McBee, SC and Pearl Fryar's Topiary Garden

Saturday, October 23 dawned a beautiful day, although a bit on the chilly side.  John and I were bundled up as we took off in Miz B to meet up with Palmetto A club members for our first stop in McBee, SC.  We were headed for the McBee Farm Fall Festival.  We drove up the beautiful rural roads to the little town without any issues.  We had 17 A's and a couple of modern cars in line.

We made it McBee in time to have a quick club meeting, tour around the farm, have lunch, and of course, enjoy some of their homemade ice cream and peach enchiladas!

At 2:00 we were off to Bishopville, SC with 11 A's in line -  or so we thought!  One car had a bit of a fuel issue and so half of us waited about 2 miles up the road for them to catch up.  

It was a quick trip over to Pearl Fryar's garden, just 30 minutes.  We got a nice group shot.

Then we were greeted by Mr. Fryar.

He graciously showed us all around and explained how he created his most unique style of topiary.

The trip home was rather uneventful.  We arrived just as the sun was setting over the lake.  It had been a very nice day with the club.  And Miz B was definitely on her best behavior.

Gantt Farm Picnic

What a gorgeous day for a jaunt in the Model A's!  John and I both drove our cars over the dam and through the country to meet up with 12 other Model A's at the Pilot Station on the south east side of Columbia.  Amazing, we had 3 lady drivers for the trip to the farm!  Dick led the way in his beautiful black sedan and the rest of us followed like good little ducklings.  Whoops!  We missed the last turn onto the last real road to the farm.  It was a major turn around for all fourteen cars on a not too busy rural highway.  We finally turned into the drive for Relief Farm and this was the sight from my windshield.

The farm was purchased by Fred and Rhetta Gantt about 40 years ago and they have done a fabulous job of restoring existing buildings and moving buildings to the property and restoring them.

This is Fred and Rhetta, our host and hostess.  Fred made a fabulous corn chowder and the rest of us filled in the meal with salads and desserts.  Yum!  We ate lunch in what was previously the chicken coop.  Beautiful transformation by the Gantts.  Not to mention, they had air conditioned all the old buildings.  A very welcome relief - no pun intended - for the 100 degree day!

Upon leaving, Fred led the caravan over to what he calls "The Edge of the World".  There were spectacular views of our beautiful state of South Carolina!

We had a great day at the Gantt Farm.  We toured as a group back to the Columbia area.  Most stayed with the caravan, we were going to Orville's 75th Birthday Celebration!  Thanks to GPS, we didn't get lost, as we actually had to go through part of downtown Columbia to get out to Irmo.

We enjoyed cake and punch and saw a great slide show of Orville and Sharon traveling around the country in their Model A.  We said our goodbyes to the group and to Orville and Sharon, as they were off for the Pony Express Tour with the national club in the morning.

What a great day with our club.  Next weekend, Harbor Chase Assisted Living Show for the residents.

The trip home from Maysville, GA

The trip home wasn't without a few tense moments.  The temperature was 95º and periodically, the thermometer under the flying quail would spike up.  I would slow the speed down to around 40 and within a few minutes, the car was running cooler.  Strange to say the least.  We hit Lexington, SC and decided to take it pretty easy the rest of the way home.  We finally made it to the barn about 6:15.  It had definitely been a very long day.  We unpacked the car, showered and collapsed in the cool air conditioning.  The little car was just going to have to wait until Sunday.

Sunday was another beautiful day, although quite windy for SC.  John pulled the little car out of the barn.  He took the "Gano" filter off and lo and behold, there was our problem!  The filter had really done a great job of blocking all the crud from going into the radiator.  It was almost completely clogged with rust chips!

There must have been a couple of tablespoons of chips that we cleaned off that filter.  But, we feel that we have solved the overheating issue of Miz B.  

Gantt Family Farm Picnic next weekend.  Can't wait!

