Growing up with a Model A, by Mike Leisegang

As a child, of about seven, I rode in this car when it belonged to my father’s cousin in Bedfordview.

It had been bought new by an old man in Kensington (Johannesburg) and, when he passed away, his son dismantled the car with the idea of making a hotrod out of it. The project thankfully never took off. The car was subsequently found by a Mr Henry Bessinger who rescued it and brought it to his home in Bedfordview. My dad’s cousin Gordon Stewart, an avid Ford fanatic, while attending a children’s birthday party at Mr Bessinger’s house, saw the car in pieces in the garage and bought it. It was rebuilt to its current state sometime in the 1970s.

Gordon kept the car in a special spot in his garage, and it was only taken out on very special occasions. Getting it out of the garage meant moving many Ford Cortinas, Ford 20Ms and so on. He eventually retired and moved to Howick, taking the car with him. It again stood in a spot, the one farthest from the garage door, where the petrol tank corroded to a point at which the car was undriveable. It remained like that for 15 years until Gordon decided to sell it in 2012 on, of all unfortunately named places, “Junkmail”. I couldn’t let that happen so, in order to keep it in the family, I immediately approached him to arrange a deal.

We trailered the Model A from Howick and, once in Randburg, began stripping the fuel tank out. Silverton Radiators in Eloff Street did a marvellous job of cleaning the tank up. In the meantime my wife and I were frantically trying to find out more about motor car mechanics, those knowledgeable about Model As in particular, so that we could get the engine running. We learned a lot from the Internet and managed, eventually, to fire it up.

We subsequently discovered that there are many more Model As remaining in existence than we initially thought and, during 2013, the Model A Club of South Africa was formed. Within six years this nation-wide club grew to over 100 members – representing around 200 cars – making it, at the time, the biggest single-model club affiliated to the South African Vintage and Veteran Association (SAVVA).

Our trusty old Model A became known as ‘Betsy’ and she has given us endless fun and enjoyment. She is driven regularly and I often used to take her to work! Betsy has motored from Johannesburg to KZN twice, without a moment’s trouble, and we have been able to share her with Gordon Stewart whenever we visited him.

She has also visited the Sandstone Heritage Trust museum near Ficksburg twice:
https://museumexplorer.co.za/sandstone-heritage-museum/
https://www.sandstone-estates.com/

What a pleasure and joy to drive; and a completely different way to see our beautiful country! Betsy now lives in Howick and is often seen driving around town.

For those who “have to know”, here are some technical details:

Ford Model A 1928 – 1931

How did the Model A come about? It was derived from the Lincoln – and was affectionately called a “Baby Lincoln” – because Edsel Ford ran said motor company until his father brought him in, to help the ailing Ford company, when Model T sales were dropping in 1926/7.
Where was it made? There were 35 production plants in the USA. Cars destined for South Africa, and other Commonwealth countries, were produced in Windsor, Canada. Ford manufactured Model As in the United States, Canada, France, Germany and England. There were assembly plants in Australia, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, Japan, Denmark, Ireland, and Russia.
When was it made? 1928 (late 1927) – 1931
How many were made? Around 4 ½ to 5 million. It took VW’s Beetle much longer to reach such numbers by the way.
How many are in South Africa? Over 350; about half of which are running.
How much did it cost when new? $455 to $795
What are they worth now? In running, drivable condition, about R250 000 and upwards
How much does it weigh? 2,255 pounds, or 1,023 Kilograms
Where was the engine? In the front
What size is the engine ? 3,286 cc / 200.5 cu in. / 3.3 litre four-cylinder
How powerful is the engine? 40 HP (29.44 KW) @ 2,206 RPM
What about the gearbox? Manual: Three forward speeds, one reverse
What is the fuel consumption? Between 25 and 30 mpg (US), 8 to 12 km/l or 12.5 to 8.3 l/100 km. Those are official figures. South African owners of the time, who kept meticulous records, state that the best they ever achieved was 19 mpg Imperial or about 16 mpg US.
Front or rear wheel drive? Rear-wheel drive
How fast can it go? Top speed is around 65 mph (104 km/h). Official figure again; owners say that its top speed was more like 50 mph – unless one freewheeled downhill in order to save fuel.
How does it stop? Four-wheel mechanical drum brakes (300 working parts when the brake pedal is pressed).
Where is the petrol tank? In front of the windscreen – fuel is gravity-fed to the carburettor
How big is the petrol tank? 1928/29: 10 US gallons / 38 litres; 1930/31: 11 US gallons / 41 litres
How far can you go on a tank of fuel? About 250 km
How long is it? 103.5 inches, or 2.62 metres
Can you still get parts? Almost everything is still available; mostly from US suppliers
What about tyres? Tyre sizes: 1928 – 1929, 440/450 x 21. 1930-on, 475/500 x 19.
Recommended inflation pressure: 35 psi = about 2.4 bar.
Tyres have to be imported from the USA

