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Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2025 2:35 am
by Matt in California
Took the Model T out for a spin last weekend and found myself on some pretty good hills — the kind that make you lean forward in the seat like it’ll help (and maybe it does… just a little!).
Here is the video:
https://youtu.be/3MAbgJ4h3GE?si=6ASOj5odzwS96_WD
There’s something genuinely satisfying about feeling the gears do their thing, hearing that steady putt-putt from the engine, and knowing you’ve got a little extra help when the road points skyward. The Ruckstell might be one of the best “unofficial” factory options Ford never offered.
Anyone else enjoy putting their Ruckstell to the test? Would love to hear your hill stories — successful climbs or, well… learning experiences.
Matt
Re: Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2025 6:15 am
by George House
That was a fun run
Thanks ! And pretty scenery
Re: Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2025 12:32 pm
by walber
That was excellent!
Re: Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2025 12:54 pm
by Daisy Mae
OH MAN!!!
What a trip down memory lane!! The last place I lived in CA was Modesto. Many a weekend was spent camping at Huntington Lake, or exploring the foothills along Kaiser Pass Rd. Appears most of Jose Basin was burned out since I was there last ('91). Still pretty country, I will always miss the Sierra.
What a joy that would be in a T!!
Re: Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2025 1:44 pm
by kmatt2
Way to go Matt , going up Toll House Grade is a fun challenge in a stock Model T , the Ruckstell is a big help , but you have to have a strong left foot and a tire pump to put pressure in the gas tank if you have a pre 1926 car , even a full tank of gas in a round tank doesn’t gravity flow so well with all the sloshing and bouncing. Think about about all the hourse drawn wagons that came down that grade before cars that had to drag a log behind the wagon to keep the wagon under control. It is sure sad to see all the burn scars from the Creek Fire. Living in the Fresno - Madera area there are a lot of Model T roads to drive , we should have a MTFCA local chapter club but we don’t and I tried a long time ago now health keeps me close to home.
Kevin in Madera Ca
Re: Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2025 3:44 pm
by Matt in California
kmatt2 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 18, 2025 1:44 pm
Way to go Matt , going up Toll House Grade is a fun challenge in a stock Model T , the Ruckstell is a big help , but you have to have a strong left foot and a tire pump to put pressure in the gas tank if you have a pre 1926 car , even a full tank of gas in a round tank doesn’t gravity flow so well with all the sloshing and bouncing. Think about about all the hourse drawn wagons that came down that grade before cars that had to drag a log behind the wagon to keep the wagon under control. It is sure sad to see all the burn scars from the Creek Fire. Living in the Fresno - Madera area there are a lot of Model T roads to drive , we should have a MTFCA local chapter club but we don’t and I tried a long time ago now health keeps me close to home.
Kevin in Madera Ca
Everyone,
Thanks for the kind comments!
Kevin,
It really is a shame there isn’t a local MTFCA chapter in our area. I’m not big on formal, business-style meetings either—but at the very least, you and I should definitely meet up sometime!
As for group drives, my kind of “meeting” is just letting folks know when I plan to head up into the mountains. They’re welcome to join—Model T or not. Even if someone tags along in a modern vehicle, it gives me a backup way out in case anything goes sideways.
Matt
Re: Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2025 12:51 pm
by jsaylor
Back in the 70's I lived in Madera Ranchos area and was a member of a small Model T club based in Course Gold, The Central Sierra Chapter. There was another club, Roaring 20's Auto Club in Fresno. They had all models of cars 1916-1936. Toured with both. Toured up the old Toll House grade to Shaver Lake and into Yosemite many times during those years. I guess those clubs died out. Maybe you can rally some interest and start a new club.