Mike's A Ford-able, Maysville, GA

George Bugg Collection, Athens, GA

Abbeville, SC

On the road to Maysville, GA

Friday, June 3 dawned bright and sunny, and a bit steamy.  We checked the oil, tires, and of course, the water level in the radiator.  All were right where they should be.  We drove out of the drive at 8:20 am.  Our first stop would be the gas station, the one with no ethanol, to top off the tank.  I had a little scare before we even got onto Hwy. 6.  Miz B decided she had just a bit too much water in the radiator, and blew about a cup or so out the top.  The car couldn't be hot, we hadn't driven a mile, yet.  With that little out, it appeared we were just fine.  

We met up with the rest of the club members going on the trip over in Lexington and pulled out of the parking lot at 9 SHARP!  There were 4 A's and a modern car to bring up the rear.  We were meeting one other club member up at the traffic circle near Saluda.

We were in Saluda by 9:30, pulled off to the side for about 10 minutes, to let the traffic clear.  For some reason not understood by us Model Aer's, those folks in modern cars aren't too keen on going 45 mph!  

We were having a grand time driving the rural back roads of South Carolina, going up and down the rolling hills on our way to Abbeville.  We stopped for coffee and a short break around 10:30.  Then it was back on the road.

In Abbeville, we first stopped at Yoder's.  It is a Mennonite restaurant on the outskirts of town.  The home cooked food was wonderful!  Just about everyone enjoyed the fabulous deserts, as well.  After lunch, we parked on the town square and enjoyed walking around.  They have a beautiful old Opera House that was open to self tour.  We also enjoyed the antique shop, thrift shop, the reenactment shop, and the fabric store.  Some of us came away with treasures.

At this point, Calvin decided he was going to drive back home.  But he would meet us in Maysville - at Mike's A Ford-able in the morning.  He wanted to take a different A to the show.

We left Abbeville by 2:00 and were headed for Athens.  George Bugg was going to meet us at his museum at 6:00.  We had some time to kill, so it was decided that we would stop at any antique/junk shops we came across along the way.  We found a fun spot in Comer.  Lots and lots of stuff!  Treasures for someone, I'm sure, just not me!

We made it to the Bugg museum by 6:15, after a quick refueling stop in Athens.  Rain was beginning to threaten, so we made our way into the building.  

What a museum it was.  George has a very large collection of well restored cars.  I believe he said he had 88 in the building.  They were mostly Fords, with a few others mixed in.  One of the more interesting was a Chalmers.  Pretty unusual car with an interesting company history.  We spent a couple of hours with George as he told us some of the stories of how he acquired a few of the more unusual ones.

While we were in the building, the skies literally opened up and it poured buckets.  Our timing was right on!  The skies cleared just in time for us to make our way to The Varsity - the World's Largest Drive-In, in Athens.  This place is definitely for the college kids at UGA.  I can say I've eaten there, but wouldn't go back.  Nothing special about the food.  Good thing school wasn't in session.  We realized that the locals don't go there.  The place was empty!  Oh, well, live and learn!

By the time we finished our burgers and sodas, it was getting pretty dark.  The rest of the trip to Commerce, to our hotel, was going to get interesting.  I knew my headlights were pointed up enough to illuminate traffic lights!  It was another 20 miles to Commerce and it was a very dark night.  It was a good sight when we pulled up to the hotel portico.  Checked in, showered and ready to go to sleep!

The day proved to be pretty uneventful for Miz B.  She was running nice and cool.  The filter seemed to be doing the trick.  We would check the water in the morning.

Saturday, June 5 dawned a beautiful but steamy day.  We were up early to make sure the little car was in tip top shape for the rest of the trip to Maysville, and of course the 180 mile return trip home.  The car had not used a drop of water, the level was perfect!  The oil level was another story.  We knew the rear main bearing  seal was blowing oil and expected it to be atleast  1 1/2 quarts low.  It was probably closer to 2 quarts low.  Not surprising.  We had driven at least 165 miles the day before.

We met up with another couple from New York state, that were staying at the same hotel, and they joined our caravan to Mike's.  We arrived at 10:30.  There were lots and lots and lots of Models A's!  People had driven their cars from all over to be there.  We were greeted with American flags and bumper holders for our cars.  Now Miz B had her flags for the 4th of July!

