See below for this car’s story

I was a kid in Kansas City, MO in the late ‘70s and grandpa had an errand for me. He had just bought a Model A and wanted help driving it home. I don’t remember the body style or color other than ‘dark’ and that it was pretty beat up. I do remember how excited he was and sitting next to him in the passenger seat on the way home with his new prize. He had ‘settled’ on that one because what he really wanted was a Sport Coupe. He worked on and used it for a while, swapping for another A or two before he found a Sport Coupe. He traded up in the early ‘80s and I have that car now. He absolutely loved his ’31 Sport Coupe and was tinkering on it all the time. I remember him being so excited when he got a rumble seat step pad for Christmas one year. It was only after I received a voltage regulator for Christmas this year and was also delighted, that I realized he had probably picked it out himself just like me, but was tickled all the same. Christmas or the random large family gathering almost always included rides in the A.

I always loved his As and would go visit the garage just for the fuel and upholstery smells and to sit and do very inaccurate drawings of them. He made it clear when he passed in ’05 that he wanted my uncle to have it (his eldest). For a variety of reasons my uncle was not able to keep it but everyone wanted it to stay in the family. My dad bought it from my uncle and stored it in a shed at another uncle’s for a while until it made its way to North Carolina where my folks live. There my mom and dad enjoyed it until 2021 when they gave it to me. I had been coveting it for decades but did not have the room or the finances for it. I decided that my 1939 Ford pickup would have to be relegated to the driveway with a car cover or I would never get the car. My dad had just retired so they trailered it here from NC. My dad had put new tires on it, the first in 40 years! He also relocated the spare from a fiberglass side mount to the rear where it belongs but generally just did maintenance and enjoyed it periodically on fairy level roads. Soon after arriving here it became clear that the tired motor would not be up to the hills of Altadena where I live. With lots of help from a more experienced friend, I determined that a valve job should help until I could build a new engine for it. I had never done anything like that before and my friend kindly held my hand along the way. For some reason I had a hard time getting the head gasket to seal, with it pushing water out the filler neck on acceleration. I tried a number of things before finally giving up and pulling the head again. The second one did not seal at first either, but did after a couple of weeks to my delight. It runs better (good enough) as hoped so now I can start on a full rebuild for it. My son has taken an interest in grandpa’s A and was in the Model A club for the year he was at Pasadena High School. It looks promising that grandpa’s Model A will get passed on to the next generation of our family. It is now most often referred to a great grandpa’s A!

-Scott

Unfortunately, “Great Grandpa’s Model A” as well as Scott’s ’39 Ford pickup, along with the family’s house, were destroyed in the Eaton fire.

-Howard