High comp. head (5.9:1), leakless ultimate water pump, thermostat, and engine touchup

the new high compression head (5.9:1)
stock model a's have 4.2:1 compression
they have an advertised 40 hp but have been dyno'd at only 35 hp, but they didnt have the equipment like we have today to measure it very precise. stock they would go about 55. but everyone i talk to nowadays say they only go about 50 mph. well after putting the new high comp. head on i think it boosted the horsepower about 10 horse... it will go 60 miles per hour and it has GREATLY increased acceleration. and driving a stock model a up a very steep hill is... well..... interesting lol.. but it has nooo problem going up pretty much any hill in third gear now!

The ultimate leakless water pump is really nice to have. yes leakless means the originals leaked... but this one doesnt leak a drop and has a sealed rear bearing so that when you grease the water pump the grease cant get into the cooling sytem.

TIP: when i put this on the bolts it came with to put it on leaked... there are 4 bolts... 2 of the holes in the head go all the way through, so the water was seeping back through the threads and leaking out onto the block.... i took the 2 bolts that were leaking out, put 3 or 4 layers of thread tape on them then put an o-ring at the end of the bolt to act as a seal against the flat part on the pump... well it worked! it doesnt leak a drop now!


This is what my engine did look like... without the hoses on...











bleeeeh.... it looks really dirty in this pic... probly cuz it was

My interest for the Model A begins!

So we brought it home on the trailer and left it over night.... oh and by the way we made sure this one came with a title!!! lol..... but anyways, the next morning was a beautiful saturday morning... so i got up early eager to learn to drive my new car... i went downtown and got a plate for it, came home, drove it once or twice in the drive and then my dad said "hey, so are we going to dog n' suds or what?" i was like ummm.... lol i had never driven stick on the road and had never driven that car on the road and it is waaay different than a new car. so i'm kinda nervous but i say yeah lets go... we hop in and scoot down the road about 40 mph 7 or 8 miles to dog n' suds.... got there just fine... ate and came home...... well i was hooked. From that day on all the "hot rod" things i was gonna do started not sounding so great... i mean this car was amazing i loved every bit of it so i didnt really want to change it that much the more i thought about it. so i ran it without the hood and that was pretty much as far as i went for a while. The first few months i had it i just fixed a few leaks here and there and tried to get it running as best as i could and fix things on it little by little.

My beginnings in the Hot Rod and Antique car culture

Well, this is my first post on this thing so i figured i would tell a little about me and how i came to obtain my wonderful Model A. Ever since i was a kid i would go with my dad to car shows and look at all the hot rods and custom cars. So i have always been into cars. When i was 14 we bought a truck for my first vehicle and my dad and I tore it down to bare frame and rebuilt the whole truck... it was basically a new show truck when we were done with a few custom modifications.... one big one being Air Ride suspension.... well i loved my truck and still do and it was a great daily driver but i really wanted a classic... i was pretty much set on a 1957 chevy stepside pickup. So for my high school graduation my parents surprised me by pulling an all original and running 1957 chevy stepside pickup out of the garage!!!! with a rebuilt and fully dressed 454 ready to drop in sitting in the bed of the truck!!!... well a couple years went by while i was getting some parts and money to start rebuilding it. loooong story short it ended up being stolen and had gone through 4 or 5 hands before we had bought it and the original owner was driving by our house one day and recognized it.... and he took it home that day with some assistance from the police proving to us that it was his... needless to say i was bummed. Well we got the money back from the guy we bought it from and put it aside until i found something else i wanted.... i thought about alot and i really wanted to get a Model A sedan and Hot Rod it.... you know... pull the fenders off put a flathead v8 in it... lower it... the usual stuff.... well i found one for a good price and it was in pretty good shape aaand it was drivable. We went to southern Indiana were it was in a guys barn/shop, bought it, and brought it home.