Some fun facts: The Model A

1. Had higher annual production figures (1.2 million per year) than the Model T (773,000 per year).
2. Was the first Ford to use the standard set of driver controls with conventional clutch and brake pedals, throttle and gearshift.
3. Was the first Ford to wear the famous Blue Oval radiator badge as we know it today.
4. Canadian Model A Fords had black radiator badges
5. Was the first car to have safety glass
6. Model As have been to the South Pole.
7. Model A engines have been used to power aeroplanes
8. The Soviet Union company GAZ, that started as a cooperation between Ford and the Soviet Union, made a licensed version of the Model A from 1932-36.
9. Rarest Model A is the 1931 Town Car Delivery

Views: 14

This article, written just over 21 years ago by a friend who is no longer with us, tells the tale of how he borrowed another bride-car chauffeur’s wedding chariot because his own was VOR (vehicle off road) at the time.

Let us be clear, at the outset, that this piece is nothing other than flattering, but when the owner of a car is called Melville and the car in question is white, 5.7m long and 1.97m wide, what can spring to mind other than that epic tale of mammalian marine life?

The story starts back in September when a bride-to-be, planning her wedding, called around to view Hortense my Daimler One-O-Four Auto. Although effusive in her praise of Hortense’s styling, presence and general understated elegance, there was one problem. The car is green, Balmoral Green admittedly, but green nevertheless. This good lady never sets foot in green cars, and would certainly not be travelling to her wedding in a green car.

However, as she was about to leave, she spotted Lydia my S-Class Mercedes which, apart from being commodious, is white – a colour often associated with weddings and, in the eyes of the impending bride, a lucky colour.

This turned out to be a mistake as, to cut a long story short, Lydia was unexpectedly detained – mere hours before the wedding – at Garden City Motors waiting for a part to be sent out from Sindlefingen, and was therefore temporarily unavailable. And so it was that I turned to Colin Melville, owner of another Daimler, the later model DS 420, who at one-hour’s notice kindly offered to loan his car to me.

In the first paragraph we have already considered some of the Daimler DS 420 statistics, but here are some more: The car weighs in excess of 42 cwt ( 2 139kg ), has a floor pan 20 ins longer than a Mark X Jaguar and is a genuine 7/8-seater. A more than adequate top speed of 115 mph (184 km/h) and acceleration of 0-100 km/h in 12 seconds was, and still is, quite excellent. On the market between 1968 and 1995 it proved to be one of Jaguar-Daimlers longest-lived marques.

Styled by the old master, William Lyons, there are strong cues derived from the Hooper coach-built Empress line, sweeping lines, hooded headlights all reminiscent of the mid-fifties Docker days. This gives the car phenomenal elegance despite its sheer bulk, although to my mind white is probably the least flattering colour for these limousines.

Colin’s car was built by Vanden Plas in London – later cars were built in Coventry – and still sports the flying “D” above the radiator grille. These were later banned in the interests of safety although no one can supply me with any figures on how many people were actually killed by flying Ds. It has a fascinating history, employed as it was in the carriage trade for 30 years. The list of people who have travelled in the back is extensive and impressive.

So what was it like to drive such a car? At the end of a day that saw two return trips from Howick to Nottingham Road on the Old Road, and some VERY tight manoeuvring outside Lysna Mallard guest house, I admit to have been exhausted. This was partly due to the nervous tension of driving someone else’s huge car at someone else’s wedding, and partly due to the driving position of the car.

Passengers in the back were able to spread out in comfort, and I was able to seal them off. At the touch of a button the glass partition between the driver and the passengers sweeps shut. However this is a limousine and the driver comes last. Every limousine I have ever driven, admittedly only four, has had appalling driver space. You sit tight up against the steering wheel with your knees on backwards to press pedals that seem to be tucked away high under the dash.

The power train is pure Jaguar Mark X/420G although the 4.2-ltr XK engine in this case has twin, not triple, carburettors producing only 245 bhp. The front and rear suspension is of Bob Knight design and exudes the usual Jaguar artistry. The big limousine has phenomenal road holding and handling with a smoothness that is still impressive and enjoyable 30 years later. Impressive also were the brakes – discs all around naturally. Despite the cramped driver space I must admit to have enjoyed the experience. The car cannot be described as nimble, but it is surprisingly agile in the manner of a sumo wrestler dressed in a well-cut suit.

