Looking for some advice on AA trucks

AA Ford Discussion Group relating to the repair and restoration of your AA Ford.
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s147881
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Model Year: 1930
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Re: Looking for some advice on AA trucks

Post by s147881 »

High speed rear gear and warford easily gets you 55+ in AA.
aland
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Model Year: 1932
Location: San Jose / Kelseyville

Re: Looking for some advice on AA trucks

Post by aland »

s147881 wrote:
February 11th, 2018, 5:11 am
High speed rear gear and warford easily gets you 55+ in AA.
So I guess the $64,000 question becomes if the AA is practical to take on a 400 mile trip 3 times a year?

That is pretty much what I use my current flatbed for. Truth be told I would like something like that to drive around more often, and that's why I am starting to look at the early V8 pickups. The 1/2-ton seems a bit more nimble, if that's an appropriate term to use for a '30s automobile.

Might still take a bit of work also to tune, but seems easier than the 1-1/2 ton. I could be wrong...correct me if I am. :roll:

Alan
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Chris Haynes
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Re: Looking for some advice on AA trucks

Post by Chris Haynes »

A Mitchell gear splitter will give you a good overdrive too. Lots quieter than a Warford.
pinesdune
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Model Year: 1930

Re: Looking for some advice on AA trucks

Post by pinesdune »

I haven’t played /drove an AA.... yet , but the 40’s 50’s Early 60’s trucks over 1 ton all had similar road speeds, more or less maxed out at 55mph. Only nice thing with the newer trucks is I believe you can swap differentials and transmissions to achieve more comfortable highway speeds, but IMO the trucks are too rough a ride on most roads to go much faster than 55. But I love my A sport coupe, when I get in it, I know I’m going out to enjoy the day/ride, not “get a job done” , there’s something about the whine of those old transmission gears and cruising at 45 mph. Sure it may take you 4 hours or so to go 200 miles, but it slows a guy down in a fast paced life, and adds something special to the experience


Rust and glory
aland
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Joined: February 7th, 2018, 6:12 am
Model Year: 1932
Location: San Jose / Kelseyville

Re: Looking for some advice on AA trucks

Post by aland »

pinesdune wrote:
February 12th, 2018, 6:15 am
I haven’t played /drove an AA.... yet , but the 40’s 50’s Early 60’s trucks over 1 ton all had similar road speeds, more or less maxed out at 55mph. Only nice thing with the newer trucks is I believe you can swap differentials and transmissions to achieve more comfortable highway speeds, but IMO the trucks are too rough a ride on most roads to go much faster than 55. But I love my A sport coupe, when I get in it, I know I’m going out to enjoy the day/ride, not “get a job done” , there’s something about the whine of those old transmission gears and cruising at 45 mph. Sure it may take you 4 hours or so to go 200 miles, but it slows a guy down in a fast paced life, and adds something special to the experience
Indeed I agree with you, I'm fine with smelling the roses and taking my time...just thinking I might find that more enjoyable in a 1/2-ton, driving around more often than the flatbed. The 1/2-ton is better suited to drive around town, IMO.
aland
Posts: 36
Joined: February 7th, 2018, 6:12 am
Model Year: 1932
Location: San Jose / Kelseyville

Re: Looking for some advice on AA trucks

Post by aland »

pinesdune wrote:
February 9th, 2018, 6:59 pm
One idea for you might be to get a copy of Jim Schilds model AA manual , lots of info and details between the different AA versions without breaking the bank and well as some of the repair areas.
pinesdune,

I did get that book. Let me just say, the book itself is a POS, my binder is coming apart and a page is already falling out. I've only gone through it about 3 times...I tried to contact the seller, no response so I'm filing for a refund through abebooks. This is a new book.

The content of the books is XLNT, no complaints with that and if I need to cut this one apart and scan it in, I'll do that.

One question I have is on the inside of the back cover, there's an Express bed with high sides on it. Any of those survive? I actually like the shorter Express bed, but was curious after seeing that.

Over on the Ford Barn there's a couple guys saying they drive their AA/BBs on the highway and one guy with a BB (33 w/V8) says he changed the rear end gearing and drives 60-65 all the time on the highway...I would be content with 55, so it seems possible with the V8 and possibly changing the rear end gearing.

I also bought Schild's book, "Restorers Classic Car Shop Manual", it's a much larger book and covers various classic models, I got it for only $7 + 3.50 shipping on abebooks. This was a used book, but the quality of the book is actually much better than the AA supplement. :roll:

I'm still interested in the AA/BB, and will take my time looking for one. I definitely want an original, not something that's all rodded up, it will need to be original for me. :)

Alan
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Neil Wilson
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Re: Looking for some advice on AA trucks

Post by Neil Wilson »

One question I have is on the inside of the back cover, there's an Express bed with high sides on it. Any of those survive? I actually like the shorter Express bed, but was curious after seeing that.

Alan
That is the 242-A Heavy Duty Express - few survivors - more at http://aafords.com/open-bodies/express- ... xpress-hd/
Regards, Neil Wilson
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Stakebed
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Model Year: 1929
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Re: Looking for some advice on AA trucks

Post by Stakebed »

Neil Wilson wrote:
February 26th, 2018, 9:34 am
One question I have is on the inside of the back cover, there's an Express bed with high sides on it. Any of those survive? I actually like the shorter Express bed, but was curious after seeing that.

