MTFCA Forum

Hoping I can find someone in West Michigan, Holland to be exact, who can teach me to drive my newly rebuilt 1927 Touring and also help me correctly adjust my bands, brakes and whatever needs adjusting, I've only driven a few blocks and I'm quite terrible at it.

Contact Gord Koll Grand Rapids Michigan

mike catlin wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 05, 2023 3:39 pm

Contact Gord Koll Grand Rapids Michigan

From the MTFCI website chapter listings...

Gordon Koll
1424 Perkins Ave. NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49505

Bruce,

I imagine that Mike and Jerry have good reason to suggest Gordon as a possible contact, hopefully he's able to help.

If that doesn't work out for any reason you can simply use the 'search' option on this forum and put in various towns nearby and see what comes up. Once you find a likely person you can click on their username to find out a little more and send them a message.

I know nothing about the geography of Michigan but in a few minutes of looking (and with reference to OpenStreetMap) I've located some forum members who, in my view, would be within an hour or so driving distance to you. With luck the promise of cake + beverage and the chance to fiddle with a T along with imparting some knowledge could entice the most recalcitrant to assist

Luke.

bmklawt wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 05, 2023 3:03 pm

Hoping I can find someone in West Michigan, Holland to be exact, who can teach me to drive my newly rebuilt 1927 Touring and also help me correctly adjust my bands, brakes and whatever needs adjusting, I've only driven a few blocks and I'm quite terrible at it.

If you can't find anyone closer, I live over near Lansing and could make a drive over to give you some lessons.

You may want to check out the Model T Driving Experience at the Gilmore Car Museum. I took the class last year with my dad, and it was a lot of fun. The instructors are all volunteers who own their own Model T(s). Very helpful at my answering questions as a prospective Model T owner.

https://gilmorecarmuseum.org/learn/mode ... experience

Will definitely have to hit up the driving school, adjusted the brake rod length and think I have that worked out, everything else seems to be adjusted right, appears most of the problem may be I just don't know how to drive a T.
Does anyone have an email for Gordon Koll?

I do he is a close friend. Email me through this site.
Mark

I'll second the driving school experience. My wife and I took the class in 2016 and it was a great way to spend an afternoon.

The hardest part for me driving a T so infrequently is trying to 'forget' the muscle memory of driving a modern manual transmission car. I always want to jam the low pedal all the way down on a panic stop, but that puts it in low, not neutral. lol My wife did way better driving the T around because she doesn't have that reflex.