It was in the summer of 1963. I was 9 years old and just received my monthly issue of Popular Science magazine. Sitting in tha back of my parent's 1957 Ford Fairlane on our way to visit my Grandparents, I remember thumbing through it when I came across a most amazing sight. An old splindley looking car twisted just about in half. It piqued my interest, so I began reading and as I read, I became enthralled. Then an article in the same issue on how to drive this car. After reading the articles several times, I realized that I wanted one in the worst way. When I got to Grandpa's, I showed him the article and askerd him to tell me about the Model T. I would give anything for a recording of the stories he told, which included the time it broke his arm. Anyway, it became my goal to, one day, own one. Seven years later, in 1970, when I was sixteen, my opportunity came, when I came across a classified ad in the Tampa Tribune for a 1926 Model T. As soon as Dad got home, I begged him to drive me over to Tampa, w3hich he did, for he was as curious as I was to see a car that was made in the same year he was born. Arriving as it got dark, I got my first look at a real Model T by the light of a flashlight. Crawling from one end to the other. I'll never forget that wonderful, ancient, old car smell of gasoline, mold, mildew, grease and rotton upholstery. The car of my dreams was rusted, had a tattered roof, had rotten upholstery and dry rotted tires, but it was complete and I immediately fell in love with the graceful lines of the turtle deck, so after my inspection, I forked over my life savings of $600.00 and the next morning, we borrowed a trailer and drove back to Tampa to haul it home. When we arrived to pick the Model T up, there must have been two dozen people there to look at it, but it was mine and for the next two years, that car kept me broke and out of trouble as I spent every spare moment and every dime I made bagging groceries, buying new parts for a frame off restoration. I still have that car and it is like a member of the family.

In the hopes that the articles will spark the same interest in others that they sparked in me, as a nine year old boy, I am including a scanning of the Popular Science articles that sparked my interest in 1963, which I saved. In the days before the internet, the article on how to drive a Model T is what I used to educate myself on driving my Model T when it was completed and ready for the maiden voyage.

An interesting note for those of you too young to remember, regarding the driver falling toward the Model T. In 1963, there was a Hertz commercial on TV in which a man would come falling out of the sky into the seat of a driverless car speeding down the highway. The slogan was, "Let Hertz put you in the driver's seat". I hope you enjoy the articles. Print them out before a possible spam attack causes the deletion of this thread. Jim Patrick

Jim--thank you for starting this thread.My story is similar to yours in many ways.I am about ten years younger than you,so we are in a way from the same era.I too,remember that issue of Pop Sci and I think I still have it around somewhere.

Dad had a 27 Fordor in the parts room at his garage business. He bought it in 1960, 5years before I was born, for $150.00, from some teenagers that were running it around, and had gotten tired of it. I spent my childhood climbing in/on/around that old thing. In high school, Bob Scherzer was putting together a 24 Touring from a chassis that had belonged to Dad's oldest brother. It was my first opportunity to see a T in pieces. 15 years ago, I had a place of my own to keep one, and I contacted Bob, and he steered me toward a running chassis that became my depot hack. Dad passed away july 24th, and now I own his Fordor. It is still in the same condition it was when I was born, except Dad has replaced the top wood. Here is Dad's car in 2008, lined up for the 4th of july parade at Grand Marais Michigan.

The parade theme was "Save Our Harbor". We were doing our part, by "Driving a Pile.

As an experiment, I successfully sent myself an e-mail with attachments of each page of the two articles set at a higher resolution. If anyone would like a set, send me your e-mail and I will attempt to send you a set if your inbox has enough space to accomodate the attachments. Jim Patrick. jim@bvsmulberryrailcar.com

"The parade theme was "Save Our Harbor". We were doing our part, by "Driving a Pile."

I seem to be laughing a lot at the forum today....

When I was six or seven years old in the mid-late 1940's, my grandparents lived next door to a Murphy family. There were four Murphy boys - Jim, Morgan, Bob and Lou - and one girl, Mary Lou. The three oldest boys had scraped together some money and came home one day with a Model T Touring. As I understand it, their mother wanted them to take it straight back, but they talked her into letting them keep it overnight. They ended up keeping it for 35 years. They would take me for rides and let me play in it, which was pretty exciting.



