Almost 100

[jiminbartow]

This month, my 1926 Coupe, which I have had since 1970 will be 99 years old. Pretty soon there will not be any Model T’s under a century old. My Dad was born in 1926 and died in 2017 at 91 a very old man. He always enjoyed the fact I had a car that was made in the same year he was born. He always said he wishes he aged as well as my T. Jim Patrick

[Art M]

James,
Your car looks very nice. I hope you drive it often. Maybe you can drive it 100 miles on the day it turns 100. I did that with mine on September 1, 2022. Coincidentally, that day would have been my mother's 114th birthday.

Art Mirtes

[Norman Kling]

The Model T can be restored and repaired to remain as new. The human just ages and depending on the circumstances of life and the genes inherited, the aging can be slowed down, but the old body cannot be restored, just mended. I am not as old as the car but my 26's have been restored. I do heal but a scar is not the same as before it happened.
Anyway, you have a good looking car. Take good care of it.
Norm

[varmint]

What condition was it in when you got it?
And how long did it take to restore (if necessary)?

[jiminbartow]

Though I did not have the foresight to take any pictures when I first got it, or during restoration, I found the below picture online and my T looked exactly like this on the day I bought it only a little worse.

Even though it was in bad shape it was complete. Deep rust, no paint except for in totally hidden places indicating it was originally black (not green), rotten wood, no top, or sun visor, no upholstery, no glass, dry rotted tires, good spokes, dented fenders, rotten wiring, nickel plating worn off, bullet holes in sides, doors and bottom rusted out all the way around, 4” from the bottom. Used Bob’s Antique Auto Parts, J.C.Whitney, Gaslight Auto Parts, Mark Auto, Snyder’s, Ford Parts Obsolete and Hemmings. In the days before the internet, I did my research with books and articles. With no one to ask for advice, I had to learn to do everything myself. If I did not know, I guessed. Luckily, I was almost always correct in my assumption. I was 16 when I bought it and 18 when I completed it. I bought it in the fall of 1970 for $600.00 from the original owner in Tampa, Florida through seeing it in the classified ads and, spending every cent I saved up bagging groceries for $1.65/hour for parts and services and every free moment restoring it. It took precedence and did affect my grades. I graduated high school with a C- average. I completed it in October, 1972 just before leaving for Marine Corps. boot camp. Since the restoration, it has been garage kept and has never felt a drop of rain. Because of the bullet holes, I suspect it spent a lot of time parked in a field. It took 44 years for it to reach the dilapidated condition in the photo and has stayed pristine for the 55 years I have owned it.

[ModelTWoods]

Jim, a super nice looking car. You and I are about the same age (I may have a year or two on you). I have my Grandfather's 27 coupe (on my Dad's side of the family). It looks like you painted your coupe, all black instead of a colored body. I did the same thing on my 27 coupe; not that I didn't know any different, but when my Dad and I pulled it out of a barn on my father's farm in the summer of 1965, It was black in color. We hand stripped the paint down and didn't see any other colors, although when we stripped the wire wheels, we found red and black layers under the straw yellow color. Again, a super looking coupe.