170AMODELA

WELCOME TO 170 A MODEL A

MOUNT RANIER IN WASHINGTON STATE

John Mackenzie

Hi, I'm John Mackenzie
I have just gotten my childhood dream, it's a 1929 5-window leatherback coupe (49-A).

I have always been interested in cars, as a toddler like that recent FRAM filter commercial where we see a baby with his father doing repairs under a car, I also went under cars with my dad and it was a family big joke as to the fact that I had picked up on the back of my white Sunday’s best baby shirt, the black grease off of the handbrake cables under my dad's car. I learnt how to drive on a 1920ish AA ford 1 1/2 ton truck when I was 11 yrs old.

Anyways back to the car, I first saw it in 1960-61. It belonged to my dad's neighbor. I immediately fell in love with it and told the neighbor that if he ever wanted to sell it that I was a buyer, needless to say that I was not taken at that time very seriously, I was 10 yrs old. Over the years that followed, I never lost track of the car as I became a licensed mechanic (Third class) before finishing High school. I saw when the neighbor park it in the brush on his property in ' 69 and at that time he had refused to sell it because he wanted to re-restore it himself with his wife as he had done in the late 50's.

Time passed and this year I noticed that he was having problems with his snowplow truck, a 1954 dodge power wagon. I asked him if he wanted my help to repair it. He told me it needed the front differential since it had destroyed itself after the nuckkle had broken and that he could not find any replacement parts that were in good enough shape to repair it.

I went on the net and located in Oklahoma a vintage power wagon club that had NOS parts for the dodge, I purchased them, had them delivered up here and presented them to him. He couldn't believe his eyes at seeing the new parts still coated with the original protective wax in the original packaging from dodge with the military numbers on it. He was so happy and asked me what he owed me, I told him how much the parts and shipping had cost and asked him to put it towards the '29. He replied that since his wife was in poor medical shape and he himself didn't feel up to restoring it that I could have it for my troubles in getting the dodge parts. That was during the winter and the 29 was both buried in snow and walled in with 8-inch thick trees, I told him I would come to get it in the spring or early summer since I had to make room for it in my garage.

By trade I'm a high power electronic technician and I've been operating my own business since 1988 installing, maintaining and recycling uninterruptible power systems which means that my two car garage is usually filled with either new equipment going to clients or units being dismantled to return them to basic metals and old batteries in transit to the recycler's but now that I got the 29, it's going to need the garage and workshop area for the next little while so I'm in the process of a major clean up to make room.

A while ago on a Saturday I went with a friend of mine and cut down the trees and brush to get to the car, from there we used a come along to winch it to a place where a flatbed tow truck could pick it up and deliver it to my driveway. With the car, the old owner gave me, all the spare parts that he had, almost an other car. I got the original 1929 engine several transmission housings, multiple sets of gears, a complete front and rear end, starters, generators and more parts that I won't list now. The spare parts must of come from a 1930 or 31 because the six extra wheels a got are 19 inch instead of 21on the '29.

Regards John Mackenzie

PS I'm 54 and Lynda is 58