Interesting. Do not own one, but here are some observations.

From what I've read, you will need a drip tray. As the engine seals will leak. Also, checking the oil requires some oil to drip out. Modify it with an electric starter, or hopefully someone has upgraded that, and you should be good to go.

Look into a collector car type of insurance and an Antique or Historic Plate requirements. It shouldn't be that expensive to keep it insured.

Lastly you will need to learn to drive it. The 3 Pedals on the floor are not at all like modern cars, brakes are mechanical, plan your stopping ahead of time. There may still be around 100,000 Model T's on the road, around the world today, considering that some are 100 years old.

Hi Chris,

Currently do not have one any longer but did years ago. The car was an original and not modified as so many have been over the years. Some things to consider. Although you can take it on the highway be prepared to travel at lower speeds obviously, people will ask for pictures or to get in the car, maintain your battery well and just like with any other car your basic maintenance should be kept up. All in all the one we had held up really well considering we did not drive it very often.

I own 3 of them
- a fully restored 1924 Touring car
- a 1915 speedster that is my current restoration project. Chassis is done, and I'm building a body from scratch.
- a 1919 chassis, currently in pieces and lacking a body... I've been searching for a roadster body for it.

Maintenance and upkeep are pretty easy. If you've got a modicum of mechanical ability, you shouldn't have any problems.

A couple of things to think about...
- Wire wheels are safer than wood wheels. I have wood wheels on the touring car, but I turned them myself on the lathe and pressed them together. They aren't 100% true, but they are a hell of a lot safer than relying on 90+ year old wood wheels! Model T wire wheels are hard to find and quite expensive (they were an optional item in 1926 and 27 only). I would suggest going with Model A wire wheels and the wheel adapters that Lang's, Mac's, etc. sell. Tires are much easier to find for the Model A wheels.

- You need VERY fresh gas to get these to start. The gas most stations sell today is garbage, and cars only run on it because of the higher compression. You can use non-ethanol gas with a lead substitute additive if you can find it in your area. When you rebuild the engine, you'll need to put in hardened valve seats for the modern gas.

- Because of the bad gas today, you'll need to be prepared to completely drain the tank any time you won't be driving for more than a few weeks... that's the shelf life of E10 and E15 gas. If you're able to get non-ethanol gas, you can get away with longer periods of time, especially if you use a stabilizing additive (my favorite is "Star Tech", but Stabil and others work as well).

- Keep in mind that the bodies are a wooden frame with the tin tacked onto it. If there's any rocking or shifting in the body, it's indicative of bad wood. That means a complete teardown of the body. It's been about 15 years since I did that with mine, but at the time the wood kits that were available from the vendors were junk, lacking the proper contours-- meaning you had to bend the sheet metal to get it to fit right. I got my wood kit from a fellow in Vermont who used dimensions from a NOS wood kit he had-- and it fit like a glove (but was twice the price of the kits from the vendors). Sadly, he has since passed away.

If you have an other questions, just let me know. I'm not as close to the Model T community as I once was (kids and life have a way of getting in the way) but I'm no less enthusiastic. I have published a number of articles in the Model T Times as well...

I don't but my Dad did and probably still does own many antique cars. I don't remember him having a model T though, about the oldest thing was a 1928 Model A two door and then the newest was a 1940 woody station wagon. These were all original cars and not hot rods like much of the crap that's on the roads today. I want to get a Model A someday (what I really want is like a 31 Duesenburg but there a little out of my budget...even the repo's.....ugh) but I just haven't come across anything yet but I'm not really actively looking either. If it comes it comes at this point. Dad had a 1930 Four door phaeton convertible that was sweet. We called it the gangster car.....LOL. Good times!!
I was talking to a friend of mine the other day that just bought a 1919 Model T and he's already talking about selling it. Said he paid $5K for it and would probably sell it for that. I can't remember if he said it's running or not but I might go check it out soon just out of curiosity.
Going to car shows I look for fully original cars.....there so much more fun to look at and getting harder to find.

John

Here is a photo of short drive in a Model T, just last month. This is at a near by Transportation Museum.

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hackfront_256 (resized).jpg

It has a wagon body, Station Hack? Depot Hack? 2 rows of seats behind the driver.

will it haul a pin?

This guy. Getting to the real meat here.

Ask and ye shall receive. its an older photo, but it's the only one I have that was taken by a professional photographer.

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I never had a T.
But we did have a few A's

T's are cool, but if you want to drive it a lot, an A might be a better choice.

Just my opinion!

E

I was a horseless carriage meet a couple years ago and saw five old men put a Model T together from components in 2 minutes. That was eye opening how simple these are. I was talking to a couple guys and the entry is cheap, maybe $5K or so for a non-rare model that runs.

No, you can't. Maybe a running car that needs an engine rebuild and total restoration including wood kit.
http://modelthaven.com/cars-pre/cars-pre-2
The model t haven is the best source I know of for affordable project model t's... and it will show you how far off you are. It's like suggesting that TAF is a $1500 machine.