As a follow-up to the story: I knew that Mrs. Murphy had moved to California and I assumed that the kids had as well. Since the advent of Google, I tried a couple of times to find them, but "murphy california" isn't a very narrow search! One day some months ago, I was reading the obituaries in the St. Louis paper (yes, I'm old enough that I do that), and I saw a listing for Morgan Murphy. Of the four boys, I thought that Morgan had the most unusual name. One of the charities the family had listed was the St Agnes Home, so I figured that Morgan Murphy must have lived there. It's less than a mile from my house, and I know the administrator slightly. I e-mailed her with my story, she checked with the family and confirmed that I had found the Murphy family I had been looking for. Mary Lou and three of the four boys have died, but Lou lives in Grant's Pass OR, and we have exchanged e-mails through his daughter. Lou has two T's - a TT and a Roadster - and three A's. It would be nice to see him again some day, but at least we are in contact. Also kind of neat to see that we are both T owners, possibly both thanks to his older brothers!

And for those had wished they had kept their old copies of Popular Science
or Popular Mechanics etc you can now read many of them online.

Popular Science - July 1963 issue …
http://books.google.com/books?id=pSADAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_nav links_s#v=onepage&q=&f=true
Click on “Contents” to find the articles for Jim’s interesting story.

Click on this link to find or select a certain year and month of Popular Science.
http://books.google.com/books?id=pSADAAAAMBAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s#all_issues_a nchor

Click this link to do the same for Popular Mechanics.
http://books.google.com/books?id=fuMDAAAAMBAJ&dq=popular+mechanics&source=gbs_al l_issues_r&cad=2&atm_aiy=1920#all_issues_anchor

Regards
Art

Wife nagging at me. Had to find something to do to get away from her.

In 1925 my father and my unckle drove a 1922 Model T center door sedan from Massachusetts to California and back. Their adventure took over a year. They planned it around crop season stopping to plant something or pick something and earn enough to move on. The stories of camping, crossing the Rockies with a 2x4 jammed to hold it in low and both out pushing. Got a Ruxtell for the return trip. Crossing the desert on a one lane road made out of railroad ties laid side to side. etc, The stories they told sparked my interest in Model Ts and made for a lifetime of enjoyment. After that trip, my father had no interest in Model Ts or any other old car and never owned another Ford.

Dad was in to model ts even when HE was in highschool, and he bought a 1926 model t farm truck from a guy he worked for in high school, named ELMER COTTON from Leon, Kansas
Elmer Cotton had bought this truck NEW thru the Leon ford dealer shop, and use it out of tne farm south of Leon. Dad drove it for him alot.
This paticular truck was borrowed by a neighbor of Elmers,and drove to Iowa to pick up (2) head of cattle. The trip took over two weeks.
This is the same truck that all of us kids,(3), learned to drive on.
Then when we kids were going thru high school and growing up, dad built a 1927 touring for us to put around in.
Then after I got out of the army in 1970, dad and I build a 1927 roadster which was to be mine, and then he built a 1926 pickup, which was to be my younger sisters, and the farm truck went to my older sister, so now all of us have model ts to drive.
This is just a brief short story of our model t lives.

Man, I didn't even LIKE Model Ts. I thought they were dorky. I've had Model As, a cool '40 Ford coupe, a '50 convertible, a '55 "Country Squire" (for my work) and a Mustang, Bronco II, and Explorer. At present I have a '65 Mustang with a hot 302 cu in Ford with Competition cam, etc., and I had NO interest in a "T-bone."
A friend of mine has a T Touring and I've always thought it was sort of Mickey Mouse. I'm an old Hot Rod-type guy.
Then, one fateful day in 2002 in Northern California I was shown a little yellow 1919 Speedster, sitting all forlorn and dusty in the back of a chicken coop.
Dang it!
I fell completely in love with that little jalopy.
You ever fall in love with a homely girl? I have. Mostly because I was intrigued by her beautiful, clean, interesting body. I thought, "I could have FUN with that!"
I bought it.
I've had fun with it. The most fun I've EVER had with a car.
She may be homely, but she can sure turn me on!

I was looking for a 17-20 Chevrolet and ran across a 26 coupe so i bought it and it multiplied and includes a 24 Fordor.

