Now, I realize the majority of you don't like car shows. As much as we do, this weekend I understood a possible reason why you don't!
We had our 1917 touring (picture above) at a car show on San Diego Bay, gorgeous 75 degrees, boats sailing by, over 400 beautiful cars, a number worth over $300,000- $400,000. We were by far the oldest, and only Model T. Drew a great crowd of onlookers with numerous compliments!
Toward the end of the show, with many people around, and me feeling pretty proud about my car, a young lady asked us "if we were the original owners?". . . . . . .
I could see the air going out of my wife, and hear the laughter beginning to ripple through the crowd. Finally, with a smile on her face, my wife asked "do I look 95 years old?" The young lady turned beet red and began to stutter and apologize as the laughter grew.
I don't think my wife will be attending any more car shows with me!
I'm 49. When I drove my model T to a friend's house, his young son (7) asked how old the car was. I told him, "85 years old, Wes.".
He replied, "Wow, that's almost as old as you arfe!".
Sigh.
To a depressingly large segment of the population, The Past is an amorphous place where Jesus, Caesar, King Arthur, Washington, Lincoln, and Elvis all hang out together, unbound by their respective periods in history (whatever that is). The aforementioned personages may travel by steamship, caravel, Model T (or is it A?), stagecoach, or '68 Chevy Nova, all of which are contemporary modes of transportation in The Past.
One of my favorite quotes. . . as heard as we were ending a parade route - a child yelled to his Mom, "Look at all of the old fashion people!" Made me laugh - and remember it still, to this day!
When we were still living in Holland and participating in events with the Austin Ten Drivers Club, a bunch of cars were parked and people were asking questions about them. A friend had a 1932 Austin Heavy Twelve, which was a larger and much boxier-looking car than most of the other Austins. A fellow asked him, "Is that a Model A Ford?" Jody said, "No, it's an Austin Heavy Twelve." The man then said, "It isn't a Model A Ford?" "No," said Jody. The man persisted, "But was it a Model A Ford previously?"
The younger generation doesn't even know what a Model T is! I was in a gas station to get some gas and someone came up to me and asked what it was. I said a Model T Ford. The person asked if it was a 46? I said no it is a 22 and the person was amazed that they even made cars that long ago. I can understand why, because when I was about 20 years old, I didn't know much about anything older than me either. it's kind of like my surprise when I saw photographs of Abraham Lincoln and found out they were made in the 1860's I didn't realize that photography was that old. Now days people don't know what a typewriter is. They think it is some kind of obsolete computer!
Norm
The best question I ever got was ,,, Is that a kit car?
Seems like one of the most common questions I get about my '27 depot hack is,....."what kind of gas mileage does it get?"
Lately, I've been saying something like,...."well, I'm really not sure because there is no speedometer or odometer, but I'm pretty sure that this 1927 Ford "Excursion" gets better mileage than a modern Ford Excursion, but probably not as good as a modern Ford Explorer".
(And I really think that's about right, because I don't think it gets any better than 15mpg or so.)
Steve jelf that post is amazing. sums up our population very well. which is why america is in so much trouble today. those who ignore history are bound to repeat it.
My favorite is while i am at a fueling station i get asked "does it run?"
or one time i parked at a local cruise and somone asked if i was going to clean it up and get it running, and they watched me shut it off............................
Will,
I get that every once in awhile at car shows. They don't believe it's a "real car", and finally say "it's a kit car, right?" like they got me!
I would expect that from younger people, but the surprising thing to me is it's generally older people (40's and 50's) who should know better! They're also generally the ones who have the "1926 Ford" hot rod with the Corvette engine, chopped roof, 13" slicks, $20,000 neon-orange paint job, chromed everything, with a 1926 motometer on the radiator, but think their's is real!
I came out of the bank one day and my '22 touring T was sitting on the street. As I walked around it a car pulled up alongside and the lady driving rolled down the window and as she tilted her head toward the the back seat where her son was seated she said "He wants to know if that car runs on steam." And the little boy in the back seat yelled "Mom, you said so!" I said "No, it kind of looks like one of those that does. But it's not one of those."
Harold,
I don't want to turn this thread into a discussion on gas mileage, but, I had an Explorer with rear wheel drive and the 4 liter V-6 for a few years. I am sure it used more gas than my '26 Touring. At the same time it needs to be said that most of the time the speed in the Explorer was at least twice that of the T.
One time, long before the GPS was even invented, I drove a well known distance, from my parents' place to my aunt and uncle's to put the T away for the winter. I had filled up at the start, and I wanted to put it away with a full tank. This was also a long time before foolish politicians mandated the mixing of alcohol into gasoline.
Roar
Bob, you know i was in downtown san diego one time and saw a touring car like yours driving around i wonder if it was you!
im just a few miles north in fallbrook.
When someone asks, "How does it run?" I usually tell them. "It will pull high gear at an rpm slower than your car will idle."
Regards,
Larry Pletcher
When I am up on some peak or Pass I am always asked "HOW DID YOU GET THAT UP HERE ?" I answer " BY HELICOPTER "
Harold Schwendeman:
I never got asked about mileage until gas went up so high, now I get asked that all the time.
I took the car 4 miles to Old Main Street and a guy asked if I bought it down on a trailer.
