OK, first of many questions; Bought a Model T touring yesterday, rough shape, not rolling good take wood off transmission (cover) all three pedals go to trans housing, no stick shift,(shiftercould be at rear of trans? ) no accelerator pedal what do the pedals do? The far left pedal is attached to the mechanical brake system. How do I find neutral?
Here you go...this describes it very well. Others are also available on U tube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0hQh_Ej_34
OK, here you go. The left pedal is the brake. The center pedal is reverse. The right pedal is, what Ford called, the clutch. to drive the car, pull the hand brake all the way to the rear. This applies the emergency brakes and puts the trans in neutral. Start the car. Holding the "clutch" pedal where it sits (don't push down or let it up), release the hand brake. Give it some gas with the right lever under the wheel and gently depress the clutch. You're now in 1st. Run it up to 10-25 mph, ease off of the gas a bit and release the clutch. You're in high. To back up. I always pull the handbrake back halfway, which is neutral, and depress the center pedal. Once you get proficient, you can hold the clutch halfway, which is also neutral, and feather the center pedal to back up. It is a real one man band at first. You have to forget everything you know about driving a stick. Driving a "T" is fun
The T has a planetary transmission with bands inside. The shifting done by pedal only, there is no hand shifter. You'll have fun finding the steering box too. It is the brass housing just under the steering wheels.
Carl La Fong has the right idea, but has the left and right pedals switched. The video is correct. Also, don't forget about the spark advance lever on the left side of the steering wheel.
real fun comes when the right pedal sticks in down position and you take your toe to pull it back up for "Hi" it comes with a bang and knocks hell out of your shin....been there,,
hey buddy. i drive a model t almost every other day....... if you still need ?s just let me know................. i love driving my T
The Scariest ride I ever had wasn't in any fast car but in a "T" RPU with wood spoke wheels! Holy crap we were all over the road at 40 mph and the spokes started cracking under the side loads!
basically you should consider a Model T to be a product of a different planet! Wait til you try to figure out the ignition... You have what amounts to a foot-controlled manual valve body automatic and an individual coil ignition...you also have two different sources for your primary current, and in general damn little in common either with other antiques or modern cars! My grandfather bought his first wheels, a used Model T, on returning from WWI. The salesman gave hom a 30 second lecture on the pedals and that lever and sent him away, lurching from ditch to ditch until he got the hang of things. Oh, yes...something like a 3 to one steering ratio, which means your pulse provides enough input to change lanes and a sneeze will get you a U-turn!
"Oh, yes...something like a 3 to one steering ratio, which means your pulse provides enough input to change lanes and a sneeze will get you a U-turn!" Hahahahahahaha! That is funny. Brings to mind Mr. Magoo...lol.<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
you can HOT Rod these too, give it a 4 cyl ing. dist, make a new cover for front you can port thes more than a Model A they have run some pretty good speed records, my local guy says the wood bands are the hot ticket hes got a stroker in his, cut down the flywheeel , alum pistons and cut the head, we used to have model T NOVELTY races at the fair when I was a kid . good downdraft carb snf he runs headers off a chev 4 cyl being a machinist is a must for speed on these!!! some fabrication may be necessary!!!
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