Restorer32 Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Tomorrow we should be starting up a 1924 Model T that has been in the current owner's family since new. He has the original sales invoice, less than $400 brand new. This car has never been more than 20 miles from where it was purchased which is about 3 miles from our shop. Most if not all the paint is original and won't be touched. All we did was rebuild the totally worn our engine, trans and front suspension so it can get on down the road under its own power. The owner's 16 year old Son is dying to drive it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 That event is begging to be forever preserved through the magic of the cell phone video and YouTube.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackofalltrades70 Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Yes, please post a videoSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caddyshack Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Do a complete check before the son drives it. Wheels, spokes, bearings, seals, rear end inspection including brakes just to name a few. Safety always comes first, and a young inexperienced driver may not know what to expect. Nice find and good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cahartley Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 When restoring cars is fun.......thankfully you DIDN'T "restore" it....... I agree with VIDEO!(Where is the LIKE button when you need it....... ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted April 24, 2014 Author Share Posted April 24, 2014 We've checked everything there is to check. The owner is not a car hobbyist and this will be his first experience driving an antique car. Happily his business is in the same industrial park we are in so we can give him and his Son driving lessons here in the park without ever venturing out onto the hiway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 I wondered who was going to get the job of teaching the shifting method for this car to a 16 year old. One day I was talking cars with a new chemical engineer at my place of employment and she told me about the "old" Mustang she once drove. She knew it was old because the hi-low beam switch was on the FLOOR! Imagine how a Model T would seem to her??Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JV Puleo Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 I wondered who was going to get the job of teaching the shifting method for this car to a 16 year old. One day I was talking cars with a new chemical engineer at my place of employment and she told me about the "old" Mustang she once drove. She knew it was old because the hi-low beam switch was on the FLOOR!TerryI like that. I had the same experience with a local friend, now in his 30's. He bought a truck with a standard transmission and I gave him some lessons on how to drive it... but a few weeks later he told me the high beams didn't work. I asked him if he'd checked the switch... "what switch"... "the one on the floor"... That was such a discovery he immediately showed it to one of his friends. He'd never heard of that either. (They worked just fine) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 If all else fails, be sure the new Tin Lizzy drivers know enough to pull back the parking brake lever without thinking about it. I bet the 16 year old will catch on faster then the older drivers. I taught some younger drivers how to handle Model T's at The Old Rhinebeck Aero Drome a few years back. They caught on pretty quick and one in particular is now teaching others. Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Dave I have a "T" now although I have never driven one!! I had a ride in a friends a few years ago and have seen a couple videos. Will likely teach myself in the neighborhood as we are in an area I can do that with... I need to get this car together as another regular here is considering a T and I told him he is welcome to drive this one if he wants. The chassis is essentially done with the exception of a couple engine accesories like timer and coils, and the "Emergency" or parking brakes need to be rebuilt - will do that before we leave the yard! Restorer how did it go?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted April 25, 2014 Author Share Posted April 25, 2014 Countdown is on hold until next week due to technical issues (generator not back from the rebuilder when we were promised). We did a complete ground up on a '23 T Roadster maybe 20 years ago. It's surprising how much it can cost to do a complete show restoration on a T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Right now I would say it is a lot cheaper to buy a Model T already done and driving then to do one from the ground up. Need lessons Steve? I'll be happy to give you some with some pointers. I forget what part of Conn, your in, but it seems to me you are not that far from some of my family. Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cahartley Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 If all else fails, be sure the new Tin Lizzy drivers know enough to pull back the parking brake lever without thinking about it. I bet the 16 year old will catch on faster then the older drivers. Dandy Dave!Ha ha.......no doubt about it!An older friend of mine told me a couple years one of the things on his Bucket List was to drive a Model T.Last year when I got back from the Iola Old Car Show I stopped at the machine shop I owned and he was there.I had driven my '19 Touring to the show strictly as a spectator and brought a granddaughter and friend of hers with me.It turned out to be cheaper to register and display the car for a few hours than admission would have cost plus I got to park right in the thick of things....... Anyway........he asked if this was a good day for him to drive a T and I said sure is!Mind you he is a licensed private pilot.So I showed him the basics and off we went........cautiously.We had only a state highway to cross and then onto some village streets.After about 6 blocks he was so nervous he chickened out and said YOU drive......... I laugh every time I think about that day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Chickened out. Yup, I can see that. One guy I was in partners with a Model T back when I was in my 20's. He was in his 50's at the time and was all thumbs. The partnership came about because he could not make it run and did not have a lot of money to hire it done. He cobbed it together from mid teens and 20's parts. First time I gave him a lesson he backed it right in a tree. He never did catch on to driving it. I drove it quite a bit and fixed a lot of mistakes he made assembling it. I pulled the motor out and went though that and the transmission, also the rear end thrust washers disintegrated. Yanked that apart and replaced them with bronze replacements. It was a decent running car when I got done with it. The thing I did not like about it was the plywood body he built left my legs cramped up. It was no prize winner but was a lot of fun for the times. One thing about him, he was a very good Artist. Back in the late Fifties and early Sixties he worked for Jonas Studios and helped make the dinosaurs that were at the 1964 New York Worlds Fair. Pete Martins was his name. Later he became a union carpenter. He passed away a number of years ago now. I'll have to look for some photos and post them. Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 (edited) Here's some photos of photos. First is me at the wheel and Nunzi Diruzzio riding. Nunzi was WWII vet and was a gunner on a ship. He was deaf in one ear from the big guns firing overhead. This was our local Memorial Parade in Hillsdale NY. Notice it has a high radiator in the photo. Second is of me after I pulled it out of the garage. Now it has a low radiator. The other two are when I had it torn down. Dandy Dave! Edited April 26, 2014 by Dandy Dave (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cahartley Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 ^ Great story! ........and great memories for you. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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