Our Classics
Rich’s Ford Model B has already been recommissioned once, but he has big plans for it this year
OWNED SINCE November 2003
MILEAGE SINCE LAST REPORT 0 TOTAL MILEAGE N/A LATEST COSTS £0
Regular readers with a long memory might remember that my Model B has made a number of appearances in CCW, having been recommissioned and pressed back into use.
Well, this year sees history repeating itself, because after a few years parked in the unit it’s time to get the B back on the road and hopefully return to being a daily driver. With an increasing number of auctions filling my diary and still plenty to do on the house (which is the same age as the B) there’s been way too much neglect and too little attention given to the car, but with new-found enthusiasm and a determination to bump the B up the list of things to do, I’m more optimistic than ever.
There’s no escaping the need for a mechanical overhaul – the engine doesn’t need to come apart, but I’d like it thoroughly checked over and all the fluids changed, including axle and the gearbox. It’s likely the brakes will need adjusting, too, and I’d like the steering and suspension given a good going over at the same time.
But this work is more than making the B one hundred per cent spot-on mechanically, because I’d like some body and interior work carrying out – once the 12-volt conversion is completed. For starters, the ash frame supporting the offside rear door has seen better days and now won’t close, so that needs definitely attending to. There’s also the leaking roof, a result of the decaying fabric insert, and I have a plan for that. Rather than replacing the fabric I’m tempted to replace it with steel so that the entire roof is solid. Ideally I’d like the slightly domed roof from a 1950s/1960s saloon and although headroom isn’t exactly scarce, that chimes in with me wanting the car to be as if it had been given some TLC in the late 1960s.
Re-roofing will cure the leaks and allow for a decent headlining to be fitted and from that I’ll have the doors and the C-panels re-trimmed. Like it or not, bar the re-trimmed seats (in wine red vinyl) the rest is, frankly, appalling, with curtain material used to ‘re-trim’ the doors many years ago.
I’ve already investigated West of England cloth for the headlining, doors and pillars, set off by a large period dome light in the roof, two smaller lamps in the C-pillars and one above the windscreen. I’ve decided against carpet and think heavy-duty rubber flooring will be easier to keep clean – and might help with keeping the noise down a bit into the bargain.
Staying with the interior, I’m considering a period heater (or something from a 1950s car at the very latest) because I feel that a cosier interior positively encourages winter use.
Keeping that practical air and returning to the 12-volt upgrade, I bought a pair of large, P100lookalike lamps at a Swansea autojumble a few years ago that will make first-class spotlights – you can never have enough illumination on Carmarthenshire country roads!
It’s also worth mentioning the external cosmetics. If you’re of the keep-it-original view, you might want to skip the next bit, because the plan is to tidy the panelwork and then go for a semi-matt black re-paint. This could be set off with wider aftermarket wire wheels too, ideally in a dark red to complement the seats. Oh, and maybe I could indulge in a bit of rake by reversing the rear springs.
If I can achieve that I’m going to be very happy, and the B will be pressed into typically Barnett regular use.
With the impetus back, it’s now a case of booking the B in at a local specialist and, come spring, a welcome return to pre-war motoring.