The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: rojawe on May 11, 2010, 11:07:55 AM
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http://www.youtube.com/swf/l.swf?video_id=S4KrIMZpwCY
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I saw one going down the road a couple weeks ago. That was probably the first one I've seen that wasn't in a museum.
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Have only seen them at Car shows and collections.
Used to listen to my dad and his brothers talk about stealing Model Ts and As in Chicago and driving them to Detroit to sell them.1...
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My dad use to talk about turning them into tractors on the farm.
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Drove both the Model T and Model A when I worked for Forester's Car Wash. Great little trundlers. There's an ajustment in the middle area of the steering wheel that lwet you adjust the spark timing acording to what fuel you were using. Model T's originally were made to run on alchohol. (He should've marketed it as "Green" :-* ;D )
The owner learned his lesson about the crank start and put in VW starters on all his old crank cars after he had his arm snapped by one. :o
Two things amaze me about these vehicles.
One: That todays side by side ATVs are more comfortable, convienent, and stronger than them.
Two; That Henry Ford, Ediston, and Firestone would all drive them in a convoy all the way to Fort Myers, Fl from Detroit, Mi.
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A couple of interesting Henry Ford points, after the initial run of Model T's, sales flattened out, so he gave his employee's raises so they could afford to buy one.
2) He invented charcoal briquets, finding a use for the end cuts of the wooden frames after cutting.
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I have heard that Henry Ford also had specs for the wooden boxes in which parts and materials were sent to Ford. The box pieces were than used in production for wherever ever wood was called for with the "raw material" just oversized for it's intended purpose.
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M25 is correct about the charcoal, that is where Kingsford charcoal came from and how they got their shape.
Ford also pioneered RVing with his good camping buddy TR.
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My grandad had a swamp buggy built out of a Model A. Sweetest (and smartest) one I've ever seen. It had balloon tires and a standard front seat over the hood. The back though, was a slightly elevated platform made off plywood supported by aluminium frames. It would seat two in front and four in the back. Or 2 folks and three bird dogs in back. The thing is, weak motor and crank start aside, it weighed about 15 pounds and could go places I wouldn't even consider taking my sniny new (1998 ;)) F-150 off road model. Hell, if it did get stuck, 100' of good rope and a come along would get you out. The damn thing probably would have floated. I wish he'd never sold it.
FQ13
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Well, in 1965-66 this "old timer" helped a couple buddies in highschool build and/or restore some Model A vehicles. Pal Dennis Langford had a 1929 Model A p/u truck rag-top with a flathead V-8 under the hood and a solid 4-speed tranny with a Hurst Shifter. Truck was painted a beautiful baby-blue with numerous coats of handrubbed lacquer. Interior was red and white tuck and roll. Bed was French oak. Altogether it was a beautiful little rig. Another buddy named Bob Denny built a 1932 Roadster, but it was done all original except for the two-tone paint. Body was red and fenders were black. It was a sweet little ride with mohair seats and even a rumble seat. We always got a lot of looks whenever we took them out, but neither were particularly good for picking-up girls. Two guys in the '29 PU filled the available seating. The rumble seat in the '32 gave some additional seating, but we always had two more guys with us when we took it out LOL.
FQ, thanks for triggering some great old memories.
Crusader