Driving a 100 year old Model T

[scottfraser]

Growing up we had a neighbor that would fix up old cars like model ts and you could hear him coming down the road

[scottyellis]

Just imagine what people back in the day thought the 1st time riding in one, went from a horse that can run around 40+ mph "short distances" to a machine that could do it as long as it had gas. It didn't get tired, it didn't get thirsty, & for the most part it didn't get sick. "Break downs would be equivalent to being sick"
One of the best inventions ever.

[genespell]

Power brakes didn't exist back then. It was leg muscles and weight.
The model T was maxed out at 45 miles an hour and the engine would need new crankshaft bearings much sooner driving at 45 mph.
The cars didn't have oil pumps. The connecting rods dipped in oil at the bottom of the stroke.
When it was time for new bearings which were called babbits, the mechanic would have to make the the babbit/bearings and file them until the connecting rods fit. They were made of tin, copper and antimony.

[hvsgplb]

Used to have a local guy who would drive a Model T into town for a summer festival. During the two day festival, he would completely dismantle the car into little bits and pieces, then re-assemble it and drive it back home.

[missjddrage]

The little sputter it gives off is so old movies classic. I would LOVE TO RIDE IN ONE!

[johnchandler]

The Ford Model T came with a tool kit with which you could disassemble the entire car with. Back then do-it- yourself was a necessary not just an option.😊

[theamaturepro]

My cousin has one. I had just been watching a channel that's all about these cars when we went for a visit and I to see one up close. He bet me $100 that I wouldn't be able to get it started up (I'm a good mechanic with lots of experience with older cars but had never touched a model T). It had never been converted to an electric starter, but having just seen a video showing the process a few weeks earlier, I walked away proud with a crisp Benjamin! Had I not come across that channel, I don't think I could have done it. There's a lever on the steering wheel to slow and advance the timing that's critical to have just right for cold starts beside the standard choke and throttle. And obviously it had to be hand cranked which I've only ever done on a tractor I have even though I have a few cars with the option to. They're neat cars and I appreciate those who have kept them around for us to see, but I'd never want to own one!

[alexjohnson]

I love how the quick solution when the wood spokes of the wheels would shrink was to park the car in a creek overnight to expand the wood.

[noscwoh]

Remember that the Model T was essentially an off road vehicle. In the 1910s, there were no such things as 'roads' as you think of them. A better comparo would be to take a Model T through a muddy rutted field and through a stream. Then try the same thing with any modern family sedan.

[vanpenguin]

I wonder how well an entrepreneur could do in those years, selling an aftermarket brake kit that was up to today's standards.

[itmakesyouthink]

Best vehicle for getting through mud and snow. Tyres cut right down to the hard surface, and pretty good ground clearance.

[DrFruikenstein]

45mph in any Edwardian era car is terrifying. And a T is barely a step above a horseless carriage. In the same time period, a few people/companies built a few cars that would sustain over 100 mph (for breaking speed records), but were no safer than the T..

[ikupreza]

this is street legal, but a 1990’s japanese kei mini truck isnt?

[DTfan]

The Model T does have brakes, just not implemented the same way modern cars do: that pedal under your right foot is the Transmission brake and the parking brake lever can be utilized as an emergency brake.

[raphaelslittletalks]

My grandfather has a 1927 model T, but with disk brakes and aluminium wheels, and drives it everywhere. Some of my favourite details are that the gas tank is below the front seat, and that the floor boards are made out of broken down shipping crates.

[cinna-manspice]

For the time; the model T was one of the first vehicles meant for traveling through the wilderness. It has literally the same amount of suspension as a jeep.

[charleszphyr]

My grandfather drove one from NY to California through route 66 in the summer.

[kevinmcnabb]

Well at least you can go faster than the Amish!!

[Wheagg]

Funniest part is the Chevy camera car lol

[MegaTechnoteacher]

Built by Dodge Brothrtd to Henry's idea. Their transmission made it successful