We did a bit of shopping, got the well needed firewall insulation for John's '30 Town Sedan and new "laces" for both of our A's shoes.  -  Chrome lug nuts, nice and shiny!  The skies open up for a brief 10 minute shower, just to get the day even steamier!  The barbecue and Beaufort stew was really good and there was chocolate cake for desert.  

We had a nice chat with Mike.  He is a native South African and was interested in my little right hand drive.  There is a road use sticker on my windscreen that is from Transval.  Interesting, this is the area of South Africa that Mike and his family are from.  We talked for a bit and then decided that it was probably time to hit the road.  We had 180 miles to drive and the skies were threatening again.  At 1:40 we were on the road again.

The Orchard Inn, Saluda, NC; Family Reunion, 9/09

Touring with the Palmetto A's of South Carolina

Ready to Roll - I think!

Well, the part arrived on Saturday. My trusty mechanics, John and Joey, were right there to put it on the little car. Quick install - thank goodness - and we were ready to test it out. The guys took her down the road for a tour. They were gone much longer than I expected, I was on pins and needles for them to come back.

When they got back, I was surprised to see Joey at the wheel! He had been learning to drive a manual transmission on John's little truck, but I see he had gotten brave and took a turn with the A. This was great! Maybe we have given the antique car bug to the next generation. Of course, this is the only way the hobby is going to survive in the coming years. Those of us in the hobby are beginning to show our age, as well.

I decided to take the little car down the road and really push her for all she has. 50 mph for about 15 minutes should tell me what to expect this weekend on our trip to Athens, GA. Back home to the barn for the evening. The thunderstorms were rolling across the lake in a hurry, so we were through working on the little car for the day.

On Sunday afternoon, John decided to take a good look at the new filter. So, the new part came off for an inspection. We were pleasantly surprised to see the filter was doing it's job collecting rust chunks coming out of the block! A quick cleaning and the car was put back together again and the radiator refilled with water. Again, the thunderstorms of the afternoon had us put the little car back in the barn for the day.

I plan to drive the car quite a bit this week, in anticipation of our 300 mile tour this coming weekend - just to make sure we aren't going to hold up the entire club with our rendition of Old Faithful!

Wish me luck!

Still waiting

Well, I am still waiting for the part to arrive from California. I discovered they shipped it late last week, so hopefully, it will arrive tomorrow or the next day.

In the meantime, Joey came over and helped John change the oil in the little car. Although I'm not real sure why we need to change the oil. We seem to be putting a couple of quarts in the little car every couple of hundred miles. It's not burning any oil, but it sure does drip from the rear main seal.

I decided to check the mileage on the little car and discovered that I had put a little over 400 miles on her during the month of May. I think with the trip to Athens, GA plus the other touring activities during the month of June will probably top May's mileage.

So, I still wait and hope . . . .

My journey in my 1931 Ford Model A DeLuxe Roadster began last summer. John and I were out hunting for a Model A for our friends, Mike and Steph, of Fairfax, Virginia. They wanted a four door Town Sedan. We were told of a collection of cars that belonged to Bland Quantz of Lexington, SC. So, we made an appointment to see the cars. We took quite a few pictures of the three Model A's that were for sale.

We thought Mike and Steph might be interested in one of them, although none were a Town Sedan. There was a sad little roadster, an immaculate pick-up truck, and a very, very rough four door phaeton. They were not interested in any of them, so the hunt was still on for a car for them.

But . . . . I was really interested in the little roadster. It was truly a very unique Model A. Not only was it a right hand drive, but it was just the right style, color, and had a rumble seat! I noticed that the little car had an unusual pedal configuration. Of course, the gear shift was in the middle of the car, to be operated with your left hand. There were two large pedals with a button in the center of them and another smaller button to the upper left of the pedals. I just couldn't figure out which button or pedal did what. Interesting, to say the least! By the way, the button to the upper left is the starter, the pedal on the left is the clutch, the button in the middle is the fuel feed, and the pedal on the right is the brake. You can imagine the first few stops are a little hair raising when you slam your foot on the gas!

