The Ford Barn

Model "A" Fords · 08-20-2023, 06:24 PM

My father was a Model A man starting in 1942 with his 1928 Phaeton and along the way the three of us sons joined in. Between us we had the 1928 Phaeton, one 1928 stake truck, two 1929 Roadsters, one 1929 Wagon, Two 1930 Sedans, one 1931 sedan, and one 1931 stake truck. We don't have the one Roadster or the trucks now, but we still have all the others.
During that time, Dad bought and sold many different makes of cars and trucks but always seemed to save the Model A s. Among the mix he had a Model T that I can't recall its year but can narrow it down to a Black four door touring 1914, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 or 25.
Never having any idea of what a T was, Dad enlisted help from friends that were familiar with it. For some reason one wheel was jacked up, until something warmed up as it seemed to have a mind of its own. After some experience was gained he drove it and seemed to manage to get home with little trouble most times. Actually we all had a go in it but only when confined to a large pasture on a friends farm.
Dad came home from a meet one day, getting ready to park his T into our model A garage. He put up with us kids hovering around when he was maneuvering on home turf. It was fun for us as we pretended to be the all important guiding trio to make sure he didn't claim any extra space that could interfere with closing the garage door. There wasn't much room once all the vehicles were parked in the garage. The T was parked at the very back as it wasn't used as often as the A's were. We would use our hand signals and shout out commands to guide him to the proper spot.
This day would turn out to be a special one for us as we stood close at hand while he pulled up to the back wall. He asked how much room left. "About six inches to go" we said simultaneously as we all wanted to be the most important helper of the day and claim the attention at the supper table. Dad closed the distance, then lunged and pushed the wall back a few feet. We stood there with our mouths open as dad backed away from the wall. In a split second he had gone from six inches to go, to we now have extra room in the garage and was open to the elements.
We all grabbed what ever we could to help lever the wall back in place, still wondering what came over him to do such a thing. Since supper had been waiting on us for some time we quickly cleaned up to sit at the table. The kids didn't get much attention but Dad did. He explained that only after it was too late, did he realize this wasn't a model A and pushing in the clutch wasn't a reasonable response!
I don't know why he sold that car but maybe he wasn't partial to black.

CatMan1 · 08-21-2023, 03:08 PM

Great story! It's actually one of my biggest fears!

rotorwrench · 08-21-2023, 05:02 PM

With either application of the go pedal or reverse pedal, it can be difficult to move short distances. A person has to have a hand on the E-brake lever to help stop. Both feet and one arm not to mention the throttle. I would shut it down the put it in neutral. A person can push it that far pretty easy. Model Ts can have a mind of their own sometimes.

Gary loves Fords · 08-25-2023, 04:56 PM

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You just have to remember what car you are driving, to operate the clutch on a Model T one foot on the brake and one foot on the clutch, pushing down for low speed will get you as close as you want with no fear. Forget what car you are driving can result in pushing a lot of stuff out of the way.

08-20-2023, 06:24 PM	#1
Model "A" Fords Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 260	A Model T in a Model A mans world My father was a Model A man starting in 1942 with his 1928 Phaeton and along the way the three of us sons joined in. Between us we had the 1928 Phaeton, one 1928 stake truck, two 1929 Roadsters, one 1929 Wagon, Two 1930 Sedans, one 1931 sedan, and one 1931 stake truck. We don't have the one Roadster or the trucks now, but we still have all the others. During that time, Dad bought and sold many different makes of cars and trucks but always seemed to save the Model A s. Among the mix he had a Model T that I can't recall its year but can narrow it down to a Black four door touring 1914, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 or 25. Never having any idea of what a T was, Dad enlisted help from friends that were familiar with it. For some reason one wheel was jacked up, until something warmed up as it seemed to have a mind of its own. After some experience was gained he drove it and seemed to manage to get home with little trouble most times. Actually we all had a go in it but only when confined to a large pasture on a friends farm. Dad came home from a meet one day, getting ready to park his T into our model A garage. He put up with us kids hovering around when he was maneuvering on home turf. It was fun for us as we pretended to be the all important guiding trio to make sure he didn't claim any extra space that could interfere with closing the garage door. There wasn't much room once all the vehicles were parked in the garage. The T was parked at the very back as it wasn't used as often as the A's were. We would use our hand signals and shout out commands to guide him to the proper spot. This day would turn out to be a special one for us as we stood close at hand while he pulled up to the back wall. He asked how much room left. "About six inches to go" we said simultaneously as we all wanted to be the most important helper of the day and claim the attention at the supper table. Dad closed the distance, then lunged and pushed the wall back a few feet. We stood there with our mouths open as dad backed away from the wall. In a split second he had gone from six inches to go, to we now have extra room in the garage and was open to the elements. We all grabbed what ever we could to help lever the wall back in place, still wondering what came over him to do such a thing. Since supper had been waiting on us for some time we quickly cleaned up to sit at the table. The kids didn't get much attention but Dad did. He explained that only after it was too late, did he realize this wasn't a model A and pushing in the clutch wasn't a reasonable response! I don't know why he sold that car but maybe he wasn't partial to black.

08-21-2023, 03:08 PM	#2
CatMan1 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2021 Location: Pella, IA Posts: 337	Re: A Model T in a Model A mans world Great story! It's actually one of my biggest fears!

08-21-2023, 05:02 PM	#3
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 16,436	Re: A Model T in a Model A mans world With either application of the go pedal or reverse pedal, it can be difficult to move short distances. A person has to have a hand on the E-brake lever to help stop. Both feet and one arm not to mention the throttle. I would shut it down the put it in neutral. A person can push it that far pretty easy. Model Ts can have a mind of their own sometimes.

08-25-2023, 04:56 PM	#4
Gary loves Fords Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Michigan Posts: 69	Re: A Model T in a Model A mans world Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) You just have to remember what car you are driving, to operate the clutch on a Model T one foot on the brake and one foot on the clutch, pushing down for low speed will get you as close as you want with no fear. Forget what car you are driving can result in pushing a lot of stuff out of the way.