Starting a Model T-Photo , A picture to interpret

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2013: Starting a Model T-Photo , A picture to interpret
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Herb Iffrig on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 10:02 pm:


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 10:19 pm:

Mid-to-late thirties, somewhere in the middle of the country, in a town that formerly had streetcars.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erik Johnson on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 10:23 pm:

And his trousers are too big.

"Just paper bag 'em out and cinch 'em."

http://www.hulu.com/watch/3525


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kenneth W DeLong on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 10:39 pm:

Poor old fellow it will be at least 50 years before he can hear RD tell of all the trouble he will have with his mag.Bud.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erik Johnson on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 10:52 pm:

That's a "shark-nose" Graham in the background so I would say the photo was taken no earlier than 1938.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kohnke Rebabbitting on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 11:29 pm:

He has suspender marks on his back where the shirt isn't faded as much.

Head lite glass is not original.

Accessorie steering wheel, maybe fat man, with horn ring.

He also plays trombone in the town band, only drinks Bud Beer.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 11:38 pm:

He's a smart and prudent man, too, as he's cranking with his left hand.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erik Johnson on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 11:43 pm:

Ralph Ricks -

Look harder.

He is choking with his left, cranking with his right. Much of crank is clearly visible (at least to me on my screen) and he's not holding it with his left hand.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Murray - Anacortes, WA on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 11:50 pm:

The car has a sign in the back that says "wash me" and he is eye balling the spark lever...hmmm...should I push it up more, or take my chances...hmmmm...may bee I will leave my thumb over the crank and tempt fate !!!!

Herm...you are correct sir...he does play trombone every Friday and Saturday night in the dixieland band at the local watering hole.

Gosh Darn starter...shouldda fixed it years ago !!!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 11:51 pm:

Stupid flatlander!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Don Lyon, PDX, OR. on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 02:48 am:

He's got suspenders under his shirt--you can see them thru the shirt and at the top of his pants, Don.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dennis Seth - Ohio on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 06:08 am:

He threw the parking ticket on the ground and is looking to see if the police officer saw him do it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Doolittle on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 06:59 am:

His starter is dripping oil---because it's s'posed to leak.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Norman Miller on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 07:14 am:

He got the gas lever down pretty far


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kenneth W DeLong on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 07:53 am:

Im going to leave a puddle and blame it on my Ford!Bud.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Warren Henderson on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 08:45 am:

You guys have no shame! Obviously he is a hard working man, "the salt of the earth", "the back bone of our nation" and you should pay him some respect.

Happy motoring, Warren


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Semprez-Templeton, CA on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 10:11 am:

The man cranking the Ford is Chester A. Nidever ... a prune farmer from California, has a dog named Muggy. Chester perfected the "12 to 3" start method, yet surprisingly never broke his arm.

The Graham belongs to Floyd Elsey .. a bus driver from Oklahoma, who later installed a Ford flathead V8 into the Graham. Both men never met each other, but Floyd did like his prunes... Stewed with yogurt.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Norman T. Kling on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 10:26 am:

He has a lot of money. See how fat his wallet is! He's saving up cash to buy a new 1940 model next year! :-)
Norm


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Semprez-Templeton, CA on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 11:11 am:

Norm, almost right.

Chester bought a secondhand '36 Chevrolet sedan first, then a new '47 Pontiac. He had to buy the Chevrolet after his wife slid off the icy road into a tree in the '27 Chrysler. The diminutive Mrs. Nidever (4'11")...a school teacher, had just picked up the little Busi girl when she hit a patch of ice, sending the Chrysler into a gully, onto the top of an oak tree. Since the tree blocked the doors, Mrs. N. blew the horn 'till a farmer...a Mr. Barlogio found them and pulled the car out of the tree with his Caterpillar 30. The Chrysler was never the same after that, and the Model T sedan was too big for Mrs. Nidever to reach the pedals.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Richard Eagle Ida Fls on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 11:19 am:

John S. Thanks for the insight into this photo. I believe the car shown is a coupe rather than a sedan as Chester and Ethel had no children. By the way I noticed that Chester's Knights of Methuselah membership card inadvertently fell out of his pocket and is laying on the bricks just in front of the left front tire. Hope he notices it before he drives away.
Rich


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bernard Paulsen, San Buenaventura, Calif on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 11:32 am:

That photo really speaks to me, for reasons I will explain briefly.

See, when I was a young lad back in the 1970s, I wanted to show off and impress the ladies. I bought my cars based on how cool they looked, assuming that would make me look cool too. Much later in life, after having read the book "The Millionaire Next Door" twice, I learned that wealth is what you don't see. You don't get wealthy by spending money you don't have (financing); you don't even get wealthy by spending money you do have. You get wealthy by not spending money you have. That's how I live my life today. I still enjoy my addiction to classic cars, but in moderation, and my cars don't entice envy anymore; they don't make me look wealthy. These days my classic cars look well worn old baseball gloves, loved, but they show that they lived their life and got scars and creases along the way and bystanders show approval. The Model T fits this bill particularly well. Being of humble origins, it makes people smile and inquire, whereas driving a sparkling Auburn Boattail Speedster would not be perceived the same way. It would be seen as a display of wealth, of showing off. This is why I like Model T Fords. They need to be black and have been allowed to age gracefully. No shiny brass, no fresh paint. The less restored they are, the more I like them.

The photo shows a humble man who I would guess could afford a new or newer car, but why should he spend money on it if his trusty Model T has served him well for so many years and still continues to do what he bought it for? I imagine people asking him if he doesn't want to buy a newer car, to which he will respond "why would I want to do that?" I love this photo!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tom Miller, Mostly in Dearborn on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 12:27 pm:

Rosebud.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David J. Holland on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 02:10 pm:

The license plate is a 1938 Ohio 150th anniversary year1938 Ohio


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rick J. Gunter on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 02:27 pm:

I thought it was a photo of my grandpa when I first glanced at it. It looks a lot like he did in the 1930s.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mark Stewart -Calif. on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 03:58 pm:

Beveled head light lenses, Cell phone in his right back pocket, Panama like hat, looks like a steering wheel lock bar is in place. Mud on the left front tire indicates he is staying out in the country side. Must be a time traveler who went back to 1938.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dale L Myers on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 04:12 pm:

Well, Herb you asked for it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Herb Iffrig on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 04:16 pm:

So far I like it!
Mark Stewart where is the Mr. Fusion?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mark Stewart -Calif. on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 08:31 pm:

Herb
The Flux Capacitor is under the dash. The only problem is getting the Model T up to 88 miles per hour.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Derek Kiefer - Mantorville, MN on Friday, July 26, 2013 - 08:44 pm:

Bernard, did you get the private-message I sent you?

There's a well-aged '16 runabout near you that will likely be coming up on ebay real soon.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bernard Paulsen, San Buenaventura, Calif on Saturday, July 27, 2013 - 01:06 pm:

Hi Derek,
thanks for the message; yes, I received it.
Sadly, that's a car that will need considerable restoration work to become roadworthy again. I'm looking for a fine Runabout up to '22 that is fully sorted, yet has most of its original paint or a very old repaint from the 1950s or '60s that most people would mistakenly identify as original paint. If the car needs "some" work, that's fine, but I have been restoring one car after the other for almost 2 decades now and promised my wife to focus on making our home a nicer place. I would like to buy a car that's done, a solid performer, and I'm willing to pay what it takes to get it. Thanks again.


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