Rick

As a boy I heard stories by my grandparents, dad, and uncles about their Model T's. By the time I came around the oldest car in the family was a 29 Model A coupe. It was well worn. It had been used by my dad when he was in college, and then later two platforms were attached to make into a truck for delivering furniture by my grandpa, then later by my dad. Finally my uncle got it and drove it until a piston collapsed and he still drove on 3 for another month. Then I got it for $15 and used it for parts. I still wanted a Model T and I got a Model A Phaeton which looked about as much like a Model T as any Model A. Finally when I was 53 years old a lady in my office who knew I liked old cars told me about one for sale in San Diego. It was my first Model T although I had wanted one since I learned to drive at 16. Now I have 3 Model T's and no more Model A's
Norm

In 1957 while in high school, the engine blew in my 47 chevy. Decided to sell it, but the only offer I got was for a burning set or a nice running 1923 T Roadster. Had no use for a touch set, so I took the "T". I have owned a few since!

First it was the book, Pete and the Old Ford. I must have read it a billion times.

Then it was my late father in law: Randy Harding.

the old car festival at the Henry Ford! a real live altering visit to say the least! we now have a t an a and 2 high wheel bicycles , had to get trailer to haul, then motorhome to pull ,then 24 x 60 garage to keep it all , lets see then there was the admission money.... humm what have i done? lol
wouldnt change a thing!

I hate to say(because of what I did)that I use to play with an old TT that pop( my grandfather) had parked in a field by the big house at his farm in Titus Al. when I was 5 or 6 that tt was really cool. Thought it was really just junk at 7 or 8, after all pop had a fairly new 49 f100 (for pop that is) it was 1963 and we were there for Christmas. Santa had brought me a pump action 22 and my target was the old TT, kills me to think about it now, really almost killed me when pop got done with me and the razor strap. Later in life when pop died he left me the f100, still have it, and the little house, my cousin got the Big house, he did'nt shoot at the TT. For a few years the TT was a view through a looking glass that filled my head with memories of my youth but the tt was to far gone to repair. Sometime in 1980 Kirk Hill and Randy Harding got me interested in T models and my first was a 26 roadster, I now own 13 Ts, one 1928 A model pickup and a few other speacialty cars but I have never own a TT. I guess because I embarased myself for what I did to pops TT. I also have never had a razor shave from a barber, to close to the strap brings back some other memories.

My story is real short. I'm a Hot Rodder I never had a use for a stock Model T.
I bought my 27 Tudor with plans to make a "Time Capsule", late 40's era, Flathead V8 powered, Hot Rod out of it.
It was just SO complete and original, I didn't have the heart to modify it, so here I am.
I did however have Tim up at Gen III build me a "Full House" T motor for it. The works, "blue printed", balanced, stainless valves & seats, Stype cam, Aluminum pistons, Z head, lightened flywheel and more $$$$$$$.
I put the (still running) #'s matching engine in a crate.
So I have the best of both worlds, a Model T "Hot Rod" that can go back to "stock" with the twist of a wrench.

I first got interested in T's in the mid '50s, listening to the "old guys" talking about them. I was about 7 or 8 years old at the time. My good friend at the time(he was 2and1/2 years older than me) also shared that interest. As we grew older, we never forgot those stories, and when we became teenagers, we started looking around for T stuff. As they say, the rest was history. We buried him a year ago last Feb. and had his sale a few weeks ago. I bought his '25 coupe, and then left the sale. There were 45 years of memories there and it was very hard to see them go. At least we saved a lot of T stuff that would have probably gone to the scrappers years ago. I hope that everyone has at least one friendship that lasts for 53 years. Dave

My mother knew I was a figett and brought me half a 26 tourer for my 21st birthday. I paid for the other half.

For the next four years it absorbed my every spare moment, grew into two Ts and gained a Ruxtel.

But, alas, it had to be sold when we married, we needed the money.

Thirtyfive years and five kids later I was able to buy a 22 tourer which is now known in the family as my concubine! my other love!

It is a winner with my grand daughters!

A couple of things sparked my interest. I was a kid back in the 60's and grew up in the small town of Roann Indiana. Our town always put on a large July 4th parade. You could always count on several old cars in the parade. The model T's were always fun to watch drive by because they all had whistles, horns, and wooden wheels that set them apart from all the other cars in the parades. Another thing was seeing them on tv in old movies like Laurel and Hardy. I was always amazed at how tough and quirky these cars seemed.

I was standing out in front of our shop early one foggy summer morning when I saw a mid 20's T runabout come out of the fog, pass on by, and vanish back into the fog again. I saw that car for no more than 30 seconds 20 years ago, but I knew right then that I had to have one. Now I have one, 1925 runabout. That car fits me like a well broke in pair of boots, just right.

