Aug 6, 2011
The following items are outdated in the Model “A” manuals.
Tire pressure-Since materials and manufacturing methods have improved, the recommended 35 lbs. of pressure is about 10 lbs. too high. Trying 25 lbs. maximum of air will improve handling, ride and reduce shimmy.
Oil change-Manufacture recommendation is RIGHT on. Manual choking dilutes oil. The cars operating temperature is much too low to vaporize and dissipate gasoline contaminating the oil.
If you do not use air and oil filters, use non-detergent oil. Modern detergent oils are designed to retain the dirt, which modern lube systems constantly filter out. Non-detergent oils allow dirt particles to separate from the oil and accumulate in the oil pan.
The recommended point gap setting of .018 to .022 is too much. Normal travel is about .025, full open to close. If the distributor wear is normal, the points may not close all of the time. A setting of .015 is sufficient to produce normal dwell time.
The recommended generator charging rate of 6 amps is right on. This is not sufficient for night driving. If you plan on doing night driving, go to an alternator 6 or 12 volts. An alternator will automatically adjust the output to maintain top battery voltage.
This tech tip was originally provided by Pete Amsler and printed in the Jan/Feb. 2000 “A” Quail Call.
Jun 11, 2011
On the lower radiator pipe, look out for corrosion just in front of or just in back of the petcock. For one reason or another, this seems to be a favorite place to develop a water leak. It starts as a pinhole and then turns into something larger. This was found out when a club member who was returning home from a day trip ruined his engine when all of the water drained out of the engine. Check the radiator pipe to see if a pinhole is starting to develop in front of the petcock. You can put a sealing compound on the area and that should take care of the problem. A stainless steel pipe can be purchased from a Model A parts store for a good replacement.
This article was printed in the June 2006 issue of the “A” Quail Call.
May 28, 2011
The heart of any gear system is the lubrication, and thanks to Gary Stroebel of the Shade Tree A’s Model “A” Ford Club, we have THE secret recipe from the Horseless Carriage Gazette, July/August 1985. Attention Wives: Do Not Read This! This recipe will yield 6 pounds of the best old gear lube in the country and is ideal for those old-style gear boxes.
Take 5 pounds of 90W gear lube (between 2-3 quarts), 1 pound heavy long fibered wheel bearing grease (not the new lightweight, high temperature stuff), and 1 can of STP motor oil treatment.
Pour and/or scoop the above ingredients into a container 4-6” deep. Then take your wife’s multi-speed electric hand mixer and mix for 15-20 minutes. The reason for using this type of mixer is that the two beaters will pull the material into and through the beater blades, dissolving the wheel bearing grease into the mix of 90W oil and the STP.
The resulting mixture closely approximates the old 600W of gear lube. This is an excellent, quiet running, gear lube. As a word of caution, the borrowing of the mixer is best done when the wife is not at home. In the author’s case, he now has his own “private” mixer since some of the “good old gear lube” got up the mixer stems into the motor housing and then oozed back down the stems into the whipped potatoes!
Note: Another school thinks this is a good mixture for leaky transmissions with simple bearings. However, too stiff a lubricant will fail to penetrate long sleeve bearings, as found in some planetary transmissions.
This article was printed in the September 2006 issue of the “A” Quail Call by George Allison.
Apr 23, 2011
Over the years and over thousands of miles, Katherine and I fantasized as to what it must be like to tour in style. When it was cold or rainy, we would gaze longingly at our friends on tour in their cozy sedans. Some even had a stereo to listen to! Snug and dry! To be sure, our 1929 Roadster has been a faithful, even enthusiastic tour car. But even with its formfitting side curtains, we were often less than comfortable.
In July of 1999, I purchased a 1929 Murray Town Sedan from a fellow who had disassembled it to begin to restore it years ago. Over the next 5 months, a new engine was installed, body secured and before long I was ordering an interior kit from LeBaron Bonney. My longing for comfort and style befitting a man of my position (?) was actually coming true!
Wanting to preserve the integrity of the Town Sedan interior, I found myself pondering how to include an AM/FM Stereo/Cassette and CB unit in my new “Limo” without having ANY of it visible to the casual observer. Well, with the exposed interior staring me in the face, it was now or never.
Where to put the speakers?? I don’t want them visible! What about that little space under the rear quarter windows? A four inch speaker will fit nicely there just above where the side arm rest is mounted. There is plenty of depth for the speaker and if I recess the speaker mount enough, the upholstery material will act as speaker cloth with nothing visible. I mounted four small “L” brackets in the enclosure. Next, I mounted the speakers on heavy board and secured them to the “L” brackets, fastening them with pop rivets.