But is it really a Daimler? Well yes and no. It has many Daimler characteristics, that of huge size, understated elegance (at least when compared with current limousines or indeed the Crewe product) It has striking styling from most angles, clearly derived from Daimler DNA, and it has four-wheel disc brakes – a Daimler characteristic on all models from 1958 – and of course automatic transmission (Daimler dumped conventional gearboxes in 1931). Critics will point to the XK engine and point out that the Turner designed 4.5-ltr V8 should have been used. This is correct, but this XK engine has been set up to provide huge gobs of refined low-end torque (I never needed more than 2 500 rpm the whole day) which is a strong Daimler characteristic.

Perhaps the most compelling evidence to suggest that Sir William Lyons and the lads at Jag understood the Daimler approach was the way in which the Bride, wearing an impossible dress, managed to get through the door and into the back seat. Statically chic, the dress was about five feet wide at the base and needed three people to move it. Can you imagine getting that through the back door of a Mark 2?

WJ Quigley

Some technical stuff:

Powertrain

Engine manufacturer:

Jaguar XK6 4.2-Litre

Engine type: spark-ignition 4-stroke

Fuel type: gasoline (petrol)

Fuel system: 2 carburettors

Dimensions & capacities

Length: 5740 mm / 226 in

Width: 1968 mm / 77.5 in

Height: 1619 mm / 63.75 in

Wheelbase: 3581 mm / 141 in

Front track: 1473 mm / 58 in

Rear track: 1473 mm / 58 in

Ground clearance: 177 mm / 7 in

Turning circle btw. kerbs: 14.02 m / 46 ft

Drag coefficient Cd estimated by a-c: 0.44

Frontal area A estimated by a-c: 2.64 m2

Drag area CdA estimated by a-c: 1.164 m2

Charge system: naturally aspirated

Valves per cylinder: 2

DOHC

Cylinders alignment: Line 6

Displacement: 4235 cm3 / 257.5 cui

Bore: 92.07 mm / 3.62 in

Stroke: 106 mm / 4.17 in

Compression ratio: 7.5 : 1

Horsepower net: 123 kW / 167 PS / 165 hp (DIN)/ 4250 rpm

Torque net: 312 Nm / 230 ft-lb/ 3000 rpm

Gearbox: Borg Warner BW 12

Transmission type: automatic

Number of gears: 3

Traction: RWD (rear-wheel drive)

Final drive ratio std: 3.54

Standard tyres: 205/70 HR 15

Top speed: 177 km/h / 110 mph

Acceleration:
0-100 km/h (s): 14.8
0-160 km/h (s): 53.1
0-60 mph (s): 14.0
0-100 mph (s): 54.4

Kerb weight (without a driver): 2210 kg / 4872 lbs

Dry weight: 2133 kg / 4702 lbs

Views: 6

!998 Toyota Corolla review

Twenty-plus: 1998 Toyota Corolla 130 GLE (E-110)

Not for sale

Pics by author

Originally posted: 19 December 2017

The numbers
Engine: Toyota 2E-ELU, 1296 cc, SOHC belt driven, 12-valve, inline four
Power: 55 kW at 6200 rpm
Torque: 103 Nm at 4200 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: About 13.8 seconds
Maximum speed: 160 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: See text
Tank: 60 litres
Boot: 360 litres
Ground clearance: 150 mm
Turning circle: Between kerbs 9.6 m, between walls 10.4 m
Brakes: 243 mm solid discs, 200 mm drums
Suspension: McPherson struts with gas-filled shock absorbers, front and rear
Tare: 936 kg
GVM: 1450 kg

My personal car, a Toyota Corolla 130 GLE, is an anachronism. It’s not very powerful or even especially economical. But we’re together and she isn’t for sale.

First registered on 15th January 1998, my little oriental shopping trolley (Gigi, the Grocery Getter) entered my life second-hand on 1st July 2000. Until then it had been a Toyota SA office car used, I suspect, as a gofer; running errands and ferrying personnel to and from the airport. I figured it for a good buy reasoning that, being a “factory” car, it would have been well looked after and serviced meticulously.

I picked it up from my local Toyota dealership with 55 000 km on the clock. Priced at R59 000, it represented a saving of roughly R15 000 over what it had cost new. The paint looked immaculate and everything appeared ship-shape but there were to be surprises in store.

It served as my daily driver until early 2008 when press cars took over my life. Since then it’s only used regularly for five to six weeks a year when the factories shut down for the holiday season and test vehicles are withdrawn for safekeeping.

