MODEL A FEATURES THAT MANY DON'T KNOW ABOUT?

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Like, WHERE does the transmission vent?, WHERE is the Zenith float chamber vent?, how many turns of the crankshaft does it take, to fire ALL 4 cylinders?, which way does the distributor turn, whichaway does the cam turn, how many head bolts are there, can the ACKERMAN Angle be adjusted, are threads 1 or 2 continuous grooves, is low gear FASTER than REVERSE, or whatever you can think of!!
Bill W.

[tbirdtbird]

Bill, what is with the trick questions?
such as "how many turns of the crankshaft does it take, to fire ALL 4 cylinders?"

Suppose you have a 6-cyl car? or an 8-cyl car? then how many turns
Geez my brain is gonna explode

[DaWizard]

Like, WHERE does the transmission vent?, WHERE is the Zenith float chamber vent?, how many turns of the crankshaft does it take, to fire ALL 4 cylinders?, which way does the distributor turn, whichaway does the cam turn, how many head bolts are there, can the ACKERMAN Angle be adjusted, are threads 1 or 2 continuous grooves, is low gear FASTER than REVERSE, or whatever you can think of!!
Bill W.

*takes a deep breath*

Ok, I think I know a few of these....

Tranny vents through a small hole in the rear of the shifter tower.
Not sure where the carb vents
Takes 2 full turns to fire all 4 cylinders. (it actually takes 1¾ turns to fire all 4 cylinders, the last ¼ turn is getting back to firing #1)
Distributor turns CCW.
The Cam turns CCW.
There are 14 head bolts.
The Ackerman Angle can NOT be adjusted.
All the bolts are 1 thread.
Low gear is NOT faster than reverse.

[Mitch]

Speaking of the trans vent, does the rear differential vent through the same hole?

[DaWizard]

Speaking of the trans vent, does the rear differential vent through the same hole?

No, the rear end vents out the axles.(just to be clear, it could vent out the trans top, and I can't give a specific amount that does, but the primary vent is the axles)

[Mitch]

No, the rear end vents out the axles.(just to be clear, it could vent out the trans top, and I can't give a specific amount that does, but the primary vent is the axles)

i'm not sure there is a concrete answer for where, how or if the A diff needs to vent. lots of variables

a diff with worn original leather seals yes may let some air escape out the axles or up the torque tube.

a diff with new modern spring seals installed, tolerances to specs wont let the air escape.

with the small amount of 600w in a diff vs the total interior surface area, incl'd the axle housings and torque tube is a vent needed.

[Mitch]

The zenith carburetor bowl vent opening is located at the arrow on the bottom casing. (Pic 1) This vents through the passage on the lid....
another sometimes forgot about hole is the air balance port thats inside the throttle plate area. (Pic 2) If this tiny hole becomes blocked the vehicle can have an idle issue or may run on the richer side at idle...

[WMWS]

I checked to see if my air balance port is open. It is now but do you think the air filter holder which covers the hole loosely is restricting the air.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

This WASN'T really meant as a QUIZ. Just add things you know about, that may NOT be common knowledge.
Is anyone REALLY SURE if low gear is faster than reverse??? Have you studied the power flow & counted the TEETH???--- I "think" reverse is slower on MOST cars, but I don't REALLY know for SURE????
Bill W.

[tbirdtbird]

"reverse is slower on MOST cars"
Agree, Bill

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Reverse is "probably" SLOWER, so you don't run your Dog OVER!
Bill Slow

[Captndan]

Oh Oh Take cover. Here come the engineers!

[Beauford]

My reverse is super fast! On a different note when I use to Open/Manage Hooters restaurants one of the waitresses asked where pickles came from...no lie. Her looks made up for stupidity.

[MikeK]

. . . can the ACKERMAN Angle be adjusted, . . .Bill W.

255px-Ackermann_simple_design.svg.png
Easy! Just bend the forged steering arms a little to move the position of the tie-rod balls. Ideally the king pin center and tie-rod ball should be in line with the center of the rear axle. After 85 years of 'experience' most "A" arms are out of whack and need tweaking. Am I the only person who ever trues them? I can't imagine putting a new set of $$$ Coker radials on and not checking ALL front geometry.

If you're a glutton for punishment and like trig problems (guilty as charged) you can bias the left-right Ackerman compensation to correct for tire scuff while driving on mostly drainage crowned roads by making the steering arm lengths unequal left & right.

[DaWizard]

Speaking of the trans vent, does the rear differential vent through the same hole?

Hey Mitch! After just removing the mat and floorboard from my '28 tudor, I have something interesting to report.

Now, remember, the only change I have made is the installation of the new Randy Gross brakes and rear axle seals.

I am now getting oil from the vent hole in the trans top!!

I can only attribute this to the new seals which are not doing the venting that the old and dilapidated seals were doing.

It may just be the venting hole for the rear end.

[Mitch]

Wizz
what type of oil are you using in the trans and the diff?

[DaWizard]

Wizz
what type of oil are you using in the trans and the diff?

That "600w" stuff they sell as gear oil.

I think I should drop some STP oil treatment in there and make it real gear oil.

When I was a kid we used 90w gear lube, that stuff with a wee bit of STP made everything run smoooooooth.

[Mitch]

How about the engine splash shields which aides in cooling of the motor by diverting the air. You see so many cars with those missing, so i am thinking many folks don't know about them.
Oh and it's also an additional ground path as well as a debris protector.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

My DEAR Friend, Ted, who just passed away, always said, "A Model A without splash pans, isn't even FINISHED"!!!
Bill Sad

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Wiz,
"Maybe" your trans vent is leaking 'cuz sumbody filled it with DAWN, to clean it???
By the way, DAWN was a failed concoction that was supposed to clean a D-8 Caterpillar, but made a perfect cleaner for DISHES & OILY Birds!----Sounds like the "story" about POST-IT notes???
Bill Ridiculous

[DaWizard]

Hey Bill, I'm not totally sure you aren't correct about Dawn in the tranny. When I had the top off it there was enough froth in there to probably clean a whole load of dishes.

Here I thought that the 600w sold by the vendors was suppose to be bubble-proof!

Little did I know. Next time I have the top off, I am adding STP, just a wee bit, to calm down the froth and get some stick-em on the gears and bearings.

[Tom Wesenberg]

I've also seen some very foamy rear end gear oil. I don't have a clue what brand or weight it was, but it was sure full of air bubbles.

[Mitch]

Regarding the vendors (part#) 600 W , i don't think they all sell the same concoction.

[Roadster Rich]

Seeing this thread back again made me think of something. I was at Mike's Afordable last month for the cook out and car show. Was talking to one group around a car and they were talking about room to slide across from passenger to driver side (one had an artificial leg from the thigh down and said he could only get in on the passenger side). My wife spoke up and said, why don't you put the shift into the "make out" position. Of the 6 guys there, not one of them knew about how you could lift the shift up and swing out of the way up against the dash. They were all amazed and said they had never heard of that as long as they owned their cars. Makes me wonder just how common knowledge this is.

[Mitch]

Rich that's a funny story and have I heard people call it different things. Some say it was to exit the car on the R/S and that's why there is no outside door lock on the left. I saw a Model A parked in a lot and the stick was swung and chained to the steering wheel being utilized as an anti theft device. I have never seen the swing stick advertised in any ford literature stating it was an actual design feature, I just think someone stumbled onto it and the word spread. It sure is tough to pull up on a car with a new shifter spring tho.