CLUB SCENE
Model A Ford Club of America
250 South Cypress
La Habra, California 90631
562-697-2712
www.mafca.com
Dues: $40/year; Membership: 16,000
Model “A” Restorers Club
6721 Merriman Road
Garden City, Michigan 48135
734-427-9050
www.modelarestorers.org
Dues: $38/year; Membership: 10,000
Model A Ford Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 95151
Nonantum, Massachusetts 02495
www.maf fi.org
Dues: $25/year; Membership: 825
PARTS
The simple and sturdy 40hp engine, differing only in details, was shared among all Model A variants. Re-
builds can become expensive if new bearings are required, but mechanical parts are in plentiful supply.
Like many mass-produced cars, dealer and aftermarket accessories have been made for the Model A
through the years: radiator stone guards, Motometers and running board step plates are just a few.
as production progressed, and some new
features for 1929 included Twolite lenses
in cup-shaped headlamps with a matching taillamp, external door handles for
open variants, pushbutton instead of
pistol-grip handbrake lever actuation
and a black steering wheel to replace
the early, dark red version. New body
styles included the three-window Town
Sedan and standard three-window Fordor (with bodies by Briggs and Murray),
the Station Wagon, the Cabriolet and the
upscale Town Car.
The six-cylinder Chevrolet and hydrau-lic-braked Plymouth were eating into
Ford’s sales by 1930, so while the Model
A’s mechanicals were basically unaltered, the styling got a refined update.
Smaller diameter wheels lowered the
car, and the new polished stainless steel
radiator shell (with a black painted lower
insert) was redesigned to match the taller,
narrower hood and cowl panel, which
was now flush on Roadsters, Phaetons,
Coupes, Tudors and Pick-Ups, and con-
tained a one-gallon-larger gas tank. The
fenders were reshaped for a more flow-ing look. Finely trimmed new DeLuxe
versions of the Coupe, two-window Fordor Sedan, Phaeton and Roadster added
a fender-mount spare, while the “
bustle-back” Victoria Coupe, with its slanted
windshield and internal rear luggage
area, was the most stylish to date.
Further cosmetic updates would mark
the 1931 Model As, the year that the 20
millionth Ford—a Slant Window Town
Sedan—was built, and they included
another grille shell design with paint
in the recessed upper portion, accented
with a pressed stainless Ford badge, an
amber and red taillamp lens and a redesigned instrument panel housing. The
most striking visual change for Fordor
sedans and the stylish new Convertible
Sedan (dubbed the A- 400, it combined a
folding soft top with fixed side window
frames) was the Victoria-style slanted
windshield, which reduced headlamp
glare. A DeLuxe Tudor and DeLuxe Pick-
Clutch disc assembly, late 1928-31 – $40
Exterior door handle, no lock 1928-’29 – $26
Gas cap gasket – $. 50
Generator rebuild kit – $38
Headlamp reflector, 1928-’ 31 – $29
Hub cap set – $50
Piston set, standard – $110
Roadster body, complete with rumble seat
lid, without gas tank – $5,695
Roof kit, coupe and 5-window – $80
Running board 1928-’29 pair, standard/
show quality – $175/$275
Upholstery kit, 1928-’29 Fordor
(standard) – $1,699
Sedan rear fender, fiberglass/steel –
$260/$290
Side curtain rods, 1928-’29 Phaeton,
Pickup and Roadster – $38
Starter switch – $15
Wheel, 21/19-inch – $290
Up Car were also added to the lineup.
The sturdiness of the Model A has
meant that a surprising number of the
more than five million built worldwide
have remained in service as regular, if
not daily drivers. Like the Ts, many As
were converted to “doodlebug” customs
for off-road use, and although the four-cylinder engine was more plebeian than
the V- 8 that arrived for 1932, numerous A
speed parts were developed— with Ford’s
own “police” high-compression cylinder
head and Harry A. Miller’s overhead
valve conversion among the notables—
motivating thousands of Model A-based
hot rods since the 1940s.
And restoring old Fords has been a
popular part of the old car hobby since
HEMMINGS MOTOR NEWS • JUNE 2009 27
