. Have seen multitudes of "brand new" machinery not assembled correctly/wrong part/wrong wiring, etc. Even as low-tech as a Model A is, there is still a lot of parts and pieces... pretty easy to forget something. If this is the worst of your problems after all those miles, I'd say you've done very well in deed!
 
I know things get overlooked, but the threads were there, and yet they took the time to fill the hole with silicone, and smooth it over so you would not see it.
 
everyone is a mechanic wannbe...... that is the answer to your question.....many are 'called' ....few are chosen

People who would not even dare to change the oil in a modern car think they are instant expert mechanics once they buy a vintage car, a boat, or an RV, and they will attack various problems they would never even dream of on a modern
 
Maybe the fellow was such an expert that he figured that grease was not needed and save the cost of a fitting with caulk. Sounds like that by driving and maintaining it yourself, you are becoming real proficient with the model A, I didn't want to call you an expert! LOL
 
Sad but true. Still finding things. It seems they couldn't be bothered to put in the correct springs in the front motor mount, so they put 2 pieces of leather and some washers in the center, and what looks like early valve springs on the sides. Ordered the correct springs, looks like I will have another project this coming weekend.
 
Maybe it is time to realize that 80 year old cars are not meant to be daily drivers. Sooner or later today's cheap cost will bite your butt. I have a client who is shocked that your insurance company allows you to use it as a daily driver. He represents one of the nations largest auto insurance companies and he says they would never allow it. Wayne
 
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why he did this was probably because some greases seperate with time so the sticky oil can run out - was probably tired of finding little dribbles on his garage floor...

OR he had an adapter to squirt the pound of grease in the cavity using the pipe threads...
 
Hi Safe,

Appears sometimes we need to place yesteryear events in perspective.

Per your original question: " My question is why would a reputable restorer do that."

Humble guess:

This question answering Fordbarn Forum was not available to him yet in the 1980's.

Couldn't resist praising all Model A guys who generously donate so much of their valuable time trying to assist other Model A owners.
 
And I have used the wisdom of the folks here often. And yes, it is the U Joint. I think I was just so ticked at seeing yet another sidestep by the restorer. I have all the receipts, and the photos of the 2 yr build. The gentleman that had this done in the late 80s spent just north of 81,000 dollars. And I am still finding questionable work done on this car.
 
When I bought my Model A (and I didn't know any better), there was so much Mickey Mouse work in it, I'm surprised it ran at all. The wiring was so bad, I was afraid I was going to have a fire so the first thing I did was rewire everything with the correct wires/harnesses. In the transmission, they used the wrong bearings and filled in the resulting space with a piece of pvc pipe. As a result, the car would pop out of third gear under any load. And on it goes. I have fixed everything now and the car runs well. Frustrating at times fixing someone else's mess, but I learned a lot and had fun doing the work.
 
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