It was a snowy day, the second one in a row toward the end of April. The temperature hasn’t gotten out of the lower 40s. It started out at 27 degrees this morning. The weeks, no, the whole month before was characterized by weather in the 50s and 60s with an occasional 70s thrown in. The trees were all out, much too early we all knew. My peach trees were in full bloom and even the cool weather crops in the garden were planted more than a week ago. Now, I don’t know if my peach crop will make it through this snow and freeze. It had been an early, wonderful spring in Northern Ohio, not something we often experience. Usually, March and April are cold and blustery. Even the maple syrup season was cut several weeks short by the warm weather. Now this………..back to winter! Two days of waking up to this spectacle—three inches of snow covering the yards, the pavement, the cars, everything, is — well — downright depressing. Granted, the rising sun backlighting the coated trees is eerily beautiful, and by afternoon most of the snow will be melted off and gone. But right now, my truck is blanketed in snow. I’ll have to brush it all out and off to get a cache’ of old car parts into the bed We had scheduled this day, Thursday, the 22nd of April as the day we would pick up another pile of parts which was in reality a complete chassis, engine and running gear of a 1930 Model “A” . Surely this late into April would be safe from snow to haul it out of the barn and up a grassy slippery path.
So, how did we find this one? Oftentimes we hear of an old car needing to be hauled away—gossip or chit chat at the parts store or the local gathering place. Jerry’s Amish friends often tip him off to old cars in barns. Or we might follow up an ad in the local papers, check it out to see if it is indeed a Model “A” or something else. Most people don’t know the difference between a Model “T”, Model “A”, 1930s Fords, or basically any prewar car. An old car is just an old car with those funny squared off roof lines usually sitting in a field or barn. But they all need to be checked out. Maybe it turns out to be a Chevrolet, or a Hudson, or a 1939 Ford. No, we don’t want those, but you never-the-less make a mental note of where that car is located and at some point, pass on that information to a corresponding Chevy, Hudson or Ford V-8 guy. Old car guys are a sort of a fraternity. You see them, recognize their cars at local car shows, swap meets and gatherings. And you pass on information and they pass back information.
We originally found this Model “A” in an ad in the local papers late last summer. It read Model “A” complete chassis and assorted parts–$2500. And it was located nearby in Geauga County. We went and looked, noted that, in fact, the parts were clean and not junk. Jerry bought a couple manifolds. Old Ford manifolds are famous for warping due to the extreme engine heat thus causing exhaust leaks in the engine compartment and messing with your timing not to mention imparting carbon monoxide into the primitive, exhaust manifold heating systems. We noted the complete chassis and pile of parts loaded on and around it in the middle of the shop. It had great potential. But as the pandemic was in full rage and everything was shut down, we decided to pass on the car for now. Who knew when this covid thing would end or begin to let up? I did file it away though in the back of my mind for future perusal.
I also did a story, published in October 2020 in “The Villager” titled “Discovering a Real Gem”. The gem, of course, was Jack! In it I lauded the merits of the owner, Jack (last name and address withheld by request), and recounted his long history in restoring multitudes of cars including some very famous automobiles in the very barn/workshop we were going to pull this Model “A” out of. Jack is 85 years old now and still restoring cars. He says that that is what keeps him going. He is amicable and a downright nice guy. He is finishing up a 1928 Model “A” roadster pickup—“I was working on it last fall when you came by, but I need a hot, sunny day to stretch the convertible top into place, so it’s still just about where you saw it last fall. I thought that this early spring might provide that, but no, not yet”`
My friend Jerry Siracki is the other half of the “we” in many of my old car stories. We are both Vietnam Veterans, about the same age-74- and suffering from various age related maladies. But he is still walking and turning wrenches. Me, not so much! I brought him into the Model “A” club some ten years ago when I was still able to do restoring and working on my vehicles. Jerry has increasingly been my rescuer ever since my physical disabilities got the best of me. As I have been increasingly unable to work on my cars, he has taken up the slack. We check out old cars for sale for guys in the club. We check out parts for sale. You can never have enough parts! Or we drag one of my cars to an engine/body shop for repairs. Of course, he will never accept any remuneration from me. So, my defined roll any more is to do what I can to find him Model “A” parts. He is the go-to guy in the club for parts and expertise. Likewise, I will never accept any remunerations from him on parts that I locate for him. As it is I could never pay him back for all that he has done for me.
As this pandemic is slowly beginning to finally wane, in the roller decks of my brain I remembered the ‘30 Model “A” chassis in Geauga county. Jerry’s parts endeavor has been picking up steam by the day as people are beginning to venture out, back to gatherings and clubs. I think to myself; Jerry could really use these parts about now. So, I paid Jack a visit and we struck up a deal for the chassis and parts.
Getting the car out of the old barn and up the snow covered grassy slippery slope was a bit of a challenge to say the least. While you could roll the chassis out of the barn by hand, a 150 ft electric winch had to be employed to drag it up the hill and onto the trailer. Likewise, a couple rear ends and a front axle and spring came out of a long sleep in the weeds. As well, boxes of left-over parts from previous Model “A” restorations came off the shelf and into the truck bed including a pile of body sheet metal—fenders, hoods and such. Jack commented, “Now I can fill up that empty shelf space with more parts”, likely Model “T” parts he was accumulating to finish the 1918 Depot Hack sitting on blocks in the back of the shop.
Packing the car and parts into Jerry’s garage/shop took some doing. Originally the parts were going to go to a storage shed down the road. But this complete chassis almost ready to be started and run proved too tempting for Jerry. It’s in the back of the garage now and will likely be running soon. You really hate to see a complete running chassis get parted out. It can very well end up stored in the back of my barn until we can find a new home for it. I really feel that it should be resurrected to join the ranks of one of the estimated 4 million Model “A”s still in existence.