Okay, so now the speakers are hidden. Yes, that was easy. Now how do you position a modern 12 V AM/FM Stereo/Cassette deck so it is not visible?
With my town sedan, the only logical place I could identify was under the front seat, in the floor pan. But wait! How do you get the radio to turn it on/off, change channels, etc.? Not to worry! Such radios are routinely sold with remote controls. Unfortunately, they are all wireless remotes that would not work with the unit concealed under the seat. However, SONY makes a system with a wired-remote control (SONY model XR-C8200). The control is pictured is only slightly larger than the size of a man’s thumb. It plugs into the rear of the radio unit and when not in use, I can stow it under the seat cushion. I had to fabricate a bracket to mount the radio unit on the floor pan being attentive to vertical clearance. I don’t want it to interfere with the adjustable seat I have been longing for.
OK, we have successfully hidden the radio and speakers, but what about an antenna? Everyone knows that to work properly, a radio must have an antenna. There are several types of antennas available that do not require a visible antenna mast. Some work better with FM and some are best with AM. I tried an “invisible” AM/FM antenna and I found that radio stations were equally invisible. So I made a bracket and now I have a conventional broadcast antenna mounted on the rear bumper mount opposite the new CB antenna. Speaking of the CB antenna, I also wanted my CB to be “invisible”. I installed a Cobra 75WX, which is a completely self-contained unit about the size of a large CB microphone. It uses a connector box (also mounted under the seat in the pan) that I installed under the seat of my Roadster too! Whichever “A” I am taking on the latest outing, I just plug the CB into the box of that car and go!
Every Model “A” body type presents a unique situation if you want to add the accessories I did. Perhaps this story will trigger your imagination as to how you can discreetly make your “A” more (gag!) modern.
This tech tip was originally provided by Von Wolfe and printed in the July 2000 “A” Quail Call.
Apr 9, 2011
If you are humbled when your “A” buddies brag about getting >20 MPG, chin up as 10/15 MPG is about average or about ½ the average of your daily driver. If you are getting less than 10 MPG here are several options:
OPTION 1 – Lie about it! This is very effective if you seldom drive the “A” and acceptable to most gear heads.
OPTION 2 – You should road check your speedometers calibration. Many “A’s” are equipped with 4:11 gears instead of the standard 3:78 ratio. Jack up one wheel, chalk mark the tire and fan pulley and count the engine revolutions to one wheel revolution.
OPTION 3 – Installing the aftermarket air filters reduces mileage by about 1/3, worsening as they become clogged in a few miles. They eliminate dirt contamination but rich mixtures dilute the oil causing excessive wear. The rich mixture is caused by a pressure drop downstream from the filter. Some owners overcome this by using a larger cartridge such as CA3445, and I have seen some install a vent line from a drilled port just ahead of the choke valve to another to the top of the float chamber, plugging the original float chamber vent. This looks OK.
OPTION 4 – Carb jet orifices MUST be to specs (see chart). Most old jets have been opened up by improper cleaning, flow increase horrendously if a few thousandths over spec. Always check new jets before installing.
OPTION 5 – Invest a couple social security checks in an aftermarket overdrive and/or 3:45 gears. The payback in increased gas mileage is about 354 years, reduces RPM from 10 to 30%, less power on hills and reduces braking efficiency.
If all of the above does not work, go back to OPTION 1!
This tech tip was originally provided by Pete Amsler and printed in the June 2000 “A” Quail Call.
Mar 26, 2011
Here is a list of suggested items that should be carried in your “A” at all times. Chances are you will never need them, but you might be glad to have them on hand if necessary.
Electrical tape, cotter pins and lock washers, assorted nuts and bolts, front wheel bearing, valve cores, valve caps, wiper blade, starter drive, starter switch, flares, fine sandpaper, clean rags, magnet, candle, solder wire, repair kit for punctures, engine oil, timing gear, flashlight, bailing wire, headlight and taillight bulbs, radiator hoses, extra water, grease and grease gun, inner tubes, ammeter, coil, carburetor gaskets, distributor, points, “A” crank, wrench, jack, modern tools, cutouts, condenser, spark plugs, air pump, water pump, head gasket, fan, fan belt, radiator cap, gas cap, “Permatex”, insulated wire, tow rope and plastigauge.
This tech tip was originally printed in the May 2000 “A” Quail Call.
