First T

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2013: First T
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Benjamin Fox on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 01:04 pm:

Finally was able to purchase my first T. Years of waiting for a good deal paid off.

This has been a goal since I was probably 12 or 13, though I never drove one until about two years ago (incidentally that wasn't until after I took the play out of the rods on that car).
This is a May, 1925 per engine serial #. Someone painted the car back in the 1960s and replaced the seat covers then, but the rest of it seems wonderfully original. Even the front floor boards have nice pockets worn into them from the driver's heels.

There is an accessory foot throttle, a dash lamp, and a stop light (exactly like the one mentioned in a recent thread with an identical switch). These add ons appear to be close to the same age as the car which I enjoy.

If I can find inexpensive top bows I would like to put a top on it someday.

I absolutely love taking my friends around in it, young and old -- we don't baby it either.

Despite the vast number of Ts out there still, we forget how few people left have actually gotten a brisk ride around town or tried their hands (feet) at driving one.

This was the first thing I bought after graduating college in May. Needless to say this will be worth at least what I paid in 10 years when all of my fellow engineering friends' new cars and toys will have depreciated vastly.... : )

25 Touring


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gary Schreiber- Cuenca Ecuador on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 01:08 pm:

Nice looking touring Benjamin. Awesome graduation gift to yourself. Welcome to the affliction.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Richard Eagle Ida Fls on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 01:11 pm:

Great car. I think you appreciate it more after waiting so long for one. I got a '25 like that in '64 and enjoyed it for many years before changing the body to a Tudor.
Congratulations and have fun with it.
Rich


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jerry VanOoteghem on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 01:11 pm:

Good for you! May you have many happy miles in it. It looks like a very solid car that's still very original. You won't regret it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob McDonald-Federal Way, Wa. on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 01:22 pm:

Benjamin
Great car, Welcome to the group. Remember they multiply, your next should be a Snow unit for Wi. Winters. Grin

Bob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Benjamin Fox on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 01:25 pm:

I wish I could have been in this back in '64! I've heard many a story of the things people still found back then... Steam engines to Simplexes


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Benjamin Fox on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 01:29 pm:

Bob, one imagines that the setup pictured there would fare better than some of the modern snowmobiles around on a area-to-weight basis.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Seth from NC on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 01:33 pm:

Sweet snow car Bob! This is the first one I've seen with skis AND tires at the same time.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Nowell Herman on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 01:33 pm:

Congrats and Enjoy your new baby!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Hjortnaes, Men Falls, WI on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 01:56 pm:

I believe Jack Daron has some top bows. Look in the classified section.

p.s. Degree in what?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Benjamin Fox on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 02:09 pm:

"Manufacturing Engineering" at university of Wisconsin Stout. I work at an injection molding company right now. I'll check the classifieds.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Harold Schwendeman - Sumner,WA on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 03:31 pm:

Hmmmm- UofW Stout - makes me think of the "Stout" in connection to the Ford Tri-Motor! Per Google, I checked a bit into this and James Huff Stout, for whom the University was named, does not seem to have any connection to the Stout who was Ford's aviation expert. Any connection that you know of Ben? Odd coincidence at any rate,.......sure like your touring car. I have a '23 that also needs a top, and have wanted to figure out a way to install a fairly weathered top that would seem to fit the "as is" car, but it seems that most people that remove an old top to install a new one, pretty much have to completely ruin the old top in taking it off! Let us know what you decide to do about a top for your car Ben, and as others have said, welcome to the hobby,.......harold


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ken Kopsky, Lytle TX on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 04:38 pm:

Congratulations on both accomplishments! And the new job.

I'll be needing top irons and bows for a 25 Touring myself.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bernard Paulsen, San Buenaventura, Calif on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 04:43 pm:

Nice Touring, Benjamin; it looks exactly the way a Model T is supposed to look.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dan B on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 04:51 pm:

Congrats man! Looks like a nice unmolested car. I had my T before I graduated from college but couldn't afford to do the major work until I got a real job. Sounds like you knocked out two birds with one stone!

Have fun. Change oil often.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 10:22 pm:

Welcome to the hobby!! That looks like what I usually refer to as the perfect T. Nice enough to enjoy, nice enough to park next to almost anything and be proud of it, not so nice that you have to worry about every little thing. Drive, tinker, drive, repair, drive, enjoy.
W2


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erik Johnson on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 10:40 pm:

Benjamin -

You must be the fellow on Craigslist who I emailed a lead on top bows a couple weeks ago.

