Driving the T

[tommyleea]

I am in drivers training with my T..From the shop to the house, just in low. My question is, has anyone tried driving just in high gear? Would you have to take off too fast initially? I guess I am trying to compare it to my 8N tractor, which you have to take off in the gear you are going to drive in, unless you stop to shift. Depends on where you are as to what gear you are in. My thought was if at a stop sign getting ready to hit the main road, could you start out in high? Thanks..Tommy..23 T..

[Steve Jelf]

Low gear is there for a reason. The reason is to get the car moving so that high gear doesn't kill the engine or worse. A tractor is different because all its gears are low enough to use from a dead stop.

[tommyleea]

Low gear is there for a reason. The reason is to get the car moving so that high gear doesn't kill the engine or worse. A tractor is different because all its gears are low enough to use from a dead stop.

Copy..Thanks Steve..

[jiminbartow]

These 2 articles on the Model T in my copy of Popular Science I received in July 1963 when I was 9 years old, sparked my interest in Model T’s and embedded in me, with the determination to, one day own a Model. I saved the articles and read them often for 7 years until my opportunity came in 1970 when I came upon a classified ad in the Tampa Tribune for a 1926 Model T coupe for $650.00 when I was 16. My Dad and I drove over there and I bought it for my life savings of $600.00, which is all the cash I had. It was in bad shape, but complete and I spent the next two years Doing a complete restoration, bringing it to showroom condition. There was no internet for me to consult so the article on how to drive it came in very handy. It’s what I used as a tutorial and helped me immensely to learn how to drive it when the time came. It didn’t hurt that, by 1972, I had it memorized and basically knew what to do. Maybe it will help you. Jim Patrick

[jiminbartow]

[jiminbartow]

[JohnM]

What Steve said, and your 8n has something your T doesn't have. A governor to keep the engine going regardless of the load.

[TXGOAT2]

Popular Mechanix was another great magazine back then.... Tom McCahill wrings out the King Midget! Make a nifty wood router from a flower pot and an old Kirby vacuum! Army to deploy giant hydrogen balloons to increase desert rainfall! Compact flying car set to debut in '67!

[Steve Jelf]

I should add that if you feel at all intimidated by learning to drive a T, remember that millions of people have done it, and you're probably smarter than many of them.

Mitch Taylor has some good videos, including how to drive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwacbtXTjQw&t=21s

[speedytinc]

Just do it. We all did. You will stall & jerk & oops. All part of the fun. Practice in a private area. When people are watching errors & mishaps multiply. Its a murphy or universe thing.

[Burger in Spokane]

I never piloted a T until I was something like 55 years old. Sat
behind the wheel of many in barns and other places where I found
them, but never drove one.

Decided it was time, after a close call experience that prompted
me to quit putting off bucket list items, so I bought one and before
it arrived, went to a local T meeting and told some people there
what I had done and asked for a tutorial. I was told to get in a
nearby car, and away we went, the driver explaining the process.
We went so far, and then he stopped and told me to trade seats
with him. I was on the spot and had to sink or swim. He told me
to do what I had just seen, and that I could not hurt it, and that is
just what happened. Going 20 in a high riding open car .... a very
weird and unfamiliar open car, ... feels like you are going 70, and
I was VERY concerned about wrecking someone else's car ....
But we made it back to our starting point alive and when my truck
showed up, I struggled a bit with coordination of the old school
controls, but pretty soon it was just like riding a bike. I still find
amusement at how I get it out of mothballs in the spring and the
brief awkwardness quickly returns to warm familiarity.

[DLodge]

Tommy, your profile says you're in Missouri, but doesn't say where. There are clubs in St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield (that I can think of offhand - I may be missing one or two). T people tend to be a pretty helpful bunch, so you might try mentioning where you are.

[tommyleea]

Tommy, your profile says you're in Missouri, but doesn't say where. There are clubs in St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield (that I can think of offhand - I may be missing one or two). T people tend to be a pretty helpful bunch, so you might try mentioning where you are.

I am in Warrensburg, MO. Couple hours south of Kansas City. I have contacted KC Chuggers, but not much gathering at the time, and it is a bit too far. A few years ago, I wouldn't be so hesitant, but it seems now everyone is in a hurry, and impatient. I am reluctant to stall out and slow somebody down. Thanks for all the responses. I will press on between the house and the shop, until I feel comfortable. Cheers..Tommy

[John Codman]

Popular Mechanix was another great magazine back then.... Tom McCahill wrings out the King Midget! Make a nifty wood router from a flower pot and an old Kirby vacuum! Army to deploy giant hydrogen balloons to increase desert rainfall! Compact flying car set to debut in '67!

