Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Bayliss Thomas]

Anybody here had the pleasure (or otherwise) of ownership of a Model T. Love to hear about it.

[Rick]

I've never owned a Tin Lizzie, but hopefully roverdriver will be along shortly

RJ
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[British heritage cars]

Hallo!

In the practical classic from november there's a verry good article from the Model T!
It's a comparison between de model T and the Morris cowley!

Kind regards,
Jonathan

[Bayliss Thomas]

Hello Jonathan, many thanks for telling me about that, I will be off to the newsagent in the morning

[roverdriver]

Hello Bayliss and everyone. Yes, my first vehicle was a T and as I was only a youngster when I bought it, I researched all that I could about them at the time. Unfortunately, time has addled some of the grey cells so I have forgotten a lot of detail.

I have worked on them, ridden in them and driven them. An absolutely amazing vehicle, and as there were something like 18 million of them built, there are still lots of them around.

The design is brilliant for the period that they were first built (1908) and so cleverly conceived that they continued to be on the market through to 1927, and although the bodies changed, the basic mechanicals remained the same.

The epicyclic gear box, although not specifically a Ford invention, served the car well and and formed the basis for the automatic transmission.

During WW1 thousands were used for a wide range of purposes from staff cars, ambulances, patrol cars, and even a light artillery tractor. The fact that they could go where many other vehicles could not, was a major asset. They were a great aid to the Allies.

If anyone has questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them.
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.

[Bayliss Thomas]

Thanks Roverdriver, I am toying with the crazy idea of swapping my current 1928 Vauxhall 20/60 and take the plunge into a Model T. Thing is I tow my vintage Eccles caravan which weighs in at around 800kg (guess) would a Model T take this in its stride or would I be asking for trouble?
All thoughts and comments appreciated.

[Scotty]

We have an American Model 'T' in the museum collection and I'm sure roverdriver will probably confirm the gearbox takes a bit of getting used to at the beginning.

Neutral is a hoot to find!

Wonderfully simple car, with no hidden horrors that I can think of - barring the gearbox.

[roverdriver]

Bayliss, that is giving me some head-scratching. I have never had the pleasure of driving a vehicle like your Vauxhall, so it is a bit hard to offer comparisons.

The T is designed as a 30 mph car. It will, naturally go faster, and can be tweaked up to quite high speeds. I have driven one up to 60 mph, but then either fear or common sense got a-hold of me and I throttled back to a more sedate pace.

There is an amazing torque at low engine speeds, so getting the van moving would not be a problem, but holding you foot hard down on the pedal to be in 'low' on a long hill can be very trying. A Ruckstell 2-speed diff helps here, if the car has one.

Stopping could be a problem. (Wasn't it Bugatti who said "I make a car to go- not to stop!"). The standard service brake is within the transmission. It provides moderate retarding of speed for the car and its normal load, but in modern traffic, one has to be aware of what cars are doing, several hundred yards ahead in order to apply the retarding in time. I would be very fearful of the ability to pull up in any reasonable distance using the service brake when the load of the caravan is pushing the car along.

The hand brake is an emergency brake, or used to hold the car when parked (operating on the rear wheels,). There were accessory 'beefed up' brakes for the rear wheels that could be useful in an emergency or to assist the service brake when required. They come in handy if there is a break within the tailshaft or differential, as that could render the service brake inoperable.

There are lots of other things that I could write about, however, I would summarise my feelings as this- The T is a fascinating and interesting car with amazing capabilities, but in today's world, it would not be a practical vehicle to tow anything heavier than a very light trailer, and even that with the greatest caution.

I do hope that that is of help
Dane.
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.

[Salopian]

The T is a wonderful creation but an Edwardian car with an interesting transmission and lousy brakes. I've driven one and they take a little learning. Roverdriver is correct in his reply in every detail and in his summary. Your Vauxhall has a six cylinder around 3 litre (depends on which version you have) engine and four wheel brakes a change to a T would be asking for considerable trouble indeed and I reckon the 800Kg tail would wag the dog to some effect!
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Jonathan Butler
Alvis SD 12/50 1928 MG TD 1950

[Bayliss Thomas]

Thank you Dane and Jonathan for bringing me to my senses, somebody else also told me about the brakes, or lack of them, on the 'T'. I have dropped the idea now, a pity really but common sense and safety prevails. I hope that one day I will have the pleasure (terror) of driving a 'T' but not towing with one!

[Rick]

The Vauxhall strikes me as being a quality car of the day, I'm less convinced about Ts really

RJ
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[roverdriver]

Certainly the Vauxhall was one of the quality cars of its day, but from the design and construction point of view, so was the T.

Henry Ford embodied into the T all of the proven features of his previous cars, and came up with a vehicle that in 1908 was far ahead of most of the pack. It was not price alone that sold the Ford, it was the ruggedness, and relatively inexpensive running costs. The proof of the design is that it was still selling in big numbers through most of the 1920's, in spite of the fact that it was by then a very old design.

The T was able to go where few other cars could go especially in countries where roads hardly existed. There are too many examples to mention, but just one might give the idea- in May 1916, Mr Gaffney drove his family from Adelaide to Birdsville where there were no roads, and mostly across semi-desert. A jaunt of 800 miles- no garages for fuel or help, and farms widely scattered, with up to 100 miles between them. they had to be self sufficient-just themselves- a couple of men and the ladies and children. I doubt if even many other vehicles could have managed it.


Dane.
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.

[Bayliss Thomas]

Yes indeed the Vauxhall is a good vintage car and fulfills its roles very well for me. It was just that the 'T' would have looked 'so right' pulling along my Eccles caravan. Its not going to happen though, I would dread to think of towing down a steep hill

[roverdriver]

Good thinking, Bayliss!

Now- if you had been thinking of a Model A Ford that would have been a different matter. Not a caravan, just a very heavily laden trailer, but here's the family, part of the way, on a nice little excursion of a 5,000 miles round trip.

(Excuse the quality- Standard 8 mm movie film is hard to transpose into digital format successfully)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_TfYlVUnrQ
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.

[Bayliss Thomas]

What a lovely little film, topped off with proper music that suits so well!