Driving other people’s vehicles most of the time blurs one’s grasp on reality until certain “facts” become ingrained. I mean, every car has ABS brakes, airbags, electric windows and mirrors, power steering, all manner of electronic safety aids and wondrous connectivity, right? Well, no. Most didn’t twenty-pus years ago. A few expensive cars boasted some of the up and coming modern conveniences but little Corollas and similar budget vehicles generally did without.

Gigi is horrifyingly basic by today’s standards; she has no airbags at all although a single restraint was offered optionally overseas. Forget, also, about power steering; central locking; ABS brakes with or without EBA and EBD; ESP; automatic climate management; cruise control, adaptive or otherwise; powered windows and mirrors; a rev counter; height adjustment for the driver’s seat; reversing camera; a touch-screen infotainment centre or even Bluetooth.

That came bundled with a radio and CD-player combination I bought to replace the original cassette tape machine when that technology went the way of the buggy whip. As for automatic locking on the move, follow-me lighting or auto-on lights and wipers, you jest, surely?

Do I miss all that stuff? Some, yes, but just a little. I miss power steering the most because low speed manoeuvering is difficult for the first couple of weeks until one gets accustomed to doing without.

My conscience says that airbags save lives but my practical voice objects that many users have also been seriously injured when bags deployed – and there’s the worrying thought that the world’s largest manufacturer of them sank into bankruptcy after multiple recalls resulting from unscheduled incidents.

As for ABS brakes with all the add-ons, I grew up in an age when youngsters were taught how to drive rather than to fudge their ways through the test. You overcome aquaplaning by braking in short, sharp jabs rather than by panicking. ESP becomes unnecessary if you drive sensibly. I cringe when drivers lurch around the sharpest of corners, at high speed and in top gear, while trusting man-made electronics to shield them from the laws of physics.

Automatic climate control is nice but my car came with factory fitted air-conditioning that works 90-percent as effectively. Powered windows and mirrors are for the lazy but I do miss central locking. I also miss having a rev counter but it was one of the trade-offs one makes when buying any new, or new-to-oneself, car.

I accept that many drivers are shorter than I am, so they might regret not having an adjustable seat but that isn’t my problem in this particular car. There is more than enough headspace and my eyes are level with the centre of the windscreen – where they should be.

“Missing” gadgets, like reversing cameras, blind spot monitoring, lane keeping assistance and following distance control are de-necessitated by two simple, old-fashioned rules: look where you’re going, and stay alert.

Oh yes, the surprises. From the beginning, the car tended to bottom out when crossing gutters with a third person on board. I thought they all did that and shrugged it off as one of Life’s little trials. After new dampers all around however, replacing the rubber bump stops and fitting new rear springs, the car was transformed. I should have done it earlier.

The other surprises included finding shards of glass under the carpets after a few months of ownership and bubbling paintwork, on both left doors, that appeared years later. It was attributed by a local panel beater to shoddy surface preparation. I guess the mollycoddling expected of a factory-owned car was actually a myth. We live and learn.

Thankfully, the Corolla has cost very little to run. In the course of a further 85 000 kilometres and almost eighteen years, I have used up one clutch assembly and two sets of tyres, replaced front brake discs and rear drums once each, visited the CV joint guy twice, replaced a section of front seat fabric, done up the suspension (see above) and the radiator’s top tank rusted through. Apart from the necessary repair and cleaning, the cylinder head obviously needed attention too. Beside that, ordinary servicing, including a precautionary new camshaft belt at 80 000 km, was all it needed.

The old 2-E motor (other markets enjoyed the 1331 cc, twin-cam, 16-valve 3-E by that time) isn’t particularly powerful or economical. It is carburettor-fed and variable valve timing was still new back then, so performance is not exactly exciting. But it gets the job done. Little pleasures include a slight power surge as the second stage of the carb kicks in at about half throttle and the way it picks up its skirts when the cam starts working hard at around 4000 rpm. Modern 1300s have nothing to fear from it, however.

Careful driving on long trips returns about 15 kilometres per litre while town use requires around 10. Thanks to decently sized windows all around and a fairly tight turning circle, it handles and parks easily while a roofline that doesn’t slope away to nothing means that those in the back can sit comfortably. The boot is very reasonable at 360 litres (See pic below) and split rear seat backs can be laid down to provide more volume. Runflats and space savers were still novelties back then, so the spare is fully sized.

Current book value is around R30 000 but a dealer told me I shouldn’t accept a cent less than R60 000. Current on-line asking prices for Corollas of this vintage seem to bear this out but, as I tell enquirers regularly, we’re together and she isn’t for sale.

As this clipping from a January, 2020 newspaper shows, the boots of Corollas like mine (this one belonged to a stock thief) can hold two small goats.

END

Views: 23