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MINT 1931 Model A 2000 Miles 35.5K WOW!!!

Started by Doug Rose, November 22, 2021, 03:33:36 PM

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Doug Rose

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HarrySmith

Very Nice! I wonder how you enter it to drive with all the equipment mounted on the drivers side?
Harry Smith
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tubaman

Quote from: HarrySmith on November 22, 2021, 04:30:22 PM
Very Nice! I wonder how you enter it to drive with all the equipment mounted on the drivers side?

I'd get in through the passenger's door...

countryman

no clear picture, but it seems to have a seat bench, not too inconvenient to get in from the right hand side.
Occasionally delivery vans are built with the steering wheel on the "wrong" side, for easier access from the sidewalk. But it seems this one is left-hand driven, for normal use in right-hand traffic.

FABphones

#4
Quote from: HarrySmith on November 22, 2021, 04:30:22 PM
...I wonder how you enter it to drive with all the equipment mounted on the drivers side?

Close up shows a bench seat so easy enough to slide across from passenger side.

Images 2, 3 show interiors of others, the gear sticks are not intrusive (1930/31 Ford Model A?).

ETA: Gear Stick (U.K.) is Shift Stick (U.S.)

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ReneRondeau

I've owned two Model As over the years, a 1928 (first year of production) and 1931 (last year). One of the peculiarities of these cars is that the only door that locks with a key is the passenger's. The driver's door locks from the inside. You can flip the lock switch, climb out of the driver's side, close the door and have it lock behind you. But to lock the passenger side you have to walk around and use the key. To get back into the car, there are two options: unlock the passenger side, stretch across the full length of the seat to reach and unlatch the lock, then walk around the car to climb in the driver's side. Or, just enter the passenger's door and slide across. That was always the easier option for me. There's plenty of room.

Great cars, I miss driving them. But they're a lot less practical in today's traffic than back in the 70s - 90s. Cars are much faster today, and people have low tolerance for slow, antique autos. People are also much more distracted. Ironically, there were two types of reactions which were typical of drivers around me. Some hated clunky old cars and would do crazy maneuvers to get ahead of me, determined not to be stuck behind someone slow. Some of those maneuvers were crazy dangerous. Others were so thrilled to see such a fun antique auto that they'd slow down to stare, wave, or take pictures. I was glad they enjoyed seeing it but they were clearly not paying any attention to the traffic ahead of them, which was often very scary.

MMikeJBenN27

What about a 32 Model B, or a 33 Model C?  They are 4s, like the Model A, but they have a counterbalanced crank shaft and also more power, so they can be driven at higher speeds without running out your bearings.

Mike

ReneRondeau

I've never had a later Ford so I can't speak from experience. I don't doubt they would have better acceleration and higher speed, but the fundamental problem would be the same -- people see old cars as slow, whether they are or not. And they react accordingly.

Aside from how other drivers react, there's one fundamental issue with any antique car today -- safety. That's something I didn't think about very much in the past, but now do. I used to drive my '28 Ford as a daily driver (at least in good weather). I had a home business and I drove the Ford to the post office every day to pick up and drop off mail. Not far, and no highway hassles. Just a short, fun ride. One day I was lazy and didn't feel like moving a car out of the driveway so I could open the garage and take the Ford, so I took my modern car. I was rear-ended while at a stop sign by a Dodge Ram going 35mph, with a driver on her cell phone who wasn't paying any attention and never even touched her brakes before slamming into me at full speed. My Honda was totaled and I was badly injured. But: if I had been driving the Model A as usual, with its wood-framed body, it's unlikely I would have survived. The car would have collapsed into a pile of kindling and sheet metal, and I would have gone straight through the windshield, despite having seat belts (lap only). Unfortunately I was never comfortable driving it after that, and sold it a few years later.

MMikeJBenN27

The Model A, for all its virtues, is a small light-weight car, and small light-weight cars, even modern ones, do not fare well in accidents with big heavy cars.  I hope they arrested that stupid ----- and put her in jail.  You are lucky your car didn't catch on fire.

Mike

MMikeJBenN27

They even try to act like my 54 Chrysler New Yorker, with it's Hemi engine, is slow, but I have fun showing them that it is hardly slow.

Mike