Jeff Wood--Small world!Although I am not originally from this area,I live less than ten miles from Roann.They still have a celebration on the 4th. I have some good pictures of the covered bridge from the seat of my T. The Stockdale Mill,just west of Roann, has also been restored to operating condition,and has tours on Saturday.Fascinating water powered mill.

Back to the Sixties. I was 7 in 1962. When my uncle would come visit (annually) my Daddy would always take us to the "homeplace"(nothing but woods and an old house). They would ALWAYS talk about the Model T. Into adulthood they still talked about that Model T. Well when I was able I bought a Model T. And if I am ever able I'm going to get one just like the one that was at the homeplace.

I am goofus, and John Tannehill III, you two had the best of both worlds in Kirk Hill and my buddy RANDY HARDING, I'm old enough to have known Randy, I also know Kirk John Danuser Fulton Mo

I grew up around old airplanes as my dad's business was in aviation. Nice hobby, but a bit on the expensive side. When I got married my wife's family had several Model T's, her dad's '26 Coupe, brother's '26 pickup, and her other brother's '30 AA, '26 TT, and '12 Touring. After getting cockpit qualified in all, we decided we needed to keep the family tradition going and bought a '29 A Roadster, then my dad bought a '26 Touring Car. Things multiplied with a '30 AA, '30 Pickup, and '30 Town Sedan joining in. Recently dad's Touring Car came out to join the others, and now the next generation is getting into the swing with my daugher and I building a '17 Speedster.

My dad had a chrysler Coupe back in 1928 and was going to elope with my mother. So he thought he would eventually need a Sedan and he traded it and some money for a Chrysler Sedan. That night there was a knock at the door with the police saying my dad had a stolen car. They took away the car and he needed a car the next day for the elopement. Not having much money left, he purchased a broken down Model T Ford for $25 the next day and that afternoon he helped my mother out of the window. They drove to another county to get married and had four flat tires on the way. He was a persistant guy and fixed the tires and got hitched and here I am. Yes I was born five years after they were married ;<} When he sold the T he purchased a brand new Model A Roadster and every time he would run over a tin can he would get out to see what had fallen off of it.

I rembered the story and thought a Model T would be fun. Johnnie Gillespi worked with my dad at General Petroleum. He was the National President of the Horseless Carriage Club of America. He had a 1912 Paddy Wagon and it was very nice with all the bells and whistles,a three speed aluminum Warford and a Ruckstell. In 1963 he offered it to me for $1200 and I just could not refuse. So I guess I got into Model T's through the back door. By the way I sold our 1913 Cadillac Touring and bought the Paddy Wagon.

I am 31 years old and I began collecting antiques at age 11. I enjoy being a caretaker for a piece of history. I enjoy the significance of either the item itself, or perhaps what was going on in history at the time the item was made. A collector friend of mine has a model T and a later model A. I never paid much interest to them but at the time I liked the Model A more. I was at an antique show about three years ago and there were two model Ts there at the show. I was looking them over and something just kind of clicked. I went to a car show shortly thereafter and saw a few T's there and got a chance to talk to an older gentleman who was really nice and encouraging, which sunk the hook even more. I got into reading everything I could and narrowed it down to the body style I liked, the details I liked, and the price point that I thought was reasonable. Now that I have done that I need to obtain a garage that I can store it in. Once I work out that small detail I will be in hot pursuit of that 1915 runabout dream car

Always been a car fanatic, but concentrated on fifties and early sixties cars, Dad had a 1957 Ford Fairlane when i was growing up, with a 352 interceptor and a top loader four speed. Then my best friend showed me his 1925 TT, and I bugged him until he sold me what I needed to start my own T!!!!!