One thing led to another and the little roadster came home with us within a week. Oh, she was a sad little car! A broken front spring gave her a terrible sag and she needed a new top in the worst kind of way. A trip to our "Model A Guru" Mark and she was starting to look pretty good. We changed out all the inner tubes - only to find that they were really old. The car had been imported from South Africa in 1992 and it still had South African tubes! They were at least 17 years old! It's a miracle they held air at all! We did replace the side mounted spare with one with some tred on it as well. John did his magic with his cleaning and waxing supplies. She really was shining! Wow! I was ready to tour with the Palmetto A's on their adventures around the state.

Before we made a tour with the local club, we took the little car on a nice long drive up to Saluda, NC, straight up the Saluda Grade! She did quite well until we were about 1 mile from the town of Saluda and then all hell broke loose. It was as if the devil himself had taken hold of the radiator. Steam was blowing straight out the top and bottom of the radiator! Wow, that car was hot!!! Two gallons of water and we made it up to Saluda and the Bellinger Family Reunion. Coming home was even worse! We didn't make it 25 miles and she was blowing like Old Faithful, again! Thank goodness for AAA and flatbed tow trucks! Ninety-seven miles later and she was back home in the barn.

We decided that the little car needed a new radiator and while we had her apart, we decided to replace the water pump. Simple . . . . well, not exactly. The hood had to come off, along with the radiator shell before we could consider getting the radiator and water pump off. You wouldn't believe how many parts are connected and run through that radiator shell! Two days later she was back on the road ready for her next adventure.

Everything went along quite well during the months of October, November, December, January, February, and March. All went well driving down to our fundraiser for Epworth Children's Home in Columbia.

The weekend of April 24, we were headed up to the Clemson area for the Central Railroad Festival with Orville and Sharon Booth. Going up was a beautiful day of driving the back roads of rural South Carolina. The next morning, we got up to misty, cloudy skies. It was going to be an iffy day at best for showing cars and driving back to Columbia. About 1 p.m., we decided that it was best to head for the barn. We traveled about 25 miles south when the little roadster decided to do her best imitation of Old Faithful, again! Only this time, it was pouring cats and dogs. Two gallons of water and we were back on the road. We made it home without incident, traveling at 40 mph to avoid over churning the water out the overflow tube, thinking that was our problem.

The next week, we put an overflow bottle on the little car. The thought was that the water was being churned out the overflow tube by a very efficient new water pump. Our next trip was with the Model A club to Happy Cow Creamery up in Pelzer, SC. This was a round trip of about 275 miles. Everything was going well until about 125 miles into the day, when Old Faithful blew - AGAIN!!!!! Only this time the water was boiling so hard in the overflow bottle that it blew the cap off and hot water was blowing out the side louvers of the hood. Not good! Two gallons of cool water and we were back on the road again. Only this time, we noticed that there was a lot of "junk" in the overflow bottle. Fortunately, we made it home without incident - again at 40 mph. We weren't sure what to think at this point.

Well, Calvin LeNeve to the rescue the following day. Of course, on the way to Calvin's, we blew the water out the overflow bottle one more time. Two gallons of cool water and we made it to Calvin's house. He rigged up a method to power back flush the block and radiator. We held a sieve at the top radiator port and began catching chunks of rust! Probably a couple of tablespoons worth. Who would have known that was our problem all along? All I can figure is that the little car had sat neglected for many years with less than adequate water in her block and just rusted. Now she was being driven - and I mean a lot, and that was stirring up all the crud and clogging up the radiator tubes. Even a magnet run around the inside the radiator kept pulling chunks of rust out. Some were the size of dimes.

After some investigation, we discovered an inline coolant filter (Gano) for just this issue. It was invented and patented by a Model A owner out in California. We've got our fingers - and toes, crossed in hopes that this will solve our overheating issue. We are awaiting the filter. Hopefully, it will arrive before our big overnight trip to Mike's A-Ford-able in Georgia on the 4th of June.

Stay tuned!