MTFCA Forum

If this is not allowed please let me know and how to rectify it. My name is Will Copeland, I don't come on the forum as much as I used to to. I was once a regular poster here and got most of what I know about Model T's right here. After what happened to Steve it got me thinking. My granddaughter is supposed to get my car in a couple of years but if anything ever happened to her I could never be able to live with myself. So my wife and I have decided to see if we could swap it off for something with a little more metal in it. Ideally it would be something in late 40's to late 50's.
Now about the T, Its a 1919 touring, plus minus ten years ago George King did a complete rebuild of the engine. I might have put on maybe 5 or 600 miles sense then. It has a Chaffins Ruckstull rear end and high compression head that looks Ford original. I just changed the sparkplugs but I still have the Champion X plugs that I took out and will go with the car.. Stipes touring camshaft and a new crankshaft, I cant remember who done the crankshaft but it was installed by Mr King. It was top of the line crankshaft ten years ago. New NH carburetor and 1913 high flow intake around the same time. Light weight aluminum pistons . I use an Andersons timer and lube it with the timer lube I get from langs. I removed the mag to make the engine lighter. The mag parts were courtesy of the fellow that retied a few years ago, I cant remember his name. I still have the fully renewed coil ring and fully charged magnets that will go with the car. The radiator is a new Burgs thin core before he retired. It has a Larry Becker 12 volt starter and alternator bought from Larry himself at the AACA meet in Hershey Pa before he passed away. Iv never had a moments trouble with them. The car has AC auxiliary brakes that work very well. AC brakes will stop you going backwards unlike Rocky Mountain brakes. The wheel spokes and back strap that goes around the back of the is courtesy of Stutzmans wheel shop and the top is by a Amish carriage shop in Pa but I cant remember there name. It wasn't quite done right but it look good. I have a full set of side covers for it. The Excelsior tires and tubes are around ten years old also. The inside and outside front wheel bearings are around ten also which get serviced yearly.. I had permanent rear axle roller bearings installed also. This was done by Gator Gould in Alabama.It has Hasslor front shocks that make the car look real nice. The seats are in good shape. I installed some gauges that can be removed very easy without any noticeable remains. There is a Colbalt blue digital volt, and temperature, Also a vac and mag gauge. Instead of the wire block I installed a fuse panel. The firewall is new also, I made it out of hardwood plywood. I renewed the coil box and the coils were done by the Coil Dr Chris Mize. I have a Strobo Spark which I bought from Fun Projects and I check and adjust when needed. There is a easy to get at battery switch installed also. I would say if the car needed anything maybe a new paint job but the paint looks good like it is and still shine up nice.
Its still hurricane season down here in Florida so its still on jack stands. I will get it rolled out tomorrow and get some photos. I cant think of anything else. Again, This is even swap only not for sale. You can e mail me at modeltford@yahoo.com.

You might get better results listing this in the classifieds. If you want to trade your Model T for a car of the 40's or 50's vintage in similar condition, you will probably need 3 Model T's to make that trade.

Giving a granddaughter a car, I'm assuming she is starting to drive otherwise her skills would be mentioned. My opinion is that what you want her to have is irrelevant to what she wants. If she has no desire or love for the old cars what she does with it whether it's a rusted T or cherry 57 convertible will break your heart. If she has no love other than a novelty for a parade or special occasion then it really won't be "driven" and your concerns become irrelevant. If she has a love and desire then talk to her about it.

I have a friend who had a son that grew up restoring a 64 Ford SWB pickup with him and lightly modifying it for a nice street PU.
He would talk about it at work with us and was looking forward to the day when he was going to gift it to him for a graduation present.

His son got the 64 PU and his Dad signed the title over to him.
A few months later the son sold the PU and got an almost new PU since his friends had newer trucks.

My friend was a little disappointed when he sold it but it goes to show your kids don’t always have the same interests as we do. Same goes with any property you want to leave them. Sometimes things don’t always turn out like you want them to.

As far as safety is concerned the 50-70 era cars are much more safer on the road and really more drivable than a Model T. And as Humblej mentioned above 3-4 times more expensive than a T.
The reason being you can get them on the main highways and feel safer.

I would not want my young offspring driving a Model T or any car of that vintage as their primary transportation. I think that I would insist that the car be new enough to have a tandem braking system. That leaves '64 and up for AMC and Cadillac, and '67 and up for anything else.

We need to remember people can get killed in a 50s car just like any Model T.
If you want to really think, somewhere some highway safety board did a test with a modern car and a vintage car. The vintage car was destroyed and the dash was pushed way up in the drivers face.
Google 1959 bel air crash test.
No car is going to be "safe".
I can certainly understand your desire to keep her safe, but danger is an entrant aspect of any old car.
Id ask her what old car she likes the most a Model T or a 50s or 40s car.

Humblej wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 17, 2023 1:34 pm

You might get better results listing this in the classifieds. If you want to trade your Model T for a car of the 40's or 50's vintage in similar condition, you will probably need 3 Model T's to make that trade.

If you looking for, or expecting a late forties, early fifties car in a condition exactly equal to your T, you might be looking at a two for one trade or an equal swap plus cash out of your pocket, but 3 T's to 1 later car? No, I have seen many late forties (46-48) Fords in nice original driveable condition for sale on Facebook Marketplace in Texas for probably less than you'd get cash for your T. Right now, there is a 47 Super Deluxe tudor sedan in Georgetown, TX in very nice condition priced at $7,000.00. The only thing that isn't stock is the interior. Front bucket seats were added and the seat covering is vinyl or leather (didn't bother to read the description that close). There is a 47 fordor sedan in Houston that needs nothing; just an original survivor priced at $5850.

Difference being a T that has from the sound of it dialed in and ready to go. You can probably trade for a running driving 40's-50's that is ready to have everything gone thru or about to break depending on how you look at it. To find something in that frame with all the brakes done, rebuilt drive line, ect would be at least a few t's only because the value of the lower desired cars hasn't warranted the investment.

Austin correctly stated that you can be killed in a '50s or 60's car too. However, a 60 Desoto Adventurer (for example) is still a heck of a lot more crashworthy then a Model T. Let's face it - if you want your kids to be as safe as possible behind the wheel, there is only one solution. Buy them a new car. Too much money? If that is the case (and for most of us that will be the case), you will have to accept some lower standard of safety. The most important thing will be the condition of the car. Actually the most important safety item is the skill and condition of the driver. A teen does not have the experience of an older driver and they are more likely to be involved in an accident. Having said that, my 20 year old niece was a listed driver on my 4-speed Corvette. There was never an issue. She is a medical Doctor now, and is sneaking up on 50, and still hasn't had her first accident.
To jump around a bit, I have seen the video of the '59 Chevy crash. If you watch carefully there's a pile of rust that falls out of the car. On another forum I posted that IMHO the only valid test would be to use a '59 Chevy in concourse condition. Yes, I know, the '59 would still come out of the crash poorly, but not as poorly; and nobody in their right mind would do it.