MTFCA Forum

What is so great about having and driving a model T to you?

That was a question from a Facebook friend. How about you? Why do you like it?

Well the answer is simple for me, I've owned many vintage cars over the years and always wanted a veteran car, it just happened to be a brass T, I found very easy to get parts, fun to drive and now only have T's.

It is so easy to repair and teach the workings of an internal combustion vehicle....plus it has a USB port to plug into a smart phone or laptop for repair assistance.

The car too is connected to a very sophisticated computer system, assisting navigation, engine management, and transmission of power. A true 20th century accomplishment.

Why a Model T? I like to work on cars. The things I do to my T, I would never think of doing to my daily driver. Reasons: technology differences, tools, part cost, suppliers, assistance from club members/youtube/documentation, and then there's mañana

Part of it is my own personal nostalgia ... my friends and I found a truck identical
to the one I own today in a barn over the hill from our farm when we were kids ...

I was fascinated by vehicles of this vintage since my earliest memories ....

The iconic Americana image of a TT flatbed ... the whole Grapes of Wrath sort of
thing .....

Ease of access to information, parts, and generally low expense to buy and keep,
as compared to other early vehicles .....

And then there is the pleasure I get in seeing smiles on so many faces that see it
out working .... that is a big attraction.

The doors it opens in conversation and approaching farmers/ranchers in my area.
Friends without such a vehicle are amazed at the access I have been given, to places
they have been denied. And the only real reason is I drive up in my old truck and
got to shooting the breeze about the truck .....

I also like working on it, and just having it as part of the period ambiance of my
shop.

I looked at a few other brands but was frustrated with the groaning gears and crunching gear changes when test driving mainly due to not being familiar with the car but the T was a pleasure from the first drive.

Growing up, we used to go for "Sunday Drives". Driving to no place in particular, and not in a hurry to get there. We drove the back roads to enjoy the scenery. In the summertime we drove with the windows rolled down, to catch the breeze, as we didn’t have air conditioning in either our house or the car.
Driving a Model T recreates that experience, as it forces you to go slow.

To me Model T’s are about as Americana as you can get. It was developed here by Henry Ford and played a big part in the country’s development and free enterprise that’s a hallmark in the USA.
Most people can still own one because of its popularity that holds true even after 100 + years.

Brent and others said it well but really, the T Model is the car that changed everything. Bob

Just plain fun.

I believe that all have made valid points. I do believe it was a transition to our country and the citizens. It opened the door to even more folks being able to explore with at least a moderate expectation that you would make it home or your destination in a few hours. I’ve seen data that showed that the average family lived within a few miles from where they were born pre mass produced vehicles. Most of the time it was because of the hardship of the journey that held folks back from taking the risk of a long journey. For me the T let’s me really see the road I travel. It is relaxing and joyful. No radio to distract you. Just the rhythmic cadence of the coils and engine firing is hypnotic, it releases my mind from trouble for at least a while. I’ve even thanked my T for doing such a good job on completion. The model T for me is a time machine, time for me, time to relax, time to enjoy and time to reflect. Best John

I’ve always been attracted to the model T. Especially closed car models. I’ve heard Henry wanted to help farmers out by building them. I’ve farmed my whole life so I figured I should own one. I love tractors to and the car reminds me of just that. Slow and tractor like. A simple car. I rarely see one around here so when I do get it going it will be unique and not just another old car. Like stepping into a time machine….

I remember seeing them every day and hearing the distinctive sound they make. My first car was a Model A, but I would use the hand throttle and shift from low to high pretending I was driving a T.
My grandfather and one uncle took a trip from Los Angeles to Plymouth Rock and back through southern Canada in 1926. I can remember stories about events along the way. They took a tent and slept wherever they were for the night. They visited quite a few friends and family members along the way, and kept a log of the various people they had visited. About 1997 I visited a couple of those people myself. They were quite elderly when I saw them, but they remembered when my grandfather had visited. One man said, "Come visit again next time you are in Kansas" I told him I was 61 and this was my first visit to Kansas. He said he was 91. Well! I am now 86 and have not been in that state since. So if he is still living he would 116 .
Norm

When I was a kid just getting into the hobby there were many big time collectors touring with expensive brass era cars. They were driving Simplexes, Pierce Arrows, Locomobiles, Stoddard Daytons, etc. but each of these collectors also had at least one Model T Ford. When asked why these guys who could afford the cream of the brass era crop would bother with a lowly Model T the almost universal response was that it was to ensure they would always have a running car to tour with! That was enough for me!

