MTFCA Forum

Many of us have names for our cars.
As fourth generation caretaker, I did not get to name my car, but inherited the name with the car.
We call him the 'T'.

What do you call your car?

I don't do names but my first car was a Model A that the previous owner named "Flattery" because Flattery will get you nowhere.
Rich

I never went for names either, just the T...

I had a woman here a year or so ago, she had a 76 AMC Pacer she called Hazel, I think, the previous owner's name.

My 1911 touring is named "Carl" and my 1916 Coupelet is named "Isabel". Both names are my grandparent's middle name respectively.

gjscholz wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 29, 2019 1:55 pm

...We call him the 'T'.

I'm with Greg. Anja and I had slightly different names for the T, though, depending on whether we were speaking English or Dutch. In English it was "the T" and in Dutch it was "de T" (pronounced "duh tay").

Our '26 T Touring is called Bessie - named by my father years ago I think in honor of a favorite Aunt of his.

My touring is "Good Ole' Girl". If she gets cantankerous I use the B word

My 1912 roadster is named Jennie, after my mother-in-law who gave us the car when her husband passed away 10 years ago. He bought it (not running) in 1972 for $500.

Our 1915 cut off touring is called "Blackie" photo by my name.

Our better front half of a 1915 cut off touring is called "Embryo" (1915 Beaudett wood framed front seat)

Our 1918 parts car touring is called "Donor" (bummer of a name if your a car in a garage with other cars....) At the rate I'm going it may be put up for adoption some day -- years from now if I don't get to it....

Our 1918 touring is called "The 1918"

Our 1922 speedster is called "Merc"

Our 1915 Centerdoor that used to live (I know that's a stretch for some of you) in Dad's garage was called Ghost. It now has a great home with Bob Kiefaber. And he has done a wonderful job of bringing Ghost back to life. And one of my favorite playhouses, stage coaches, space ship, haunted mansion, fort etc. is a real car again..... THANK YOU BOB!

I think its fine not to name a car, or to name one, or to change the name of a car. When my daughters got married they both changed their last names and I didn't mind at all.

From Lee Strout White's "Farewell to Model T" he shared:

"... There was never a moment when the bands were not faintly egging the machine on. In this respect it was like a horse, rolling the bit on its tongue, and country people brought to it the same technique they used with draft animals...Often if the emergency brake hadn't been pulled all the way back, the car advanced on you the instant the first explosion occurred and you would hold it back by leaning your weight against it. I can still feel my old Ford nuzzling me at the curb, as though looking for an apple in my pocket."

Steve Jelf has the complete article on his web site at: http://dauntlessgeezer.com/DG74.html

Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off

My 1926 TT truck is:

I call my '13 my fast tractor

I'm thinking of calling my '17 Touring "Arthur" after my mother's father who may actually have had a hand in building it.

The first one I got was a 26 Roadster. When I stopped I said,"Whoa Nellie". So that one became Nellie.
The second one I restored was a 26 Touring. I wanted a man's name for it, so called it,"Harrison".
The third one was a 22 Runabout. It sits like a cat in heat, so we call it, "Miss Kitty"
Norm

I named my T Puddles . Pretty self explanatory

My 96 year old mother in law's name is Ezma. Needless to say, we named our 1915 touring car after her. I made the plate from scratch, and hand painted her name on it, and bought the "1915" numbers from Lang's.

My wife named our T Tilly. I'm not fond of the name but she gave her to me for my birthday. I plan to rename her Lula in honor of my aunt, from whom we bought her. But I won't do that as long as my aunt's still with us. I hope to grow old with Tilly before she gets a new name.

I'm noted for giving my critters very original names . . . got a horse named "Babe", a cat named "Tom", and the model T is . . . Lizzie, of course !

I have never given names to my T collection cars, until Henrietta came along. When that name was on the original registration papers as the vehicle owner, it was a foregone conclusion that she had to be Henrietta.

Allan from down under.

A LITTLE OFF TOPIC, MY UNCLE BOB HAD A 49 PLYMOUTH HE NAME;D OPPORTUNITY, HEAR IT KNOCK. I NAME' D MY 21 T TRAGUTHER, AFTER A TUG BOAT ENGINE, A 1907, 75 HP SINGLE, TALK ABOUT A SWEET SOUNDING ENGINE IDLING.

