Model T assembly

[550Doug]

I just received a video on the model T that some of you may find interesting.
I've never driven a model T, however, as a youngster in the 1950's, my father had a 1927 1-ton Chevy truck that I would drive around the fields. He sold it to a collector about 1958. It was very similar to the one in this picture, but of course ours had very little paint and a beat up box. Nice memories.

Model T




This post was edited by 550Doug on 12/09/2022 at 09:03 am.

 

[warbaby]

A wheelin' & dealin' friend from Canada bought a a model TT truck in Ohio years ago and sent me to pick it up. The seller had inherited it and didnt know beans about it, including how to start it or what those 3 levers (brake, spark, throttle) and 3 pedals (hi/low, reverse, kinda brakes) did! I cranked it up and drove it around his yard for him so he could at least ride in it one time before I hauled it away.

When I got it home (Michigan) I applied for a lost title and the Michigan State Police sent a young trooper out to inspect it. He had a checklist of things it needed to have to be street legal:

Bumpers? No. Never came with them.

Windshield wipers? Kinda. It had a single, hand-crank operated blade.

Horn? Yeah, a squeeze bulb one (not original, but kinda cool).

Lights? Only when its running and the magneto is working.

Turn Signals? Ever see anybody flailing their arms around like this- up, down, straight out (Index finger quickly extended and retracted repeatedly like its ''blinking'')?

Does it run? I dutifully cranked it up and set it to idle. While he was walking around it to see how badly it smoked (not too bad!), it started crawling away from us!

Does it have an Emergency Brake? Sure- I reached through the drivers window (the drivers doors on U.S. built model Ts are non-opening) and yanked on it (again) and that slowed it down enough to satisfy Barney.

VIN Number? Its the engine number. That made it a 1920 model.

Once I told him it was ultimately heading to Canada and he'd never see it on the road around here, he passed it, and 2 weeks later a new title arrived and it was mine for a whole day.

When my Canuck buddy came to pick it up I gave him a quick lesson on planetary transmissions and sent him to the border where the gourds balked at the freshly issued title and called me to confirm his story. A month later, it was in a container on a ship in the North Atlantic and it ended up in a collector's hoard of U.S. vehicles somewhere in Scotland.

 

[MarkB_MI]

The <a href=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Park_Ford_Plant>Ford Highland Park plant</a> is still standing, although it's a horrible eyesore. The Ford family and company haven't shown any interest is fixing it up, unlike other Detroit landmarks such as the <a href=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_Central_Station>Michigan Central Station</a>. I suspect the plant's owners are trying to get a lot more money for it than the Fords are willing to pay.

 

[redforlife]

Great grandfather bought a new model T car in 1915. Was the third person in his country church to have an automobil. He passed some people driving horses in his car on the way home from church. It spooked the horses, and they had a run-away on thier hands, and wrecked thier buggy. The church board had a meeting after the incident. And it was decided by the church board, that anybody that drove automobils to church, must leave the premises first after church functions, followed by horse drawn members.

Grandpa and his brother bought a 24 model T truck later on. Although, I don't think they bought it new. They got into doing custom hauling with it. They stayed pretty busy at it. Most farmers didn't have a truck at that time. I don't know why, but most farmers in my area seemed to be more prone to getting a car first, instead of a truck. And it was usually years and years later, before they got a truck also, and had both a car and a truck.

I don't remember my family having these model T's. They were gone before I came along. Guessing they went to the scrap yard before I was born. My uncle (aunts husband) hauled a bunch of stuff to the scrap yard while my dad was in the service. He hauled alot of stuff off during that time. Had my dad been around, alot of stuff wouldn't of been hauled away. The model A that my dad bought and drove to high-school, was hauled off also. He was pretty hurt about that. The rest of the stuff I guess technically wasn't his. But that model A was. And he felt like they had no right to haul it off without his consent. But, anyways. I think had he of been around, less stuff would of been hauled off.

I always thought I'd like to have a model T. But that might not ever happen. I'd probably rather have a model A. And I dont have one of them either. Might also never happen.
As expensive as it is to keep a newer vehicle on the road, it's really hard to have additional collector vehicles in your fleet.
Just glad I have my old tractors. They are easier to do on less funding.

 

[Bobl1958]

I bought a 1924 Chevrolet Sedan out of a shed. Had not been ran for over 30 years. Fortunately the fuel tank and lines had been drained. The car started with very little effort and actually ran great. All the lights worked, including the inside dome light. I played with it for awhile, then realized I didn't have really any use for it, and it was taking up space in the shed, so I sold it to a friend. The old ones take a little getting used to driving down the road for sure. Bob

 

[cdmn]

I've got a couple of those Chev trucks in rough condition. One 1927, one 1928.
The main difference is that the 1928 has four-wheel brakes. The engines on these
are the last four-cylinder Chev's. A cylinder head from these engines could be
made to fit on a Model A Ford, so you had more power because of the overhead valve
setup. Hopped up. They still do it today. I don't know why the complete engine
wasn't swapped.
OHV Model A

 

[Stephen Newell]

I've heard the model t lacked a lot of power where it had to struggle to take hills. Kind of goes against it's reputation.

 

[Goose]

I spent my share of time behind the wheel of a Model T. First a 1915 'touring car' that had been cut off with a pickup box on the back and later a '25 farm truck.

That's the '15 in the picture. My dad cranking, one of my sister's girlfriends in back, and me standing by.

 

[3LFarms]

My 1924 Dodge Brothers touring car. It belonged to my grandfather who learned to drive in a car just like it when he was 9 years old in 1930.
The owner s manual says it makes 27hp. It basically drives like a tractor. Lots of torque, but slow revving. I have been told rods will start to exit the block above 1800 RPM.
It has a 3speed with a granny gear that you don t even use on the road. Supposedly they did that for the farmers since people could afford a car or a tractor, but not both. Apparently lots were used to tow wagons and such.

This post was edited by 3LFarms on 12/09/2022 at 03:52 pm.

 

[Duner Wi]

3LFarms,
I wonder why Dodge migrated away from 12 volt electrics after 1926?
Nice car!!!

 

[3LFarms]

I don t know. I ve always suspected it was because 12v batteries and bulbs were hard to find because no one else adopted the 12v system. It s super convenient now though. Dodge Bros were ahead of their time on a lot of things.
A friend has a 24 Model T and we often park them side by side at car shows. The T is a tin can compared to the Dodge, utthe Dodge cost about twice what the T did. About $950 vs $450.

 

[Duner Wi]

My guessing is starter generator may have something to do with being 12 volt and when Chrysler acquired Dodge Bros may also had something to do with it.
All I have left from our 1926 family purchased new is the owners manual.