MTFCA Forum

Anyone out there in the great Pacific Northwest recognize this fellow? I bought a LOT of Model T parts from him about 50 years ago.

Otis Clinton

What a great photo of Otis & Blossom !!! That '13 Touring went to Georgia - I have their '19 Centerdoor.

He's holding a small toy saxophone in his right hand.

It looks like the one I had when I was a kid.

Yep, I knew you all would recognize Otis and his wife, not to mention his 13 Touring. Otis was a first rate machinist and made a lot of good stuff for the Model T. I recently found a box with a set of pedal shafts that he machined. I bought a lot of NOS bits from him for my 26 Model T that I was restoring at the time. I still have some of those NOS parts. I always left his shop with a much lighter wallet but to this day don't regret spending a penny of it.

This was all when I lived in the Pacific Northwest.

My wife Lisa and I now own the 1913 T shown in the picture. We bought it from Otis' daughter and son-in-law in 2007 after he had passed away. I never had a chance to meet him, but when I saw the picture I figured it had to be him with his '13 Touring.

Dan

I knew Otis and Blossom about as well as anyone. I first heard of him from the guy in Texas I bought my '13 touring from in 1961, Hoot Gibson. I never forgot Otis's name, and while I was stationed in the Bremerton, Washington shipyard aboard one of the last diesel submarines I gave Otis a call. He didn't want anything to do with me. After repeated calls, Blossom put her foot down and said you've got to meet this kid! Well, I was 30 years old then. We hit it off right away, and they even invited me upstairs to their penthouse on top of the old Ford dealer in West Seattle. Over the years, we saw each other often, and Otis would drive his motor home to So. California and stay a week at a time. I introduced them to all my T friends down here and we had great times with me at the piano, and Otis on his Sax. It is wonderful having friends like them.

I knew blossom and Otis since I was 14 now 81. I started learning from Otis when I was 14. I kinda think the deal was worked out between Otis and my dad. Never got any money but Blossom made the best sandwiches.

I would ride the electric trolley from Ballard(north Seattle) to Otis' shop at 2701 California ave in (west Seattle) this required a couple of transfers, and an hour each way.

Every Saturday morning at 6 am then hop on the trolley and take my ride. Started to work at 8 am. Started by sweeping and clean up. After a few weeks Otis began to teach me all about model t's. Authenticity was his trademark. I learned how he made flat fenders, hoods and splash aprons at that time the fenders were priced at $25.00 each. He taught me simple machine work. He had no patience when I did not remember his teachings. Every Saturday he would quiz me on what he taught me the previous Saturday. I knew better that to fail the test!!!!!!

Many people did not get along with Otis, he was a no nonsense guy. Once you got to know him, and he liked you he was funny and had a great sense of humor. If you were lucky enough to be invited to one of their new years parties, that meant you were in and a member of a very limited group. He gave me a genuine Ford model t shop manual, its been reproduced, but mine is the original dark blue cover. I treasure this book as it in my restoration shop and I still refer to it as needed. When I reach for it I think of Otis and have fond memories.

just sayin'
frontyboy

It's great to hear these memories of the Clintons. I was introduced to Otis in 1977 or thereabouts by Ken Jones of Aberdeen, Washington. I lived in Montesano, Washington and was a young lad starting the restoration of a 1926 Coupe. Ken and I took a trip to Otis' place and I explained to Otis that I was looking for some unique 26/27 steering part. Otis said he thought they were the same as for earlier cars. No, I said the part was different and looked it up in the Ford parts book and showed it to Otis. He said, " Well, dammit, you are right!" I think I earned his respect because I actually bothered to research the car and make it authentic. Otis went digging and found me the NOS part I was looking for. We always got along, but he could be one of those guys that obviously did not "suffer fools gladly."

I met Otis in 1962 when I bought my first Model T, a restored 1926 Tudor sedan. I was 19. Otis was a very friendly person who showed me around his shop and spent time with me. He, a little bit later, volunteered to sell me his overhead cam engine. Unfortunately I did not have the money for it. Then the U. S. Army called, and I only saw him a few times afterwards.
Ken Jones was also a very nice individual. I knew him before he moved to Aberdeen from Seattle. We helped each other out with parts and information on the 1912 Model T parts we were gathering.
This was all long ago, and memory starts to fade.

Keith, I wound up with the 12 Commercial Roadster that Ken was working on. Bought it in Minnesota and it is now in South Carolina, a long way from where it started.

Otis made a few parts for Ken’s’15 touring, no longer in Washington but still on the Pacific coast. The chain of friendships and relationships is very strong with that car.

Ken's 15 touring is the first T I ever rode in. I spent many hours cleaning that car, Ken restored it in a shed on my grandparents farm in Central Park, WA. It's got a great home in CA now.

These are all wonderful reminiscences! Several old-timers in my area, who are now gone, come to mind as I read these posts. They all played a hand in my appreciation of the Model T, as Otis has done for you all. Not the least of these for me, was my dad. I miss him...

Jerry VanOoteghem wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 05, 2024 12:03 pm

These are all wonderful reminiscences! Several old-timers in my area, who are now gone, come to mind as I read these posts. They all played a hand in my appreciation of the Model T, as Otis has done for you all. Not the least of these for me, was my dad. I miss him...