My wife named her model T "Olivia Hardy".

The wife named our's MIZ DAIZY

I'm not into naming vehicles but when I got my first T, a ton truck, I decided to give it a name. Well, Lizzie didn't seem too fitting for a truck. I mentally eliminated a few others, Henry T. Phord, Ton-a-Junk, The T-350, etc. Everything just seemed too quaint. Finally settled on Tuff TT. It'll grab ya.

I named my 23 Touring 'Miss T'
my 13 Speedster is 'Speedy Gonzalez'

I never considered naming my T, but like Tim Wrenn i am a boat owner and understand the consequences of renaming without proper permission.

"To change the name of a vessel without consulting Poseidon is to invoke his wrath, so in order to change a boat's name, a traditional ceremony is used to appease the gods of the seas. The first thing that must be done when renaming a boat is to purge its old name from the Ledger of the Deep, and from Poseidon's memory."

While this might not translate to Model T's, i decided to not take the chance to provoke the gods, so her name is still Mildred as long as i own her.

I went with Black Bart for my 26 C-cab. It’s the name of our local parade, named after the stage coach robber. And yes the Wells Fargo agents did catch up to him as he was no faster than the T

Hahaha! Cool stories!
My son called me awhile after we got the 18 Runabout here to my place a couple years ago. He said dad, it's Indian name is Tin Cup. Umm, OK. Don't ask why, I don't know. I don't recall if he said it had an English name. Makes sense to me tho.
Lizzhe the 24 Runabout Crappy Lizzhe sometimes.
Lucky the TT.
Ted or Theodore the seriously cobbled up open express. My brain thinks Uncle Ted but then I think of Mr Nugent...
When I show it, some of you guys are gonna like it. Told son; nope, no new sheet metal on Ted. He's almost historically significant with his construction/cobbling.
Using conventions shown here the late Center Door project should really be named Nobby or Halver for Halverson.
From whence he came.

OT section of my madness/typing-babbling but the notions spilled over.
My 53 motor grader is far too regal to name. He's The Galion.
3 of my TC tractors are Grey, Rusty (the Twins) and 2 (as he's second off the line). Two others have no name.
I've been in the woods on a tractor with no name. It felt good to be out in the shade...
The International That 29-79 speedster flatbed is also far too regal to have a "common" name.
The extended platform 45 Ford dump truck/once school bus number 2? I got nothin'.
The old skid loader? JERK--right now anyhow. Ya can't go out and fix The Cat when it's 29 below! Wait! That's what dad called him!

When it's January in MN, it's 30 below...

I've long pondered why fellas often give female names and I only give male names I find, if named at all. Same in tractor world.
Perhaps when I'd like to use them and they don't want to, they simply say no and don't tell me I'm doing it wrong yet not able to express how! USE wasn't the best word I could've "used" huh? Operate them? Not much better.
It could also be my dad's and his life-long friend's thoughtful/wry humor. (ya gotta think about it).
One day I WILL figure out how to "Kill two stones with one bird" it tickled me when his friend said it when I was a teenager.
Tickles me 40 years later!
Hahaha! If you're milking cows, they're all named Babe! All right Babe. Nudge over Babe, wouldja?

They have names but I don't use them much.
The old grey mare (25 Dalgety) is Rocinante.
Next to her sits Dapple the old faithful 17 van.
The 15 racer is Bucephalus.
I don't have a name for the (O.T.) 49 Holden yet.

Well, my first T, the '16 touring is called Henrietta after the person who had it in her barn. The '26 Tudor, Hmm, no name yet! and our '25 runabout is Barney, because he came out of a Barn in Nevada. My Model A is Ma Green, after the original owner (actually it was her Husband's car, but he died when I was a year old, so I always thought it was her car--yes, I've known the car all my life).

