Your wisdom =my restoration

S

sapple89

Junior Member
I recently bought a Tudor that wasn't running well. I figured this would be a great entry car to learn all the basics. Now I find my self scrambling to contact someone locally who can show me how this car should operate (under normal conditions). The man I purchased the car from knew absolutely nothing about the car. He couldn't even start the thing! A lot of my questions could be answered easily if I had something to compare too, but since I dont, im looking for a little bit of guidance.

Fast forward to now:


The bendix drive broke. So I fished the nut out and installed a new starter.

Then, the car has some fuel delivery issues. I cleaned out the fuel system and now the car runs better.


Questions:

1. If you just bought a model A. What are the first few things that should be inspected/replaced? I.E. Oil change

2.My choke can be pulled but not does not turn. Now turns, but gets stuck it turned too tight

3. When I layoff the throttle I hear either a slight kickback or miss fire every time. Should I adjust the choke? fuel mixture?

4.The horn seems to work "okay" when the car is off. When the engine is running, the horn is VERY quite. Is this normal? After cleaning up the connection, the horn functions properly.

5. On the inside of the driver door there is a lever that looks like a door lock. It does not move. What is it?

6. When I open the radiator cap, should the water/coolant be filled to the brim?

7. Is there anyone here from Los Angeles, CA that wouldn't mind showing off their model A?

8. Are there any other questions I should be asking?


Now that I just got my Restoration manual by Les Pearson I will be attempting to fix the windshield wiper and gas gauge.:rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
Welcome and congratulations on the car. The good news is that this website is home to a wealth of information. The other good news is that there are lots of local clubs and there are many model a owners in LA. When i picked up my car, i found lots of help on fordbarn and via YouTube and other online postings. It sounds like you are off to a good start. I suggest that you print a maintenance schedule off of the diablo model a club website and start checking items off. The repairs/issues you have noted are all things to address one by one. The modelabasics.com website is a great primer. You will likely hear that you should drop/clean your oil pan, tune the engine, clean out the sediment bulb, add a fuse and/or battery cut off, and do other items. Truth be told, I am still working my way through the new-to-me checklist and I've had my 29 for about 1.5 years.

I've also documented a bunch of my repairs, and am happy to share any details I can with the understanding that I am a seasoned newbie.
 
5. The door lock slides forward and rearward. Roll the window down and you can squirt oil on the lock through the door opening. I'll bet that's all it needs.

I would also grease and oil the door latch mechanism.
 
#2. Which direction, or both, should turn ccw indefinitly, but. cw come to a stop when closed.(off)
#3. Sounds like a vaccum leak
#4. You need to go thru and clean ALL your electrical connections.
#5. That is a door lock (no inside one one the pass) take the inside door cover off to
Loosen stuck mechanism.
#6. Damned if I know.
Good luck. Chuck
 
Chuck Sea/Tac said:
#2. Which direction, or both, should turn ccw indefinitly, but. cw come to a stop when closed.(off)
#3. Sounds like a vaccum leak
#4. You need to go thru and clean ALL your electrical connections.
#5. That is a door lock (no inside one one the pass) take the inside door cover off to
Loosen stuck mechanism.
#6. Damned if I know.
Good luck. Chuck
Click to expand...

#2: Edit* The choke does NOT spin counter clockwise or clockwise:confused:
 
1. change the motor oil, with a search you can determine what kind to use, change trans fluid and rear diff fluids with 600w from the suppliers. i would perform a tune-up by servicing the plugs, points,condenser, cap, rotor, and adjusting the timing. shake down the front end, lube all chassis, ck and adj brakes repack frt bearings.
2. disconnect choke rod from carburetor and try turning it at carb. it should tighten cw and ccw it will unscrew. determine if its the choke rod binding or the fuel enrichment shaft at carb. most cars run at 1/2 turn open from tightening full cw as a starting point. you mention you cleaned out crap from your fuel system did you take carb apart and dissasemble and clean out? they are simple to do with a gasket kit. berts sells reblt carbs and good success as been posted here about them so if your unsure about tearing into one purchasing one could be a better option.
3. you may be hearing little back fire pops in the exhaust due to timing, or carb issues. when driving your spark lever on collumn should be approx 1/2 down but all this depends on adj the timing properly.
4. remove the back cover its one screw and put a drop of ATF on the front and rear of the armature shaft and spin it by depressing the horn button. reinstall the cover and adjust the horn with the other rear screw perteuding from the cover. it turns in little notches so one notch makes a big difference
5. try spraying up the door linkage with pb or kroil its a slider lock.
6. the coolant level should be only filled to the baffle in the top tank to much and it will be upchucking out the overflow pipe. the baffle is a few inches down and covers the radiator core tubes.
7. would love to but am to far
8. do a search on all these questions you will find all your answers

welcome and have fun
 
Sapple89 - Stick with it mate - There is a whole bunch of knowledge written by these guys and they are very generous to share it for free.

