Saratoga News

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Model T Ford drivers the motoring pioneers

By Carl Heintze

I learned to drive in a Model T Ford. Not a lot of men (or women) can make that claim today. Or want to.

Actually, I learned to drive my grandfather's Model T Ford, in part because my grandfather's family wouldn't let him drive it.

My grandfather, a canny and frugal New Englander by birth, did not inherit the mechanical ability that was supposed to be a part of the Yankee heritage. When it came to machinery, he was inept. And when it came to automobiles, even Model Ts, he was a menace to pedestrians and drivers alike.

So by the time I became a teenager, he had foregone driving the Ford. It reposed in the garage behind his house. Being frugal, my grandfather had his own gas tank. It was more or less under the Ford beneath the dirt floor of the garage. I'm not sure how many gallons it held, but now and then a tank truck would pull into the back yard, and a man would pump the tank full.

Then my grandfather (or later me) would pump the gasoline up out of the ground with a hand device.

The next problem was to get the car started. In the primitive days before the '30s, Fords and a lot of other cars had to be cranked to make them start. My grandfather actually had a crank, but I don't remember ever having to use it.

His Ford had a self-starter (a metal button on the floor). One stepped on it, and eventually the engine ground to life.

Next came the task of backing the Ford out of the garage. Although my recollection has grown somewhat dim, as I remember one backed up by pulling on the emergency brake, a handle sticking out the floor, while at the same time pushing in on the reverse pedal.

The reverse pedal was the middle pedal of three pedals on the floor. One was the clutch and the other was to switch gears once you got moving forward. Acceleration was managed by a lever on the steering column. You pulled it down, and the car went forward. You also could manipulate the motor by pushing or pulling on another lever on the other side of the steering column.

This was the spark, but I never really learned what it was for.

You also have to realize the Model T was a "touring car"--that is, in theory it held five passengers, two in front and three in back (if they were skinny). It had no windows, although one could fit ising glass (which was really transparent plastic) to the openings in case of rain.

There was no heater, and the only instruments were a gas gauge and a speedometer of sorts. The speedometer really wasn't necessary. At top speed you might get up to 40 miles an hour, but that was not very often.

I think there was a rear view mirror but no side mirrors, and for some reason I never learned, there were only three doors to the car. The driver's door was a fake. The driver had to get in on the passenger side.

My uncle--my grandfather's oldest son--eventually inherited the Model T, took off its top and drove it with wild abandon around town until he finally smashed it up. As for the gas tank, I don't know if it still lies under where the garage used to stand. A store occupies the site, and perhaps the builders dug it up before they built their new building.

Eventually I learned to drive a Model A Ford (which had a more or less conventional gear shift although it still retained the spark and accelerator levers), and today I tolerate cars with automatic transmissions.

When I drive them, though, I think it somewhat demeaning. After all, I was a pioneer.