Guest Post: From My Dad

DOWN MODEL T MEMORY LANE . . .

 

I’ve been promising Diane that I would join the members who have authored their Model T memories in previous editions of Fender Chatter, and I finally ran out of excuses to do it now that Betty & I are both recently retired. 

 

This is a story that truly takes me through the transition from the horse and buggy days.  You see, I grew up living within a mile of four females (2 aunts, a cousin, and a sister), all within 6 years of my age.  I always had an interest in antiques,  and I started out at about 12 years old showing interest in an old doctor’s one-seated  horse drawn buggy.  It was really in pretty good shape, and Dad encouraged me to buy the buggy for $50.00 and fix it up by replacing some of the wood and painting it black with red wheels.  It really looked pretty nice, but, we didn’t have a horse to pull the buggy around for rides.  Being the only boy amongst the 4 girl relatives, you can guess who got to “play” the horse and haul the girls around in the buggy.  It didn’t take too many years to figure out that being a horse wasn’t fun, and so Dad and I started watching the Spokesman-Review for antique cars.

 

At about age 14 in 1961; we saw an ad for a basket case 1923 Model T Ford Roadster for $75.00.  We drove up to Chewelah to take a look at it, and I fell in love with it, knowing that it was the answer to getting me out of the “horse” role with my girl relatives, because I “had to sell” the buggy to get enough money to buy the T.

 

   

Jim and his 1923 “Roadster” in 1964        

 

      

Jim’s 1923 T converted to a Touring  in 1975

                

Dad and I loaded up the T in his dump truck and we hauled it home. The car had apparently been stored in a barn since it had last run during the depression.  Its motor barely turned over, but it was free. Its sheet metal was all rusty, a few bent or missing fenders and other sheet metal, but no rust-out.  The wheels were in pretty good shape (I just replaced all the spokes last winter after having rebuilt the originals in 1974).

 

I tinkered around with the T for the next couple of years, and got it marginally running. I was Agriculture major in high school, and during my junior year, I needed a major mechanical project for farm shop class.  I asked my shop teacher if I could bring my Model T in for my project, and he hesitatingly agreed to it, with a caveat betting me that I would never get the car restored, let alone running, as long as I lived!   My favorite high school memory was the day I got the Model T running during shop class for the first time after tearing the engine and transmission down and replacing only what was absolutely needed due to budget constrictions. I tightened the rods up so much that the engine would hardly turn over now.  The starter would barely turn it over but it would, surprisingly, occasionally fire, so I knew I could get it running it I kept trying.  After working on it several months, the day to start it up had finally arrived. I talked my entire shop class of 10-12 guys into helping me push the T down the steep hill from the high school down towards downtown Cheney.   After about 5 blocks of down-hill pushing, the kicking and sputtering T reached the bottom and still hadn’t started. So all of my “friends” had to push me back up the hill to the shop building before the end of class, with me sitting on the gas tank steering the T.   I must have had a license, because I can’t imagine driving that T on city streets without one!  50 years later, my classmates stills remind me of that fateful day when I asked them to push me down the hill.

 

After high school, I had 4 years of college, then got married the day after graduation, and went into the Navy for 3 years (during which 2 of our 3 daughters were born); and then in 1972, we finally settled down in Spokane where I got started with the real restoration of my ’23 Model T.  I soon learned raising a family (now up to three children) and getting couches and refrigerators had priority over Model T parts, so I coped with another couple of years of slow progress.  Finally, in 1974, I went ahead at full speed and got the Roadster professionally painted.

 

It was at this time in 1974 that we joined the newly formed (1972) Spokane Model T Club along with the Crabbs and Gothmanns.  With our three daughters, Betty, and I crammed into our one-seated roadster and went on our first Model T tour to visit the Air National Guard’s KC-135 re-fueling tankers at Geiger Field.  One of the girls wet their pants while sitting on Betty’s lap, and I got the immediate go-ahead to get a touring body if I ever wanted to go on a family T tour again.  A little bit of watching the Spokesman ads were again fruitful, and I found a guy in Colville who wanted to trade an un-restored ’23 touring body for a restored roadster body.  That worked for me so we made the swap and I began the repeat restoration process for the touring body which took several months. To the best of my recollection, Breens, Riecherts, Rhoades, Whiteleys, Jeppersons, Storeys, Rohers, Harts, Lundins, Repps, Skidmores, Cromers, Hamiltons, Hiens, and Tondini's were all members of the club by now.

 

In 1980, I changed jobs and we ended up moving to Kennewick.   Being the new kids on the block in a new city, Betty & I really felt the loss of not being able to participate in the many activities and tours put on by the Spokane T Club.  We went to several of the “Ye Ole Car Club” meetings but we were the only Model T owners, and they tended to travel faster than I cared to.  We decided to place an ad in the local “Nickel Nic”, inviting anyone interested in starting a Model T Club in the Tri-Cities.  Four families attended the first meeting, and the Three River’s Model T Ford Club was born.  That very active club now has about 30 members and is still growing and we continue to be “lifetime” members. 

 

In 1983, I purchased an un-restored 1914 Model T Speedster.  That project car moved back to Spokane with us when I accepted a new job there in 1984 and the speedster was completed in 1987.  In 1999, I purchased a 1927 T Speedster originally built up by Don Rohrer and modified some of the body’s sheet metal , wheels, and carburetion to make it look and feel more  like a1927 original and not so “hot-roddy”.  I sold that car last fall to an 82-year old guy in who had getting a speedster on his bucket list!

 

Jim’s 1914 Model T Speedster       

 

                      

           1927 Model T Speedster sold in 2012

 

 

In addition to the ’23 Touring, the ’14 Speedster, and a ’31 A Tudor Sedan that are currently restored and sitting in my garage,  I’ve also have bought and sold over 30 years several other un-restored cars, including a ‘30 Model A Sport Coupe,  a ‘25 T Coupe, and a ’30 A coupe.  I hope to restore another Model T with one or more of my grandkids in the next few years to keep the story and interest in antique cars going.

 

I reflect back on this lifetime hobby and am truly thankful that I had the opportunity to get into the hobby early in my teenage years.  So many people I know have started in the hobby, only to put their treasured Model T(s)  into long-term storage to be restored someday when they retire and have the time.  Far too many never saw that day or took the opportunity to enjoy the many friendships and fun times touring around in their Model T’s.