The Ford Model A as a Daily Driver for a Year 

Id have no problem driving that every day, I love seeing them with original engines too. The older engines are the coolest part

My grandfather's first car was a 1930 Ford Model A which he purchased "brand new" for approximately $700 from a Ford Dealership during that model year. He owned his model A for approximately 10 years according to what my father told me

I bought a 1927 Ford Model A in 1943 for $10. I remember they did have an electric box heater that was extra. Great memories :-)

My Dad's first post-WWII car was a Model A he bought from a farmer who had had it on blocks to use the engine and rear wheel to drive his buzz-saw with a belt. As bought it was a two door, because two of the four doors were missing. It eventually did gain back those other two as we kids were enjoined to sit right up against the one remaining back door at first. The bench seat in front was also missing, with Dad on an upturned apple crate and Mom on an orange crate. Those were made of wood back then. I remember well that un-shock absorbed suspension. Despite my diminutive six year old body, I was bounced high enough to hit my head on that high back seat roof when Dad hit a bump in the road at near top speed.

I drove my 1931 pu full time from 1985 to 1993 two years in high school four years in college over 300.000 miles I now have 1929 town sedan drive 12.000 plus a year

I wish things were still that simple, I love the color.

I know this is an old video, but, I have to give props for driving this car for a year as your primary car!! I am one of those strange people that would love to have one of these as a daily run about!

I find myself wanting one more each time I watch these videos. Just something so elegant, simple and pure that harkens back to a simpler time; it's pure Americana.

Nothing more fun than this hobby! Love my Model-A!

I learned to drive a stick when I was 15 in an Uncle's 1937 Ford. This was back in the 70's. He taught me to double clutch it. He restored antique cars but that was almost to new for him. He preferred them from the teens or earlier. What a beautiful collection he had. I really enjoyed driving that '37 Ford. I will never forget it. He did not update them either. He restored them just like the day they rolled out of the factory.

I drove my 1931 Model A every day from August 2014 until November 2015. We had one brutal winter, and my car sat outside. I spent the first month getting some bugs worked out, after that it was great. I had very few problems in the over 12,000 miles I have put on it, and it never once left me stranded. I sold my modern car to buy it, and have no regrets. My car is stock, including the 6 volt system. Started up at 15 below zero with no issues. The manifold heater worked pretty well, although if I were to keep driving one in the winter I would add a hot water heater. Fantastic car, and the club support, at least in my area, is great. Only reason I am not driving it daily now is I do not want to put it through the salt again. But the car was super reliable. Long distances did take a little longer, but not terribly in the scheme of things. Great car. Haggerty would not insure my daily driver LOL.

Nice job for a one year project. I enjoyed reading about it. I would like to relate my experience driving my early ‘30 Model A standard coupe as a daily driver for 7 years. I had ‘35 Kelsey Hayes wheels on mine, no shocks, I installed a radio with the antenna on the left rear bumper. I installed a four-bladed fan for extra cooling. I did use a paper air filter on mine and heard all the horror stories about fires but never knew of anyone personally who had a fire. I lived in San Diego at the time and it was a daily right-lane car to and from work, a distance of about 12 miles. I did hit 65 mph once but it seemed the fenders were about to become wings so I never did that but once. I belonged to MARC/MAFCA of San Diego, a dual affiliated club, and attended many Model A events on weekends. Mine was the Washington Blue also, with straw wheels. In all those years it only left me stranded twice, both times due to a bad condenser. So I always carried two of them. I did park it for about two years while I went overseas, but when I came back, it started right up, as I expected it would. I still love them and now I live in Florida where the extreme heat and advanced age makes it impossible for me to own another. Would that I could...

With the addition of seat belts makes this a very safe car. The belts will hold the driver and passenger in the cab where it will hold up in a roll over. This gentleman has made wise decisions and why not he is an expert in the Insurance industry. Great video and will be tuning in on some every day driving and be following his blog. .My wife and I are now 40 year members of the Model A Ford Club of American and what a great organization it is and why is that? Its the people who own and drive the Model A Ford!!!!. We have 5 Model As in our family including a couple of roadsters...What fun they are!!!.

I learned to drive in one of these cars back in 1958 but my father sold it a year later because I abused it. Up to this date I miss it. Nowadays they are quite expensive here in Mexico, but if I had one that´s all I would l drive. Instead, I still own a VW beetle. which is also lots of fun to drive. I find modern cars boring to drive. Yours is beatiful, I like the color too. If I were you I wouldn´t ever sell it.

