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09-23-2018, 06:33 PM | #1 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Takoma Park, MD
Posts: 2,817
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Garage Find Model T Long Story
Two years after I first discovered the car, I have acquired a garage find Model T, sitting since 1962. The story behind it is a good one.
I was sitting at a traffic light near my house in the Model A roadster shown in my avatar when a woman came up to me and said, "I have a car like that in my basement. I want to get rid of it." I got her phone number. A few days later, I called her and made an appointment to go see the car. The car was in a basement garage of house in Southeast Washington, DC. I had a difficult time getting in the garage from the basement and the first sight was of a black, squarish coupe. I could tell that it was not a Model A, but I did not know what it was? After climbing over all the stuff that buried the car in the garage, I saw that it was Model T, in fairly good shape and complete. The windshield was broken and the passenger door was off, as was the rear fender and the body panels behind the door. I turned the crank and the engine was free. The car had a 1962 DC Historic Vehicle tag on it. I wanted to think about what to do? I had not been looking for a Model T, but this car and the circumstances under which I discovered it intrigued me. I thought that it should be saved. I shared my story with some fellow old car guys, who, as enablers do, were very encouraging and offered to help me retrieve it. I called the woman, who was tough to reach because she had had incoming calls restricted on her phone due to spam calls she was getting. She told me to negotiate with her son, who had the authority to come to an agreement. I called the son and made an offer, which he accepted. A day or too later, I got a call from the woman who was mad as a hornet, telling me that the car was worth much more, that she would give it to the Smithsonian Institution, etc. Well, that was not the outcome I had wanted. I tried talking with her son, but that was not fruitful. A few months later, I wrote her a letter and included a copy of the want ads from the Model T Times, showing the values of the cars in the want ads, that demonstrated that the price I had offered her, while not high, was not unreasonable, either. I heard nothing. About six months ago, I sent her another letter, telling her that I was still interested in the car and that I would stop by to talk with her about it in the coming weeks. I had not stopped by, because I was very busy. I also wasn't too optimistic about it, either. Two weeks ago I got a call from the woman's son-in-law asking if I was still interested in buying the car? I said, "yes" and we settled on a price $200 more than I had offered before. Today, I gathered my wife and some old car addict enablers and went to retrieve the car. The garage door had not been opened in probably 50 years. The springs to help open the door were missing, but we got it up. There was a ton of stuff around the car. We found some contractor trash bags in all the junk and filled many bags. We were able to extricate the car without a lot of trouble. I had neglected to bring an air pump to pump up the tires. With a combination of the hold down straps and muscle, we got the car on the trailer. It was raining, but we had a collection of people stop to look at what we were doing. A neighbor said that he had lived across the street for 30 years and had no idea that car was in the garage. There is an extra radiator and door and some other parts and odds and end, including another crankshaft. I have some significant body work to do on one side, but other than that, it looks pretty solid. The interior is pretty much gone. It might even have original paint. I really don't need another project, but this was one of those opportunities that I could not pass up. The first photo is what I saw when I first looked into the garage two years ago. The others are what we faced today and our efforts to get the car out of the garage. |
09-23-2018, 06:40 PM | #2 |
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Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Takoma Park, MD
Posts: 2,817
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Re: Garage Find Model T Long Story - More pics
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09-23-2018, 08:39 PM | #3 |
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Join Date: Jul 2012
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Re: Garage Find Model T Long Story
Nice find!
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10-19-2018, 05:17 PM | #4 |
Senior Member
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Re: Garage Find Model T Long Story
Love to see more pictures of the Model T. Nice find. Good luck with the car. You will enjoy it very much.
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10-19-2018, 09:11 PM | #5 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: N.E.Ohio
Posts: 116
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Re: Garage Find Model T Long Story
That's a great find ! What year is it ?
Keep us posted... |
10-20-2018, 08:46 AM | #6 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Takoma Park, MD
Posts: 2,817
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Re: Garage Find Model T Long Story
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I am very excited about it. It needs some wood and rust repair and who knows about the engine? I am glad that I was in a position to rescue it. |
10-20-2018, 02:17 PM | #7 |
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Join Date: Feb 2011
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Re: Garage Find Model T Long Story
Whatever you offered, it was plenty.
You are saving another- as it could have been scrapped in the condition it currently is in. Good Luck! |
10-20-2018, 06:13 PM | #8 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Takoma Park, MD
Posts: 2,817
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Re: Garage Find Model T Long Story
Thanks to the fellow Model A and T club members who helped me get it on this rainy day.
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10-23-2018, 08:45 AM | #9 |
Member
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 87
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Re: Garage Find Model T Long Story
Good job! That one is definitely worth saving and it appears you have the ability.
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