My Dad Is Proud of His Death Machine
Updated: Aug 24
My dad is very proud of his 1931 Model A.
He should be. It is beautiful, original, and has more accessories bolted to it than a truck stop Christmas tree.
He also added a high-compression engine and a high-speed rear end.
According to him, that little Ford can easily do 65 mph.
I believe him.
I believe it can do 65. I just prefer my near-death experiences to come with seatbelts and disc brakes.
Here’s the problem.
The engine might be ready for 65, but the rest of the car is still living in the Great Depression. The chassis, suspension, brakes, steering, aerodynamics, and stopping distance were built for gravel roads, mud, potholes, ruts, and a world where 37 mph felt like breaking the sound barrier.
Our Model A loves 37 mph.
At 37 mph, it is charming. At 65 mph, it becomes death on whitewall tires.
That is the lesson.
Businesses do this constantly.
They upgrade one part of the system and then pretend the whole operation is ready to move faster. New software. Bigger sales goals. More demand. A stronger leader. A shiny dashboard. Then everyone acts shocked when the rest of the system starts wobbling like a Model A on bias-ply tires.
Just because one part can go faster does not mean the whole machine is ready.
Sometimes the danger is not speed, It is the mismatch.
Finding this problem in your operation? Lean-Corp’s Free Profit Scan helps identify the bottleneck, handoff, capacity, rework, or operating-discipline issue costing you time and margin.
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