Theos92VR4 : 1930 Ford Model A

[Theos92VR4]

Got an email from my grandfather back in 2011 saying that they were moving from Mass. to NJ. My grandfather didnt want to transport it, so he said if I came up and towed it home, he would give it to me, along with almost a whole car full of parts. So my friend and I ventured up there, and picked it up. It is a 1930 Ford Model A tudor. Hes had it since 1965, and bought it for $50 back then. He had slowly been working on it, but didn't have the time anymore. The interior was redone, and he started on the body when I first got it.
When i first picked it up:









Here are some pics of when I had it running and driving circa 2011. I painted the front fenders so they all matched.




Unfortunately, the original engine shit out in december of 2011. So I got ready to pull the motor

Motor out, painted the firewall as well

Original motor (still have this, since its numbers matching. going to rebuild someday)

New motor in. This motor was hopped up a bit, hi comp head, 2 barrel carb setup, leakless water pump, alum timing gear, electronic ignition

out driving the next day

[Theos92VR4]

Grew tired of the blue. Decided to change things up a bit. So i painted the mid section and fenders again. did the half hood modification






At my buddys wedding


Drove it like how you see it above up until april of 2014, when the SECOND motor shit out lol. Bought another motor (old one leaked oil bad) and swapped it in, swapped over all the aftermarket parts) Took the time to clean, change all the gaskets, and swap in a different cam

Getting to be a pro at this

Back on the road

Shortly after, i noticed my stock brass rad couldnt handle the power. Put in an aluminum rad, painted the core black. I was the first one that I know of to put an aluminum rad in with the stock radiator



And here is how she sits now, for the holidays. These were taken a few weeks ago. (yes thats a real tree on the roof) Enjoy!

[Mishakol129]

Wth man that is awesome. How many ponies does it have? I'm sure the thing is worth a ton of money too. Does it have ac or heat?

I'm sure the girls like it too. You should totally dress up like a dude from the 30's then you'd look totally rad. Start telling people you travelled in a time machine and are from the past, lmao.

[XCRN]

Wow, definitely one of the more interesting cars on this forum. Taking out the engine of this must have been an easy task.

[Theos92VR4]

Wth man that is awesome. How many ponies does it have? I'm sure the thing is worth a ton of money too. Does it have ac or heat?

I'm sure the girls like it too. You should totally dress up like a dude from the 30's then you'd look totally rad. Start telling people you travelled in a time machine and are from the past, lmao.

40 hp from the factory. Now with all the upgrades, more like 55-60. Surprisingly since this was the second mass produced car made (model t was the first) millions of these were made. So its worth less than you think (mines insured at 12,000) No a/c, heat is only what the engine brings in.

It is a chick magnet for sure. I drove it to community college a few times, and they all loved it. For halloween this year my friends and I actually dressed up as gangsters and drove around.

[Theos92VR4]

Wow, definitely one of the more interesting cars on this forum. Taking out the engine of this must have been an easy task.

I can have the engine out in 2 hours. Putting it in takes a little longer. I made the mistake the first time i swapped it, not taking the trans out. It was impossible to line up, and I wound up taking it out anyway. Took about 6 hours. This spring i took the trans out, and installed both as one, took about 3 1/2 hours.

['93CB7Ex]

dude that thing is so badass. i really want something like this to roll around in. so siiiiiick.

[Mishakol129]

Yeah I do to but what of the gas mileage? And is it safe? Drum brakes FTW. lol.

Still badass.

[Theos92VR4]

dude that thing is so badass. i really want something like this to roll around in. so siiiiiick.

Thanks man

Yeah I do to but what of the gas mileage? And is it safe? Drum brakes FTW. lol.

Still badass.

Gas mileage i get around 18, other owners get between 15-25. it really varies alot.

If i get into an accident im pretty much screwed. No seatbelts and a giant steering wheel lol.

And the brakes are drum, but they are mechanical, meaning instead of having brake lines with fluid, there is a master assembly that the brake pedal is connected to that controls a series of metal rods, that go to each wheel, which is essentially the "line". Problem is with this system, the rods stretch overtime, constantly need to be adjusted, and braking performance is pretty terrible lol

[Accrdwgnguy]

Thats pretty nice, don't hot rod it! Original ones are few and few between, just think in 15 years it will be 100, most people don't even live that long.

I would, however, if you plan on driving it alot, which it seems you do, rebuild one of those engines. They were meant to be as simple as possible so the existing infrastructure at the time (pretty much carriage blacksmiths) could support it. Did the Model A still have babbit bearings in the engine?

[Theos92VR4]

Thats pretty nice, don't hot rod it! Original ones are few and few between, just think in 15 years it will be 100, most people don't even live that long.

I would, however, if you plan on driving it alot, which it seems you do, rebuild one of those engines. They were meant to be as simple as possible so the existing infrastructure at the time (pretty much carriage blacksmiths) could support it. Did the Model A still have babbit bearings in the engine?

I plan on keeping it the way it is, only other modifications will be changing the wheels from 19x3 to 17x4 or 16x4. Alot more stable.

And I plan on rebuilding the original engine to original specs, set that aside, and then getting a counterbalanced touring motor. Which is closer to 85 hp, has modern inserted bearings, counterbalanced crank and bigger pistons. And yup they do! unfortunantley people that are able to do babbit bearings are few and far between, which is why i will run modern inserted bearings.

[RyanD]

i smell a rat rod 20 to 30 years from now.

[Theos92VR4]

i smell a rat rod 20 to 30 years from now.

im pretty much going to keep it the way it sits! just want to get some smaller wheels for it so it handles a little better.

[Theos92VR4]

Update! We had a pretty warm day for winter yesterday (around 40 degrees) so i decided to take the A out. unfortunately i blew the headgasket. Seems that I should have changed the head bolts when I did the headgasket on this motor before I put it in the car. Oh well, about $60 in parts and a few hours labor she will be back on the road!

[Ralphie]

I somehow manage to keep missing all these sweet threads.

This is beyond awesome, and the fact that you actually drive it is just tits.

So cool that you're about an hr and a half away from me.

Maybe if we can get this NJ meet together, you can bring her out.