Alan
That is the 242-A Heavy Duty Express - few survivors - more at http://aafords.com/open-bodies/express- ... xpress-hd/
Theres a 4 leaf clover growin on a hens tooth rear fender...
vonheine
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Model Year: 1930
Location: Massachusetts

Re: Looking for some advice on AA trucks

Post by vonheine »

My AA truck is in pieces but it will have a 5:14 gear set in the back. It should do about 48 mph at 2700 rpm. I currently drive a 31 Model A station wagon, all stock. The station wagon is my reference. I wouldn’t want to go 60 in the thing. It’s not exactly streamlined. It still has mechanical brakes, etc. I drive it all over the place but the fun is planning a Model A route that avoids fast roads. There’s nothing like chugging along on an old backroad at about 35 to 40 mph. It’s not a car, it’s a Time Machine. I think the AA with the 5:14 gears will drive nicely at about the same sweet-spot speed. I think the auxiliary transmissions are cool, I looked for a Warford for years and never found one, but if you get the truck wound up to highway speeds, you still have mechanical brakes, the aerodynamics of a boxcar and a spur gear transmission. (Be safe, be careful, build the truck that makes you happy)
aland
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Re: Looking for some advice on AA trucks

Post by aland »

Stakebed wrote:
February 26th, 2018, 11:42 am
Theres a 4 leaf clover growin on a hens tooth rear fender...
I've always gone by the belief that those without dreams never have dreams come true.

Reminds me of a sailboat I used to own...it was a legendary Moore 24, one of my favorite boats...a friend I used to race with kept telling me about a Moore 24 that was under cover, in pristine condition...having traded vintage guitars for a number of years, it sounded like finding that Sunburt Les Paul in the closet it had been sitting in for 40 years...but finally I met the fanatic that owned the boat and it was as described, like mint condition. The guy bought it was didn't want to use it, so rented another Moore 24 from a friend and kept this one under a custom canvas cover...now this sounds like a far fetched story, doesn't it? But I owned and raced that boat for about 10+ years...wish I still had it...it was named Amazing Grace when I bought her, and I renamed her to Moorigami, #77, still races in the Bay Area.

This is to say, there are still some great barn finds out there, just that they are getting fewer and farther between.

And I will say that through this thread I was contacted by a guy that was selling an original Express that he had posted over on another forum, he was asking about $19k. It looked nice and was tempting, but I'm still not in a position to pull the trigger just yet. He must have sold it as I don't see it now, he sent me a PM a few weeks ago when I posted about the Indian Motorcycle Express surfaced in ebay. He said Neil had photo'd it so it must have been in the AAer mag, not sure.

Cheers,
Alan
Stakebed
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Re: Looking for some advice on AA trucks

Post by Stakebed »

aland wrote:
May 17th, 2018, 3:22 pm
Stakebed wrote:
February 26th, 2018, 11:42 am
Theres a 4 leaf clover growin on a hens tooth rear fender...
I've always gone by the belief that those without dreams never have dreams come true.

Reminds me of a sailboat I used to own...it was a legendary Moore 24, one of my favorite boats...a friend I used to race with kept telling me about a Moore 24 that was under cover, in pristine condition...having traded vintage guitars for a number of years, it sounded like finding that Sunburt Les Paul in the closet it had been sitting in for 40 years...but finally I met the fanatic that owned the boat and it was as described, like mint condition. The guy bought it was didn't want to use it, so rented another Moore 24 from a friend and kept this one under a custom canvas cover...now this sounds like a far fetched story, doesn't it? But I owned and raced that boat for about 10+ years...wish I still had it...it was named Amazing Grace when I bought her, and I renamed her to Moorigami, #77, still races in the Bay Area.

This is to say, there are still some great barn finds out there, just that they are getting fewer and farther between.

And I will say that through this thread I was contacted by a guy that was selling an original Express that he had posted over on another forum, he was asking about $19k. It looked nice and was tempting, but I'm still not in a position to pull the trigger just yet. He must have sold it as I don't see it now, he sent me a PM a few weeks ago when I posted about the Indian Motorcycle Express surfaced in ebay. He said Neil had photo'd it so it must have been in the AAer mag, not sure.

Cheers,
Alan
Oh I'm not saying dont try and if its what you want they are out there but expect to have slim pickins and deep pockets when you do find em :P
I got alot of dream cars - will only require shallow pockets but the finding it part is the hard part.Looking for early 80's escort(or lynx), omni(or horizon), pacer, pinto gremlin economy cars. First car i remember riding in was an 82 Escort GL hatchback 4 speed. Red exterior red interior with viynl seats (leg burners) and had the wood bead seat covers in the front. sadly rust claimed it :(
bud valerius
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Re: Looking for some advice on AA trucks

Post by bud valerius »

I still have that express truck for sale and will be taking photos today , I got tired of scam call's from people who wanted to buy and send cashiers checks for more than the selling price and have me pay the extra to the shipper. The reason that I said Neil had photos of my Express was the weather was keeping me from being able to clean it up . Neil has taken photos of most of my AA 's over the past 30 years while doing research for news letters and early research was verified by comparison of my trucks and his along with several others .
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Chris Haynes
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Re: Looking for some advice on AA trucks

Post by Chris Haynes »

One fine day I was Southbound on CA Hwy 99 through the CA Central Valley. Traveling at 65-70 MPH I was blown away when I was passed by a 30/31 AA Panel truck. Many miles later I saw the welcoming In 'N Out sign and pulled off to get a fine hamburger. To my surprise the AA was in the parking lot. I met the owner and while I was expecting a Small Block under the hood it has a Model A Block with a Riley OHV on top. He also had a Warford auxiliary transmission. Other than that is was a beautifully restored machine.
Bob C
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Re: Looking for some advice on AA trucks

Post by Bob C »

Chris, is this the one? I was on the 210 coming up on the 15 and he about blew my doors off. I have heard it has a Donovan engine.
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Chris Haynes
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Re: Looking for some advice on AA trucks

Post by Chris Haynes »

Yup, That is the one.
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