Introducing "Mabel" - Our 1924 Ford Model T

"Mabel", our 1924 Ford Model T Tudor

A few months ago, we added a new member to the family. For over a year, I'd been trying to sell an 1890's horse-drawn carriage that I'd picked up in college. The carriage was a true "barn find", rescued from a collapsing corncrib in Kentucky. It was a mess, but still a very rare piece. I had dreamed of restoring it to its former glory, but funds and time put the project on hold. However, over 10 years or so, I did manage to repaint it, replace the wheels, and make it functional enough that we did get to use it in a film project a few years ago. It was fun, but I knew I'd never have the money or the pasture space for a pair of suitable horses to pull it. So, it was time to let it go.

Trade the horse-and-carriage for a Model T? How appropriate!
(Apparently black with red wheels was a popular scheme for everything...)

Long story short, after a little trading around, I eventually re-homed the carriage and replaced it with a 1924 Ford Model T. Ironically, the "T" was painted in the same colors as the carriage! The 94 year-old car was only in slightly better condition that the carriage when I got it, so I knew I'd have my work cut out for me. She wasn't running when I picked her up, but she had new tires and seemed mechanically sound. The previous owner swore that it had run 6 months ago, but it was 17 degrees when I came to get it, and neither of us knew how to start a very cold Model T at the time. (I have since learned how to deal with this malady.)

After getting the car running, and driving her around a bit, our family decided that she needed a name. We chose "Mabel" because it fit the period and seemed like an appropriate name for a feisty old lady. This is the story of our adventures thus far.

Many long nights have led to a functional car. Many more long nights will hopefully lead to a pretty car someday!

Mabel came home in our cargo trailer that we use for business. Though she fit fine in the trailer, she was too tall to get through the doorway, so we had to let the air out of the rear tires to clear the door. We strapped her down, and headed 2 hours home to squeeze her in the garage.

Fresh out of the trailer after getting her home! At this point, she doesn't run and is covered in dust and the interior is full of half-chewed hickory nuts and chipmunk nests. I don't care. I have a Model T!

There's something you should know about Model T's, if you don't already. They are fairly primitive machines. Henry Ford found a system that worked in 1908, and he prolifically produced millions of them. Though the "T" did get some creature-comfort upgrades between 1908 and 1927, most of the changes made were to make them cheaper to produce. Every year, the Model T got cheaper to buy. This contributed to their popularity. However, there were no major upgrades to the powertrain during the 19-year model life. Therefore, driving and maintaining a 1924 Model T, isn't much different than a car 15 years older. Basically, I had to ignore everything I knew about working on cars and take a crash-course in "Model T Mechanics" via YouTube, Facebook groups, and friends I'd met who also have Model T's. I've learned so much in just a few short months!!

This is what a fully-restored one looks like. Pretty, but I don't want to have to worry about scratching the paint.
I don't think I'll go for a showroom resto.

I should probably take a moment to shout out to those who have been so helpful. First, my friend Bob, who advised me on many things and helped keep me calm when I was worried about various mechanical maladies. He also sent me a copy of the Model T Repair Manual, which has been an incredible resource! I'd also like to mention Linus, who told me what to look for as potential major problem areas and helped me gain a lot of peace of mind about the condition of my car. And then there's Kim, who I met through the local Model T club. He invited me over to his workshop and helped me out by adjusting my coils and helping me find some parts that were proving difficult to locate. My friend Marcus also helped out by spending many late evenings handing me tools and helping to get the car running. He also didn't fret when the car broke down, which it did a lot in the first few trips out. We have had the pleasure of becoming "Model T guys" together, which has been a lot of fun. I also benefited immensely from the YouTube videos by Mitch Taylor about working on the Model T. He also has an excellent website at www.fordmodelt.net. I highly recommend the Model T Ford Club of Facebook group for anyone interested in owning a Model T. They are very helpful folks! Another useful webpage is Steve Jelf's "Dauntless Geezer". Lots of great info there.

The Model T "bible" for repairs and re-furbishing. 

Now, back to learning how Mabel functions! So, the first thing I had to learn was that Model T's use a standard SAE 30 weight oil, just like your lawn mower. This oil doesn't move so well at low temperatures, so what happens is the oil settles between the clutch plates and becomes very thick and slow. This basically "glues" the clutch together, so even though it's in neutral, the car is still in gear. To get around this, you have to jack up one rear wheel, chock the other, and then you can start the car "in gear". This results in a terrifying situation where the rear wheel is spinning, sometimes fairly fast, while up on a jack stand. After about 5 minutes, the engine is warm enough that the oil is flowing properly and you can throw on the brake and unlock the clutch. Why does this work? Well, because the engine and transmission share the same oil. The transmission has bands that engage the transmission in various ways, including two forward speeds, reverse, and brake. Yes, the brake is on the transmission, not the wheels! (It does have a parking brake on the rear wheels, but that's not for slowing down.) So, once we learned this, we were able to make it run! It was an incredibly exciting moment! It occurred at about midnight in the garage one evening. I could not contain my excitement, so the very first time I drove a Model T was in the dark after midnight. There are no interior lights, and in fact, only one gauge on the dash, which is not lit either. On top of that, there are three closely-spaced pedals on the floor that are not in the arrangement that we "modern drivers" are used to. Therefore, driving in the dark is a challenge all of its own. Probably not the best "first-time" for a beginner, but I made it halfway around the yard before it ran out of gas! Hurrah!! Up to this point, all "driving" was purely theoretical and based on YouTube videos. Actual driving was quite different!

