Model A's go to B

[BrianWilliams]

"B" is Bowen Island.

Inspired by hergfest's classic car roadtrip, I'll seize this opportunity to show a happy encounter in Sep 2004.

Jeannie and I sailed with our mutts to Bowen on a sunny Sunday morning. Holy-moly, at 9 am, Queen Of Capilano was full (no sweat for us walk-ons, but what a carload).

Ford Model A's, in every colour and body style. What a treat. Victoria coach, maroon over black:



A Nile green and cream roadster. Our Bo muttered "Hey, look at me, not that hunk of iron!"



A's were pretty small cars, as shown by this 3-member family jammed into their roadster's one seat:



We met the A's later while we rambled the island. Hmm, a gangster convention in the woods?



No, just the Lions Gate Model A Club hangin' out.

Best of the bunch: a Rainier Blue and cream 1928 roadster with sidemounts. Pretty sharp.



It was fun to meet a few of the people and see their very nice cars.

I am a car enthusiast, in a small way. I don't care much for Model A's. Though they are charming, A's are primitive cars. That's no fault of their lovers today, but Ford was 20 years behind when the A appeared in 1927. Flimsy frames, abysmal brakes and the anemic side-valve 4 motor that came right from the T.

There were more surprises when I was a kid, 40 years ago. A pal was rebuilding a 1927 A on the cheap. He found 1947 Ford Anglia motor and suspension parts in a local junkyard: they were exact matches for A components.

[Balfour]

Those are all beautiful cars. I'm a fan of old cars that are from way before my time

[Queen of Nanaimo Teen]

I am to, but before my time is the 60's/70's. I love the cadillacs!

[Mike C]

L king good Brian!

Nice vehicles btw.

[hergfest]

I'll take my muscle cars over Model A's anyday. You can actually drive them, which is what I like about the hobby.

[Curtis]

I would love to see some 60s cars aboard a 60s Ferry it would be nice to see that although I always think our ferries look sort of modern on the outside since they were still around when I was born which wasn't that long ago of course It's like BC Ferries is stuck in the late 80s Early 90s not including the Skeena Queen and the Pacificats of course

[Balfour]

hergfest said:

I'll take my muscle cars over Model A's anyday. You can actually drive them, which is what I like about the hobby.

Gotta love those muscle cars. My fave is the 1965 Rambler Marlin

[Fenklebaum]

Where's the joy in driving something that big? You're hemmed by your machine.

The definitive automotive extravaganza is more commonly known as the Lotus Super Seven.

[Doug]

fenklebaum said:

Where's the joy in driving something that big? You're hemmed by your machine.

The definitive automotive extravaganza is more commonly known as the Lotus Super Seven.

I'm surprised you didn't say the horse and chariot...!

[Doug]

I'd probably say my favourite muscle car would be the '69 Charger.



However, I do like many others....

[Retrovision]

I'd honestly have to go with this model myself....





[glow=yellow,2,300]...It's even [/glow][glow=blue,2,300]chauffeured[/glow]

[Balfour]

GM Fishbowl, now that's retro!

[Mike C]

yeah lol.

This one is even on limited service.

[hergfest]

I have some pics of my Charger and my buddies six pack Challenger on the Oak Bay from last year. We were on the upper car deck. I will be taking the New West over in the 68 Polara ragtop Labor Day weekend.

[Doug]

LOL. Polara is a boat...how many miles to the gallon do you get on that thing? We got a real beat up one hidden away in the trees at our place...a '67, but it burns oil (a quart a day apparently).

[hergfest]

I drove it to LA a couple of weeks ago for a car show and I got 15.5 MPG, gotta love it!

[BrianWilliams]

Herg: you're 100% right on Model A's.

They are cute, and kinda nostalgic if you were born before 1910. In fact, they are awfully primitive cars, 'way behind the times even when introduced.

No disrespect to A fans, but their current popularity is partly due to the millions that were made, so there are still lots of survivors. As I mentioned above, British Ford's postwar Anglia was a Model A with sleeker body. Those 1947-51 imports have supplied a lot of Canadian restorers with A parts.