The only car I currently have is a 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger, and it is a beautifully spartan automobile. It has no power steering and sports 9" drum brakes all around, it has no A/C and crank windows. Of course, it is backed up by the venerable and indestructible 225 Slant 6 and Torqueflite transmission. The way I see it, there are just that many fewer points of failure on that car. It is 45 years old and I would be willing to bet that in 45 years from now, it will still be running like new. I don't believe that I could say that about a new car made today.

My car is not that old by any means, but it's "old" if you ask the kids.. It's a 1984 Pontiac Fiero (and yes, it has had the recall work! No fires.. which by the way, were in about 1% of only the 84's, and most of them due to car being driven too hard) Anyway, it has no power -steering, Manual 4-speed, crank windows, no power seats, no AC (it's equipped, but the Freon leaked out) and the well-known and reliable "Iron Duke" 151 ci (2.5 l) 4-banger. It was my DD for 4 years, problem-free, (until some asshat poured sand and water into the fuel tank while I was at a party one night. But a drop of the tank and a good cleaning out fixed that.) and still WOULD be my DD, but I need a starter, battery, and a set of nearly impossible to find, therefore expensive as hell, 215-60R-14 tires. I love my "old" car and don't really want anything else newer. But that all said, I would LOVE to have an old 30's Car. Maybe an Oakland/Pontiac.

I always laugh at people when they say they can't live without "insert modern convenience here". People survived just fine before without it. What's so wrong with doing the same now? I have no problem using antique machines over new crap.

Apart from the paint its a classic mafia looking mobile

Always liked the Roundabout Show. Sorry they are gone. Great interview, Thanks guys!

Love the car .I Bought a 30 blind back last May . I have it back together enough to drive now, I drive it to work on Friday a lot and around my hometown. I really enjoy driving it ,it's my first a model. I've put around 800 miles on it in the last five months. Danny Allen Oxford ms.

It's great to see how cars have evolved by generation: 1900s: Model T - we no longer have to bring our horses everywhere 1940s: Model A - we can now go fast enough that we can move out to the country and commute 1970s: Tbird - lets go as fast as possible, who cares about gas or safety 2000s: Fusion - lets use as little fuel as possible, be extra careful 2030s: Corporate - lets not even bother driving anymore, the car can do it

As the former owner of a 1930 Ford Model A standard coupe with rumble seat, who drove it as my work car every day for seven years, I feel qualified to speak about at least one electrical problem. I got stranded once and called a friend, Bill was already an antique then, (he drove them when they were brand new,) even then. I described the problem, he said it sounded like a bad condenser and that he would bring me a new one. He brought two because, as he said, they’re just not very reliable. So we installed the new one, it started up right away and I was never left stranded by a bad condenser again because I took his advice and always kept a spare. During my period of ownership I was also a member and officer of the MARC/MAFCA, the only dual-affiliated Model A Club in America (back then, not sure about now), San Diego chapter. When I had a chance to pass this on to our technical director, who was, OBTW, a mechanical engineer, he agreed with my friend Bill and said that he would make sure that all the members of the club were aware of this, if they weren’t already. Now at age 72, (I caught up with my antique friend cuz he’s waiting on me), I’d love to have another Model A (Victoria body) but I’ve read and heard too much bad press about model A’s and the death rate of passengers involved in accidents. I’m skeert! So now I’m content to toodle around in my 2004 Cadillac XLR. Best wishes to all you antique automobile owners.

I hate modern cars so much that I drive a 63' Rambler daily, forever! It was my first car, and has never let me down. I've never owned a modern car, and don't intend to. I thought I was the only one that did that sorta thing, but hey, it''s great to know someone else does it too.Parts are cheap, extremely reliable and easy to replace if necessary. Long live the REAL cars!!!

Great video. Thanks. The LED tail lights are a great improvement.

I drove a Geo Metro for 3 years

The close up of his bald spot at 5:30 really tied the video together nicely!

This is a terrific series and absolutely validates the style and mission of Hagerty Ins. I'm a Hagerty customer and thank you living your customers' hobby. Nicely done !

I've owned mine for 13 years now and half of the time it was my only car - only I was living with my family, so there were modern "backup" cars, but it definitely is a great reliable car - still a great project using it as the only means of transportation for a year 👍

I have a 31 Slant Sedan that now has a Schwalm's reconditioned motor that performs like a new 31 car. Can cruise all day long at 50 and also installed new brakes with cast iron drums so she also has fade free brakes that can "Stop on a dime" I plan on taking a road trip this summer to Canada from Maryland with a couple of fellow antique car buddies

Great video!! Here in my city (Cordoba, Argentina) there is a guy who uses his "A" almost every days since YEARS!!!

