I test a lot of products for CNN Underscored, but admittedly, few of them are designed with a 1929 Ford Model A in mind. My family’s Model A has been around for as long as I can remember — and long before that. It’s been in my family since the 1960s, and my dad drove it to high school every day. Decades later, I did the exact same thing.
Needless to say, it’s a pretty special car to us. And while it’s coming up on being 100 years old, we still drive it regularly. It’s not something that sits untouched in a garage or only comes out for car shows. I learned to drive it when I was a teenager, took it to school and still get behind the wheel today.
But driving a car built in 1929 is, unsurprisingly, a little different from driving a modern one. There’s no air conditioning, no screen telling you when something is wrong and definitely no roadside assistance button. And when a car has been in your family for more than 60 years, you also tend to be a little more careful about keeping it clean and protected.
Over the years, I’ve found a handful of car products that make owning and driving our Model A easier. From the cleaning products I use to keep it looking its best to a couple of things that make driving without air conditioning more bearable, these are the products I use with our nearly 100-year-old car beyond road trip essentials.
