Winterization and Long Term Storage
Many Model A’s are being sold or passed down to relatives unfamiliar with winterizing their family-treasured Model A’s. This leads to cracked blocks, gunked-up gas tanks, stuck water pumps, and many more problems.
Here are some tips from our members to pass along to those new Model A owners.
For long-term storage.
1. Use a battery maintainer to keep the battery charged or remove and store in a warm location.
2. Drain the radiator or use antifreeze to prevent freezing and cracking of the engine block.
3. Drain the gas tank and run the car until it stops. Can also use STA-BIL gas stabilizer if not storing for a long period of time.
4. If possible, put the car on jackstands or dollies to prevent flat
spots on the tires. Alternatively, (if it has gas and antifreeze) start the car, bring it up to temperature, and move it a bit. If able, you can also take out of gear, disengage the parking brake and push the car backwards or forwards a bit (remember to re-set the parking brake.
5. If it's an open car, store it with the top up to reduce the chance of shrinking or getting wrinkles set into the top and to deter mice from nesting in it. Use a suitable cover for the car.
6. Leave windows partially down to allow for a little ventilation.
7. Use Irish Spring soap to deter rodents from setting up their home in the car seats. There are also numerous humane mouse traps and determinants on the market which can be place around the car.
Many Model A’s are being sold or passed down to relatives unfamiliar with winterizing their family-treasured Model A’s. This leads to cracked blocks, gunked-up gas tanks, stuck water pumps, and many more problems.
Here are some tips from our members to pass along to those new Model A owners.
For long-term storage.
1. Use a battery maintainer to keep the battery charged or remove and store in a warm location.
2. Drain the radiator or use antifreeze to prevent freezing and cracking of the engine block.
3. Drain the gas tank and run the car until it stops. Can also use STA-BIL gas stabilizer if not storing for a long period of time.
4. If possible, put the car on jackstands or dollies to prevent flat
spots on the tires. Alternatively, (if it has gas and antifreeze) start the car, bring it up to temperature, and move it a bit. If able, you can also take out of gear, disengage the parking brake and push the car backwards or forwards a bit (remember to re-set the parking brake.
5. If it's an open car, store it with the top up to reduce the chance of shrinking or getting wrinkles set into the top and to deter mice from nesting in it. Use a suitable cover for the car.
6. Leave windows partially down to allow for a little ventilation.
7. Use Irish Spring soap to deter rodents from setting up their home in the car seats. There are also numerous humane mouse traps and determinants on the market which can be place around the car.
09/03/24 Tech Session - Ed Daniel - “How I rebuilt” my 1933-34 generator
I gave a talk on how I “rebuilt” my 1933-34 generator that was on my Town Sedan when I bought it. The generator failed to charge in 2022. I thought it was the cutout, but a cutout replacement failed to fix the problem. The 1933-34 generator is similar to a Model A generator, but has different brush holders, different wiring coming out of the case, plus the front and rear castings are aluminum rather than stamped steel.
When I took the generator a part I found the following:
To fix the above problems I ordered a new rear bushing, the oiler felt and a front bearing.
The 1933-34 generator has two wires coming out of the top, a terminal wire and a ground wire. I had to figure out how that should hook up. The black wire is grounded to the generator frame at the engine side. The other wire is black & yellow wire which goes to the input side of the cutout (therefore this is the generator output wire).
I also tested the armature by a method documented at this link: www.groschopp.com/how-to-check-a-motor-armature/.
To remove the old bushing I ordered an 11/16-11 tap and die from eBay. From the die I made a threaded puller rod. I then tapped the old bushing. I used the new puller rod to pull out the old bushing. The new bushing was oversize on the OD which I turned down on a lathe to give me about a .001” to .002” press fit. I pushed this bushing in with my vice. I then honed the ID with a homemade sandpaper tool in my drill driver for a proper clearance with the armature shaft of .001” to .002”. I also drilled the bushing radially with a small hole to assure oil got to the shaft but also the excess oil could get to the oiler felt.
I did not have to replace the field coils or the front bearing. The armature was good. I also ordered a restored cutout to complete the “rebuild”. I tested the generator with the motoring test and it worked fine. It is now my “backup” generator
When I took the generator a part I found the following:
- The brushes and commutator were covered in oil. I lubed it too much.
- The commutator area was full of carbon dust from the brushes. The generator had not been serviced in a long time.
- The rear bushing was worn out.
To fix the above problems I ordered a new rear bushing, the oiler felt and a front bearing.
The 1933-34 generator has two wires coming out of the top, a terminal wire and a ground wire. I had to figure out how that should hook up. The black wire is grounded to the generator frame at the engine side. The other wire is black & yellow wire which goes to the input side of the cutout (therefore this is the generator output wire).
I also tested the armature by a method documented at this link: www.groschopp.com/how-to-check-a-motor-armature/.
To remove the old bushing I ordered an 11/16-11 tap and die from eBay. From the die I made a threaded puller rod. I then tapped the old bushing. I used the new puller rod to pull out the old bushing. The new bushing was oversize on the OD which I turned down on a lathe to give me about a .001” to .002” press fit. I pushed this bushing in with my vice. I then honed the ID with a homemade sandpaper tool in my drill driver for a proper clearance with the armature shaft of .001” to .002”. I also drilled the bushing radially with a small hole to assure oil got to the shaft but also the excess oil could get to the oiler felt.
I did not have to replace the field coils or the front bearing. The armature was good. I also ordered a restored cutout to complete the “rebuild”. I tested the generator with the motoring test and it worked fine. It is now my “backup” generator