I live in MIchigan and this is a great story and my first time watching it. I have wondered how it would be to drive one daily and the overall mechanics and repair of such an older vehicle, and he was very smart to replace the old panel glass with safety glass.

@jesustorres85 You are right...thanks for calling me out on this! I had been in the car for eight hours leading up to this filming traveling from Northern Michigan and it was about 95 degrees that day. Which explains all the empty water bottles in the back seat. Craig...thanks for this video, it was a lot of fun...even if it was a toasty day outside! -Jonathan Klinger

definitely going to look into those led tail lights

Great experience.. I'm jealous.. wish I could do that myself

My grandparents had a Model A in the 1920’s and 30’s. In the winter they would drive it with out water in the radiator due to freezing. They would drive it until the engine block turned cherry red and pull over to wait for the engine to cool down. My father also told me you could run the car on kerosene in emergencies and it would emit blue smoke.

what is so special about a model a daily driver? I restored a model a just like that one and it didnt have sissy radial tires. It handled great! The brakes worked as good as any modern car. It was a great little car! I liked how you had full control of everything, which includes the brakes. You can adjust the brake bias any way you want. Too bad it wasn't my car. I would drive a model a every day if i could. I would restore one and no craigslist bought promo B.S.

Way better than my 365 days on a motorcycle in southern Wisconsin. Some winter storms I didn't want to go home from work. Hopefully I can still look at the website.

This video was longer than the entire 365 days of A series!

One word sums up this man and his car AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! I am so jealous Would love to try his experience in a model T At the moment I drive around in a 1962 Holden

ive been driving the same 85 Pontiac for the last 11 years and just picked up a 1950 dodge/Plymouth i hope to have going this fall

Damn that's cool, i love when people daily drive old cars. Myself i'm driving a 1964 Volvo Amazon during the spring, summer and autumn (not the winter due to salt on the roads). And even though it's a lot newer than a '32 Ford, it's still an experience every time you drive it.

@NathansBackwoods Be glad that you can do so! I can ONLY dream of driving vintage cars like the model A.

If I had to restore a model A, I would do exactly what you have done. But, probably not as good. Very nice job.

How did you keep warm in the winter when the housing around the exhaust manifold is missing?

When we lived in central New Hampshire we had a neighbor across the street with a 1928 Ford tudor and drove it year round, snow, sleet and all. Not a problem

I have an 06 Focus as my daily driver since I bought it new 13 years ago and it has never left me stranded, so I think that's a big improvement over his car.

I drive a 62 Fairlane and a 59 F -250 both are stock and original. Both have great heaters!

Enjoyed this video!

I love to watch videos of older cars because it makes my 1971 CHEVY truck seem brand new lol

I like the Henry Ford spirit of spartan, simple, reliable, strong, and inexpensive transportation.

In 2004 I drove a 1975 Pontiac Bonneville 4 door all the way from WV to MI and back. That's 1,400 miles plus all the in-town driving in Michigan and the trips to South Bend, IN and Benton Harbor. It was great driving that old bomb and gasoline was cheaper then.

GREAT! Idea for a show concept - how classic oldies rank next to modern automotive standards.

That's awesome! Cars are built to be driven!

There a few items that are more than stock on you Model A. You have a modern key, distributor and second brake light. I believe the 30 came stock with just driver’s side light.

A happy men ! i do that kind of challenge with my 1941 dodge club coup and is still the case today, i have my dodge since 2011 ^^ and every day, winter too i used my 41 dodge as a daily driver.

I used to Love mine! I would just put a K&M air cleaner on it. The Block can crack, if you don't have the Spark Advance set correctly.

you know, 40 hp for an 80 year old car is not bad imo... 40hp? some "modern" cars (1990-2005) had engines not far from that. i mean, why not use this as a daily? you have enough space, its closed and has got a conventional transmission. i´d take it.

im surprised it didnt have an oil bath air cleaner. i have a 1948 farmall cub it has an oil bath air cleaner. in allot of ways my tractor is similar to this car. 4 cylinder, flat head, updraft carburator. if you adapted an oil bath air cleaner you would avoid the risk of a paper element catching fire.

I'd like to see all the videos. There's only a handful on the website left.

What were the failures ? Rain and wet ignition wires? Excellent video.