Jim,
thanks for the article in Pop Sci, great reading.
Unfortunately, I do not personally own a T yet but have the chance to learn and understand with the help of a friend`s T`s (they need service, at least) and of course with this great forum!
For some reason I always thought that THE car was the Model T. Born in 1966, I watched Laurel and Hardy, Harold Lloyd, etc. when they were part of the friday night program on TV here in Germany. I was around 12 at that time and thought later I would buy a Model T. I collected models, sometimes repainted them, when they should have the proper color...
Model T`s were not that easily available at the local car dealers, so I got me a Citroen CV. No mistake at all, but the T bug got me and I never lost interest in it. Time will show...

from abroad,
Bernd

In the 1990's my dad had a 24 touring. He offered to sell it to me so he could buy a Model A pickup. I said no. He sold it and bought the pickup. Dad died in 1999. In 2000 a close friend died, his wife was selling his 2 T's and 1 A. My brother-in-law talked me into buying the 22 coupe and he bought the 26 roadster. The 22 was good to go, the 26 needed engine work. He had the engine rebuilt and got it back in the car. Before he ever heard it run he passed away at work. Me and Model T club guys got it going, boy was it tight. Kept starting it, let get hot, shut off and let cool, etc. His wife still has car and it runs good. I still have the 22, a 17, a model A and a plymouth.

My Grandpa always told me stories of his first car, a 24 coupe T Ford. I still have pictures of that car. While I always thought the stories were pretty cool, it wasn't until about 1989 at the Iola car show in Iola Wisconsin. I watched 3-4 older guys completely take apart and put back together a model T Ford. I watched in amazement. Fast forward 18 years and I bought my Fordor with my "silent" partner, my Dad. My only regret is not buying one earlier, so I could take Gramps for a ride. I lost him 3 years before I bought the car. Funny how those timed assembly events can spark so much inteest in younger people. BTW even though I never got to take my Grandpa for a ride in the T, I have taken my Grandma out for breakfast in the T. Her and Gramps courted in that 24 coupe way back.


Brian

Does anybody remember the movie The Absent Minded Professor? The Prof invented Flubber and it powered a 15 T Touring to great heights. I was a kid in the sixties when I saw it. I never forgot the car. About the same time Dad bought a beat 26 pickup. I was 12 years old it was the first car I ever drove...although I never got out of low pedal! Now I have a 15 Runabout, 11 Tourabout and an 09 touring project. Thanks Professor!!!
Ken

Brian's post reminded me of something I forgot to mention in my story, which began this thread. After completing the two year long restoration of my '26 coupe in September of '72 and just weeks before entering the Marine Corps., the first long drive I took was from our home in Brandon, Florida to Lakeland, Florida (about 50 miles) to visit my Grandparents and show Grandpa the completed Model T and take him for a ride. He had been recently diagnosed with lung cancer and, since his stories of his Model T cemented my budding interest way back in 1963, I wanted to show him the completed car before it was too late and possibly get more stories. He watched as I cranked it from the front and cautioned me to be careful and was impressed when it roared to life on the first quarter turn. We chugged around the neighborhood and he loved it as the sound, feel and smell, took him back to his youth of long ago. That was our last ride as he died in August of 1973 when I was stationed in California. RIP R.A. Patrick, Jr. 1897-1973. Jim Patrick

My interest in Model T's was sparked by the many stories my father told me about his first car a 1926 Model T roadster. He bought this car when he was 16 from his brother-in-law in the year 1939. My dad always regretted that he did not have a photo of that car. This summer we had a family reunion. My dad who is now 86, was not able to attend but I went. My cousin from Saskatchewan Canada was also there with a collection of old family photos and sure enough there was a picture of dad's first car. His sister, my Aunt Elsie and her husband Uncle George are in the photo. I copied the picture and had it enlarged and framed and gave it to my dad. He was absolutely thrilled. He could not believe that I had found this photo. Anyone that comes to visit dad in the nursing home sees the photo and hears the story of that 1926 wooden wheel Model T roadster.

My "interest" was destiny. In 1946 my grandfather bought a ranch in Santa Clara, CA. It came with an '18 TT that was the orchard truck. I was born a year later, so the truck has always been a part of my life.

The truck was used to bring in the fruit crops (apricots and prunes) every year until he retired in 1963. It also served to take the family out to the back of the orchard where there were a few peach trees, which was like a trip to the candy store for us. My grandparents, parents, aunt, uncles, and cousins would pile on and off we'd go. Now, you must understand that the truck is a wood cab stakeside and the top of the cab was cut off to prevent damage to the orchard trees. It looked like (and still looks like) an old clunker.

So, off everyone would go for peaches. Not me. I was about 3 years old and I'd follow behind, saying "I'm not going to ride in that old JUNK!". Well, here we are nearly 60 years later and I now have the the "old junk". I have it in good running order but looking the same as it did on the ranch, and now I take my grandchildren for peaches in it.