Search lots - read plenty and ask questions when you get stuck - all part of the learning process.

You have got the car - found the right place to learn - you are well on the way.

See if you can find a local club or a get together in you area - that is always a good idea too.

Bob - Still learning !!
 
sapple89 said:
I recently bought a Tudor that wasn't running well. I figured this would be a great entry car to learn all the basics. Now I find my self scrambling to contact someone locally who can show me how this car should operate (under normal conditions). The man I purchased the car from knew absolutely nothing about the car. He couldn't even start the thing! A lot of my questions could be answered easily if I had something to compare too, but since I dont, im looking for a little bit of guidance.

Fast forward to now:


The bendix drive broke. So I fished the nut out and installed a new starter.

Then, the car has some fuel delivery issues. I cleaned out the fuel system and now the car runs better.




Questions:

1. If you just bought a model A. What are the first few things that should be inspected/replaced? I.E. Oil change

2.My choke can be pulled but not does not turn.

3. When I layoff the throttle I hear either a slight kickback or miss fire every time. Should I adjust the choke? fuel mixture?

4.The horn seems to work "okay" when the car is off. When the engine is running, the horn is VERY quite. Is this normal?

5. On the inside of the driver door there is a lever that looks like a door lock. It does not move. What is it?

6. When I open the radiator cap, should the water/coolant be filled to the brim?

7. Is there anyone here from Los Angeles, CA that wouldn't mind showing off their model A?

8. Are there any other questions I should be asking?


Now that I just got my Restoration manual by Les Pearson I will be attempting to fix the windshield wiper and gas gauge.:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

The first place to start is order MAFCA's "How to restore your model a" books 1 and 2 and read. This will give you a starting point.
 
1) If you have the original steel 2 blade fan replace it with an aluminum 2 blade or a 6 blade plastic fan . The original fans crack and subject to coming apart and causing big problems .
2) Read all 500 plus prior post on this forum .

Good luck . Welcome to the hobby.
 
If your car does not have the fuse mod that sits on top the starter, this would be the first thing I would install. When you secure the car for the day remove the fuse from the clip and stand it on its head in one end of the clip. This will prevent an electrical fire that could easily burn up your car and burn down your house. This just happened to a person a few months ago who lives only a few miles north of you. Clean all the electrical connections. Start with the one that is out of sight and out of mind. Remove the floor boards and the battery to obtain access to where the battery ground cable is bolted to the frame. Remove the cable, bolt, and nut. Wire wheel them bright and clean. Put a small disk sander on the end of a drill motor and clean any existing crud, paint, or powder coating that is on the raised boss on the frame. This one item alone may cure a number of electrical evils including your faulty ahooguh problem. Depending on how your headlights are wired you may need to remove them and clean out and rust found in the ball sockets where the headlights attached to the headlight bar. This is a grounding point for the headlights. If you car is six-volts make sure you have six-volt battery cables installed. It is common for some one to have installed 12-volt battery cables.

Tom Endy
 
Headquarters for MAFCA is in LaHabra. I know nothing is close by in LA, but stop in and talk to them. Lots of help and info in the LA area. It's where the West Coast part of the hobby started.
 
One thing I learned, go over the car from end to end and look for missing cotter pins, and check bolts for tightness.

Also there is a horn adjustment on the back, try turning it a notch or two each way.
 
Hey sapple, A big welcome! If you could post a few pictures, engine bay especially, it would help many of us to see what you're working with. '31 Model A's are a good year for them. Just try to have patience, there's a lot of good info help around here.
 
Thanks guys!

Heres the plan for tomorrow:

1. Pull/clean the carbs
2. Fix the choke (If I can figure out why it wont turn)
3. Get the wiper up and running
4. Go through the electrical connections
5. Replace suspension links (This will be my first time touching a suspension)

Coming soon:
1. Sandblast + paint body/rims
2. Rebuild gas gauge
3. Learn how to properly operate the overdrive
4. Drive, Drive, Drive

I will update on my progress tomorrow.
 
Couple of things here that might lead me to believe we aren't talking about a strictly stock Model A:

sapple89 said:
1. Pull/clean the carbs (Multiple carbs?)
2. Fix the choke (If I can figure out why it wont turn) (Maybe related to #1)
3. Learn how to properly operate the overdrive (definitely not stock)
Click to expand...

Nothing here that takes away from the enjoyment of the new acquisition, but might explain some things in trying to troubleshoot problems.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top