project value

[what the.......]

I've found this 30' AA converted to a gas truck for $1000. It ran till it was set up a few years ago. Kept inside, very little rust and rot. I'm not looking for a complete resto project, just something to tinker with and take out for a sunday afternoon breakdown. Not a bad price for what I'm seeing, (I think). But I don't know where the pitfalls are, aka, big ticket items. And what should one look for before the purchase. Sorry to bother you guys with this simple stuff, seeing the extremes that some of you take in your projects, you guys command my respect. Thanks alot

[Bradshaw]

Howdy,

I noticed your latest post and I hope that I can offer some insight.

I'm relatively new to A /AA's myself. I've owned my AA just a little over a year now and its still apart, but slowly going back together.

I have never driven or even cranked my AA yet.

Big ticket items:

Ask about the brakes. Look at the brake rods, are the clevises and pins tight. Sounds minor, but you got to be able to stop, once your goin'.

Look down in the gas tank for rust. I hear lots of folks talking about cleaning and "treating" the inside of the tank. Little flakes of rust cause big problems in the gas line and carburetor.

Check to make sure the doors are not sagging at the rear where they shut.

I had trouble with my 4 speed transmission. The case was cracked on 3 of 4 sides. This is a common problem, most likely from sitting outside, rain gets inside, freezes, and boooom, cracked housing. Yours is inside

Is it 6volt positive ground or has someone converted it to 12volt negative ground? I don't know if its better one way or the other, I'm keepin' mine 6 volt pos. ground.

Look to see if you have an aftermarket auxillary transmission, behind the 4 speed. The Warford gear company made drop in units that replaced the short shaft. The auxillary transmission had under-drive, direct-drive, and over-drive. This is very desirable!! This lets you get closer to 55 mph without turning your engine really high. These trucks were made for pulling lots of weight, not goin' fast.

Check to see what rear gear ratio you have. There were two ratios offered in 1930, 6.6:1 and 5.14:1. Jack up one rear wheel, with all the ignition OFF and the transmission in High gear, crank the engine around, counting the turns until the rear wheel has turned around once. Since one wheel is still on the ground, the spider gear will be working, and I think the ratio is doubled. So if you crank the engine around 3 times for one wheel rotation, you have 6.6:1(really slow on the road). If you crank the engine over about 2.5 times to one tire rotation, you have 5.14:1(More desirable ).

Then if you are really lucky and have the Warford and the 5.14:1 rear gears, rush over right now and get it !!!!!!

I'm not familiar with the tanker/gas truck bodies. I would look to see if there is some sort of PTO to drive a pump on the truck?? It may just be gravity feed....

Look the engine over. Is there a manifold heater?? Look around the exhaust manifold. I hear that they could get really hot and actually sag down. I had to use the torch to braze some extra metal to mine and then
file it down to get a good flat fit to the block.

Look to see how the fan and radiator look. 2 blade fan is factory fan. I don't think a 4 blade fan was offered in the A's. I think that was for the BB's but I'm not sure.

Look for broken springs at the front and rear on each side. I think these trucks were punished with lots of weight. I had a broken leaf on mine.

I hope this helps,
Chris Bradshaw
ExpressAA30@hotmail.com

[what the......]

Chris, Thanks a bunch guy. I hope I didn't tick anyone off with the last post knowing how busy everyone can get ( and that is without projects). But what you gave what I was looking for. Been through the tank issue before with a 50 chevy. But that was the only common one you mentioned. Read one post about the door issue with shimming and such. These look straight. I'll have to check the others. I know the mags are later models, and the radiator supports are cracked at the bottom (common, I hear ?). The aftermarket aux tranny will be obvious (I'm sure). One follow up question. Any other way to identify a Warford without turning it over? It's in kinda of a strange place and don't know if I'll be able to turn it over. Man, THANKS a million again, I know that these sites have alot of great people helping each other out. I was hoping to get some fast info, but after 25 views and no posts, reacted out of frustration.
Maybe Mike or Neil or someone who knows (It will probably be me if I buy this thing) might post a pre-buy checklist for valuations. Later Chris

[Bradshaw]

You should be able to tell by looking at the front of the seat riser. If there is a gear shifter sticking through a hole cut into the front of the metal seat riser, then you have an auxillary transmission.

It will be really obvious. Not too sure if there were other brands of aftermarket transmisssions made. There is an advertisement shown in the FORD TRUCK OWNER by A.G. Mcmillan on page 134 that shows the Warford and a short narrative about it.

Good Luck.
Bradshaw

[what the.....]

Bradshaw, thanks again for taking the time. Looking at the counters, there are a lot of perusers but few inputers. Thanks again. I'm going to look this week.

[dyoungs]

You might want to jack up the front end and see how much play you have in the wheels when you grab it at 12:00 and 6:00 and rock it. It should be pretty tight. I have my 1931 stake body that my grandfather and I have been working on for the last 15 years here and there. I have the 5.14:1 rear and when I went over 35 it would start shaking like crazy.... I have since taken on a winter project.... The whole front end is soaking in kerosene now so I can get the 73 years of grease and dirt off. My king pins where the same as a brand new one that I had gotten from a king pin set from Brattons. But...... the bushings in side where any where from 1.009 to 1.018 and the pin measured out at 1.0035. (Same size as the brand new one). Since you can not buy the bushings by them selves I had to find them else where. I found some bronze bushings that are 1.0035 when you press them in but they still need to be honed out just a little. They where only 76 cents a piece instead of $105.00 for the kit. They where very easy to remove and install. So since I had to go that route I have deceided to replace the brakes and clean the the whole front end up with new hardware and a fresh coat of paint. Let you know how it goes.

Hope this helps also,
Dave Youngs

[SHABBONA_RR]

Hello:

I am reading the posts in this topic, and noted two rear end drive ratios. I am working up a magazine article on a 1928 AA with worm drive rear end. The owner thinks it is about 6.7 to 1 ratio, but is not sure. Would that 6.6 to 1 ratio cited in one of these posts apply to the worm drive as well?

This particular truck also has an optional overdrive transmission to allow it to maintain decent highway speeds without overrevving the engine. Any unique history on this unit? Thanks in advance.

Bob Nicholson

[Neil Wilson]

We just returned from a two week vacation. That's about all the beach time I can handle at one time. There are no AA's in Tahiti!

As far a value for the $1,000 price - If the cab is in good shape (i.e. very little rust out) and it has good doors, then it is worth the $1,000!

It is unlikely that a tanker truck will have a Warford. But a Warford would probably be worth the sell price by its self.

The brakes and front end will probably need restoration and the engine will probably need to be rebuilt. I normally assume this is the case and can then be happy if it is not needed.

Also, for Bob, the '28/'29 worm drives had a 7.25:1 and a 5.17:1 ratio. Ford offered a dual drive transmission behind the three speed. This is a common set up for the '28/'29 AA's. However, this is an under drive only. An under/overdrive would be a non-Ford item unless assembled in Canada. The Canadian Ford parts list has the Worford listed and it was probably a Canadian option.

[SHABBONA_RR]

Thanks, Neil:

The info I had was that the worm drive was "approximately" 6.7:1. The owner did tell me the Overdrive was an aftermarket item, but I wasn't sure where it originated.

Bob Nicholson