Post
by 1925 Touring » Tue Feb 13, 2024 12:37 pm
Hello all a little about myself. Many know me on the Forum as 1925 touring although my actual name is Austin farmer. I am 19 years old and I'm in the process of working on a 1922 touring car. We have removed the engine and basically having to overhaul the transmission completely and work on the engine as needed. My grandpa restored model T's in the 1960s. When I was only about 3 or 4, grandpa passed away of cancer. That was in 2008. I never not got to know Grandpa very well but he left behind the model Ts that he restored, two of the three we still own. One got sold before I was born. I've enjoyed learning to drive the Model T and it is only been in the past few years that I've gotten serious about owning and working the cars. I hope that the Model T hobby will continue to grow and do the trials of time. From a young person's standpoint, it gets kind of frustrating when I hear all of the older folks saying how the hobby is not going to get picked up by the younger folks like myself, because we are not interested in the cars, because we're too busy playing video games, or something like that. Well I can tell you that not all 19 year olds want to be sitting in the basement playing video games until midnight, or watching YouTube or Netflix or what have you till the wee hours of the morning! I think that the Model T hobby will continue to be around for a long time, however it will change and evolve, like everything else. I think that the greatest threat the Hobby faces right now is the future of internal combustion and gasoline and other fossil fuels. With the rise of electric vehicles and all of the government funding etc etc the largest struggle will be the future of the hobby when the main mode of transportation is something other than internal combustion. I doubt that electric vehicles will be going anywhere anytime because of all the funding large corporations have dumped into the development of new technologies. There's too much money out there in the system for us to just let them go. I hope that fuel and parts and the knowledge of working on model T's will always be out there for younger people such as myself, and next generations in the far future will always be available. I think we all realize that the Model T hobby has always been a minority. I know when I was in school just a few years ago there were not very many people who are interested in driving 35 miles an hour down the road and a 100-year-old car with wooden wheels. Many people were more interested in the latest shoe styles, or smartphone, or sports. But that does not mean we are not out there. I know that many people in school do not have the interest in 100 year old cars, but when is there been a large portion of the population that enjoyed model T's as a hobby? Never. I think one of the main reasons that the Model T hobby will almost always be made up of older people is because of other commitments such as a job, families to take care of, and other responsibilities. For people such as myself just beginning to get a foothold underneath of them, model T's have to wait until you are established with a job you have some spare time and money to dedicate to working on the cars. Ive been lucky to be part of a local T club, and have some time to partake in some activities, but some things, like natioal tours and things that take more time than a weekend, have to wait, but that dosent mean i dont want to to go that sort of thing! As the hobby changes and people come and go responsibilities change, and people find more time to dedicate to a hobby, be that a Model T, or something else. One thing is for certain, if we all convince ourselves and everyone else that the Model T hobby is going to heck in a handbasket there will not be anyone to pick it up and carry it along to the next generation. Because who wants to be part of a dying hobby that no one enjoys? From a younger person standpoint I would not really want to be a part of the Model T Community if no one had faith in the Next Generation to bring up and take care of the hobby.
Just a 20 year old who listens to 40 year old music, works on 75 year old airplanes and drives 100 year old cars.
The past is only simple because hindsight is 20/20.