Me? As a kid in the 60's, I was a fan of Brit sports cars. MG and Triumph were OK, but especially Morgan, Lotus, Healey, TVR ... beyond dreaming were Jags and Aston-Martins.

I had a few pals with all the above (except Aston-Martin). Then I joined the club with a Rover 2000 TC. For a year, my sedan was the road trip car of choice. Leather seats for five, near V-8 performance from the twin carb motor (California in 15 hours).

Then the silky-smooth trans packed up; just the linkage, but a nightmare to put right. Then the Lucas electrics. Aggh.

There's an old joke: "Why do Englishmen drink warm beer? -- Because their refrigerators are made by Lucas."

[BrianWilliams]

Not to beat this car topic to death, but worth thinkin' about:

I was finally disappointed by my Rover. In its 10 years, I replaced ALL the electrical components (starter, generator, hi-tension wiring and dash instruments); the 10:1 OHC hemi head warped, and was replaced by a more reliable wedge-head from an Austin spec; which meant new pistons and shorter con rods.

I wound up with a low performance car, for about the original cost all over again. When the clutch burned out 10 years ago, I gave the b*gger away to a Rover car club. Perhaps my ol' ruby-red beauty is appearing at show 'n shines. I hope so.

The Rover 2000, for all its quality faults, was a well-conceived car in 1960. Four-wheel disc brakes, independent suspension and safety cage construction. The old Rover isn't special today, but Ralph Nader cited it as "the safest car" in his "Unsafe At Any Speed" book 40 years ago.

Rover's trunk and hood were aluminum -as I learned to my expense when some small repairs were needed- But the underlying construction was sound. In a catastrophic collision, the Rover's steel passenger cage was designed to ride above the impact. The central body was a wedge of steel, built to pop over the front or rear, intact.

Rover's simple 3-point seatbelts were bolted to the interior frame. Again, not a surprise today, but unusual in passenger cars 40 years ago.

In general: older cars are pretty to see, but can be a pain -even deadly- to drive. A few years ago, I considered buying a 1939 Buick as a hobby car. 5,000 lbs of dark-blue beauty, with a big ol' straight 8 motor that hummed. Dam' car had NO brakes! Well, it had 1939 brakes that took all my weight to stop for a red light.

You bet, I'll take a hemi 'Cuda, Daytona or Boss 305 with front discs, radial tires and swaybars over an older car.

[BrianWilliams]

GM fishbowls are old, happy memories for me ... but some Vancouver bus riders may wonder where have the Brills gone?

Y'all remember our humble 1948 trollies? They worked until the late 1980's, then disappeared. These busses were built in Canadian Car's Fort William, Ontario plant.

Cancar built aircraft for WW2, then turned to civilian work.

Cancar's best were the Brills (licensed from a US company). Fort William's aluminum streetcars and busses are indestructible.

Here's the evidence: 20 years after retirement, now collected in faraway Sandon, BC:

[CN2972South]

mainlander101 said:

yeah lol.

This one is even on limited service.

Uggh, I'll take a Fishie over a Flyer/New Fyler anyday.

Limited service?? They are the only Trolley coaches in Vancouver and are used a lot.

[Mike C]

No. I mean they can only go so far (i.e. can't use 'em in Surrey/Delta). They can only be found in Burnaby/Vancouver.

That is what I mean by Limited Service. Not by how often they run (which is about every 5 minutes) but where they can go.

[Neil]

I see they're recycling the serial numbers of the old Brills. I don't get into Vancouver very often- is that trolley bus pictured above (2101) common on city streets now?

[Mike C]

It's getting to be - The most common place to see them is at UBC. That's right, that's a New Flyer 2101, doing as demonstration, down at UBC (Main Loop). They're also common around Main Street Station, Broadway Station, VCC Clarke Station, Commercial Drive Station, and Alma Loop.

[Balfour]

Just go downtown, and you will see a Trolley Bus.

[Mike C]

Another funny thing about the 2101's, is that (lol) just like Translink promised, they've got features that make it easier for "Passengers with Disabilities" to get on and off the bus.

Here's some stats of the new 2005 New Flyer/ Kiepe E40LF #2101: www.barp.ca/bus/bctransit/vancouver/newflyer/e40lf/