Ford Model A | Buyer's Guide

As host Danny Hopkins, editor of Practical Classics magazine, puts it in our latest buyers guide video, driving a Ford Model A is completely addictive. Produced from 1928 to 1930 in numbers exceeding 5 million, there are still plenty of these "absolutely fantastic" vehicles to be had. Follow along as Danny goes over the ins and outs of these cars, including typical problem areas.

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[lukespack]

Beautiful car on the outside & inside. My family had one from 1938 to sometime in post war 40's. Yes I am in my 80's.

[mafcawebmaster]

The car in this video is a 1931 De Luxe Tudor Sedan, manufactured only from June 1931 to the end of the year. Only 24, 000 of these were made in those 6 or so months. The De Luxe Tudor was different from the Standard Tudor in the interior, having De Luxe upholstery, wood-grained dash and window mouldings, dome light, and carpets. The DT sold for $525 US as opposed to the $495 of the Standard Tudor. I own one - she's a great car and I drive her at least once a week.

[DD-ufuo]

One thing I want to mention, the Choke rod does 2 things.

1. It chokes the engine.

2. It is also used to change the Air Fuel ratio mixture by turning it in the direction needed.

Side note.
Even though I know how to operate a Ford Model A, I'm sure most younger people can't because new cars have computers to regulate air fuel mixture, ignition timing ECT. So before someone tries to operate a Model A properly, they would need to be taught quite a bit first. The operator (Driver) becomes the Computer, making decisions for what needs to be done.

Also, I remember when I was young, old-timers use to tell me they noticed when it was Really foggy (lots of moisture in the air), the Model A Engine would idle Extra Smooth.

Nice car.
.

[wilkesjournal]

The commentator mentioned the two-blade fan, so a few words about it are in order. The original was made of several pieces of stamped steel, fastened together. If your car has one of these, inspect it very carefully, looking for cracks near the center by the water pump shaft. If the fan has any, replace it immediately, or risk having it fly apart and damage your hood and/or radiator. This fan is considered dangerous enough that some show-judges did not deduct points for having a later, flat replacement fan with four blades. More recently, a better quality reproduction two-blade became available, that is made of cast metal, but is shaped like the original. So if your Model A has an original two-blade fan, inspect it carefully for cracks.

[dianaclark]

I lived in New Zealand during WW2. Gas was rationed 1 gallon per month !!!. Kerosene used for lighting in rural areas was not rationed. By running a fuel line copper tube around the exhaust manifold and installing a change over valve one could start a model A on gas then when the exhaust was hot enough one could run the low compression engine on kerosene.

[robertjenson]

Comment was made by Jim Ervin about "going 55 or so on the freeway". I was the "proud owner" of a 1929 Model A - soft top that was fixed in place with landau irons to make it look like a "convertible", rumble seat, and missing passenger side window. This was my transportation my senior year of high school. Very simple, reliable mostly - ignition switch failed once, and the bulb at the bottom of the steering column with the electrics burned up coming into the high school parking lot. Other than that, a fun car! Back to Jim's comment - my family relocated from Yuma AZ to Phoenix AZ, in June, and I drove the A, having a one hour head start on my folks as it wasn't as speedy as the Hudson. To the point: Coming down the mountain about 30 miles from Yuma, I exceeded the 45 mph limit that my Dad had imposed on me, and in a few minutes time the engine had begun to knock very badly. I pulled off the side of the road at a place called Dateland and waited for my folks to show up. About 40 minutes later (the desert gets a bit warm in June), they pull up wondering why I'm stopped. I showed my Dad what the car sounded like, and his determination was that it was worn out main bearings and possibly rods. The end result was that the rest of the drive to Phoenix was at a top speed of 25 mph ( did I mention that the desert gets HOT in June?). I gained an appreciation for all our ancestors that came West in covered wagons!! Fortunately at the time, there was a shop that poured babbit bearings, so we pulled the engine and had the shop pour new bearings and then we reassembled the engine into the car. So to make a short story long - unless you've got super bearings in the engine, keep the speed down.

[chrisvillines]

I love classic cars, work of art and a peice of history !!

[jryer]

It is truly absolutely brilliant. The Model A is probably my favorite car of all time!

[ivanolsen]

Ha Gerty, you have done it again, brilliant piece on a brilliant vehicle, our family owned several in
the 40s and 50s, wish I had one now!

[craigpennington]

Wow! The one shown at the start is an absolute beauty.

[Michael_Scott_Howard]

Spot on! More fun to drive at a nice 40mph than anything else! Also the 31' Tudor is "late" 31' (last few month of production)... like mine since it has an indented firewall where the fuel valve is...

[tomcollins]

We own and drive a Fordor Murray Ford, it is a 1931.  In 32 an A became a B and introduced the V8 at a reasonable price. Chevrolet featured a good 6 cyl. The firewall fuel valve appears to be from a late model. Many A owners retrofitted the Mod B tires and wheels. Ours enjoys this upgrade.

[MrElmoCA]

Gorgeous vehicle and solid advice! Wish I had one.

[omegaman]

This is the vintage car I would love to show off. It looks so attractive.

[ddkoda]

Well presented guide; conveys the excitement most people experience when they own and drive a Model A. Gorgeous four tone paint scheme including inset on radiator shroud and dash board. One can understand why Ford authorized the reproduction of Model A's for a short time c. 1971.

[fasx]

What a beautiful restoration, nice color tone choice.

[edwardviolante]

A friend used to have a 1934 version of this with the flathead V8.It was a wonderful car.

[DanielCollins]

I love these buyer's guide videos, could you please do a 1969 Mustang Mach 1 buyer's guide? There's a lot of them for sale and a lot of misinformation about them!

[blackbirdpie]

I have issue with one thing you said. The Model A Ford was a very late comer to the modern control configuration. By 1928 every other car had clutch, brake and accelerator on the floor and gearshift on a stick. Ford was hanging on to model T production until the car was obsolete. In fact, the first car that had modern controls was the cadillac of 1916, 12 years before the Model A ford was first built! By 1927 everyone was wondering why Ford was still making that slow, strange car the model T.

[abandonedwayamoon]

What a beautiful car I can't wait to get one asap !