Getting 'Sheila' roadworthy in Arizona

Sunday 1st January - 2023

Hello everybody from Phoenix, Arizona. Happy New Year to one and all.

Now that the festive season is behind us, it is now the right time to put the overalls on and open my tool box to prepare my 1931 Model A Ford slant window Town Sedan for the many drives through the desert here in Arizona.

My Model A Ford needs a little tender loving care after laying idle for 3.5 years here in the harsh desert conditions of Arizona, admittedly 'Sheila' has been under cover all that time. I would hate to think what condition it would be in if I had left it out in the elements all that time as I have done with my Mobile Home. (That’s another story to come).

My 1931 Model A Ford slant window Town Sedan

that I purchased here in the US, 13-years ago.

My baby needs new tyres, a new battery, new fuel pump, grease & oil change plus an oil filter & a bloody good detail to bring it back to all her beauty.

Tomorrow, I am having five new Radial Ply tyres fitted to my 16” Kelsey rims, the old tyres are well & truly past their use by date & I sure as hell do not want to have a blow out driving through the desert on my way to Las Vegas, because it gets very lonely out there in the desert when you are a long way from the nearest town in the middle of nowhere.

'Sheila' parked outside California's legendary Hotel Del Coronado
in San Diego on one of my many US road trips

I purchased 'Sheila' 13-years ago & have driven it all over America during that time, touch wood she has never let me down once, even when I drove her through Death Valley in California in temperatures of 120F or 49C on my way to a Model A Ford National Rally in Lake Tahoe 4-years ago.

All of my American friends said that I was an absolute idiot to have done what I did back then & thinking back on that experience I probably was. However as you all know the 'Squire' always pushes the limits.

The interior is still in tip top condition

All of my other Model A Ford friends over here always trailer their vehicles to & from the National Rallies, but not Warbo. None of my cars here or in Australia are trailer Queens, & that’s the way l like it.

Believe you me I have so much fun driving 'Sheila' all around America, there is nothing better than driving my 91-year old, Henry Ford Classic on a road trip, it opens so many doors for me without me actually saying one word.

I can’t wait to hit the highway again once she is up to my very high safety standards. I need to make sure it won’t let me down because I do not want you reading bad news about the “ Squire” in the Sydney Morning Herald, if you get my drift because I still have some Superannuation to spend.

Sam senior, is my tough old right hand man in
the San Tan RV Village Phoenix, Arizona

(Above) The guy standing next to 'Sheila' is Sam, he owns the 55 and over San Tan Mobile Village that I live in here in Chandler, he is like nobody else you have ever met in your life. Tough as nails, just look at the size of his left hand. He is from the old school & I simply love him to death. We have a ball together, let me tell you I want him on my side in a dark alley.

The Winter weather at the moment here in the Southern States, especially here in Phoenix Arizona is absolutely perfect, very cold during the evenings & early mornings, once the sun rises above the yardarm about 9:00am it is a different world. The last couple of days here in Arizona have been nothing short of sensational 22C or 72F while up in the Northern States they have experienced atrocious weather conditions as I am sure you all know listening to the news reports.

Finally, do you like my bumper sticker on the rear window of 'Sheila'? It reads: ‘I Love Pot Holes’ Chicken, Alaska.

This bumper sticker would not be appreciated in NSW, Australia right now due to the horrendous road conditions after all the bad weather we have experienced over the past 6-months.

Stay safe.

Cheers for now.

Warbo.