Picture for Ken Findlay

Howard

My interest came from the fact I like old stuff and I had a copy Victor Page's book about the Model T.

I had a friend from church in Milwaukee, WI take me for a ride in his 1921 Ford Touring car and that was all it took to get me hooked. Herman Leis was the best cook in the world and he introduced me to the model T. Before that I loved old cars of any make and model and my grandfather had a automobile trunk full of parts that we could look at but not touch plus stories about his cars. An uncle had a 1932 Chevy that was supposed to be mine some day, but that is another story. I owned a model T coupe and had two garages full of parts which all were left in Milwaukee when I moved to Arizona. I am back in the T world again but it will be awhile before my T is roadworthy. It is going together piece by piece.

Well, I can credit my best friend for giving me the model T bug. He had it from an early age. I never thought I would be interested in such a car but read on. When my friend was a boy (his name is Craig) his dad was nuts about model Ts. One day Craig spotted a model T for sale and used his newspaper delivery money to buy it. Being so excited about it he was shocked that his dad didn't share the excitement and took young Craig over to the home of the "new car" to get the money back. The T was a 1926 roadster and was in "disassembled" condition to put it nicely. After looking all around and taking stock of the various parts hiding in the grass, Craigs dad started to feel some interest in the project after all. They brought it home. Work began and the excitement was building when disaster struck. Craigs father had a heart attack and passed away. The 26 sat in the back of the family garage for decades. Craig and I became great friends because of our mutual interests like black powder rifles and deer hunting and more. I remember seeing the old machine, dust covered, sitting in its cript surrounded by parts and the aroma of oil, grease, mold, you know the smell. I never got to excited by it. Craig found and joined the local T club in Spokane and next deer season when I came out, we visited a local T garage/hangout. For the first time I saw a living, breating, model T. Several of them. I took my first ride that day in a 1915 touring drivin by a friendly fellow club member. Well, I knew this model T thing was right up my alley and didn't see why I hadn't realized it sooner. I wanted one badly now. Years passed and I did what I always do with my areas of interest. I researched everything about the T. I nearly bought a 15 touring but It was not right. It was going to require to large a withdrawl from the bank of domestic tranquility and I had to pass it up. Well about a year later my ship came in in the usual way. One of my club members said he heard about a 26 touring for sale. I looked at it and talked to the man. I liked it and the owner liked me so he gave me first chance at it and the next day It was mine. I have logged many hours of grand time working on it and soon the maiden voyage should take place. Can't wait. Then the adventure really begins. Craig is nearly done with his too. Wahooooo. Thanks for listining all and best regards, Erich

When I was in high school, just about every other boy had a Model A Ford. They went for $50 a copy back then. When I got the bug to get my very own car and not have to depend on using my dad's car, I wanted something different, not what everyone else had. I didn't really care what make car it was as long as it wasn't a Model A.

I looked at several cars but most were either out of my price range or they were junk. Finally I found a 1926 Model T Coupe in a barn and priced at just $35.

I dragged the corps home and got it running within a few days. Parts were still available at the local auto supply stores.

The engine was rebuilt in the high school auto shop, and I gave the body a paint job using a "Flit" gun and thinned screen paint purchased at the hardware store. My mother helped with the upholstery replacement.

I drove the car to school and then stored it when I went away to college. A fellow set fire to the building where my car was being kept to collect the insurance money. That was the end of that Ford but the beginning of my interest in Model Ts.

I updated when I bought a 1927 Tudor 8 years later for $175. I later got married, and we raised 5 children using that car for holiday trips and just pleasure in general.

The Tudor is now used to go to church Sundays and for club tours.

I spent much of my early years with my Grandfather who owned Frank Mossberg Co. and made many of the ford shop tools for the Model T and he also owned APCO and made many of the Model T accessories. He bought me a 1927 roadster in 1953 and I still have it and 5 others I have adopted over the years.

My Grandfather's brothers owned a Ford dealership in the 1920s and early 30s. My Grandfather worked as the mechanic at the dealership. The T that I have was bought by my grandfather in 1930. This car broke in the late 30s and has set until this year. I now have it running. So Model Ts have alwas been it my life. But this year is the first time I have ever driven a T.