This photo was taken the very first time we got her running. A few minutes later I took a terrifying, but exhilarating "midnight ride" around the yard until the fuel ran out.

So now that we understood how to make it run, we began to start her up every couple of days. Finally we decided to take her next door to the state park and go for a trial run. My driving was still a little shaky. Think 16-year-old with a learner's permit... That's pretty much how it felt. But, I was getting the hang of it, slowly but surely. Unfortunately, it seemed very underpowered, even for a Model T. It would choke its way up the hills at 3 miles per hour, and stutter on the straightaways. To make matters worse, the fuel shut-off valve was worn out, and the vibrations of the engine would slowly close the valve, shutting off all fuel after about 5-10 minutes. I knew we needed more garage time. Eventually, I discovered the problem, with a little help from my friend Bob. He advised me to check to make sure I had spark on all four cylinders. I did not. I discovered that the coils were vibrating out of the box and causing me to lose connection. She was running on two cylinders. No wonder she was weak and sluggish!!

The primitive Model T power plant. 20 horsepower, generating a top speed of 45mph.

I got her functional just in time to take her to a local 20th Century camp-out, where she was the star of the show! She ran pretty well all weekend, but I learned two things. One, I need to keep more air in the tires. 55-60psi works pretty well, not the 44psi that was stamped on the side of the tire. We rolled the rear tire off the rim and had a fun adventure changing the tire in the rain, but all was good anyway. The other thing I learned was that she won't go up a steep hill with 5 men in the car. The roughly 1000 lbs of passengers was just too much for the little engine. I probably could have done it if I'd let half the guys walk, but the engine died and I was rolling backwards and it was just easier to turn around and go back. Now that I have more driving experience, I think I know what all I did wrong. Fortunately, there were no catastrophes! For more about the group and the camp-outs we do, check out the Amalgamated Order of Motor Campers on Facebook!

Everybody loves "Mabel"!

Even when she loses a tire...

The next project was to fix the rear emergency/parking brakes. (The steep hill experience drove me to make this a priority.) This was no simple task, as I first had to learn exactly HOW to remove the rear wheels! Like I said, you have to ignore everything you know about cars to work on one of these... After getting it apart, I found that there was only one brake shoe. The other one was missing, and the backing plate had been damaged at some point and brazed back together with the most terrible of shoddy work. I can only assume that this was done in the Great Depression Era, as it looks like it was done in a barn by an incompetent farm hand with a bench grinder and a brazing torch who was just trying to make it "look like it wasn't broken" rather than making it functional. I sourced the necessary parts, (found out that my rear axle is actually from a 26-27 Model T) re-lined the brake shoes, and eventually got it put back together. I also had to replace the entire fuel line, clean the tank, and rebuild the "sweet potato", as the under-the-tank fuel valve and "filter" is called.

Brake drum, attached to the wheel. 

Very questionable backing plate repair. I don't know why they did this, or how they broke it in the first place!

Speaking of interesting repairs, this is someone's waist belt, sewn into a replacement fan belt.
Depression Era style "make do" repair.

Now she's mechanically functional enough to drive, and the kids cheer and climb in every time I pull her out of the garage. (My driving has significantly improved too!) Now it's time for cosmetic work. I have begun to tackle the upholstery, which was also rather cobbled together, possibly in the 1940's. Re-padding the seats made a tremendous difference in riding comfort, right off the bat. Eventually, I'll get it all re-covered and then I can take a look at the exterior. The paint is badly crazed and there's some overspray from some other project that was too close to her fenders. Also, the paint is chipping off the cowl. I'm not sure that the paint is original. Close examination implies that the front fenders and the hood have certainly been repainted. The body might be original, but I don't think it's good enough to save. There will probably be a re-paint in her future, down the road.

The kiddos love riding in the park next door. Here we are, bugging the staff on a slow, snowy day.

Teaching friends how to drive is a fun time for all!

The interior was a little rough...

Tackling the repair of the front seats

Temporary covering for the back seat. (Original early 20th century handwoven wool Southwest Native American blanket makes a totally appropriate seat-cover!)

In the meantime, we'll be out driving every nice day that we can! Stop by sometime for a ride, or if you're really brave, a driving lesson!!

Happy trails! See you down the road!