My car is a 22 Touring, even though she's a black era car, she still sports more brass on her than most other black era cars do, like the windshield screws, glass channel and rear view mirror screws and nuts, the fender anti-rattle screws, horn and such. The robe rail is even brass as are the valve stem covers, the oil filler cap and the radiator "slurp up tube". I think of these small infractions of the "black era" style as tasteful (and breaks up the monotony all that damned black).
My car's name is simply "th Lady". The reasons are because she has always acted like a lady, she has never abandoned me (nor I her for that matter), never not got me home (even running of two cylinders), when coming home at night after the L.A. Car Show with her battery drained (from trying to jump start that bloody LBMTC's Powerwagon), shuttered to a halt, in traffic on Laural Canyon Blvd. I got out and hand cranked her into starting and at that time I was running a distributor, not a timer (which means no magneto)...she took us 3 miles and got us home, mostly running on side and residential streets with the headlights off and at the end there we blew through stop signs in my housing track at 3 in the morning, till we got home...she stopped right in the driveway and I had to push her into the garage.

The next morning I discovered that my 3rd brush had slipped and was in the wrong position so that the power drain with the headlights on was more than what the generator was able to replace in the battery (so I took a chance and ran with them off...good thing all the side streets here have those new LED streetlights), I have since corrected that particular problem. And she is now running on coils and timer and now runs great under all conditions, even rain, although I'm thinking of side curtains, wonder if they really help.

My ‘23 Runabout is named Nellie

Whoops ... posted the low resolution version by accident.

I'm with Jelf. Can't print it here and only used it on certain occasions.

I am not in the habit of naming my vehicles. At 64 years old I have owned more than a couple of cars and trucks and gave a name to only one: a 1966 Volvo P220 and I called it Ilsa, after the Ingrid Bergman character in the movie "Casablanca."

My girlfriend thinks that all vehicles should have a name. She loves riding in my '24 runabout and hasn't yet ridden in my other old cars. She wanted to name the runabout and offered several suggestions, none of which I approved. The runabout is a bitsa, I knew that then I bought it and it is just fine with me. It runs very well, the top does not leak, is not too embarrassing to look at, and scratches in the paint can be touched up with a rattle can.

When I discuss the car with friends and other T folks we speak about the engine and chassis of one year, the fenders of another year, the Improved Car top, the body made from grafting together halves of two different years and the "wrong" spare tire carrier. I joke that the car is made up of floor sweepings.

The car is now called "Sweepy."

When I bought the car, I traveled to LA to pick it up. Arriving there I met the 2 brothers who were selling their late father's '21 Model T.

One of the sons says, "He had a dozen cars we got rid of, all classics, but this T was his favorite. He was in love with this car." looking at it I could tell there were 100's of hours of time spent on even the smallest details. They kept sayin "Dad loved this car more than anything and we hate to sell it." After a little while one of the brothers, realizing I was going to be just as infatuated with the car as his dad was, opened up to me " We spread my dads ashes all around inside the car."

Some may find this a bit creepy. Not me. I think I want the same treatment when I pass. So, I proclaimed the name of the car "George" in George Romain's honor.

Most of the time George and I get along. Sometimes I use George's name in vain - it was often in the first month when I was getting the bugs out getting the car back on the road. Sometimes George even uses his wolf whistle when he spots a lady he wants to look at him. She always looks...
Here's some pics George's son sent me of him:
. George and his wife Marie. Marie hand made the top and all the upholstery.
.
This was supposedly on the cover of Vintage Magazine at some time? George is in the foreground.
.
George, his dad and his 2 kids in 1960 when he was first restoring the car

Jeff

His name is Clarence. Why? Because an"uncle" (who was called 'Cap') was a big Model T enthusiast. When I was 12, I was often the designated driver, due to his incapacitation. He claimed the 1913 T was the best year, since it was the last year before the assembly line. My '13 is also my best friend.
Mike

I don't normally name my cars but Mary was having trouble keeping track so she named the first one a 28 model a pickup car C.
The second a 25 T pickup car B.
And my current treasure a 15 runabout car C.

I'm not one to name my cars, but the '24 Runabout came to me with this nose art. It's staying.

The model T is called "the machine" That is what my grandfather called his pick up. He went all the way back to the early days of cars, and that was what they were called, a "machine". Cecilia is what I call my Cessna 140 "cause she's breaking my heart, she's shaking my confidence daily"

Brian, great piece ! love it.
Thomas i nearly wet myself over the Cesna name
Mine is called Yeller, why?....