When I was one year old my father was mustered out of the Navy at Portland, Oregon in early 1946 and we immediately moved to Riverside, California.
I can clearly remember in 1949 seeing my first Model T resting along side the slaughter house on North Main street across the street from De Young's Dairy. The smell was overpowering.
My Dad bought that 1926 coupe and I have been involved with Model T's since.
Ron the Coilman

My wife was tired of me spending all my time working on "basket case" cars from the 50's. She said she would like something unique and already "finished". My little brother emailed her a picture of a '23 Depot Hack, and next thing I know, I'm negotiating with a guy that doesn't know a thing about Model T's, just wants to sell a car that had'nt been started in 6 years. What made the whole thing worse was neither of us new how to start it, drive it, or even find nuetral to push it on the trailer. (pushed my brains out when we got it home, with the wife steering the car. Later found out that when the hand brake is released, it's in gear.) Since then, she has talked me into a '15 Huckster ( that we just finished a frame off restoration), and now a '25 Roadster p/u. The bug has now got me, too.

Great post guys!
If any of you have talked to me personally you already know cancer of all things got me into the hobby. When dad was diagnosed as the same time as his own dad across the street he was told get a hobby. I took a job in the field just because there was nothing for work out in Winchendon MA.
I'm not sure either dad or myself ever bargained for the added family that comes from putting together a lit bit of motor vehicle history. I do know we're both thankful for not just the fun and history of the T, (or for me the living), but for the extended family you've all become.
Whenever anothers' opinion becomes a little outside of your own box out here, just remember the common bond and the tolerance families have to adjust to

If anyone sent a request for the two articles shown in the opening thead, but did not receive them, please click onto my below e-mail address and re-email me your request. I found two e-mailed requests this morning from last week I accidentally passed over and the possibility exists that there may be others that I may have deleted. Everyone who has received the articles has been very pleased with the high resolution and crispness of details. Jim Patrick. jim@bvsmulberryrailcar.com

My road to the world of the T was long, appropriately slow, and included a major detour. When I was nine, in 1950, I saw Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy in “Cheaper By the Dozen”, and was fascinated by the T era cars. A few years later I was in high school and spied a green T coupe sitting in a gas station with a “For Sale” sign on it. The price was $700. Well, my folks came through the Great Depression, and were raised by nineteenth century farmers. They weren’t about to spend that kind of money ($8608.32 in 2008 dollars) for a thirty-year-old car. So the notion of an antique car went on the back burner, maybe even behind the back burner.

One summer evening in the late sixties while vacationing in Idaho I was tuning my radio to see what I could pick up when I heard familiar voices. Instantly I recognized my childhood radio friends Fibber McGee and Molly. A distant Canadian station was playing some old radio shows. It was wonderful to hear them again after many years, and that experience alerted me to the possibility of hearing rebroadcasts. Back home I found that a local station aired a couple of hours of old radio programs on Sunday afternoons. In spite of poor reception, I became a regular listener. In 1972 KFI celebrated its fiftieth anniversary by playing a wonderful old series featuring those two boys from Mena, Lum and Abner. By 1975 southern California was a hotbed of old radio, and an organization for enthusiasts formed: the Society to Preserve & Encourage Radio Drama, Variety, and Comedy. As soon as I heard about it I joined and became the thirty-sixth member. Over the next ten years I was very involved in the hobby. One of its best aspects was getting to meet some of the people behind those familiar voices. At one function I found myself sitting on a couch between Fibber McGee and the Great Gildersleeve. Wow! A high point in that period came in the summer of 1983 when I produced a series of radio dramas for KCSN. My friend Herb Schmidt directed a company of amateur actors in six shows that included old and new scripts, one of which I wrote. We weren’t on the level of a Lux Radio Theater or a Gunsmoke, but I think we did a pretty good job.

Meanwhile, the dormant old car bug was stirring. One day in 1978 I spotted a 1939 Packard, and was enthralled. One front fender had a huge crunch, the paint was peeling, the bumpers were rusty, and the interior hung in tatters. It was beautiful. I paid $1500 for it, had the transmission fixed, and drove it until 1983. One day smoke started coming from behind the dash. I took the death of the wiring as a hint that it was time to go to work on the car. I totally dismantled it, derusted all the chassis and body parts, painted, installed new wiring and glass, etc. For a first effort, it turned out rather well.

