MTFCA Forum

Today, 11 months and 3 days after taking delivery of my 1917 Model T I started and drove it for the first time. The car had sat for at least 30 years before I got it so I went thru everything! I learned a lot along the way and faced many challenges, both physical and mechanical. I made new friends and reconnected with some old ones. All and all it has been a rewarding experience.

There are lots of things remaining to be done to the T but at least I can drive it now The attached photo is from a frame of video and shows my friend and partner in the rebuild, Gene, driving and my wife Joan in the back seat.

I'm going to try to put some miles on it over the next two days and if there are no problems, I'll be off to Sault Ste. Marie next week to participate in the Michigan Jamboree. Wish me luck!

Well done! The best is yet to come, you have many good times to look forward to. Your model T will often require your attention but will pay it back many times over. Any time you have trouble there is help here.

Beautiful.

What a great feeling Tim after a long project and your setback. Now the fun part begins. The best part is if the T gets an attitude you know how to straighten it out. Thanks for taking us along on the journey to see another T on the road. Photos of your travels will be expected!

I do not see anyone holding an ice cream! What gives?

Nice Job!

Hank in Tin-A-See

Tim,

Congratulations! And yes, be sure to drive it as much as you practically can before you take it on a long trip. (Actually -- if you have your wife or someone else follow with a trailer -- you can take a long trip and if it something happens you can fix it or trailer it. My wife has rescued me several times after we have done some major work on a car or when we are "sorting out" another car that we are not familiar with yet. Usually minor issues, but if it won't drive it is usually nicer to trouble shoot it off the major road rather than on a tight shoulder or backing up traffic. ) Of course cell phones and AAA etc. have reduced the need for a safety trailer.

Related item -- how much experience do you have driving a T? Safety folks in the 1980s (it has been a while since I've been in a safety job) said it took about 50 hours of flying the new airplane before you would perform the emergency procedure quickly and correctly. They often used the illustration of the person who learned to ride on a coaster brake bicycle as a kid. They learned to pedal backwards to stop. And in the 1980s lots of those kids were now adults who purchased their first 10 speed bike. If they were still very new to the 10 speed bike and a car pulled out in front of them -- they would instinctively pedal backwards -- and often hit the car. Good news -- they weren't going very fast in most cases -- better news -- most of them had a narrow miss that only scarred them and help reinforce that they needed to use the hand brakes.) So if you are very new to driving a T -- be careful and don't try to jerk the steering wheel hard right or left while you are going at speed to dodge a pot-hole etc. The front wheels can quickly go to full lock and the T can roll. Also don't back up quickly -- as the front wheels have a negative caster when going that direction and can go full lock one direction or the other. And when I was learning to drive the T -- I often stalled it when the light turned green. Ah the joys of jumping out, starting it (did I remember to put the spark up... another thing that is easy to forget when you are in hurry etc.).

OK -- off the safety soap box... You have done a beautiful job getting the car ready. It will bring you, your family and others years of enjoyment. Good luck and have fun and post photos!

Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off

My heartiest congratulations!

Congratulations!

I hope to take my first drive soon as well.

Fantastic, drive the wheels off of it.

Congratulations and well done, Tim. One of the next rewarding events in your Model T career will be to perform your first "one-car car show" at the local ice cream parlor.

And as Hap said, give yourself some time to get the hang of driving it. It's a little like your first tailwheel airplane.

Dick

Thanks all for your kind words.... I'm sure there will be much excitement and frustration ahead. As to experience driving a T, just what I did yesterday It actually went pretty smoothly - no stalls, or serious missteps. I've read a lot about technique, watched youtube, talked to drivers and the rest, absorbing as much info as I could and it seemed to work. I didn't have to think too much about what I had to do with my feet.

Over the next couple of days I'm going to pretty much stick to back roads and the local school parking lot as I practice, practice, practice.... I've read about some of the "dangers," studied T-related accident reports and the rest. I do not plan to push beyond my comfort zone.

As to the airplane comparison, I was/am a flight instructor and had to learn many types of airplanes in order to teach in them - as a result, I tend to pick up on the quirks of mechanical conveyances pretty quickly....I'm hoping this will be the case with the T but am proceeding with caution...I don't want to be a danger to anyone else.

It's always a good feeling when you fix something and it works the way it's supposed to.

Congratulations Tim! See you in the Soo too!

Congratulations Tim, the car looks great. Best of luck to you in the Michigan Jamboree. It is really fun, I went to Harris, Michigan a couple of years ago. It was a very nice group of people.

I spent half a day tweaking the T then took it out for a couple of spins, bringing my total to 80 miles so far. I intentionally sought out challenging roads, hills, etc., just to see if it and I could handle it. Satisfied, I loaded up my wife and our little dog and went for ice cream

Tomorrow I'll adjust the bands (again) install the horn (had to make a spacer) and put a few more miles on it before loading it in the trailer. One plus of going to the Jamboree will be that hopefully I can get some more experienced guys to look it over and take it for a drive and give me some advice.

Great story and success. Congratulations.

Are you going to OCF??

You know exactly what you're doing Tim.
Was there 21 years ago as I set out, down The Hill with my wiggling/flexing T. Dared a Hill right away. Had to. Any way to get to a road for me is to conquer The Hill. I have complete faith and I didn't even have any tube clips then. Read how to operate him and then tweaked it like you do.
Nice Touring!

What a rewarding experience for you! Model T's have been my pleasure since I was 17 years old, and I'm still at it. Never quit. We have our problems from time to time, but touring is what gives me the most pleasure. If you leave your car pretty much the way Henry designed it, you will have years of trouble free driving ahead.

That's a great looking Ford. I am looking forward to seeing you this week!

I made it to the Michigan Jamboree although it was not without some frustration. The car starts and idles great but stumbles when you increase RPM. I made the first days tour (185 miles) but skipped the other two---things just weren't right. Ed Badoux was there and checked my coils - some new friends from Wisconsin (Denis & Gary) checked the valves, timer and carb - Dan Treace and Brian Dowell spent a couple of hours on it and Steve Shotwell loaned me his "lucky" carb to try and so on ---- I found out the easiest way to meet new people at a Model T tour is to open the hood and look perplexed

Guys much more knowledgeable than me checked out just about all the possibilities. The one thing we couldn't check was for "carbon tracks" in the old wood of the coil box. To eliminate that possibility I have a fun products plastic rebuild kit on the way from Birdhaven....fingers crossed.

Jamboree was frustrating but I really had a great time. I'm convinced there are no better people in the world than T people - everyone was so open and friendly and free to give of their time, tools and expertise. This was a good shakedown tour and I'll get it right for next time. Thank you all for welcoming me into such a wonderful hobby.

100% right Tim!

Well, you were brave to do the tour without driving it around your own turf for a few hundred miles first. You never know what kinks there are to straighten out when you first get an old car up and going.

Congrats & good job Tim! It'll keep getting better. I bet the FP coil box kit will make a difference. It did on both of my cars that I put it on. Other thing to check is the nuts on top of your coils...I hear they can work loose causing a bit of a hiccup in high gear. Friend of mine had one that was loose and once tightened problem solved. Enjoy the ride!
The other Tim

Nice looking car congratulations!