I can relate. Just love my Merc 220E 1993. Still far more luxurious and smoother than the many other Japanese makes I've kept alongside it.Love my old Chevy, I don't drive it much, just wondering if anyone else has the same affliction.
I can relate. Just love my Merc 220E 1993. Still far more luxurious and smoother than the many other Japanese makes I've kept alongside it.Love my old Chevy, I don't drive it much, just wondering if anyone else has the same affliction.
Yes indeed, T's take some time to master.Hokey Dokey sportsfan - here are some videos of the Model T operating near our home in Harrow, Ontario.
She came to me in excellent shape except for the "timer and commutator" (think "distributor and rotor") which were simply worn out. Like modern distributors and rotors, these parts are normal maintenance parts and they're not expensive. With some extremely generous help from Brian and Tony who came over from Michigan with expertise and some parts, we also found two dud spark plugs and these were brand new Motorcraft plugs that had just been installed a few weeks before by the former owner.
Last weekend, Mrs. MaxPete and I drove out to Hickory Corners Michigan to the fantastic Gilmore Car Museum for the "Model T Experience" - a three hour extravaganza of history talks, examining nifty displays and driving Model Ts around the grounds of the Museum. The Mrs. did a superb job and handled the very odd Model T controls like a champ. If you know how to drive a standard transmission car - forget everything you know - because the T is nothing like that.
It was WELL worth the drive, I assure you.
Anyhow, have a look at the videos and enjoy!
Pete
Did John Boy ride with you? I had the chance to buy a real nice one a few years back. Lack of garage space and too many projects.I drove one like this, not as nice, in high school. Unlike the T this had conventional clutch and non-syncro 4 speed.
View attachment 247869
It's utterly absurd that anyone would ever need to travel at more than 40 miles per hour. I mean, that's forty miles in an hour, which is a helluva rate of knots. Why, you could travel twice as far as your great grandpappy ever did from his home town in his entire life, now whattaya think of that?Hokey Dokey sportsfan - here are some videos of the Model T operating near our home in Harrow, Ontario.
She came to me in excellent shape except for the "timer and commutator" (think "distributor and rotor") which were simply worn out. Like modern distributors and rotors, these parts are normal maintenance parts and they're not expensive. With some extremely generous help from Brian and Tony who came over from Michigan with expertise and some parts, we also found two dud spark plugs and these were brand new Motorcraft plugs that had just been installed a few weeks before by the former owner.
Last weekend, Mrs. MaxPete and I drove out to Hickory Corners Michigan to the fantastic Gilmore Car Museum for the "Model T Experience" - a three hour extravaganza of history talks, examining nifty displays and driving Model Ts around the grounds of the Museum. The Mrs. did a superb job and handled the very odd Model T controls like a champ. If you know how to drive a standard transmission car - forget everything you know - because the T is nothing like that.
It was WELL worth the drive, I assure you.
Anyhow, have a look at the videos and enjoy!
Pete
My dad bought it but was not real handy. I became the de-facto mechanic at about 14 years old. Did brakes, head gasket and managed to remove inner rears for flat repairs. The bed had 3 foot stakes and rails. When mom and dad were out I would sneak it out of the garage, neighbor hood kids would climb in back and off we would go for a joy ride. I am amazed I never got pulled over when I was 14 and 15. Among the other things I did, a friend (he still sails with me 51 years later) and I sanded the body down to metal and brushed on a pretty decent coat of paint. I drove it to school sometimes too. I built up a really crude bracket to put a ball on and we pulled High School floats for homeconing and parades. My foremen at the gravel pit issued an interest in it 20 years ago as it languished in mom,s barn, I gave it to him, one less thing cluttering the barn. He shot himself dead 6 months later when the Packers lost to Detroit (?) so his son likely got it.Did John Boy ride with you? I had the chance to buy a real nice one a few years back. Lack of garage space and too many projects.
I drove one like this, not as nice, in high school. Unlike the T this had conventional clutch and non-syncro 4 speed.
View attachment 247869
Henry also resisted ,tooth and nail, Hydraulic brakes. Ford was the last major auto company to ditch mechanical brakes... in 1939!Oh very nice - a Model A truck!
By the time 1927 rolled around, the Model T had been in production for nearly 20 years - largely unchanged. Unfortunately, it had become outmoded since it only had 20 HP, very odd controls and it didn't even have front wheel brakes, let alone any sort of heater, defroster, a speedometer/odometer, brake lights, turn signals or even a windshield wiper. The top speed of a T is only about 40 mph (around 70 kph) and competitor cars were much faster, safer and more capable.
Edsel Ford (Henry's eldest son) had designed the much more sophisticated Model A to replace the T in the mid-1920s - but Henry had resisted dropping the Model T for several years until the car market simply forced Ford to switch to the more modern vehicle.
Anyhow - that is a very snazz red Model A!
Pete
Right and that was pretty dodgey (get it?? ) in my view because with 20 hp on-tap, that Model T really needed better brakes!Henry also resisted ,tooth and nail, Hydraulic brakes. Ford was the last major auto company to ditch mechanical brakes... in 1939!
Yeah, the T didn't, but by '28 A's were making 40hp and in '32 they introduced the V-8.Right and that was pretty dodgey (get it??) in my view because with 20 hp on-tap, that Model T really needed better brakes!
Ford rod and cable brakes lived on in the 1950-ish Anglia and Popular in the UK, which finally ceased production in the late-50s.Henry also resisted ,tooth and nail, Hydraulic brakes. Ford was the last major auto company to ditch mechanical brakes... in 1939!
Friends with Model A's have said just what you said. Stay on top of the adjustment and they're not horrible. Also, the Popular only weighed 1600 lb.Ford rod and cable brakes lived on in the 1950-ish Anglia and Popular in the UK, which finally ceased production in the late-50s.
I had one, and while the brakes weren't a patch on anything of the 70s, they worked surprisingly well when I had them adjusted right.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Popular
I've overhauled a few Subaru boxer's that were airplane conversions. I'm impressed with 'em.... to the point my wife now drives a Subaru.I feel your pain! I blew apart , literally , my 2.0 vw bus aircooled engine ( again lol)
And now, complete re-engine to Subaru, and learning lots about blending of tech !