{"id":2690,"date":"2006-06-01T02:19:00","date_gmt":"2006-06-01T06:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kitfoster.com\/carport\/2006\/06\/why-i-like-model-as\/"},"modified":"2010-12-30T12:02:04","modified_gmt":"2010-12-30T17:02:04","slug":"why-i-like-model-as","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.kitfoster.com\/carport\/2006\/06\/why-i-like-model-as\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I Like Model A’s"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Philip<\/a><\/p>\n

It’s probably a combination of heredity and environment. On May 9, 1930, my father Philip Foster<\/a>, whose 96th birthday would be today, bought a new Model A Ford Standard Roadster <\/a>from William T. Swackamer<\/a>, of Long Valley, New Jersey. He explained to me once that he went out of town, rather than buying from the dealer<\/a> in Morristown where he lived, because Mr. Swackhamer let him finance the car despite the fact that he was only 19 years old. He paid it off<\/a> within nine months. The total delivered price, including a spare tire cover<\/a>, spring covers and a “lever starter,” was $544.82<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The lever starter, which I’ve never seen on another Model A, operated the starting motor with a pull of the left hand<\/a>, as opposed to pushing a toadstool on the floor with one’s right foot<\/a>. Is this the “Upstarter” that I’ve seen mentioned in Model A circles?<\/p>\n

Everyone knows the Model A story. “Henry’s Lady” made her debut on December 2, 1927, bringing Model T<\/a> technology up to date and adding Lincoln style<\/a>. A myriad of body styles became available, “Tudor”<\/a> and “Fordor”<\/a> sedans, roadsters and coupes<\/a>, with and without rumble seats<\/a>. For 1930, the design was freshened with a taller radiator and smaller wheels<\/a>. A station wagon<\/a> (first offered in 1929) was in the catalog, as was a Cabriolet<\/a> with roll-up windows. Two of my favorite body styles are the two-door Deluxe Phaeton<\/a> and the 400A Convertible Sedan<\/a>. One of the least known is the 1931 Deluxe Pickup<\/a>, with only 293 built. You don’t hear much about Model As in competition, but the Brits have been known to rally them<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Model A’s were simple technology. Fuel feed was by gravity feed from cowl-mounted tank that also served as the dashboard<\/a>. The 200 cubic-inch engine<\/a> had torque and spunk; my friend Gene and I collected a whole bunch of Model A’s in the days when $25 would buy a driveable car and became so familiar that we could fix them in our sleep. Alas, I don’t think any pictures survive from that Model A period of my life.<\/p>\n

Dad’s Model A, however, was never available for experimentation. In the late 1930s he converted the rumble seat to a pickup box<\/a> for his woodworking business (this picture is a rare view – in my memory it was never left out in the weather). It was the first car I knew<\/a>, and the first I drove – sitting on Dad’s lap while he worked the pedals.<\/p>\n

From the early fifties it mostly slumbered. Brought out<\/a> in the early sixties for a stillborn restoration<\/a>, it returned to the barn as I went off the college. In 1980 I took possession and moved it<\/a> to my own garage. My parents<\/a> got a chance to drive it in 1984, but by that time I had neither the money nor the time to complete a restoration. It slumbers still<\/a>, straight, solid and dry. I will awaken it one day. Until then, each time I hear a Model A my heartbeat falls into its familiar rhythm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s probably a combination of heredity and environment. On May 9, 1930, my father Philip Foster, whose 96th birthday would be today, bought a new Model A Ford Standard Roadster from William T. Swackamer, of Long Valley, New Jersey. He explained to me once that he went out of town, rather than buying from the….<\/span>
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