I miss my father also. I cherish the tools and collectibles he left behind, but what holds the most meaning for me is his '15 Touring, parked in my garage. Every time I see it, I feel a piece of him with me. That, along with now having his MTFCI membership number, keeps his memory alive in my heart.

Jeff5015 wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 05, 2024 2:13 pm

Jerry VanOoteghem wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 05, 2024 12:03 pm

These are all wonderful reminiscences! Several old-timers in my area, who are now gone, come to mind as I read these posts. They all played a hand in my appreciation of the Model T, as Otis has done for you all. Not the least of these for me, was my dad. I miss him...

I miss my father also. I cherish the tools and collectibles he left behind, but what holds the most meaning for me is his '15 Touring, parked in my garage. Every time I see it, I feel a piece of him with me. That, along with now having his MTFCI membership number, keeps his memory alive in my heart.

You definitely "get it". Thanks.

Kim, Ken showed me the Central Park location (your grandparents) where the work on the 15 was done. The original firewall was still there along with miscellaneous other parts. Of course this was many years ago. Small world.

Otis did piece work for Boeing too.

Here's Ken's '15, with Ken at the wheel and Kim in the back seat, courtesy of Greg. Otis made a few parts for it, I think including the drive shaft.

And here she is this year.

I would always go up to Kens shed to see what he was doing. I was about 8 or 9, Ken rarely spoke to us kids he just kind of grunted when I asked questions. Later in life when he discovered I could polish brass and wax his car, we became friends. I learned a lot from him, he was very detailed and did nice work.
The first day he got the 15 running, he backed it out of the shed, my grandma got in the back seat. Ken backed the car up, hit a rock and the rear wheel shattered, he said a few bad words, some I’d never heard before. He put a new wheel on and they drove off. The car looks great today, it’s nice to see it back on the road.

Here is Ken's other car, a 1912 Commercial Roadster. I know there are Otis Clinton parts in that car. Pictures show the car when I got it, and how it looks now. The "before" picture was after Ken had embarked on a re-restoration, having changed out a frame damaged in shipment. Unfortunately, health issues and time caught up with Ken and he couldn't finish it. One thing about Ken, he was a stickler for authenticity.

I guess we probably sound like a bunch of old-timers reminiscing about the old days. Maybe so, but there is certainly nothing wrong with acknowledging those great folks who helped so many of us get where we are today.

Just a few little known facts from Otis' history. In his younger days he was a very prolific outboard hydroplane racer. In fact one of the most historic and difficult races in the Seattle area was the Sammamish Slough race in the 50's and 60's from Lake Washington up the slough to Lake Sammamish(about 25 miles) this was a narrow, canal strewn with dead heads and very narrow passing areas. The race started in Lake Washington, with a grand pre start meaning over 100 boats milled around at the mouth of the slough and on the starters gun going off it was a madhouse and damn dangerous squeezing around 100 boats all trying to get into the arrow neck of the slew. The same happened at the restart of the downward leg back to Lake Washington. You had to repeat the grand pre start. On 2 races Otis in different years won both legs of that race. In his model t shop he had shelves covered with trophies he won racing. Also in his early years he owned Clinton Ott marine in south Seattle a Mercury outboard motor dealership. That led him to quit racing and open Clinton Ott Machine works making aircraft parts for Boeing.

Now for some history on Blossom. She delivered parts from the machine shop to Boeing, they did not have a lot of money starting up so Blossom used their 1917 cut off touring with a wood truck box. This was the most unoriginal model t he owned. It sported knock off wire wheels and a Rajo cylinder head. She picked up material for the machine shop and then delivered the finish product in that model t pick up. Another sidebar, this being in the early 60's she had and used a vocabulary that would send sailors running for cover!!!!!

just sayin,
frontyboy

Interesting. Blossom didn't mind a sailors vocabulary. I was one of them, and so was she! We always liked to gather and have a cocktail or two before dinner. It was a must! A long time ago, the Southern California Model T Club had a tour up to Canada. This is when Otis's shop was still on California. We squeezed all of the cars into his shop before cocktails and dinner. Fun times.

Thanks for sharing those photos.

RajoRacer wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 01, 2024 5:28 pm

What a great photo of Otis & Blossom !!! That '13 Touring went to Georgia - I have their '19 Centerdoor.

I knew you would know him.

Another thought came to me regarding Otis. Our local model t club used to do "instant tours". Someone would get an idea for a 1 day tour and call another member. We had a phone tree those days so when you called one member then he would call another and on and on.

This particular Sunday started at the ferry dock on south Seattle, .My folks and I drove our '13 touring down to the dock from north Seattle. We toured a couple of local islands by ferry then on the way back it started to pour. We left our '13 at Otis' shop and they drove us home.

We came back a few days later to pick up the t, and Otis told us it does not start. He went on to tell us he adjusted the coils, checked out the mag pick up, cleaned the timer but it still would not fire.

While he was telling my dad all that he did to our t, I crawled under and turned the gas on, then it fired right up!!!!! He asked my why I turned the gas off. I told him my father always turned the gas off when the car was parked inside a building. I guess it was our joke on Otis.

just sayin'
frontyboy