Dave - Yeah, I've noticed that I get the gasoline mileage question much more often than previously too. I'm of the opinion that there are those that actually believe that we drive these Model "T's just because they are so much more economical regarding fuel costs. NOT HARDLY, right? When they ask why Model "T's don't so better on gasoline mileage, rather than get into a big discussion, I just say that they're not too efficient due to the low compression. You know, that's just a fast and easy answer, and I really believe that that's a big part of it, but it is an interesting question.
Dave - Yeah, I've noticed that I get the gasoline mileage question much more often than previously too. I'm of the opinion that there are those that actually believe that we drive these Model "T's just because they are so much more economical regarding fuel costs. NOT HARDLY, right? When they ask why Model "T's don't do better on gasoline mileage, rather than get into a big discussion, I just say that they're not too efficient due to the low compression. You know, that's just a fast and easy answer, and I really believe that that's a big part of it, but it is an interesting question.
I entered my 1914 Model T Runabout in a car show a few years ago I was ask by a young man.. What does it run on? I said hay, no just kidding it runs on gasoline.
Comparing 20 MPG (maybe) with a 20 HP T to a 120 HP modern engine that might get 35 MPG and do an easy 80 MPH is kind of irrelevent don't you think?......
But yeah, "What kind of mileage do you get?" is the most common question I get asked too.
haha, actually i do drive my model T daily because of gas mileage reasons.
20mpg is far more appealing than 8mpg my truck gets. weather its 20hp or not,
I pulled into the local convenience store a couple weeks ago, As I got out of the coupe, a kid of about 12 was coming out of the store.
He said, "Neat car sir." and then as I was about to thank him. he dead-panned, "But you really ought to put some flames on it. That and maybe a different motor."
The only thing that saved that young man from meeting his maker that night was his mother coming out of the store right then...grin..
I have heard a lot of people ask where we parked all of our trailers, how can you afford to keep it up when you have to have everything machined for it, where do you put the charcoal in, ONLY FOUR CYLINDERs????
They ask if my Nash was made by Ford, quite a few have asked if my '48 Nash is a Rolls Royce.
A common thing I have seen is the young guys who point out to their friends tht the left pedal on a T is low, the middle 2nd and the right one is 3rd. I then ask them where the brakes are.
DID YOU BUY IT NEW?!!!
Oh, I always tell them to guess what year it is when they ask. One guy guessed my '26 T touring as '51, another guessed my '48 Nash as 1904.!!
It is no worse than everybody on the street telling me all the problems I am gonna have with my MGB. I always BS them and tell them, "Gee, I already drove it 146,000 miles and never knew that. When do you think I can expect that to happen"?
I have a good friend named Tony Verschoore. He did all of the T motors I have. He built a speedster some years ago that was incredibly first class in all respects but carried the project details to the max and beyond. He invented a logo for "The Verschoore Motor Works" and a radiator name plate with brass cast hubcaps to match. I made him up a gas tank measuring stick with his company "logo" on it and helped him back fill some of the "missing history" of his make believe car factory situated somewhere in Skokie, IL. The whole car when displayed looked exactly like some orphan small car company product now defunct. Tony was sitting next to his car on display when a man came up and began to look the car over. He then told Tony that his uncle had the exact same model in years past and went on to tell Tony about his uncles car by also referring to the hub caps and interior details that he remembered were the same as his uncles car. Tony never lost it and continued the conversation with the fellow. He continued by sharing more BS about The Verschoore Motor Works and his theory on its eventual demise and asked the man if he might know where in Skokie the factory might have been located since he was missing that important fact. There were some members of the Midwest Chapter nearby and they were probably rolling in the grass laughing later on.
John R,
PRICELESS! Thanks for the laugh of today.
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2
Some old people get confused with age but some of them tell me that if i hold down the clutch i get first gear. Holding down 2 pedals will get me into second gear and to go fastest i have to hold down all 3 pedals.
When I was 18, I drove my own 1912 Speedster. This was about 1988. One day, a girlfriend and I were sitting, having ice cream, when an elderly lady walked up to look at the car. She asked me what year the car was. I told her. She thought for a minute and said "it's older than I am...and it's in better shape too!"
My '26 Coupe was on a ferry across a river in Cornwall. A guy walked slowly right round it, then asked 'Does it have a Pinto engine?'
I just took the TT to the local gas station for air and gas. I was there for 10 minutes or so. I was asked 3 different times by different people. "Are you going to restore it?" I answered each with, "That's as restored as it's going to get. I like the way it looks!"
Henry,
I assumed you ducked when you drove that TT under the 5' Clearance bridge ! I love it!! Keep him in his work clothes ! You'll get more attention that a Deusenberg
For Steve Jelf - Elvis in the past? The King is alive Steve - I saw him in Walmart last week buying a Taylor Swift CD and bag of frozen corn dogs.
Most of the time my Hack has a bag of charcoal on the running board. I have been asked 3 or 4 times if the car runs on charcoal.
Paul, tell them the charcoal is for making ethanol.
Steve,
I have been looking for a still to put in the back.
George,
The truck came into our family as the orchard truck on a ranch my grandfather purchased in 1946. At some point previous to that the upper portion of the cab had been removed, presumably so it wouldn't damage the fruit trees when collecting fruit in the orchard. I've never seen it any other way.
You're right, it is handy for low bridges!
Bob:
"Do I really look 95 years old?
Would your wife have purchased her first car at the age of 0? Probably not. Here's my answer to such questions:
"Yes, I bought it in 1917 after I graduated college and just got my first "real" job."
Paul - Is that a milk can in the back?
Does it run on milk?