More info on the Model A…
Where to start? Ok, so I bought a ‘runner’, but I always take that with a grain of salt. Turns out it wasn’t far off the mark, but it wasn’t ‘turn key and go’ either. I started off the morning by installing a new rear exhaust clamp to replace the bailing wire that was *kinda* holding the exhaust system in place.
Next up was installing an aftermarket safety fuse on the starter motor. I really really don’t like the idea of having absolutely NO fuses anywhere on anything that has electricity running through it. A stock Model A does just that, no fuses…. nothing at all to stop a short in the wiring system from turning every wire into a hot, red glowing, fire starting, heating element.
Nope. Not gonna let that happen.
After the fuse was installed I put an auxiliary ground cable between the frame and the bell housing on the engine/transmission. I don’t know if it actually needed it, but I cant see trusting almost 90 years of rusting engine mounts to be a good conductor.
I did a quick double check of things, put the battery in, and hit the starter switch on top of the starter…..
Nothing……. nada …… not even a click of the starter. *sigh*
Of course, in order to take the starter switch off the starter I had to take the fuse assembly I had just installed back off. 15 minutes later I had rigged the switch to work, they used paper insulators in it and over the years they swelled and got in the way of the internal contacts. Everything went back together and I tried the starter again.
What I got was a pitifully slow turning of the engine. It barely cranked. *Sigh*
Further inspection revealed that the water pump was frozen damn near solid. By this time my Dad had come around to see what was going on and he suggested just robbing a good pump from on of my other Model A engines. “Great idea!’ I thought. It was then I realized that there was something a little different on this engine. The water pump is way different than all my other A motors. Turns out, someone has put a 1932-ish Ford Model B head and water pump on this thing, which leaves me to getting this water pump turning freely. It took a good hour or more to work it free, lots of Marvel Mystery Oil and liberal applications of a dead blow hammer. In the end I think I will be able to overhaul this pump and make it usable. Right now, I just need it to turn freely and re-install it.
Ok, time to see if it will crank over like it should. Hit the starter switch and….. it’s working like it should! Yay.
I turned the key switch on, did a quick check to make sure that I had spark and hooked up the temporary fuel tank. I asked Dad to put just enough fuel in to fill the bowl, and in typical Dad fashion he put in more than that while saying “aren’t you going run it a bit?” About that time the fuel started to pour out around the edge of the fuel bowl on the carb, and I had to give Dad that look only some people familiar with me know… the one that says “and thats exactly why I said…..”. I pinched off the fuel line to keep all the gas from running through it and onto the ground while dad smacked the carb to get the float to unstick. It took a couple seconds for the float to start working and regulating the fuel. Dad hand choked the carb and I hit the starter. About 15 seconds of cranking and the engine came to life.
I did a happy dance. 😉
We ran it for a couple minutes, but without the cooling system functioning I didn’t want to run it much more than that. I concluded my day by putting a new tube in the passenger rear wheel with Dad’s help. At that point it was 100+ degrees out and all I wanted was a shower and my air conditioning.