My favorite McCahill article was "McCAHILL ROLLS A RENAULT". He was the best automotive writer of all time by a wide margin.

[Oldav8tor]

Tommy - shifting from Low to High in a T feels like there should be another gear in between. The key is, get a little speed up before you shift, maybe 15+ mph. When you shift, back the power off briefly just like you'd let up on the gas shifting a standard transmission. Once rolling, you can leave the lever forward, pushing the left pedal in slightly to put the car in neutral and all the way to the floor to go back in first. Pretty soon it'll be natural.

Sounds like you need to find a quiet road where you can get up to speed. If you try shifting into High at too low a speed your car will show it's displeasure. Good luck!

[Jugster]

Model T Ford Driving 101

I'm going to oversimplify and tell some mechanical "half-truths" here, which might be helpful for a new driver to understand (and then I'll make them full truths at the very end).

The Model T Ford has two forward gears and one reverse. _Each gear has its own clutch and because of the way planetary transmissions work, all the gears are always meshed, so one doesn't so much shift gears as engage the clutch which corresponds to the gear you wish to use.

All other cars that have manual transmissions have two ways of disconnecting the drive wheels from the engine: You can step on the clutch pedal, or you can put the transmission in neutral, or you can do both at the same time._Model T Fords don't work that way.

The Model T transmission does not have a true neutral. _It only has clutches, all three of which must be disengaged if one wants to disconnect the drive wheels from the engine.

The secret of understanding how to drive a Model T is in understanding the relationship between the floor-mounted hand lever and the left pedal. _The left pedal is used to select between the clutches of the two forward gears in these three operating positions:

A.) low gear clutch engaged, with the left pedal fully depressed;

B.) high gear clutch engaged, with the left pedal fully released and in the full up position;

C.) neither of the two forward clutches engaged. _This third condition is maintained by holding the left pedal between the up and down extremes with your left foot. _This last condition would be the equivalent of holding a conventional car's clutch pedal down to the floor while in gear and this is as close as the Model T's transmission comes to being in neutral. _Though it is obviously not a true neutral, for now, we'll refer to it as neutral.

A convenient way of holding the car in this "neutral" condition is to use the floor-mounted hand lever, which operates in three basic positions:

a.) Floor-mounted hand lever all the way forward; which does nothing more than allow the clutch pedal to come all the way up and engage the high gear clutch when you lift your foot off the left pedal;

b.) Floor-mounted hand lever halfway back; which locks out the high gear clutch by blocking the left pedal from coming more than halfway up when you lift your foot off the pedal. _In this case, the transmission is held in "neutral" unless you press the pedal fully down, which would then engage the low gear clutch. _If you lift your foot off again, the pedal will not rise beyond the neutral position (By the way, with the floor-mounted hand lever in the halfway back position, you could also engage the reverse gear clutch by pressing down the center pedal. _Releasing the center pedal would disengage the reverse clutch and the car would then be in neutral again).
__Keep the floor-mounted hand lever halfway back whenever you know you don't want to accidentally engage high gear, like when you're making a broken U-turn, when you're in a parking lot, etc.

c.) Floor-mounted hand lever all the way back; which not only locks out the high gear clutch, but applies the parking brake as well. _This is the position you would use for hand-cranking the car or waiting at a long, red traffic light.

By the way, the parking brake is used for holding the car's position when parked, not slowing or stopping, except in an emergency (unless your parking brake shoes have been modified with the right kind of linings and that's unlikely).

The right pedal is a conventional brake. _Antique car brakes are nowhere near as powerful as modern car brakes.

The Model T has two small hand levers mounted just beneath the steering wheel:

The small right-hand lever (as seen from the driver's position) is the hand throttle, which is not spring-loaded. _There is no accelerator pedal. _Pushing the throttle lever down increases power. _Pulling it up reduces power. _The throttle will stay in the position in which you leave it and will not return to idle when you let go of it.

The small left-hand lever controls the spark timing. _Essentially, this control allows you to choose between a spark the occurs late in the ignition cycle (meaning after the piston passes top dead center), or earlier in the ignition cycle. _For hand cranking the engine, you want a late spark. _A late spark insures (more or less) that the crankshaft will not suddenly change direction while you are cranking and break your arm with a backwards-spinning hand crank. _An earlier spark is used for driving. _The faster you drive, the earlier the spark you will select. _The latest (fully retarded) spark position is with the handle fully up and the earliest (fully advanced) spark position is with the handle fully down. _Again, make sure the spark handle is in the fully up position whenever you touch the hand crank.

