Arete Gives Back: 1929 Ford Model A
Sometimes a special piece of history comes to you in a way that is unimaginably beautiful. These moments are often unexpected and come at times when we need them most. Here at the shop we have been feeling an outpouring of gratitude toward our customers and the surrounding Rochester community from which most of them hail. We wanted a way to give back to show how much we appreciate the support we've received thus far. This is when we were approached by the American Cancer Society B. Thomas Golisano Hope Lodge Hospitality House here in Rochester to donate our time for an upcoming gala benefiting cancer research. Happily, we accepted the opportunity to be involved with such a fantastic cause as cancer has touched each of our lives in different ways. That's when we discovered we would be preparing a 1929 Ford Model A for display. This car represents such a tremendous time in not only the history of the automobile but the history of our country. It was an amazing opportunity to get to know the ins and outs of a product from a time when things were so much simpler. The country had not yet entered the throes of the Great Depression and the concept of assembly line manufacturing was barely two decades old.
The car itself is a true survivor, it had stayed in the same family since the early 1960's and received a restoration sometime between 1960 and 1980. When Dave and Jon got on site for the mobile detail they saw that restoration had begun showing its age. The old Ford still had true-to-its-day lacquer paint and was 100% complete. But, it had not had proper attention and there was still evidence of the last detailer who had cared for it.
Evidence of TOGW or "the other guy's wax".
After our wax removal and reapplication, the finer details of the car were looking as they should.
There are so many little details that make the Model A a special automobile. One of these little details are the metal accent pieces adorning the exterior and interior of the car. Henry Ford wasn't a fan of baubles and extras and believed cars were utilitarian devices but in order to compete with an emergent General Motors they had to be included. The design of the majority of the car was entrusted to his son, Edsel, who we can thank for making the Model A a truly lovely automobile. We made sure to pay special attention to these Edsel Ford added pieces and polished them to like-new condition.
These wheel caps were showing their age.
After a proper polish these caps were shining like new.
After caring for the exterior we turned our attention to the well preserved interior of the car, including the very unique "rumble seat" which folds out for use on nice days. The interior was dusty and dull but after careful cleaning and reconditioning it once again looked like it should have in the late 1920's.
The interior had aged well but needed attention to look its best.
Simple and elegant. A hallmark of Ford during this period.
It was such a pleasure to be able to donate the work on this Model A for such a fantastic cause. The people at the Hope Lodge are wonderful and truly passionate about the cause they work so hard for. We hope you enjoy the imagery from this detail as much as we enjoyed doing it. Below are finished shots as well as an expandable gallery so you an see all of the amazing little details this elegant automobile has to share. The team also wants to thank the Rochester community as whole for supporting us thus far!