Re: Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2025 1:42 am
by Matt in California
jsaylor wrote: ↑Mon Oct 20, 2025 12:51 pm
Back in the 70's I lived in Madera Ranchos area and was a member of a small Model T club based in Course Gold, The Central Sierra Chapter. There was another club, Roaring 20's Auto Club in Fresno. They had all models of cars 1916-1936. Toured with both. Toured up the old Toll House grade to Shaver Lake and into Yosemite many times during those years. I guess those clubs died out. Maybe you can rally some interest and start a new club.
Well a few things have changed since the 1970s. I am not a person that wants to go to car shows or sit at meetings. I really like the auto camping. At least, so far. I blame my interest in part on Donnie Brown in Arkansas.
Matt
Re: Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2025 3:33 pm
by Eric Sole
That's a pretty cool ascent. The road in the 12 to 13 minute section of your video is similar to what I drive on near my house. A Ruckstell would be a fantastic addition to my car, especially for the return home, which takes me up a 27% grade. That part requires stopping and letting the engine rest for about 5 to 10 minutes beforehand; for some reason, it regains power after that short nap.
Thanks for the fun watch!
Re: Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:58 pm
by Matt in California
Eric Sole wrote: ↑Sun Oct 26, 2025 3:33 pm
That's a pretty cool ascent. The road in the 12 to 13 minute section of your video is similar to what I drive on near my house. A Ruckstell would be a fantastic addition to my car, especially for the return home, which takes me up a 27% grade. That part requires stopping and letting the engine rest for about 5 to 10 minutes beforehand; for some reason, it regains power after that short nap.
Thanks for the fun watch!
Yes Eric!
For that type of hill, a Ruckstell would be very helpful! I wonder what the limit is on the maximum grade a model T you can pull.
Matt
Re: Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2025 11:16 pm
by Steve Jelf
A cherished childhood memory from about 1950 is riding down the road from Mineral King in our 1941 Plymouth. Dad steered and worked the brakes while Mom sat beside him and held the gearshift in second so the car wouldn't pop out of gear. I imagine that road would be a good place to try a Ruckstell.
Re: Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2025 2:52 pm
by Eric Sole
Matt in California wrote: ↑Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:58 pm
Eric Sole wrote: ↑Sun Oct 26, 2025 3:33 pm
That's a pretty cool ascent. The road in the 12 to 13 minute section of your video is similar to what I drive on near my house. A Ruckstell would be a fantastic addition to my car, especially for the return home, which takes me up a 27% grade. That part requires stopping and letting the engine rest for about 5 to 10 minutes beforehand; for some reason, it regains power after that short nap.
Thanks for the fun watch!
Yes Eric!
For that type of hill, a Ruckstell would be very helpful! I wonder what the limit is on the maximum grade a model T you can pull.
Matt
I have been able to pull it with a passenger, but not always, so my guess would be 27%, hahaha
Re: Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2025 10:47 am
by Matt in California
Steve Jelf wrote: ↑Sun Oct 26, 2025 11:16 pm
A cherished childhood memory from about 1950 is riding down the road from Mineral King in our 1941 Plymouth. Dad steered and worked the brakes while Mom sat beside him and held the gearshift in second so the car wouldn't pop out of gear. I imagine that road would be a good place to try a Ruckstell.
Steve, your cherished memories of childhood might differ from most of society by a few standard deviations:)
Re: Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2025 10:48 am
by Matt in California
Eric Sole wrote: ↑Mon Oct 27, 2025 2:52 pm
Matt in California wrote: ↑Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:58 pm
Eric Sole wrote: ↑Sun Oct 26, 2025 3:33 pm
That's a pretty cool ascent. The road in the 12 to 13 minute section of your video is similar to what I drive on near my house. A Ruckstell would be a fantastic addition to my car, especially for the return home, which takes me up a 27% grade. That part requires stopping and letting the engine rest for about 5 to 10 minutes beforehand; for some reason, it regains power after that short nap.
Thanks for the fun watch!
Yes Eric!
For that type of hill, a Ruckstell would be very helpful! I wonder what the limit is on the maximum grade a model T you can pull.
