F Body's New Car ?

[F Body]

Well this project has been rumbling along for what seems like an eternity
Apologies to Andy who was the first to know many months ago, that a new project had been started and thanks CP for his sticker advice
So this is not going to be be everyone's cup of tea, but I haven't built her for you, this is my project and I've tried to eliminate shiney things, but alas there are five shiney things

So here she is ?
My daily driver from early this year !
Smart CDi, 780cc 3 cylinder turbo diesel with a mighty 54bhp.



Not content with aircon and cruise control, I have also added a 7" head unit with DAB, DVD and digital TV which is great in the London traffic jams :



If I am not working from home I travel up to 1,000 miles a week and with a real average of 88mpg and no congestion charges it gets the job done.

Sorry that is just my daily driver this is the real project :

This is my 1917 Ford Model T Boat tail speedster which is a mere 97 years old



For those of you who don't already know about it, or caught some of the shake down runs on Facebook, I finally managed to get her MOT'd last month and the DivvyLA were persuaded to register it in early September.
Today was her first proper drive out to Putteridgebury Car Show and I took the opportunity to get some decent pictures :



















The toolbox is one of the youngest things on the car, I made it as an Apprentice over 40 years ago !





The drive train is standard Model T 2.9L in line four with a two speed and reverse gearbox :



It's much easier to list what it hasn't got ?

An oil pump. a fuel pump, valve adjustment, a water pump, a distributor, brakes to speak of, speedo, gauges apart from an Ammeter, a windscreen or seat belts etc.



She is 6v Magneto with electric start :





She is sort of my Camaro's anti-Christ









The toolbox is a necessity and has already saved our bacon twice !



Henry Ford said in 1923 that if a Model T was not dripping oil it had run out lol, so you always need to carry some :





This is not a pristine restoration, but a usable classic car :



One of the five shiney bits :

[img]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/fbody007/1917%20Ford%20Model%20T%20Speedster/28_zps8212fbc3.jpg\"

[F Body]

The 1917 intel stickers are my attempt at irony in a digital age with a very much analogue car.
It is still not finished, but it's legal and road worthy, as much as a 97 year car be !



Mustering a heady 18bhp we have already clocked 38mph, which without brakes is quite scary







and it's more fun to drive (once you figure out the three pedals which don't work like any other car, the hand throttle and manual advance & retard) than any other car I have owned.

[Cunning Plan]

At last you have shared this project!

Why does the Smart car have a giant graphic in front of it?

Anyway, the Model T looks like great fun! I think you ate enjoying it so much because you are having to think about what you are doing instead of just a normal car. The open top has to help the fun factor too.

That will be pretty cold though I bet?!

Where do you keep it if your Camero has not sold yet?

Stickers look good

[F Body]

Quoting: Cunning Plan

Why does the Smart car have a giant graphic in front of it?

Because I love my Smart

Quoting: Cunning Plan

That will be pretty cold though I bet?!

It was rather fresh at 8am this morning, but the engine doesn't half kick some heat out when it's warm

Quoting: Cunning Plan

Where do you keep it if your Camero has not sold yet?

Come on CP keep up ?  Remember I sent you the pictures of the Model T at my lock up garage ? The Camaro is still at my house but Management drove it today

Quoting: Cunning Plan

Stickers look good

The other stickers eventually arrived from the US, but FedEx billed me £55.32 shipping When I complained they apologised and refunded £5.32.
Told them that I was expecting something more like a £50 refund and waiting for a breakdown of their costs.

[Roadkill]

i like it . . (except the screen) . . . It's very period looking so I was wondering what's the deal with the large "Snap-On" and "1917" decals ?

[Cunning Plan]

Quoting: F Body

Come on CP keep up ? Remember I sent you the pictures of the Model T at my lock up garage ?

Ah, was that with the other 'special' pictures you sent me?

[Cunning Plan]

By the way FB, you can throw that nasty modern tax disk away in a couple of weeks!

