Ladies and gentlemen, I got this model A from my dad at the ripe age of 14. He had had it squirreled away in the back of the garage since well before I was born, just waiting for the right time to start working on it. To make a long story short, we worked on it for two years, and finished it on my 16th birthday. I drove it to high school, and then went in the military and it's been sitting in the garage in NorCal ever since. He's finally given me permission to take it back to my place and I'm trying to come up with ideas. The drivetrain is bone stock (perfect for a 16 year old I suppose). I'd like to get a little more power out of it and be able to stretch it's legs some so I can drive it on the freeway. It already has juice brakes, and exterior and interior are all complete. Any help you gurus can provide with ideas as to how to make this thing drivable on modern roads would be greatly appreciated.
A high compression head, downdraft intake and carburettor would be a good starting point. There is also a monthly banger meet here on the HAMB. There are some links to some general Banger info and guys with lots of Banger knowledge lurk on this thread so ask away if you have any questions. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...k-for-banger-parts-while-on-vacation.1024673/
Welcome to the HAMB. In addition to high comp head and other engine goodies you may considering getting a higher rear end ring and pinion or an overdrive unit. There also has been several guys who run a T-5. As waxhead said above the monthly banger meets always have great info.
I visited with a guy that had a "stock" model A that was on the Great American Race, with proper gears and some engine work it would cruise at 60-70 and drive straight as a string, I don't believe it came cheap though. That car is too nice to modify very much in my opinion.
I built this banger AS IF I was 18 and had no money. Homemade intake and Snyder 5.5 head. Juice brakes runs nice at 55mph---how fast do you want to drive a 86 year old car?
Hey TedH, Welcome to the HAMB! Sweet ride! bangerbob makes a lot of sense. You have a dilemma. You want a freeway car and your 4 banger A will never be happy on it. That A a wonderful car. Yea it needs a little more go. Lots of help on here for that. The big problem is you are asking to much of the noble little car. It already has the roots of being an early '50s Hot Rod. It's got juice brakes, and '35 wires and maybe a few more things you haven't found yet. It already looks great. A Mitchel OD would help for some more top end. You, respectfully need more modification than the car! Your car is talking to you. It is saying "I'm already a little early Hot Rod! Be the kid that built me and follow his lead. Your Dad already did make a sweet ride. Find out what his plans were and follow up on what he would have done next. Try to live in the historical moment, not modern freeway. Drive the car on the back roads. I'm sure the Pacific Coast Highway is there somewhere! It will be happy and so will you. After all we are nothing here if not traditional! I'm sure your dad will understand! Try to be the kid back in the day. Drive your Off Topic car on the freeway! Just my $.02 and trying to help! Good luck!
Welcome to the HAMB. Way nice car. My first car was a Model A - drove mine to high school too..... Hop up that little banger would be the way to go. Driving old cars over the years I've had to keep in mind what they are and are not. Like Tony says, "Try to live in the historical moment, not modern freeway". Hey that seems poetic. What ever you do, have fun. Keep us posted...............
Congrats on getting your ride to go forward with it - might look for a two speed rearend to give you some cruising miles - as affirmed above, no speed upgrade will be cheap - keep your eyes open everywhere for deals. like classifieds here, swap meets, etc - the Ford Barn would be a good fit for your pride & joy - have fun
Looks like a great project. One thing that most people overlook when they start trying to get over about 55 MPH is that at speeds above that the front fenders will act like airplane wings. The fenders will make the front end light and with the large side area the car will feel like it is wandering. If you pass a semi that is pushing a lot of air or if you pass a canyon that crosses the road you will feel like you are going to change lanes. Can you control the car above 55 mph, yes but you will be working a lot harder than with a modern car. The first thing I would do is to be sure it has a 3.54 rear end, if not get one. The next thing would be to put on an aftermarket cast iron high compression head (or an original Model A "police" head with the large block "B" cast into it). This is the set up I have on my '31 RDPU and I am happy with it. I****ume you are not planning to open up the engine, that would be an entirely different topic. As a side note there is something that is frequently overlooked. When you run wire wheels on the later hydraulic brake drums you need an adapter. The wheels will bolt on and appear to be tight but will not be fully supported. Do you have the adapters? I show the reason at: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/40-ford-wheels-on-a-model-a.750368/#post-8330045 Charlie Stephens
heres my engine SU carbs are cheap. The stainless to make the header wasnt much. electronic ignition, alternator, timing strip so I can use a timing light, didnt cost much but The 7:1 head and new B cam were expensive. I use self energizing, self adjusting Bendix brakes and a dropped axle to get the air scoop front fenders down.
A 2 speed rear axle shouldn't be that hard to find but might not be cheap. Still it should be a lot less than buying/building a V8 would be and not only a 4 banger Model A guy approved mod but a bit of a bragging rights thing with them. Same with a few mild engine mods. When you don't have much power to start with the right small mods that work well together make very noticeable improvements.
You guys have given me a lot to think about. Maybe I'll just leave it as is and use this as my "freeway" car as it were.
I was in the Great Race in '98 and '99 on a high school team, we had basically stock engine A speedsters with very minor engine mods (downdraft carb and a header) and juice brakes (which you already have, so you're golden there). What made those cars fly (ours was clocked at 85) was gearing. The overdrive units that go in the torque tube driveshaft are the best, you can "split" gears and shift 6 times if you want, and you'd be surprised how fast a mild built 50 hp flat 4 will go when it's not straining under a high gear.
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