Putt Putt Putt -Drove the Model T Today- Putt Putt Putt

I had a guy come over to look at the 27' Model T Roadster today,... He was interested in buying it, and wanted to hear it run,.. kick the tires,.. and kill some bugs with it,... Sure !!! ,... Sounds like fun to me !
Now,.. I didn't have a clue on how to drive a stock Model T,.. So we get it running,... fiddle with the levers, carb adjustment on the dash, and the 3 pedals,... none of which are a gas pedal (the first one I always look for ).

He crawled into the drivers seat,... (Crawled is a perfect description) got it going in the right direction,... smiled,.. gave me a thumbs up ,.. and he was off like a herd of turtles !!!!
I can hear the old 4 popper singing it's happy song,.. in varying notes,... sometime closely,... sometimes farther away,... Finally I hear it approaching my shop again,.....

As the little critter comes to a bumpy stop,.. I look at my friend,.. The smile was gone,.. as was the thumbs up,....,... He says (and I quote ) This isn't really my cup of "Tea",... I asked if there were mechanical problems,... but he finally said,.. It's not comfortable, it takes some getting use to, and at the intersection over there,... I got confused,....

He decided he didn't want it,.. And I was good with that, because I don't want to sell anything to somebody (especially a friend) that they feel uncomfortable with.
After he left,.. the ol' girl sat there in silence,... I looked over at it and thought,... How hard could it be to drive one of these things? ,.. Common !, I mean, Laurel & Hardy drove one,... as well as the Three Stooges ! I could hang with any of those guys !!!

I open up the little door,... Crawled in,.... ( once again,.. Crawled is a perfect description),... Fired it up,... pulled levers,.. pushed pedals,... stalled it a couple times,.. but finally,.. VICTORY !!!!,.. it starts to move under it's own power !

I back it out of the shop,.. test out the controls,.. give her some gas,... and I was off, Running like Mol***es in January !,... I start driving around the little town my shop is in,.. I do agree,.. there is a learning curve to driving a stock Model T,... But the more I drove it,.. the more fun I was having !

I went to the little old general store there in town that was built in 1899,.. they came out and took pictures of it in front of the old place,... people were smiling and waving,....
And I actually got p***ed by a Amish, single Horse powered Buggy!,.. That must have made there day !!!

Alright,.. I am still not a "Stock Model T guy",... and never will be, BUT,.. I had a blast today! Putt-putt-putting that tall spindly old Ford around a little town that time and the interstate forgot,..... Is it still for sale ?,.. yeah,... But it wouldn't break my heart for it to stick around for a while,....

 

i would drive that anywhere.

 

they are fun! stock vehicles are nice in ADDITION to a hot rod.

 

Love that story

 

Great story. It's great learning something new, huh? My father in law and I are restoring a 27 sedan, slowly but surely. I may be asking for advice in the near future. I can't wait to drive that beast. How did you mount the wires. I'm trying to get rid of the wood spokes.

 

She's a beaut'!

 

I would guess you must have a 26' because they had wood wheels, these are the stock 27' wires,.. This car came to me on a trade from FAB32,.. He and our buddy Lynn know a lot more about this puddle jumper than I do,....

 

I dig it !

 

Looks like a lot of fun

 

putt-putt drives are always fun...almost as fun as varooom drives

 

Sounded like a great way to spend an afternoon!

 

Very cool! Great story! P***ed by a one-horse buggy! You don't have to be the stock Model T guy, you could customize it with a safety triangle thing on the back.

Is that old brick building your shop? Can we see a picture of that little old lady at the little old general store?