Matt
I have been able to pull it with a passenger, but not always, so my guess would be 27%, hahaha
Eric,
27% grade can officially be considered the maximum until we get some more data
Re: Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2025 2:00 am
by Allan
Those damn Ruckstells can be a real pain at times, gong down hill. I well remember tailing a T down a long grade in New Zealand. He was in Rickstell, just coming down on compress I n
I was in a borrowed car constantly, on and off the brakes to keep from running into him. Way too slow to go into bottom gear, but not so steep that it couldn't be managed in top with less braking.
Allan from down under.
Re: Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2025 12:32 pm
by Steve Jelf
...your cherished memories of childhood might differ from most of society by a few standard deviations.
That's more true than you can imagine. Folks born more recently than the forties can't know how much the world has changed.
Re: Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2025 1:31 pm
by ewdysar
Allan wrote: ↑Wed Oct 29, 2025 2:00 am
Those damn Ruckstells can be a real pain at times, gong down hill. I well remember tailing a T down a long grade in New Zealand. He was in Rickstell, just coming down on compress I n
I was in a borrowed car constantly, on and off the brakes to keep from running into him. Way too slow to go into bottom gear, but not so steep that it couldn't be managed in top with less braking.
Allan from down under.
My father uses Ruckstell as a verb. He drove our family on thousands of tour miles with the Model T Club of SoCal before the MTFCA was formed. His Ts were virtually stock, no external brakes, no Ruckstell axles. Many of the tours were in the mountains, Lake Tahoe, Big Bear, Yosemite, etc., and he often lamented that while charging up a short hill to keep momentum in high gear, the person before him would shift to Ruckstell, requiring him to slow down and go to low pedal. He had just been "Ruckstelled". He still tells that story, more than 1/2 a century since he has driven a T.
Keep crankin',
Eric
PS. 3 of my 4 Ts have Ruckstells and all of them have auxiliary brakes
Re: Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2025 12:33 pm
by Original Smith
I loved that video. Yes, Ruckstell's are a great addition to a Model T. I've got them in all of my Model T's.
Re: Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2025 9:08 pm
by Matt in California
ewdysar wrote: ↑Wed Oct 29, 2025 1:31 pm
My father uses Ruckstell as a verb…
…the person before him with shift to Ruckstell low, requiring him to slow down and go to low pedal. He had just been "Ruckstelled". He still tells that story, more than 1/2 a century since he has driven a T.
Keep crankin',
Eric
Eric, your dad is very funny! This kept me laughing
Re: Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2025 2:43 pm
by Original Smith
Since when is there a Ruckstell low? You are either in Ruckstell or you are not! Now if you are in Ruckstell, and low pedal, then you are in Ruckstell low.
Re: Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2025 9:41 pm
by ewdysar
Original Smith wrote: ↑Sat Nov 01, 2025 2:43 pm
Since when is there a Ruckstell low? You are either in Ruckstell or you are not! Now if you are in Ruckstell, and low pedal, then you are in Ruckstell low.
Larry,
Thank you for your guidance and expertise. I have edited my post accordingly.
Eric
Re: Video: Gotta Love the Ruckstell – Hill Climb Fun With the T
Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2025 10:46 pm
by Matt in California
Original Smith wrote: ↑Sat Nov 01, 2025 2:43 pm
Since when is there a Ruckstell low? You are either in Ruckstell or you are not! Now if you are in Ruckstell, and low pedal, then you are in Ruckstell low.
If we’re gonna talk about standardizing language, we should do the same language that Ruckstell advertised:
What I have found to be the confusing part is whether or not the rear axle is standard. I can remember in the past having a discussion with someone and they said it was so important to shift the Ruckstell when they were just driving normally. I never worry about that on flat ground. But evidently with changing the gear ratio, it can be really helpful. It also gives a sense of overdrive if you’re comparing it to a standard Ford.