By 1985 I was burned out with teaching, and had a bellyful of living in a big city. I escaped to the old family farm in Kansas where my mom was raised. While doing maintenance at the local McDonald’s I started a little part time business making reproduction vintage signs (Packard, Studebaker, Hudson, etc.). It was about 1990 when I noticed a Hemmings ad for a 1926 T chassis and roadster body. I borrowed a trailer and hauled my new project home from Emporia in a driving rain. After my experience with the Packard, a little car like this would be a piece of cake. Well, I got the frame and some of the chassis derusted, painted and reassembled, but that’s as far as I got. The sign business was growing and demanding more and more time. Soon I was putting in long hours and having little time for anything but work. That continued until 2004 when I got an offer I couldn’t refuse: How about if I buy this business and you work for me? Even work you like gets to be a drag if you’re putting in sixty or seventy hours a week, so I took the offer. Having to put in only a forty hour work week, I’ve been able to get back to the old cars. In November 2007 I noticed an ad in the Vintage Ford for a TT for sale at a reasonable price. I hauled it home from Arkansas and went to work on it. Currently it’s in the chassis reassembly stage. A comment here on the forum led to one more T. Someone suggested that while a restoration project is fine, it’s better to have a running car you can drive and enjoy while you work on the project. That made sense to me, so last December I drove up to Nebraska and brought home the 1923 touring I found in another Vintage Ford ad. The car has needed some fixing, but it runs and I’ve been able to drive it. This is good fun. So now I’m doing some fix-ups on the touring while I enjoy using it, and working on the TT project. When I finish the TT and a tractor or two, that 1926 roadster awaits.

I've always been interested in anything old or mechanical or better yet, both. In 1999, my sister called. Said they were moving from their house into a condo on the beach in Pensacola and needed to get rid of a lot of stuff. My brother-in-law's Model A was among the stuff to go. It had been his father's, who got it in 1966. They had driven it back then and into the 70's, but it had just sat up for many many years. I brought it home to Savannah and spent 4-1/2 years restoring it.

During this time, I had gotten interested in what might be the next project. An AA came to mind, but a T also sounded interesting. I went to a Model A meet one day. There was a guy there giving Model T driving lessons. I took my turn at that and was hooked. Now I knew I had to have a T, but still wanted a truck. A TT was the logical answer.

It took a while for it all to work out, but finally, an oportunity presented itself. I bought a TT from a guy in NC and brought home. I have decided to leave it as is. It has been painted in the past, but never restored. The paint is old and peeling in places and rusted in others now, but I want to leave it that way. The next one will have to be a T. My wife wants a Touring. I would prefer to build a speedster. Money doesn't allow either at the present, but one day, I'm sure we will have another one.

I’m a little younger than most of you. Model T’s were sorta the ubiquitous “old car” in children’s television and books (i.e. “Tin Lizzie” by Peter Spier) in the late-1970s through the mid-1980s. I have always loved old things, and Model T touring cars, along with steam locomotives, were sort of the pinnacle of “old things” to me. I quickly moved into more serious literature and dsicovered that the Model T is really responsible for grassroots motorsports of all stripes - dirt track, dry lakes, street rods, off roading, snowmobiling, etc. You name it, and the T was there first. I’m endlessly fascinated by the accessories and home-built modifications produced for Henry’s Lady.

My desire to actually own a Model T has waxed and waned since that age, but I figure it’s an inevitability for me. I now own the frame from underneath a ‘26 roadster that was street rodded, and when my ‘61 Falcon is where I want it, a Multy Aldrich-style T roadster is in the works for me. And it’s gonna be ALL T, not some mishmash of T, A, and V8 parts as I’ve occasionally thought I might want. Someday too there will be a stock-ish 1920s touring car in the works, I’m certain.

-Dave

When I was a kid and we would open a new Gulf station in the area, a fellow named Wilbur McCall would bring his 1905 Knox and ride us kids around with a sign on the back that said, "Follow me to the newest Gulf station." I fell in love with that era autos at 8 years old. Had lots of cars, hit and miss engines, but got my T 7 years ago and can't imagine not having it.

My interest in T's began when I learned that my Grandfather had rebuilt a T motor on the kitchen table because it was too cold outside. I don't think he ever owned one.

My dad told me stories of many T's that he saw when he was growing up in the 40's and 50's. A depot hack bought at auction for 25 bucks and was seen being driven not less than three weeks later.

I had wanted a T since I was probably 11 years old. After 18 years I finally got one. Twelve years beyond that, and it finally runs.

I am SOOOO EXCITED!!