Did you follow up on the lead?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Coiro on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 10:48 pm:

Welcome aboard, Benjamin!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Murray - Anacortes, WA on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 11:02 pm:

Welcome Benjamin, I bought my first T at 15yrs old with paper route money. Paid $500 in 1971 for a basket case '24 Touring that needed wood, top bows, floorboards, wheels, radiator. The person I bought it from had the short block rebuilt thus the higher price for the car. I finished the engine, rebuilt the transmission, put a rebuilt ruckstell under it with 3:1 gearing U&J carby, paint and upholstery, then drove it on my honeymoon to the 1975 San Diego National Tour and back home to Everett, WA by way of Disneyland and Universal Studios. It was a great experience that was unforgettable. Good Luck on your new adventure and keep us posted on progress and trips. Wayne


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Craig Anderson, central Wisconsin on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 11:50 pm:

Hey Benjamin........I see you are in Menomonie, WI, vs Menominee, MI. Not that it much matters because I'm about the same distance both ways being located in central WI.
Too bad you aren't closer.........you could visit and go T'ing with me....... :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Benjamin Fox on Thursday, July 11, 2013 - 01:30 pm:

Thank you all for so many kind words! The traffic and vastness of knowledge in this forum combined with the general attitude is very exciting.

Harold I do not believe the Stout family was affiliated with Ford in any way. The old man was quite a forward thinking industrialist... He managed to realize that the forests were running out and diversification was needed to stay solvent, unlike many of the other lumber barron families in the upper Midwest. But man do I wish Tri-Motors were as plentiful as our lovely cars! The sound and the hilariously slow cruising speed of those airplanes makes for quite the spectacle whenever one is lumbering around above an air show.

Erik, I am embarrassed to say it but no..... I haven't called him yet. I know I need to follow all leads in this business/hobby... I hate trying to buy things when I don't have cash in hand and I am assuming ill need at least a few hundred bucks for whatever he's got, and I can't commit yet.

Regarding "looking like a T should". I personally believe that the average working T spent most of its life with dull paint, a couple different tires, some muck under the running boards, some dust on the sides, and with the slightest perceptible clatter from the motor when running ears down on the straight and level. That isn't to say that I don't appreciate a gorgeous perfect paint job though, or that these machines don't deserve some extra special care now as a reward for making it this long. I'm a little self conscious about the underside of my car rusting (areas not near the engine..) and am considering painting or at least oiling those surfaces. I am proud that my car is pretty true to period and enjoy the thought that some I the grime on the engine splash pans is authentic haha.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Benjamin Fox on Thursday, July 11, 2013 - 01:33 pm:

Craig, what city are you in or near? The car is actually in Park Falls, WI in my parents garage. I don't have the title so it's been easier to drive it around up there without getting hassled... I'm bring it to Menomonie once I get that straightened out and after summer parades.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mark Stewart -Calif. on Thursday, July 11, 2013 - 01:52 pm:

Welcome to the world of Model T's and the great people who love them. That's a great looking T. It's a great addiction. Have you started looking for another T yet so your first one doesn't get lonely?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Benjamin Fox on Thursday, July 11, 2013 - 03:48 pm:

I'm not sure actually, I enjoy the early Ts for their looks (I always think of what an amazingly flexible and robust bit of mechanical genius the T was in 1909 compared to much of the competition....). And the 26-27 Roadsters are pretty flashy.. But what makes a T is the running gear for me, so one is good.
Someday I will get a big touring car, I've driven a v8 Peerless and have a little experience with a 24 Buick Sport Touring (front brakes!) and a 19 Hudson (super six = super fast). Those were fun in different ways than the T is. That Peerless was a lot more stressful and cumbersome in traffic compared to the agile T


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bill Everett on Thursday, July 11, 2013 - 03:50 pm:

Benjamin, what year was the V-8 Peerless? My son and I once went to Burleson, TX, to drive a 1907 Peerless touring car.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Benjamin Fox on Thursday, July 11, 2013 - 04:18 pm:

23, I can't remember for sure but I think they started making the engine in like 1919 (?)... Two iron blocks in a massive aluminum crank case.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erik Johnson on Thursday, July 11, 2013 - 04:42 pm:

Benjamin -

Are you talking about the blue 1930 Peerless pictured below that was owned by Robert Rosendahl in Menomonie?

That is actually a straight six cylinder car. I knew Ed Ledebuhr in Hager City, WI who had purchased in the car in the early '50s. The car was sold after Ed died, about ten years ago.

Ed was always very active and athletic. When he started having mobility problems, he removed the original bench seat and installed bucket seats so he could get in and out of the car easier.