[Motorama]

You didn't need to MOT it to get it registered

[F Body]

Quoting: Motorama

You didn't need to MOT it to get it registered

Unfortunately I did which is pretty pointless considering it will never need another MOT and the tester answered nearly every computer question with not applicable

Supporting documents needed for registering all vehicles :

As well as documents to prove your identity, you must also send:

    payment for the vehicle tax
    the new registration fee of £55
    a current MOT certificate, if the vehicle is over 3 years old (over 4 years old in Northern Ireland)

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-registration/new-registrations

Although perversely I didn't need a certificate of insurance which I sent in anyway

In the case of this age of vehicle the MOT is pretty much pointless, the only things he could test were, the front king pins (new), the headlights and horn. I still think that most vehicles 70's and 80's etc should still have an MOT, if not just for corrosion issues

[F Body]

Quoting: F Body

As well as documents to prove your identity,

I have the original bill of sale for this vehicle when it was sold second hand on the 10th August 1921 :

[Motorama]

We've registered 3 pre 1960 vehicles this year, didn't need an MOT for any of them.

[F Body]

Still having some gearbox issues, the low speed drum has some pitting probably from corrosion when she sat unused for possibly years.
After consulting Neil Tuckett aka Mr Model T, he thinks that if I change from a 10W40 oil to a straight 20W oil it will reduce the drag effect

[Cunning Plan]

Crazy to think that car is older than WW2...

[Motorama]

Looks a lot of fun

[Fieldy]

wow

[FUBAR]

Love the "Windscreen"  Is that tint legal on front window...

[art b]

well its different ....

so marti what the history behind it ....

[Jamieg285]

Quoting: art b

what the history behind it

Quoting: F Body

once you figure out the three pedals which don't work like any other car

I want to know how this works as well.

[F Body]

Quoting: art b

so marti what the history behind it ...

It was built as a standard black two door touring model in 1917, it was sold by a company called Sparks & Hamilton in Bellefontaine, Logan, Ohio.

It was then sold to a Mr J.B.Cost second hand on 10th August 1921, who lived at RFD 1 Quiney, Logan, Ohio. When it was recorded as having lights run from a storage battery on the running board.

It is not clear exactly how many Model Ts were built between 1908 and 1927 but it was over 15 million !
This vehicle was built at the  main factory in Dearborn near Detroit, which produced the vast majority of Model T's, but many cars were also built in other countries including Canada, New Zealand and several other countries including (Trafford Park in Manchester). Production peaked at over 2 million vehicles in 1923 with over 150,000 of these produced at Trafford Park.

This is main reason why so many T's including this one survived. The secondary reason for the survival of so many American T's, was the great depression in the 1920's. People simply couldn't afford to buy a new car and garages across America made a living by keeping the T's on the road.
Even after the depression, the car's were passed down through several generations of the same family, meeting basic transport needs.

So what happened to this T during it's 97 year life ?

To be continued...........................

[art b]

[Fieldy]

[F Body]

Quoting: F Body

To be continued...........................

It was then sold to a Mr J.B.Cost second hand on 10th August 1921 :

Mr Joseph B Cost was born in Logan County Ohio in 1870 and worked in the local municipal department. He appears to have been some sort of water Engineer. His primary role involved the inspection of water pump windmills and the improvement of their design for greater efficiency.
Being as he was 51 years old when he bought this car, I can surmise two possible scenarios ?
Firstly that working in a small local municipal department, that he didn't earn that much money and therefore this the best vehicle he could afford ?
Or that he bought the vehicle for one of his three sons, John, Edward or Louis ?
There was no formal system of vehicle registration in the county at this time, so that one may assume that the vehicle was kept in the families use for many years until formally changed hands again.
But Mr Joseph B Cost lived for 77 years up until 1947 and I imagine him teaching his many grand children how to drive the Model T

To be continued....................

[Cunning Plan]

http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/hammond-drives-the-icons-ford-model-t-2014-10-17