MTFCA Forum

Dave came down from the land of cheese today to get the 15. After almost a year and a half I was still shocked at how bad the damage is. I had swapped a spindle arm so the front wheels were pointed in a similar direction. I pulled the keys from rear axles so it would roll. The frame is bent against the hogshead and it's in gear. After loading all the things Steve had in the car and putting a wheel and tire on, it was ready for Dave. We swapped a wheel so I could keep mine when Dave arrived. My buddy Joe stopped to help us load up and strap down. Thank you Dave and whoever is helping get this to Steve. Steve, I think the oil can, spark plugs, tail light and horn are ok. Safe travels Dave.

After a burger and a visit at the Twin Six, Dave was on the road. Thanks for the Spotted Cow Dave.

Kudos for assisting Steve in getting his beloved Runabout back to him but man, those photos give me a gut ache !!!!

The photo straight on front and engine photo shows how badly the frame is bent.

That's going to take quite a time to fix. At least, some parts might be salvageable. Hope you can fix it up. Most of all I am very happy that Steve, himself is back and going again.
Norm

All the more amazed that he survived! Thanks Dallas for taking care of it for him, and Dave for the effort to return it to him! Safe travels!

Wow. Just, wow....
It's a miracle that Steve survived. The car, serves a warning to us all that no matter what we do, or how careful we are, this can still happen.

Glad the car is headed back home. It looks in pretty sorry shape, but a few things look ok. It took one heck of a hit, thats for sure.

Sreve, I don't think any of us would want you to feel obliged to start on rebuilding your roadster. You've done a remarkable job rebuilding yourself. That done, if you want to take a bit easier route to T motoring, your tourer is there for you. It would almost certainly get you back in the saddle sooner, enjoying what you like most, getting about in a T. Have fun.

Allan from down under.

I wish I was closer to where Steve is , I would be more than happy to help somehow in repairing the car. Get a straight frame and oil pan first and get them painted and ready then just remove each peice and see what is good and bad. Alot of things can be straightened. I know someone here ran their TT off into the pine trees and folded the fenders up like playboy magazines and the pictures showed them straightening them right back out. it can be done, would be a fun challenge.

Dallas, you forgot to give me the key. How are we going to get it started to drive it off the trailer?

Made it to Jacksonville today. McPherson tomorrow is the plan.

p.s. I have more Spotted Cow in the truck. Don't tell ATF.

Nice!
Bent but not broken.

Part of having an age that starts with 8 is getting ticked off about things you can't do anymore. I'll find out at the clinic tomorrow if I can still hand-start a Model T.

I sure hope Steve gets his car back and everyone involved gets back home safely before the arctic blast hits!

Steve Jelf wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 17, 2025 11:39 am

Part of having an age that starts with 8 is getting ticked off about things you can't do anymore. I'll find out at the clinic tomorrow if I can still hand-start a Model T.

I think you know what you're capable of more so than the doctors! Wishing you and your car a full recovery.

That car needs to come apart to be done correctly. As I recall, his car is not a true 1915 either, so maybe that can be corrected on reassembly?

Dallas, for a Ford guy you have the wrong colour tractor!

However, given your kindness to Steve, I'll just put my sunglasses on whenever I look at this thread

Luke.

Steve please don’t start knocking yourself out on the car. It’s quite damaged and I’m kind of relieved you see that and posted it. honestly it looks pretty much like a parts car now.

Nothing wrong with adding a starter during rebuild.......You do what you must.....

I had a similar wreck in a Model A where a guy suddenly pulled out in front of me. He told the police that he thought he could beat "that old car." I was doing 50 mph on a highway. Fortunately, upon impact I was thrown from the car (yeah, no seat belts). If I hadn't been, I wouldn't be writing this today. I think a similar thing happened to Steve. I assume he was ejected from the car before the car was overturned. Or at least I think that is what happened to him. I was hurt badly in my accident but it could have been much worse. The driver that caused my accident was ticketed.

Anyway, my car was totaled so I bought another one with the insurance money. I probably could have gone through the restoration process and all that, but I am at the point in life that I have to pick my battles wisely and use my time judiciously. Much as I love the restoration process, I found it a whole lot easier when I was younger. Of course, it is up to Steve as to what to do, but I would think the car is a parts car now. Hopefully there are good mechanicals such as the engine, tranny, rear axle, etc. If I had any 15 parts, I would give them to Steve to help the project along.

Luke, in New Zealand.

Do not ask Dallas what brand of pickup truck is he driving. It starts with a C.

I have restored much worse. In fact, most of my 1915 runabout was much worse. I ended up restoring two full sets of fenders for my car. I restored a set of later 1915/'16 fenders first, then after they were done, acquired the earlier style fenders I wanted and restored them. Along with one more extra front fender, I restored nine fenders for that car. Only the two 1916 style rear fenders that I did not really want on my car were anywhere near decent condition. All the rest were about as bad as any fool ever tried to restore. All the fronts were badly mangled with breaks and rust out. The two earlier rears were even worse. Now, none are really nice, but all of them are decent looking and basically straight.
I also had a nice set of reproduction side aprons. However, silly me, I wanted correctly shaped real 1915s on my car. The only pair I found when searching were really nasty. But they also look nice now.