 

Nice looking T.I grew up with Stock T's and love them. Took a friend out this welast weekend and taught him how to drive tin Tillie our 1919 touring. Add a Z-high compression head and Warford or Ruckstell 2 speed and you a great car that can keep up with modern traffic. Just remember to mash that low band pedal all the way to the floor hard or you'll be replacing bands pretty quick. Need any advice on maintence on it PM me. Take a look at MrmodelT 26 roadster he built out of parts car for Tin Tillie a couple of years ago. we are putting a hotter T motor in it in a couple of months.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=308741

Chris Becker

 

stock T's are definately fun, steep learnig curve though. i first drove one when i was about 16 or 17 after helping this old "restorer" (term used loosly, he was just an old farmer who liked to f**k about with old junk. cars, bikes etc.) fit a 2 speed rearend to his tt truck. he nearly killed me and his grandson in the process for fitting this rearend but then when we were finished he asked if we wanted to go for a ride in the tourer. i was amazed when he said i could have a go at driving but then gave me no instruction on how to drive it. so after stalling it a bunch of times and getting the ****s with it (the car and the old timer laughing his *** of at me). he gave me a qiuck lesson on it, once i got it moving it was a blast! i even thought about buying one of his many projects off him

 

45 mph in a stock model T is an *** puckering experience. Great looking roadster.

 

Yes it is,... it was a 1937 Mobil station,... below is a link to the story.
As far as the store goes,.. I will have to re stage it sometime,.. as I forgot to bring my camera on the ride.


My new,...Old Hot Rod Shop !!! 1937 Mobil Station

 

just checked out the thread about your shop. that place is cool as hell

 

Wire wheels were an option in 26-27. Great ride hang on to it for a while it will grow on ya

 

niiiiiiiiccce.......

 

I had a stock original '27 coupe thirty years ago when I was sixteen. Bought it from old Charlie Harvey up in Forest Lake Mn. (anybody remember him?) After admonishing me for hours for "buying that piece of ****", my grandfather had the time of his life teaching me the finer points of driving it. Got me to school a couple of times when the snow plows hadn't hit our somewhat rural back roads yet, too. I sold it the following spring rather than take it apart and build a full fendered street rod. Some one is still probably loving it to this day... at least I hope they are! I haven't had a stocker since, but my neighbor brought home stocker Model A coupe a bit ago and has been having me do some work here and there for him on it and it seems the bug is biting again. Don't know if I can remember how to drive a T... might just have to make that jump to an A!

 

I've always liked the looks of the 26-27 T's, that is a nice one. Driving a T is really easy, and safe if you leave the hand brake lever set mid way so you can't get in high, they only have high and low forward speeds.When our oldest daughter was 6 years old she was sitting in my 1912 Touring and said "Dad my feet can touch the pedals!" I figured she was then old enough to drive up the road to see Grandma. With the brake lever halfway set all she had to do was hold the foot pedal to the floor to go forward, release the foot pedal and you coast to a stop. Along the way up the road she waved to two boys on their bicycles. I found out a few days later that seeing her drive the T ended the verbal abuse she had been getting for still having training wheels on her bike. The training wheels did come off about a week later.

 

Cool story! Yeah, them ol T's make the Model A look like a Coupe Deville, eh?

 

More like a space ship,..

 

awesome story! I too prefer to drive a vehicle that take some effort and thought to control, it keeps you more connected to your machine

 

You need special hubs for the wirewheels
Here is my fathers 27 head milled 1/4 inch
bigger valves Bosch magneto another carb
topspeed around 60 mph on cold foggy late
summer nights with top down thats a near death
expiriance in a model t with stock stearing

 

That's awesome!!! I always enjoy you threads and it's not because I get to look at your shop every time. I just see you having fun and put put putting around with your grandson or your t. Life is good my friend!!!!

 

***y!

 

Yeah,... I know,... I tried to work on that picture,.. But she still looks good
(I hope this isn't your mom )

 

ohh in fact thats my grandma healty food and exersice
keep you young

Naaah its my wife

 

Cool story. But now I'm even more upset. See I just missed out on a 25 RPU that I planned on using to run errands with. Like runs to the hardware store or grocery store etc. I think if I actively seek one out it'll be a touring, a sedan or depot hack.