Somebody help me out with this one. Why do you name your car? What am I missing here? Is it to make more "yours"? To make it "human?"

All my cars already have names like Ford, Dodge Brothers, DeSoto, Gray, etc.

“The T” worked fine on the ‘13 until a ‘21 coupe entered the picture. So “the T” ‘s friend was named after a long loved golden retriever, named after a car, in the garage when the golden came home, Lizzie. Disney be d#$@d. Cars are not conciously named, they just come along.

Mary Lou, after my mother's mother. Beautiful, dependable and a pleasure to be around.

My 24 Touring is named Holbert. It is a combination of my friend Holger who recently passed away and my father Robert who is fortunately still with me. Holger donated the line drive shaft to the museum that has been in the magazine recently.

My 1919 Touring is called "Ollie"

Lately I've been calling it #@^$@

My truck is part of my fleet of work trucks. I use it as much as possible during the nice weather months,
especially for heavy loads. To differentiate between which truck needs moving, loading up, etc., the TT
is referred to as "The Beast" by everyone in the shop. The wifeperson calls it "the Contraption".

Canadian 1926 TT Grain truck Lizzie , 1920 Canadian Touring Matilda.

My 1921 is Nellybell the Raloo Rocket and the 1925 is Clay. My friend Clay called the 1921 The Rocket after I put the over head on it, but it kinda put together so I added the Raloo and was already named Nellybell after my Grandma. (you might be able to guess who the 1925 is named after)

27 rpu named SaraJane because she sometimes acts like a redneck (see avatar)
25 touring named Andy because the headlight bar arcing over the headlights reminded my wife of Andy Rooney's eyebrows.

It gets the kids interested .

I named my dog so will come when called I don't think the car will do that so why name it

My daughter named mine.

I named my '16 Touring, "Charlie". While Henry Ford was busy transforming the transportation industry, Charlie Chaplin was transforming the entertainment industry. As a filmmaker and model T aficionado I am indebted to both.

My 26 Tudor has been in the family since 1931 and has always been called "Beulah". As a kid I thought it was named after the maid on the TV show of the same name during the 1950's. But later I realized the name predates the TV show so I don't know where it came from and everyone I could ask now is gone.

I just want to say thank you to everyone on this thread.
It's wonderful to read all your responses.

Thank you.

Claude Raines. Because it's invisible.

my wife named her '27 touring "DAISY" from the moment she laid eyes on it.I,as earlier folks have posted,come from a boating background and think it only proper to give names to objects of importance in one's life.i own a 1996 mercedes-benz 560SL that i named "SHULTZ"..an appropriate monicker for a german machine,doncha think??.on the other hand we have a 2008 chevy daily driver which remains nameless...it is just a car.

Our 09/10 is Named Miss Magnolia. Named her that in honor of one of the friends that helped me get started in this wonderful sickness and because of the state she resides in.

My 27 touting is Lizzie, my 23 coupe is Ottis.

My 27 Roadster is Lebelle, My mother's middle name and the same age.

What? I can't believe it............not one "Canardly" in the whole bunch! You know, as in "Canardly get up a hill"...........

Mine is "Ang" or Angie, short for Angelo, the man who owned it. I don't use the name often but I think of it whenever I am around the truck. He was a very good friend.

I have named my new Model T Eunice! It came with a rubber chicken tied to it that had Eunice on it. The chicken is gone but the memory will stay!

Valdez, no explanation needed if you just think Exxon and T2.

Let Me introduce Stanley & Trailer to the Facebook World, Stanley was Named by the Bridgeport Kids next door(who yesterday had to fly back to the Frozen Tundra known as Central NY) is a pile of Model T parts and Tree residue (AKA-plywood & other tree parts) assembled to create a 1925 Model T Ford pickup. Stanley is not a Cars Movie Stanley Steamer, but a "cheap" knock-off, that may Steam over when Hot.
Now Trailer we picked up in Lake City Fl. brandy new is a cheap POS Snapper Trailer from Georgia whose job is will be to Transport Stanley up North, I think, more like Hope????