More recently, it was sold at the Barrett Jackson Palm Beach Auction in 2012:

http://www.barrett-jackson.com/application/onlinesubmission/lotdetails.aspx?ln=86&aid=463

peerless


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Terry Horlick in Penn Valley, CA on Thursday, July 11, 2013 - 04:46 pm:

Benjamin, congratulations. The '25 is one of my favorite T's. I especially like the unique transmission that year... let's hope you don't get to find out what I'm talking about!

I am happy to see one more that is going to be left looking like an original T, even happier to see that it is another being bashed around the roads for the fun it provides. I am sure that if a T had a consciousness it would be happiest axle deep in a stream, mud, or snow with a bunch of folks bouncing around inside!

IMHO TH


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erik Johnson on Thursday, July 11, 2013 - 04:46 pm:

PS:

Both of my sisters went to Stout. All I ever did in Menomonie was drink beer at the Log Jam.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erik Johnson on Thursday, July 11, 2013 - 05:00 pm:

Whoops - I glossed over your post where you said the Peerless you drove was a '23.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Benjamin Fox on Thursday, July 11, 2013 - 06:32 pm:

Terry, you "understand". And I hope I don't find out what you are talkin about! It'll be apart someday without a doubt...

Eric the peerless was a model 66 I think, yellow, California top, black running gear. It needs a balanced crank and some disc wheels in my opinion but is very very beautiful. The owner is the one who really gave me my first T opportunities. Menomonie is indeed a good place to get considerably inebriated!!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erik Johnson on Thursday, July 11, 2013 - 07:02 pm:

That sounds exactly like the Peerless that Charlie Chrisman owned and restored - yellow with a California top and black running gear. I'll bet it's the same car.

Charlie lived on Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis and passed away in 1998. He was an acquaintance of my dad. I rode in the car years ago when I was a teenager.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Benjamin Fox on Thursday, July 11, 2013 - 10:07 pm:

Well that is pretty dang cool! How good was the owner at shifting it? The current owner likes to avoid shifting at all costs, though it isn't bad if you are assertive about it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erik Johnson on Thursday, July 11, 2013 - 11:29 pm:

That was a long time ago. He drove us around the neighborhood and lake so there was a lot of starting and stopping but I remember he did open her up where he could. He definitely wasn't afraid to drive it.

I don't remember anything about shifting but I do remember that both he and my father thought the car should run better especially since it was a Peerless. I'll have to ask my dad but I believe Charlie had invited us to see it because the restoration was nearly complete. He probably didn't have much time on the rebuilt motor and was still attending to details, learning the quirks of the car and making mechanical adjustments now that it was now up and running again.

I don't remember if Charlie sold the car when he was alive or if it was sold after he passed away.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Benjamin Fox on Thursday, July 11, 2013 - 11:39 pm:

I thought this one came from out east, but I'll have to ask now for the specific name. The engine reaches sort of a critical velocity around 40 or 45 miles an hour where it just shakes and seems to plateau power wise. To be honest the T is several times as fun and half the stress. The Peerless engine is most impressive when starting up and at idle, where it is very smooth, probably more due to the mass if the thing than any decent balancing work by the builder. Early V8 engines basically had 4 cylinder cranks hat were 180 degrees; the sixes of the period were smoother!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Craig Anderson, central Wisconsin on Thursday, July 11, 2013 - 11:53 pm:

Benjamin.......I'm near Stevens Point.......17 miles NE of to be exact........Rosholt.......home of the Wisconsin Lions Camp.
Unfortunately I'm a bit out of your neighborhood....... :-(


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erik Johnson on Thursday, July 11, 2013 - 11:55 pm:

Maybe it's not the same car. I'll ask my dad if he remembers what year Charlie's car was. I'll also see if he has any information or articles on the car in his files. (Maybe Charlie purchased it from out east.) I do know that my dad gave Charlie advice when he was in the process of buying the car and he always thanked my dad for that.

However - I think a restored yellow Peerless would not be typical. I doubt yellow was a factory color and I certainly would not have had the car painted yellow if I owned and restored it. I don't know if the California top was factory issue or after-market or how common it is on surviving Peerless tourings.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Hjortnaes, Men Falls, WI on Friday, July 12, 2013 - 12:05 am:

Ben

Do you realize you live, in a sense, on the Yellowstone Trail? It went through the middle of Menomonie on its way east and west. Should be a nice route for you to take instead of I-94. It even comes all the way down here to Menomonee Falls if you feel like making a bit of a trip.

We have two large Model T groups down here that you can visit any time. The Milwaukee Model T Club and the Dairyland Tin Lizzies.


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