31 Ford Tudor

Thanks for all your help guys. I got my Minicraft 1/16th scale Model A Tudor yesterday and the kit is fantastic. The moldings look great and I will let you all know about "fit". The web site references are a great help and I found the correct OEM paint scheem for a 31 Model A Tudor Delux as that is what the model is. The model car paint will come from Model Car World Automotive Finishes and I'll order the correct engine green for the model year as welll as the correct trim colors for the wheels and stripe. I'm getting the "mix" from my local auto parts store as well as a color chip to sent to the paint supplier. The fenders and lower body will be gloss black and the body will be lawn green with apple green wheels and pinstripe. All of this is OEM correct according to the Model A Ford club mentioned above. The interior will be tan, but grey is a OEM correct alternative. Radiator and chassie black will be appropriately applied to those parts. The paint is lacquer and can be wet sanded and rubbed for a smooth finish. Every now and then I need a diversion from aircraft and this is it.  Again, thank you guys. Your help will make this an OEM correct model. I'll post pictures as the build progresses.

Electric start was an option as early as 1919 on the Model T. They still retained cranks up front, because batteries were so unreliable. All Model A's had standard electric starters, as well as removable cranks that went in the tool kit and doubled as a lug wrench for changing tires.

1932 was the first year at Ford for vacuum advance /retard on the distributor, These were for Model B & Model 18 (V-8). An old trick was to use the 1932 Model B 4 cylinder distributor on an earlier A, so you could have automatic advance/retard and not have to worry about using the manual levers.

Some earlier cars had automatic advance/retard, but they weren't Ford. The first Packard was one of them, about 1899!

P.S. autocolorlibrary has all kinds of colors for old cars listed. MAFCA, (a Model A restorers Club) has color photos of Model A's in their correct color schemes shown. Google it and it's a great reference! Good Luck!

Here's another option; this one in 1:25th scale.

Thanks for the sanity check. I have not messed with one of these for about 50 years. I'm talking about the real thing, not a model. I had a 29 and was about 60% complete with a ground up restoration when Uncle Sam sent me on a vacation to Southeast Asia. When I got home the car and all the accumulated pieces parts were gone. My mom and dad sold it all as it was cluttering up the garage, and they didn't think I would want to "play" with that old thing after being "off to war". In place of the 29 my dad bought me a new 1968 AMX. I loved the AMX (and had the speeding tickets to prove it) but I still miss the 29. Again, if I remember correctly the 31 had a hand crank start, you had to hand advance the spark advance, and the fuel feed was by gravity. Again, I remember electric starters and fuel pumps starting in the 1932 model year. I do not remember vacuum advance distributors comming into play until sometime in the late 30s or early 40s. Any other Ford fans/historians? Any one know of a web site that has the old paint colors for the 30s vintage cars?

1932 is the first year. The 31 had a 4. The minicraft kit has a hot rod v-8 in one version.

I'll have to wait until Feb.  to order when the sale price kicks in. The price in the web site is currently $24 higher than the catalog sale price for Feb. Thanks for the heads up on the kit. Now I can't wait to build one. Do you know if 1931 was the first year for the flathead V-8. There is a 1931 roadster in the same scale that has a V-8 and I have always thought that 1932 was the first year for the flathead V-8.

rangerj

Thank you. I'll go to their web site and order one. It is rarely this easy to fing the subjects I'm interested in so quickly. Thanks again.

Thank you. I'll go to their web site and order one. It is rarely this easy to fing the subjects I'm interested in so quickly. Thanks again.

Don't know if it is the one you mean, but Minicraft makes a 31 Ford tudor in 1:16, and Squadron has it on sale in their February flyer.