A couple of years ago I was flying with my boss and we heard a MedEvac bird call into ATC telling them they were headed into Vanderbilt Hospital with "two souls on board." I'd not heard the term before but my boss explained that meant they had two patients and both were still alive.
A few days ago I posted something here about a coil - the writer had one and didn't know what it was. I commented it was a coil for a model T and that some would say it was "the soul of a model T." Others chimed in and agreed with me and I felt like I was pretty darned witty. (An entirely novel experience I might add.)
Then, today, Royce Peterson - in another thread - threw down the gauntlet and declared that the soul of a Model T is the magneto. Having no second to go and challenge Royce to a duel, having no skill with a sword, and being absolutely awful with a pistol, I have decided to ask the forum to resolve what could be construed as a breach of honor between Royce and myself, both being the gentlemen that we are (of course).
So which is the soul of a T - the magneto or the coil? And please nobody tell us its the waterpump. I can still hit you if I throw the pistol at you at close range.
I have heard others refer to the cam as the soul of an engine. Go figure?
As the soul has neither mass nor substance, without which we would not be "human", I think the only similar entity is the electric current within the T. As the magneto generates the electric current without which the coil could not function, I would have to vote the magneto. However, if the magneto malfunctions, you can use an accessory supply of stored "soul", from a battery to run the coils. Hmmmm!!!I think I may have muddied the water!
Noel
Good discussion....Heart and Soul
Would be better IMO to believe the magneto is the 'heart' of the Model T, and the vibrator coils are the 'soul'.
Explained, the magneto whirls and provides the life blood of electricity to the T, so that is the heart.
The coils, combined in the little box on the dash, provide the soul....as you drive the sounds of the singing happy soul of the Ford, make heavenly music as you wander the pathways and roadways of life in your Ford.
A rebuild of the magneto would be a heart transplant, giving more life, but....to remove the coils, ..ah the soul is lost ....
To me it's the transmission... I could have essentially the same driving experience regardless of what puts juice to the sparkplugs, but the transmission controls are unique and unquestionably "Model T" from the drivers seat.
I think I need another whiskey/water to thoroughly enjoy this thread!
Noel
Without a doubt, the soul of the model t is the system that includes the magneto, the coils and the spark plugs and the circuitry. But the soul can't exist unless it's grounded and given the impulse to do it's job. Where does that grounding come from and where does that impulse happen. You got it, within the most important component, the timer.
Does any other car contain the Planetary, Magneto and Coils in one automobile? If not these 3 items constitute the heart & soul of a T. Particular to this car only. You figure out which is which. Since they were made to operate as a unit I consider the Mag & coils as one system.
Like the philosopher said, "You don't have a soul. You have a body, and you are a soul."
Steve, SOB, Souls On Board, is everybody in the plane. That's been standard terminology since before WWII.
No, that's not World War Eleven, as one young guy said.
I believe the driver is the soul of a Model T. The timer is a close second.
Ricks, I believe you're right. And that's the reason I keep getting stepped on.
It must be the driver, He's the one that retards the spark,advances the gas and pulls the crank. Then gets in and driver the HART and SOUL out of it.
My 2 cents worth.
Bob
Hey Steve,
Your boss was wrong, two souls on board means there are two people in the aircraft, I would suspect that there were no patients on board at the time of the call. It is common to refer to the number of people on an aircraft in that manner.
Best
Gus
Opps, I see that Ricks already pointed that out, one should always read all the posts before replying.
Charlie B, et al,
There were at least a hundred cars that used timer, coils and planetary transmissions between 1900 and 1910. More than a few also had magnetos. However, the low tension magneto mounted to the flywheel was almost uniquely Ford.
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2
Just some FYI, I worked for a major airline for 37 years, as a "operations director" the term "Souls on Board" was used for a description of total number of people on the aircraft. This "total" included the flight crew, passengers and any others such as FAA inspectors or cockpit deadhead crew members. It was mainly used as a preparation for ground medical needs. Just some airline trivia....boring ~~~
I think it is so much more than any one thing or one person. E.B. White touches on it in his article "Farewell, My Lovely" at: http://dauntlessgeezer.com/DG74.html [thanks Steve Jelf for that link - posting].
As a young boy "IT" reached out its spark and gas lever fingers and touched me... and I have never been the same. See: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/29/10844.html
Blackie doesn't do computers so he asked me to submit this.
Respectfully submitted for Blackie,
Hap
Both of you are off target a bit.
The timer tells both when to tick. Without the timer, your T is in a grave.
I run a old front plate bosch dist. with no magnets on by flywheel and I think I have a car with a atwater kent dist. also soooo.. does my car have no soul? am I heartless?? Please don't tell the public about this, as they love my cars and the rich heritage they represent. and I don't think I will ever run coils again just to piss off some of the more arrogant posters (or posers) of this forum. give me a break!
Found this in googling around:
"The air transport community derived this from seafaring usage; "X souls on board" was a nautical phrase long before powered flight. I think the point is that ships required a term that comprehensively covered everyone who could possibly be on board, in whatever capacity: the officers, the crew, the crew's families, the supercargo, the passengers, the local pilot, native bumboatwomen, etc. etc."
Are you sure Wayne? 100's of models with coils, mags and planetaries in one type of vehicle? I still contend that it's these items (if unique to the T and the T alone), that make it unique and constitute "heart & soul". Again, I'm grouping the low tension mag & the coils as one system. Even mag lights were an after thought and adapted to accomodate the mag after gas went out of favor.
This forum is great, you can learn something new everyday if you pay attention, I really do not care what the soul of the model t is, but I did learn what native bumboat women are. But I had to look it up.
Best
gus
Kevlar.
Well I have learned alot. While the issue can never be resolved with certainty I am standing my my claim that its the coils. But the magneto is certainly just as good of an answer.
I basically agree with a few guys above, the heart is the driver and the soul is the hobbyist, and the metal is the body. Although I think the hand crank ranks high up there!