I've always preferred old technology. So, when I browsed through a book in the local library by Floyd Clymer on the Model T, I immediately connected with the design. Logical and free of unnecessary parts. Designed to be serviced. Importantly, parts were readily available; more so than any other vintage car.
Seeing a Model T for real for the first time only furthered my interest in this car.
When I finally bought one, everything I had imagined turned out to be true. I have never felt so connected to any mechanical object, as I have with my Model T. Not just for working on it, but driving it. Besides that is the fascinating insight into the Ford empire and the man himself.

It is the availability for me. That is what was available it the old silent movies I was fascinated with in my youth. And they were relatively cheap and plentiful when I started putting real cars together.
Also many of the reasons mentioned above.
Rich

Don't forget guys the T didn't just open up America it opened up the world. Most countries were advanced by these cars.
I was talking to a guy yesterday who is the 3rd owner of his T. The 2nd owner had a failed starter so ordered a new one and in those days it was a long wait as it had to be shipped from the USA so he pulled apart the car to tidy it up. Never got done and It sat for 52 years untouched in pieces until current owner got it back on the road.

Simple……..you meet the nicest people with a T. Good friends and if you break down some passer by usually stops and asks if you need help.

Another reason I like Model T's is that when I was a young man, Walt Rosenthal lived about a mile from me and I got to know him. He helped the Model A people to start the Model T Ford of America, and the T club invited the A club to take a joint tour from the San Fernando Valley to Lake Isabella which is out of Bakersfield. Yes the cars drove all the way over the grape vine which was Highway 99 at that time, before I- 5 was built. Not only did we drive all the way, but we camped out too. Almost all the members were younger in those days!
Norm

Love it! Love it! Love it!!

When I first got into the Model T hobby, I read or heard somewhere, "Driving a Model T is most fun you can have with clothes on." That seems to have summed it up.

There is a no more historically significant car than the Model T Ford. Henry Ford and his “Universal Car” literally changed America. Were it not for the Model T, America would be a very different place today. No other car can stake that claim. To own such an artifact and have been a part of preserving one for future generations to enjoy, as well as driving it around and introducing it to new generations who have never seen one in person, is very rewarding. Jim Patrick

I have had many projects in my life. Restored a 1836 farm house, rebuilt a Nauticat motorsailer and other smaller endeavors. I find the Model T redo to require learning a different skillset. At my age I (75) find it rewarding and interesting. My experience with fiberglass and finishing wood leaves me with an eye for quality. This is a fun project and I hope my car has a future after I am gone.
Campbell Tellman II
Beaufort, NC

Never owned a machine with so much personality, Lizzy's have been like family members to many.

Supposedly Will Rogers said that it will probably be a hundred years before we know if Henry Ford helped us or hurt us but he sure didn't leave us where he found us. If Mr. Rogers never said such a thing, well, he should have.

"We're the first nation to ride to the poorhouse in an automobile". (Will Rogers)

Great Aunt Katie and Elmer Todd owned my '26 Runabout as early as this photo taken in 1935. It will stay in the family when I'm gone. I have other cars. This one is forever.

Ts were the LAST old car I would ever be interested in.... But 2 good friends had them, so I got one, and I did not believe the warning that they multiply in the garage. Now I have two..... and enough parts for ....

"Smiles per gallon" bobt

So many reasons. Owning a piece of iconic motoring history. So much fun to drive. Clubs, tours and friends all over the world. Availability of spare parts. Can drive them anywhere you want to go. Everyone still has a Model T story to share. I just love these cars.

The man of ordinary means can afford a Ford, and thus equipped, he can, from a standing start, attain the astonishing velocity of 75 feet per second in less than a minute's time, and maintain that pace, without exertion, for hours on end, if conditions permit and he so desires. Did even Mercury possess such speed and endurance? The Ford owner does.

My grade school arithmetic shows that 75 feet per second is equivalent to 51 miles per hour. A model t will go go that fast, but I don't know for how long. A least 500 miles based on the Montana 500 event.

Art Mirtes

Yep. You gonna burn that motor up, boy!

There is a simple elegance about a T. They quietly wait to be used, then sing their unique sound as they fulfill their purpose.