Yes, I know this video is quite dated, but being a marine mechanic, smaller boat engines use a sort of an air filter, called a spark arrester. It prevents a back fire from flaming out into the engine bay. I own a 1955 Chris Craft runabout with just a more modern version of that Model A engine. It has an updraft carb and fitted with a metal mesh spark arrester. Just having that would filter out larger debris at least. Running with NO nothing on the intake is suicide for the engine IMO.

my first car, 1930 coupe. all thru high school, kept it running with a screwdriver and bailing wire.... literally. wish i had it back. in 1954 you could find gas at 10 cents a gallon. it had electrical issues so i gutted it and rewired with aircraft cable. surplus with boeing numbers on it. never had another problem. wish i had it back.

Lots of old cars had no heater. I have a couple of blankets my Mom said were lap blankets. Just long enough to cover the laps and legs of two people.

Nice I want an 28-29 one beauty car .. congrats

Bellissima! Wonderful👍👍👍

2door sedan Vicky L4motor was used in ww2jeeps as well, that motor probably went through several familys daily use before it sat for years id say its doing pretty well for a vehicle going on a hundred years old.

When I got my license at 16 my dad gave me a 73 bug I'm 31 now and still drive it cheap and reliable and at the time I hated it but now it's so cool thanks dad

Same color combo as one of my grandpa's model A's(except that this one is not dusty and in a barn)

A friends dad drove his Model A pickup almost every day,and this was in the early 1980's. It did most of the things he needed,and it seemed quite reliable. I can't see how really difficult a year driving that car would be so long as it was properly restored and in good condition when You started out. I've seen far worse cars on the road,and they were far more modern!

Is it like a Model T, where you have to grease and lube all the suspension and steering points every 500 miles? How long do plugs and points last? What sort of fuel - regular unleaded? These are the sort of things I need to know about daily driving an A - not how you carry groceries, or whether you have a cupholder.

wow I learned something. So I can't seem to find a definition for the word 'tudor' it seems like it was just a type of model A that Ford made. I wonder if they eventually changed it to 'two door coupe' kind of how the physical trunk in the back became a part of cars later.

Balanced crankshaft would be my choice for upgrade. Model As are heaven to drive seeing the world at 45 mph. They will almost go anywhere a jeep will go.

I plan on doing this as soon as I can find a Model A.

What a beautiful car.

He sounds just like Jeff Goldblum.

Could you put modern day rims and tires on that? Will it still run ok?

VERY NICE!

What a cool video.

It left you stranded 2 times and the engine cracked... thats reliable for you?

where did you get the LED tail light inserts?

Can we get a link for the new tires?

I am Aussie my grand dad drove a model A until 65, the family did not like this so bought him a new car, this ended his life of driving as he could not get used to it, he would put it in gear and spin the wheels, take of all over the road, the cops took his license, I remember going along Tascot straight between Gosford & Woy Woy when he opened it up it nearly hit 60 on the speedo that was a circle thing in the bottom of the gauge cluster, I remember my dad & my Irish uncle working on it and arguing, but it always seemed my dad was right, my uncle seemed good a swinging on the crank when the battery was flat and coming out with language about jesus fu crist at the age of twelve this was like he was talking Irish and thought it was great, my uncle Lyn took it back down to Sydney and it was lost in a flood, I could go on about cars but it would have to be in a book, I would like to tell you all about my Dads Hudson one day but that's another story..

Well know that my kids are all grown-up start to save for one. Make my dream come true. I love that car.

I hope you washed it alot. Michigan is terrible in winter with the use of salt. Beautiful Model A. I see you can get LED headlight inserts now too.

Have i skipped a part or they did not talked about MPG ?

LED taillights too. Probably not OEM.

Like & Hi from Michigan 🚂

Congratulations

"Don't let the Smoke out!"

How cool!

I had a 30’ Tudor all restored and drove it frequently but never in the snow. Not that I thought it wouldn’t do well, but it was the thought of running it through the road salt and chemicals the state and counties put on the streets these days. It would be rusted to the door handles in no time and I would hate to see that happen. It’s bad enough watching my modern vehicle start to rust.

I would love to do this

Any updates? Where is the car now?

Those things moved man I gotta get me one

365 days of a = 365 day sofa XD

What do you have to do to maintain a model A ford?

Model Ts only had a Brake Strap on the drivetrain, right?

Didn't mention the new distributor cap, and perhaps non original internal components. Great car, but I see no reason to change the distributor.

Antique automobile magazine did a story on my 31.... nice story

Do you still have the car?