Model A

Restoring a 1930 Model A
  • This driver's side view shows what the "A" looked like after being disassembled and stored for several years. It had been painted brown over blue, which was probably the original color.
  • This is the driver's side rear wheel well showing some rust-through. Considering the car is 79 years old, this is pretty minimal. New wheel panels replaced this rust.
  • This is a view of the inside looking forward. It does look pretty rough. The paint and parts have been setting around for some time.
  • This is a view looking toward the passenger side. The original "chicken wire" is from the roof which was stretched out and reused. It is stapled to the wood top bows to support the top padding and the fabric roof material.
  • This is a view of the inside looking toward the back.
  • This is a picture of the original instrument panel. Pretty sad. The instrument cluster on later Model A cars had horizontal lines embossed on the front which turned out to be a pretty good place to scratch wood matches.
  • Here the old car is being given a pressure wash bath.
  • Here the old girl is all cleaned up and ready to go visiting. The old tires have new tubes to keep them aired up so the car can be moved around. New tires will be added later.
  • The old car is loaded on a trailer for the trip to Dyke's body shop to be restored.
  • "A couple of old Finns" examining the drilled out bolts that had been used to attach the visor. The fenders, running boards and splash aprons are in the foreground. I don't know why the fenders and floor look so mottled.
  • Here in a rear-quarter view is the body on a dolly and looking great in basic black. A straw pinstripe is planned that will match the color of the wheels when they are refinished.
  • Here is the car from the front quarter displaying the no-longer-sagging door handles, new roof, installed visor and the brand new cowl lights.
  • The frame after being sandblasted and painted. The wheels are primed and will be painted the original straw color.
  • This is what the A looked like when we went to Dyke's shop to bring it home. All shiny with new black paint. The fenders are not in the picture but they are also beautiful in black.
  • Dyke checking to see that the trailer tail gate clears the spare tire carrier on the back of the car.
  • Back home again work proceeds on the mechanics. A length of steel rod stock is chucked up in the lathe to position the wood "V" block that was then clamped in place on the lathe bed.
  • The gear shift lever is now chucked up with the outer section supported on the wood "V" block. The far end of the shift lever has a ball that engages the shift forks in the transmission. It is difficult to see but the point of all this is to use the angle grinder clamped to the tool holder. The ball had been badly worn but built up with weld. The shift lever was rotated buy hand on the "V" block to grind the built up ball round again.
  • A little bleeding resulted when the left axel housing was removed to repair a bad wheel bearing surface. The differential itself is dissembled by removing the left axel housing, so as long as I was at it, I checked the gears in the differential. What a worn mess. I guess the car had been run without enough gear oil. Fortunately there was an old Model A axel behind the garage which I had moved into the garage when we moved here in 1972. It was badly rusted but the insides were in great shape. I also used the mechanical brake back-plates from the old axel to replace the non-authentic hydraulic brakes that came with the car.
  • The differential is reassembled with its transplant gears and is about to be put back into the housing shown here upside down.
  • The axle is reassembled for about the 50th time. When these assemblies were new they could just be bolted together but when used, the bearing preload and gear clearance has be be adjusted in a time-consuming routine of trial and error. Note the new wheel bearing surface at the near end.
  • The front axel with rebuilt tie rod ends, new brake operating fork, shaft, shaft bushings, king-pin and bushings, new brake linings, built up brake roller surfaces and new brake drum.
  • The castings shown here are now painted Antique Ford Engine Green and all the other parts are painted black.
  • The steering wheel was made with a grooved hard rubber cover over a steel core. The rim here was badly cracked along the grooves and a section of the rim covering was missing. One of the spokes had all of its cover missing and the rest were badly cracked or partly missing. I built up the missing sections with Bondo. A Dremel tool was used to restore the grooves after the Bondo hardened I chucked the wheel in the milling machine. With the drive disengaged I rotated the wheel by hand.
  • The Dremel grinder was clamped to a square steel tube that pivoted on a bolt clamped in the mill vice and used to "get my groove back". Guide feet formed from extensions cut from the steel tube maintained the grinder wheel at a uniform depth. The Bondo could then be grooved, and the original grooves restored. The mill worked great for this because the grinder could be positioned easily and accurately.
  • This is what the steering wheel looks like after a final sanding and finishing with a couple of coats of semi-gloss enamel.
  • The muffler that I bought new some 37 years ago had been stored in our old barn and had accumulated a nice coat of rust. A flexible shaft tool and wire wheel cleaned it up nicely for the stove-black paint it now sports. The current price of a new muffler is $200.
  • This is one of the front seats that had been the home of several generations of mice while it was stored in the attic of the shop. The seats have been stripped and the springs have been sandblasted and painted. New upholstery has been installed.
  • This is the back seat cushion. Same remarks as above.
  • On borrowed mismatched wheels the car is on its way to neighbor John Huber's new shop for the engine.
  • The body was again lifted off the frame to make it easier to install the engine, transmission, radiator, foot pedals, and steering gear. John is installing carburetor linkage.
  • All the mechanicals have been installed and the car is ready to have the body installed again.
  • The excellent setup in John's shop provides hoisting facilities and plenty of headroom to lift the body high enough to clear the steering wheel.
  • After rolling the frame under it, the body is lowered into place.
  • With the car back home again, with a lot of trepidation I began the re-upholstery job as shown here, the headliner is going up.
  • The refinished dash, new kick panels and door panels are installed and floor boards are installed.
  • This is what it looked like before.
  • Here the passenger door panel and the rear quarter panel is shown.
  • This is what the door and quarter panel looked like before.
  • Looking to the rear here are the newly upholstered seats. I did have them done by a local upholster.
  • Looking toward the front. I grin with self satisfaction with this shot.
  • The engine as seen from the passenger side. I installed the manifold heater cover after this picture was taken.
  • The engine as seen from the drivers side.
  • We were happy to tag along with Larry Hanson, another Model A enthusiast, who with his wife Linda make an annual sight-seeing trip to the Chippewa River area and the glacier moraine area about 60 miles from home. That is his 1930 Model A coupe you see down the road. Larry is the fellow that did the babbitting and line-boring on our engine. Our engine was not yet "broken in" and all the bugs were not yet shaken out of the car so it was slow going, but we had a great time driving about 175 miles that day.
  • Here Larry and his wife Linda have pulled over to check the map.
  • The car as seen from behind. Note the 1930 Wisconsin license plate and the WW2 vintage 48 star flag license plate topper. I had been saving this flag for my car for 37 years. (It was later stolen off the car at a local car show. I did find a replacement on eBay for lots of $.)
  • This is what the car looks like now. Just beautiful! I used this image for a "calling card" that I made up. Click here to go back to the home page.