#1930modela

[cdlhunter]

1930 Model A “Double Cab Dump Truck” #doublecab #dumptruck #modela #1930modela #cdlhunter @cdlhunter https://www.instagram.com/p/B7ujmPHJv9h/?igshid=8inwwxx2ugfu

[rollinmetalart]

The ‘30 Ford Model A of Chad Lantz is flathead powered, wire wheeled, and right-on in every way.  2019 NSRA Western Street Rod Nationals, Bakersfield, CA.

[relicsnrust]

Repost from @dans_hot_rod_photo - Coulda, shoulda, woulda...Won the Ridler. #detroitautorama #1930modela #ardun #scot #hopuplive #hotrod #canon #cancerfree2017 #livinglife - #regrann

[askjorgelopez]

Beautiful 1930s @Ford Model A. A customer of mine sent these over to me and I had to share with you. Not bad at a whopping 40 HP. That doesn't matter as they are just gorgeous! . . . #fordmodelA #ford #modelA #rumbleseat #1930modelA #wow #vintage #model #fordsofinstagram #askjorgelopez #tomballford #150dollarreferral (at Tomball Ford) https://www.instagram.com/p/BqvQq24AoF8/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=zjc051y8lhm0

[analogguyinadigitalage]

Road Trip To Rhinebeck

Took the Harley to the Rhinebeck car show on Saturday and it was a gorgeous day and a beautiful day to be out on the bike with Pattie. The show was mobbed and there were a ton of vendors and show cars. It was a great day to shop and check out cars. On Sunday the show was for antique cars and I planned on taking Ruby my 1930 Ford Model A pickup. Rhinebeck is about sixty miles from my house and it would be a hundred and twenty mile round trip for the old girl.

I thought back to last year at the same time when I still had Etta my 1950 Buick Special. As the day of the show approached I had washed and waxed and polished her chrome and she was ready to go. Pattie and I jumped in the front seat; I turned the key only to be confronted with a dead battery. Buying a six volt battery on a Saturday for a 1950 Buick is not an easy task and one couldn’t be found. So she sat in the garage while we went to the show in the Jeep. This year as one can imagine I had my share of trepidation as the day approached. First of all, I was driving a 1930 Model A not a 1950 Buick, and I was worried. I had done a lot of work to her over the winter, replacing the crankshaft pulley, pulling the radiator out and having it cleaned, installing new hoses, belts, shocks.

I guess the old adage that most of the things we worry about in life never happen applies here. I’m a bit of a worrier, I’ll admit. Pattie turned out to be my voice of reason. I asked her what she thought knowing that she is not a mechanic or not even that mechanically inclined. She simply said, “Let’s take her, she’ll be fine!” So on Saturday night we gave her a quick wash and threw some wax on the fenders after a long winter in storage, checked the fluids and we were ready to go.

We departed Stephentown at 8 a.m. Sunday morning traveling at leisurely pace of between 40-45 mph where Ruby is most comfortable. She ran like a champ and the new shocks made a world of difference. There were basically four legs of the trip, route 22, 295, 66, 9H. I stayed in the travel lane except when the traffic behind me looked to be backing up and the speed limit was 55 mph. As we approached Rhinebeck I looked in the rear view mirror and saw a long line of antique cars behind me and Ruby was leading the way! We made it to the fairgrounds, registered and parked. Ruby didn’t burn a drop of oil on the trip and she was only down about a glass of water. We shopped and visited some vendors that I order from online but never get a chance to meet face to face such as Tam’s and it was nice to put a face to a name.

Some of the Model A’s there were of absolutely outstanding show quality with every nut and bolt polished to perfection, every spoke shining in the sun, every panel waxed to a high sheen. And there was Ruby, with her nicks, scratches, a dent here and there, her running boards showing scuffs and a bit of rust here and there, but to me she was the show winner! She was my driver and I had vowed not to go down the restoration road with her like I did with Etta, no this truck would be a driver and I would only restore mechanical things that needed to be done to make her safe. I watched the other owners wiping down their fenders and hoods with detailer and polishing their wheels and making sure everything was ‘correct’ for the judges, I simply got out, put the card on the windshield and walked away. A great feeling to have at a car show after you’ve been where those other guys are polishing and shining and caring about being correct and winning a prize. I like the feeling of driving up, getting out and walking away knowing that I’ve enjoyed the journey rather than having to spend another two hours of work on the truck at the destination. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that those other Model A owners are wrong for taking pride in their cars and doing what they do, I totally understand have a point perfect car and wining awards at shows, but it’s just not for me anymore, I just like driving her to the show and parking her and showing what an 83 year old lady like Ruby looks like as a driver.

The trip home was also uneventful with the exception of butterfly that flew in through the windshield in downtown Claverack freaking Pattie out and causing us to stop and make sure the dead carcass was removed from the cab. Pulling into my driveway I realized what a great and dependable vehicle the Model A is. Again, not a drop of oil was burned on the return trip and she rode like a dream. Imagine taking some modern day cars on a hundred and twenty mile drive eighty three years from now and I bet they won’t fare as good as the Model A. I realized when I got home that all the worrying was for naught, and that in the end Pattie was right; she was fine and performed exemplary throughout the trip. It made me think of what a visionary Henry Ford was, he made these cars to handle over rough roads, out in the country where mechanics were few and far between and an owner had only a basic set of tools to fix their Model A and keep it running. From the Dust Bowl through the depression the Model A was designed to endure hard times, Henry built them pretty much indestructible to endure all that.

Lesson learned that life truly is about the journey and not the destination.

Enjoy your Model A and drive it with pride!