Hand-cranking a Model T is sort of like starting a powermower with a pull-cord (and at least as hazardous). _The powermower needs gasoline, air and spark to start and so does the Model T. _With the spark lever all the way up, the throttle cracked open, the floor-mounted hand lever all the way back and the rear wheels chocked, you're ready to wrestle this beast to life with your bare hands.
__Make sure the ignition is switched off and the ignition key is out of the keyhole. _The choke is the cute little wire loop sticking out the front of the radiator on the passenger side. _Hold it out and crank the engine over two or three half-turns (You'll have to push the crank in to engage the ratchet). _Now, the engine is primed. _Stick the key in the ignition and turn it counterclockwise, unless your Model T doesn't have a starting battery, in which case you'll instead turn the key clockwise to engage the magneto.
__With your LEFT hand (Don't get me started on the dangers of right-handed cranking), engage the crank ratchet at about the 7 o'clock position and smartly lift the crank to the 12 o'clock position. _Do your best not to crank past the 1 o'clock position. _If the engine starts, advance the spark lever to the point where the engine idles fastest. _You may need to reduce the throttle a bit to keep from racing the engine.

Okay, time to drive. _This is best done in a large, vacant parking lot without speed bumps. _Pull the chocks, bearing in mind that some Model T's tend to creep forward even with the floor-mounted hand lever all the way back (and this is why it's considered bad form to hand crank a Model T with your back to a wall).
__Get in the driver's seat and make certain all the doors are firmly latched, particularly if you have a touring car with suicide doors. _Plant your foot on the brake and slowly bring the floor-mounted hand lever forward to the halfway position. _Now, practice starting and stopping the car using first gear only. _Get used to the very sensitive steering. _Get used to the very insensitive brake. _Don't watch your feet any more than you really have to. _Take it real slow so you won't tip the car over in a turn. _Practice backing up. _When you back up, do so very slowly, because a Model T can be very difficult to steer in reverse at anything more than a creep.
__After you've practiced this stuff to the point of confidence, it's time to try shifting from low to high gear. _Start as you've been practicing and at about 10 or 15 mph, close the throttle and move the floor-mounted hand lever all the way forward. _Now, add some throttle. _The car might tend to shudder and lug a bit as you accelerate in high gear, which is normal. _Practice braking the car to a stop with your left foot holding the left pedal in the neutral position. _If you have trouble finding neutral that way, use the floor-mounted hand lever. _Once you can dependably stop the car without resorting to the floor-mounted hand lever, it's time to practice starts, shifts and stops with the floor-mounted hand lever all the way forward.

Those are the basics. _Yeah, there's some more stuff involving things like the mixture control and gasoline shut-off valve, but those are mostly common sense items. _Okay, okay... Don't forget to turn off the gasoline after you shut down the engine, otherwise, your carburetor, which is gravity fed from the bottom of the fuel tank, might leak out the entire contents of your tank, which, at best, will earn you a hefty summons from the EPA. _There—you happy now?

Okay, now about those half-truths...

Strictly speaking, the Model T doesn't really have three clutches. _It has one high gear clutch, a stationary low gear band and a stationary reverse gear band. _Bands differ from clutches in that when a clutch is engaged, both ends of the clutch spin. _But when a stationary band is engaged, it tightens around a spinning drum and stops it from spinning, which somehow, through the magic of planetary gears, causes something else to spin and impart motion to the car. _Go figure.

Strictly speaking, the Model T doesn't really have two forward gears. _It has a low gear and direct drive.

[Oldav8tor]

Bob - now even I understand how those pesky pedals work. Good explanation!

[Mopar_man]

Bob,
Wow! That was a great explanation of how to drive the car. I thought I knew a lot but I learned some more.

[DanTreace]

Jim

Same here on those 1963 Popular Science mags, had subscription and that Feb issue was one of 3 issues on restoring a 1925 runabout. Saved those then, and used them to help me fix and repair my 24 cutoff back then!

[tommyleea]

Thanks for all the in depth answers. I really appreciate it. I too, remember the popular science magazines. My dad used to get them. But, at the time i didn't figure I would ever want or have a model T. 9 for me also Jim, but I was a Mustang man. Look at me now!! Cheers..Tommy

[Steve Jelf]

I would add only one thing to Bob's excellent description of driving. When starting on magneto you do need to advance the spark lever down a few notches. But since most T's start easiest on battery but run better on magneto (more voltage to the coils), you want to set the switch on BAT to start then switch over to MAG when the car is running. Later you can try starting on MAG and see if your magneto is up to the task. At age 100 or thereabouts, many of them aren't.