Tim McAneany sits in his 1929 Model A Roadster that he found rusting away in a Southwick shed. He bought the car for $500 and towed it home to restore it.
Reminder Publishing photo by Mike Lydick
SOUTHWICK — When David Sheehan picked up his girlfriend for their first date, he arrived in an unusual car: a 1930 Ford Model A Tudor.
Sheehan has owned the brown two-door sedan for nine years. He’s also the proud owner of two other Model As — a 1931 Victoria and a 1931 Roadster. To say he’s passionate about these Depression-era cars would be an understatement.
Reminder Publishing photo by Mike Lydick
“I got bit by the Model A bug when I was a teenager and began hanging around with my grandfather, who owned one,” said Sheehan, 24, who lives in Southwick. “When I was 14, I started coming to the weekly meetings of Connecticut Valley Working A’s club.”
Model A clubs like this one help ensure that the nearly 100-year-old cars will live on. Dedicated to helping club members restore and maintain them, the club is one of 270 local chapters of the national Model A Ford Club of America, and also is affiliated with the Model “A” Restorers Club.
The club meets year-round every Wednesday evening in Southwick at a large garage owned by Jack Moccio, who founded the club in 1997. The garage has a complete set of tools, several bays, and an automotive lift for them to make minor repairs and perform routine maintenance. They also exchange information about this classic American car that was built for only four model years, 1928 to 1931.
Sheehan bought the Tudor — his favorite of the three — when he was 15. After he got it running and got his driver’s license, he began driving it regularly, including to classes at Southwick Regional School.
“My classmates were surprised when I pulled in with my Model A. They couldn’t believe I was driving such an old car,” said Sheehan, the club’s youngest member.
He said the club has been “a huge help” to him in mentoring and teaching him about the Model A: “If it wasn’t for the guys in the club, I wouldn’t have had the interest or knowledge to restore my cars. I even learned how to rebuild the engine of a Model A one winter.”
The club has 15 active members and Sheehan said he rarely misses a meeting — or the opportunity talk about Model As. “The cars are an important, but the most enjoyable part for is me talking with others in the club, making new friendships and learning from other members.”
Through the club he received a Model A Youth Restoration Award that provided him with money and gift cards to help restore his Tudor. He and his girlfriend, Marie Sarault of Southwick, recently made a 2,000-mile trip to North Carolina, in the Tudor, which ran flawlessly.
Sarault, 24, said she wasn’t surprised when Sheehan arrived with the Model A for their first date — a trip to Brattleboro, Vermont.
“I knew he had one — but it was still a different experience for me,” she said. “I’ve even learned to drive his cars, which I do occasionally.”
Tim McAneany found his 1929 Model A Roadster years ago in a shed in Southwick. It was rusted, missing doors and a rumble seat lid. It was just what he wanted.
“I’ve always been a ragtop guy, so I bought it for $500,” he said. “I towed it home, spent $37 on engine parts, charged the battery and got it started.”
Once he got it running, McAneany began searching for exterior replacement parts.
“One of the nice things about the Model A is that parts are easy to get — there are a lot of reproduction parts made for these cars,” he said.
McAneany also owns a 1931 Model A Tudor.
“Once I had one Model A, I couldn’t resist getting another one to restore,” he said. “I alternate between the two. I like them both, but I’m a Roadster guy, so I drive it as often as possible.”
He said club members are very knowledgeable about Model As. When he had a problem with the Roadster’s carburetor, he didn’t go searching the internet for a solution. Instead, he just asked his friends in the club.
“They told me the float was sticking, flooding the carburetor. The trick to fix it was to tap on the side of the bowl. That made the float to go back down where it should be,” McAneany said.
Bob Martin has been a Model A enthusiast for many years. He used to own a 1930 Coupe, but sold it because he needed money to buy a house.
“I wanted to keep it, but I couldn’t afford to. It broke my heart — it was like losing a child,” said the Westfield resident. “When I bought the car, it was a basket case — the interior was in pieces. It took me a year to find the missing parts and reassemble it.”
Now he owns two Model As — both acquired following the death of their owners. The first one — a 1930 Tudor — he bought from the daughter of a club member and friend after he died. His second one is a 1928 Roadster his girlfriend willed to him.
A member of the club for two years, he said he and some friends joined because they like that it lives up to its “working” title.
“These are real nuts and bolts car guys who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty or scrape their knuckles when they need to do repairs. Some other clubs I belonged to had people who just wanted to just show off their cars,” said Martin.
He added that he also likes the camaraderie and helpfulness of the club’s members: “Everybody has their own idea about how to fix something — and they’re always willing to share their knowledge and expertise with other Model A owners.”
For more information about the club, contact David Drewniak, president, at 413-575-2442 or d.daviddrewniak@comcast.net.