I wish I were a lot closer to Steve's place. I do have some decent parts he really should replace. I am fairly sure I have a decent late 1910s frame (close enough maybe?), and a real 1915 pan I likely will never use. It would need some work, but was acquired recently and is a lot better than the one I restored for my 1915. If needed, I also have a good looking pair of real 1915 rear end housings if his should turn out to be bent.

Restoring from damaged is often a lot less work than restoring from a hundred years in the weather and years of abuse. I suspect his runabout would be an easier restoration than several of the cars I have done over the years.
But Steve needs to do what is best for him, and his circumstances now.

I hope for the best for him always!

To me the car is kinda unique. I entertain preserving the car in a wrecked state. It would be more awesome if Steve had the ability to single-handedly restore the thing. I have seen the 1970's car from the movie Vanishing Point that was crashed in a preserved wrecked state. Seems like there is a statement to be made about safety to others and also serves as a trophy of survival. Highschoolers in drivers ed. should be required to see these things and explained why it happened.

To: Dave H.

It's snowing and COLD in Colorado and into Western Kansas. I don't know how far East this goes, but, it's slicker than snot on the roads here.

GOOD LUCK and thank you for all you're doing.

I need Kenny Edmondsons phone number again. If Kenny could call me. Thanks all

David and I spoke.

Steve Jelf wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 17, 2025 11:39 am

Part of having an age that starts with 8 is getting ticked off about things you can't do anymore. I'll find out at the clinic tomorrow if I can still hand-start a Model T.

Amen to your first sentence, Steve.

Steve should find him a new T he likes and put his 15 on display in Richmond.

DHort wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 18, 2025 1:08 am

Luke, in New Zealand.

Do not ask Dallas what brand of pickup truck is he driving. It starts with a C.

I hope all the great people that offered Steve lots of parts during his recovery will come through and make a car happen for him.

Heck, even Steve drove a Chevrolet! A square blue Suburban.
Steve, it wasn't your 15 you rolled over the front of the trailer was it? Been awhile.

I saw on Facebook a minute ago that Steve's car is back at his house, parked in front of his garage.

Glad to hear that. I'm sure we will hear his thoughts about the car soon. Thank you to everyone who made this possible. We have great bunch of people on the forum!

Don't get old. You won't like it.

That quote sums up my advice these days. I made it to the Clinic (late). I took pictures. I visited with several folks. I drove home. By then it was dark, but the car was already unloaded in front of my shop. This morning I dressed in my winter gear and braved the 21º outside to take three pictures of it in full daylight. That's where the quote above comes in. I can't show you any of the pictures. They're all still on the memory card in my obsolete camera. The application I've been using to download pictures for years now tells me "No camera was found."

I was not made for the Digital Age. I blame the TBI and my age that starts with 8. Maybe I'll find my way around the picture problem and some of the other things I can't do anymore, but for now I'll just count the days and try not to freeze.

60 days to spring.

This is a heartwarming story. There are nice people out there sometimes! Most importantly, Steve is recovering!

Luke wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 18, 2025 3:45 pm

DHort wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 18, 2025 1:08 am

Luke, in New Zealand.

Do not ask Dallas what brand of pickup truck is he driving. It starts with a C.

ohno.jpeg

So does mine.

I have a C, a D, an F, a GMC, and a J. I have driven an I, too, and I'd do it again!

Steve, we may not like growing old but it beats the alternative. I know it is frustrating but I just cut the number of things I want to get done in a day by half and double the time allocated to get it done. Sometimes that even works!

A lot of thanks goes to the people at the Winter Clinic, especially Chris Paulsen and Luke Chennell who assisted me by allowing me to bring the T on to the McPherson College property, and arranged for it to be taken to Steve's house while I headed to Boston.

Great news!

Great news!

Does anyone know what charges if any the guilty party faced?

A lot of thanks goes to the people at the Winter Clinic, especially Chris Paulsen and Luke Chennell...

... and Gary Paulsen who donated a wheel so the carcass will roll. Today I went out and put a tarp over the heap in case of rain or snow. The heater in my shop has gone south, so it will take longer than it should to clear out some inside space. On the plus side, I get kind offers of help in dealing with my situation. If anybody thinks I'm too slow, he's right. But when I get mad about things I can't do anymore, I need to remind myself how lucky I am that I can still do anything at all. I wonder if I can still hand-start a T.

Steve, at our age everything takes longer than we would like.The hard part is finding someone willing to do the same work as well as we could once do it.I have only two T's which require hand cranking now, and one of those is already fitted with a ring gear flywheel. Your tourer would fit that bill, and likely at much less cost, especially in time. Look after yourself first.

Allan from down under.

Awesome!!!