I've been trolling around the internet, and I came across "Joe's Old Cars." Joe's got a pair of 1929 Ford Model A Pickups, one red, one green. Both are roadsters. Both look to be in pretty solid condition. I talked to the missus, and she told me to go ahead and get one. I'm gonna have a friend that lives considerably closer drop by & take a closer look. And send me a bunch of pics. I'm most interested in the green one, I think...
Friend got delayed by vacation, but finally made it over. Green one got sold already. The red (maroon, really) one is still available. Friend checked them out & sent me pics and e-mails. I quote them here:
Tom,
Met Joe at his body shop garage. He seems to be a pretty decent
down to earth guy. It turns out the green truck was sold to someone
he met at the Carlisle Auto Show. That being the case, there would
have been nothing either of us could have done. He mentioned that
there have been several inquiries about the red truck but no money.
He did indicate that he would deal on the truck but the first
person with the cash would get it. One thing I noticed is no
registration. He said that would be taken care of before the
vehicle left his place.
Here are his comments:
Carb had been rebuild
New distributor, points and plugs
Engine was not cleaned up so it would look original
Wheel bearing have been repacked
Water pump shaft repacked
He said new tires but they don't look new. They are not cracked or
tread worn as far as I could see.
New wood has been installed in the bed
New top for cab is in box in back. Not installed because some
buyers don't care for a top.
New plates for cab floor in truck, not installed
Truck is road worthy and fun to drive
Here are my comments:
Truck is missing horn.
Electric has been rewired but I didn't think to have him turn on
lights for me.
There is a fist size hole in the driver side seat, back toward the
back
Metal on truck looks good. No rust holes or patches that I could
see.
Paint is solid but scratched and dinged a bit. No flaking chips
that I could see.
Padding or interior covering on inside of doors missing.
Seat will have to be replaced or reupholstered if you plan to
restore.
There is a secret to opening the drivers door that involves moving
the interior handle a certain way.
If you are looking for a fun truck to drive around, this would fit
the bill. If you are looking to do a full restoration, there are
really good bones here. He quoted my wife $$$$ but again he seemed
willing to bargain with the first person that had the cash.
Hope all this helps. I am sure there is something that I have
forgotten to include so when my weak mind remembers, it will be
coming to you. Any thing else I can do to help, just holler.
Carl
I told you there would be things I forgot to mention.
Engine was not cleaned up so it would look original
Internal parts of engine rebuilt. Tag on side with name of person
that did the job. External engine not cleaned so it would look
halfway original.
He wanted to know our connection. I told him that you and Brian had
met through the military and that I was asked to take a look at the
truck since I lived a lot closer.
Carl
Carl's pictures he took for me...
Overall, it looks pretty clean, but I'm doubting the veracity of the claim of the engine having been rebuilt. At least not any time recently. Any time I've rebuilt an engine, I've dropped it in a dip tank, to clean out the journals & whatnot, and it took any paint right off the block...
After much agonizing, I decided to buy the truck. Needed to have a place to keep it, though, and this sissy little "suburban" garage can barely house my motorcycle.
After talking with the missus, we decided to build a garage in the back yard. Then, we figured out we couldn't fit anything but a small shed back there without running afoul of county ordinances.
While measuring it all out, and figuring the bad news, the neighbor suggested we just build a two-car onto the front, This would give me two bays wide, and one bay that was about two deep. This sounded reasonable to me - plenty of room to work on the truck, park the cycle, and even give my lovely other half a place to park inside, as well!
No dice. Asked the HOA for permission, and they came back with "It overpowers the lot." I called and asked what that meant, and if there was any way to get approval. The answer was: "We've never approved an addition to the front of someone's house, and we don't see any reason to start now."
Dagnabit. What a bummer. I can see their point, but heck, ... grrr...
Decided not to buy the truck, right after I'd told Joe I would. Really bummed. The missus told me I'd likely never get another chance, and I should really think about it. Spur of moment, I decided I'd clean out the garage and the back "shed," and work with it.
Note: The back shed is ~19 x 14.5 ft, with a 7ft ceiling. Plan to somehow pave the (currently gravel) floor, and put in a bigger door. Will park motorcycle there during crummy weather.
Decided to "pave" the whole floor, fix the workbench, and put in a large door. Not only will this bive me the bike parking I need, but will give me a small work shop. I'll store truck parts back there while we're working on them. With any luck, it'll work out well enough that I can find a bolt if (whn) I drop it. The floor is currently ~3" deep in gravel, so we'll see what I can do.
Dropped by Home Depot. Ordered 2 full pallets of 1x1 ft paving stones. Also two 4x8 ft sheets of 3/4" Oak plywood. They'll be delivered this Friday, and I can get to work.
It arrived!
It took an extra day to get here. The poor guy that delivered it had a break down a few hours out. After he drove off, I fired it up and drove it around the cul de sac. I'll take some videos, later, of how to start & operate the thing for people who are interested. Time to go back to work...
Last modified on 12/18/11