My Dad bought a model T when I was a teenager. The plan was to dismantle it and rebuild it to running condition. I remember the controls for spark and ignition.

The dismantle part went as planned. There seemed to be a pause in the plan. Then I went to college and lost track of what did or didn't happen after that. But, I never saw the car again.

Eddie

First car was a 52 Chrysler. Had a clutch and you could drive it as an automatic or standard.

Current rebuild is a metal "T" bucket kit...medal body. 350 Chevy crate engine...wide tires. Then, there's the rebuilt Cushman scooters from the 50's and the 52 Ford pick-up....man, I gotta stop collecting toys.

Old vehicles are COOL!

R.

[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 05-07-2009).]

Deane-sent you a photo of one of the old Cushmans. Post it here, if you'd like. Don't know who that fat old man is....

R.

Really old cars are very cool indeed. Everybody will rubber neck when a Model-T or some Roadster happens to go by. The sad thing about real old cars is the pollution they expel from their exhaust pipes. If they had never enacted and enforced pollution standards for automobiles way back when (in the U.S.) the smog problem(s) would have been unbearable by now. Here in California when a car or truck reaches a certain age (35 years in Calif.) there is then no longer any need to smog them. If you ever get behind a real "old" clunker you can sure tell from the 'smell' (and the smoke) coming out of the exhaust pipe, that there is NO catalytic converter or ANY other type of smog device installed on it. And even though we like to reminisce and be nostalgic about older cars I, for one, can't wait for the day when vehicles will be powered by Hydrogen Fuel Cell technology. The Earth will we much better off and by then entreprenuers may once again take it upon themselves to actually design certain vehicles with that old "nostalgic" look. The neat thing is, that they won't be harming the environment in the process - like many of them are doing now.

All the best,
Mike

PS: I have a '77 Corvette that DOES have a catalytic converter and that still needs to be smogged every other year. And she still only gets about "9" miles per gallon. >> Boy am I sure glad gas prices have receded drastically in price over the last 9 months. Although I rarely drive the Vet since I also have a more gas friendly vehicle for my daily commutes.

That was it ... thnx Ian ...
t.

The MOST fun car I've ever had is my current BMW 325Ci ragtop - automatic, with the optional 'manual shift' capability - you actually move the shift lever, but there is no clutch involved ...

BUT to the opposite end of the spectrum, when I was 18 yrs old, my father had a '53 Packard Clipper Special
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1953-1956-packard-clipper2.htm
(ain't the internet great ?!?)
It was a TANK, but as I recall it had a straight 8 engine with a standard three on the column ... it took a second or two to get it rolling from a dead stop, but when it did - WATCH OUT - surprised quite a few young drivers in their hopped up Chevys and Fords ...
t.

That's a great video, and amongst other things I found it interesting to see some of the assembly line workers wearing TIES under their aprons ... it's hard to find a guy wearing a tie in most business offices or banks today ...
t.

Tony,

What I found interesting about the video was how intense all the workers seemed to be and how hard they were working to produce a good product. - Gosh wonder what all the union guys would think of that today - really working hard to create a good product - what a concept.

Hammer

hammer ... yes I noticed that as well ...
I was going to make other comments about unions (not all negative, either), but I don't want to see this thread hi-jacked ...
t.

You mean like my PT????

America in the 40's, 50's and up to the mid 60's had the world's greatest Automotive designers in my opinion.

People like Harly J. Earl headed up one of the greatest Design Teams in History at GM, and marketing Geniuses like Lee Iacocca helped complete the circle of innovation and style that only the American's had in that era regarding cars.

(As a side note, I find it hard to believe that, as far as I'm aware, no other car before or since had the kind of Mustang Chrome Emblem "concept" on it's front. Such a simple idea, yet so strong, and yet - never again recreated in any other way on any other car. Genius.)