I know its been a while since I last posted, but life just seems to get in the way...especially with a 4 year old on the loose
Alot has been going on in the last year or two, but I'll try get everyone caught up. The Roadster is still going strong and was just out recently:
Two years ago, Chris Becker and I made the trek up north to Spokane for the Club's National Tour and had a blast, despite the 100°+ temps. we did several hundred miles with both cars without major incident. we had the good fortune of getting to meet some of you on that tour!
Last year, we welcomed two more T's to the family, A 1919 Depot Hack and a 1924 TT 1-ton truck:
These two Model Ts both belonged to my high school, and I was present when they were donated to the Auto Department. Since I was the only one that had interest... they became my senior project. For 4 years, I learned a great deal from them and got them running, reliable, and operational. After graduating, I maintained a relationship with my instructors and the Ts. After 22 years with the school, a recent downsize of the department, reduced relevancy to the new instructors, space, and the retirement of the staff that maintained them, the decision was made to liquidate them. Because of their deep connection to the school history, simply getting rid of them was not an option. The school administration and the alumni association reached out to me (because of my connection to them and the endorsement of my old instructors) and asked if I would be willing to take them both and be their caretaker, to which I didn't hesitate. They still get to be connected to the school, do events (Tech Show and the big 2024 reopen of Benson are the first one or two of many), but they also get to a lot of upgrades, deferred maintenance and legalized for the road...first time in years.
Here are both back years ago, soon after donation:
These cars both have a special place for me...as these were the first Ts I had the chance to work on and drive and learned a LOT doing it. They are forever cars, and it's an honor to have been asked to be their caretaker.
So far, we have the Depot Hack pretty much done and reliable and had been to a couple events this year, such as the Forest Grove Concourse and Great Oregon Steam Up. The engine needed work (hoses, gaskets, leaks fixed, timer cleaned), and the Ruckstell needed some love (worn internals and a gear change to 3.25)
Charlotte (My 4 year old) LOVED the steam up and riding in the Depot Hack around the grounds.
We have some more work to do on all three cars, the TT most of all (ill do a separate post on that), so stay tuned!
~ Clayton
