MTFCA Forum

I finally finished restoring my early 1914 touring car at the end of July. My wife told me that I might as well put it away because most of the car shows and parades were done for the year. I thought about it and reminded myself that Henry Ford built these cars to be driven every day so I decided to start driving it to work anytime the weather was nice. It is about 25 miles round trip on rural roads and the posted speed limit is between 25-45mph and the car is very happy running 34-37mph.
I drove the car to work about 4 days a week from August thru the end of October. During the first week or so I realized that I needed to adjust the clutch and brakes a bit, but overall, everything was working well. The only had a couple of problems...a few weeks in it started running rough and was hard to start. This problem was caused by a little crud building up in the timer that was simple to wipe out with a rag. The second was some random rattles that started because a few nuts and bolts started coming loose from the continuous use. Those were easy to fix.
.
The reliability of the car impressed me. I was able to get in and drive it to work and home every day just like my modern car. The car is slow, does not have any heat and it requires a lot of scheduled maintenance, but it is still a reliable car. My biggest problem was remembering how many miles it had been since the last time I filled up the gas tank. It made me appreciate the large tank and gauge on the dash my modern car has.
.
I think driving the car every day for a while was actually good for it. Everything is working very smoothly on it now. Has anyone else tried using their model T as a daily driver?

Bryan, you have discovered a truth that some never do. Frequent use keeps you in touch with the car and keeps the car in its best form. They were made to run!
Enjoy.

Allan from down under.

Using a Garmin device will allow keeping accurate track of miles driven, speed, time of day, average speed, etc. I run mine off a small 12 Volt battery, which could double as an ignition battery. No modifications to the car required.

I drive a T as our second car in Florida weather permitting. I check the gas every morning before I head out and never let it drop below 5 gallons to be on the safe side. The more you use them the better they run!

Right there with you! I drive my ’15 (yes, a real one) all year round. Anytime you take a T out, it’s a one-car parade. It’s not only reliable, and gets good mileage, but it also puts a lot of smiles on a lot of faces. I go to the grocery store, the auto parts store, and pretty much everywhere as long as it’s not raining too hard. (Rear wheel only brakes downhill in the rain are a little dicey.)

Beyond that, these cars are so much happier with more miles on them. Follow the maintenance that Dr. Jelf posted recently, but most of all, change the oil every 500 miles. I’ve driven mine A LOT over the past decade and kept notes under the front mat on the mileage and oil changes. I’ve never had to remove a shim, and the car keeps on running like a top.

So, get out there and drive!

It would be fun if everyone who drives their T daily (or so) posted to this thread. I'll bet our numbers would be eye-opening. I can't say I drive daily, since winter is reserved for heavy maintenance, but early spring through late fall, Lizzie is my farm work horse, and we run daily, checking fences, changing the irrigation water, hauling feed and running errands. Through the season the only thing I check is gas, water and oil. She never lets me down !

This picture was taken on New Year's Day in 2020. I'm a cold weather sissy, but we do get some good days for driving an open car even in the middle of winter. I drive modern if I need to get somewhere fast, but just going to town for shopping is more often by Model T if the weather is agreeable.

Gassing up on the Glorious Fourth. We were in town to see the fireworks.

Li’l Teezy and I sent it across the valley and back almost everyday, all summer and fall. Only seven miles each way but heavy traffic at 30-45. Bet a thousand people took my picture over the last few months! Christmas last year was the only day it wouldn’t go back home from work. Ran the battery down (no genny) and it got late and frosty. Little too cold and snowy last week and my rear axle is about to get re-re done, so she’s out of it now and I’m driving the closed cab pickup when it’s sunny. Those Canadian T drivers out in the snow are way tougher than me, that’s for sure!

I drove my 1919 speedster to work on dry days for years. I sold that T to buy a 23 runabout and once rebuilt I drove that to work every day no matter what conditions. I retired in 2020 and my wife and I realized we didn’t really need a second “modern” car and so sold our Toyota. The 23 runabout is officially my daily driver at this point putting many miles a week on it. When you drive a vintage car every single day you are more in tuned with the mechanicals and keeping it in excellent running condition is easy. It runs better than most show cars and is very reliable transportation. I also switch out the turtle deck for the original pickup box for hauling jobs in the summer.

Count me in the daily driver number.

I have a ‘27 touring. It’s a mile on gravel roads from my home to the farm store I run. 1000’ of that is my steep driveway, which maxes out at the top with a 23% grade. I use my T every night to deliver goods to the store. I just pile the milk crates on the floor in the back. It holds up to 6 crates on the floor, plus coolers or other cargo on the back seat.

The only nights my T stays parked are nights it’s raining, and that only because it doesn’t have a top. Below zero? Lizzie likes the cold and runs better than ever. Heavy rains bring the creek up over the road? Lizzie splashes right across. Snow drifts over the road? Get a run for it and drive right through. Add chains and even ice on the driveway has never posed an issue. I am constantly amazed at how capable these T’s are in all conditions.

I live in West Virginia hill county so I don’t take the T on the main road much. I’ve often wished I could, but she just doesn’t have the power to pull the hills around here in anything but low and it just wouldn’t be safe.

~Ernie

Another daily driver here. For years it never went into the garage because it is too tall for the door, so it lived under a Harbor Freight canopy in the driveway. Now it has a garage with high doors.

"All roads, All Weathers"

kfazenbaker

I remember your first posts...so glad to see that you got past your early problems and are enjoying your car

I also use my Model T as a normal car. After all, that's what it was in 1926, and the laws of physics haven't changed, which includes driving at night and in the rain. I've clocked up about 46,000km for the 20 years I've owned it. Just did a 1304km rally in September and not even a band adjustment was required.
The irony is that I have all the things that are supposedly unreliable in my car - 6V electrical system, coils, new style Scandinavian linings.
To be fair, in its early days after being pulled out of a shed after resting for 47 years, there were a lot of failures; mostly minor, but gradually working through them all, it got to the point where there wasn't anything left to break. I think the important thing is knowing the car, being connected to it, and to keep up the preventative maintenance.

this forum needs a "Like" button.

The irony is that I have all the things that are supposedly unreliable in my car...

Some things people think are "upgrades" — aren't.

I started this thread talking about how reliable the car is driving back and forth to work, but forgot to say how well it does driving off road too. I think it would do better with a ruckstell rear end.

Dan Haynes wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 22, 2022 5:00 pm

this forum needs a "Like" button.

I could not agree more! I don't know why they didn't put the "LIKE" capability when they started the forums, but I wish they would add that feature! It's nice to be able to thank people who provide some tidbit of very important information!

this forum needs a "Like" button.

I like Johns’s assessment of driving his T with the “less reliable” things such as 6 v, Scandinavia bands and etc. And the newer versions too!? I read some of these posts about that and other less reliable parts and you’d think they aren’t any good. It all comes down to how you drive and how you treat the car in my book. And yes the Kevlar bands are good and I have a set in one of my cars. But the other 2 have Scandinavia and Wards. They work for me.

And a T looks more real when’s it’s dirty every once and a while!