Forty years ago, Don Whissen bought his first Model T Ford, plunging into a hobby that’s shaped him into a mechanic, engineer, collector and investor. He belongs to a Model T Ford club that meets monthly to trade restoration tips and other information, and to putter along back roads in slow-motion parades. (The 1908 Model T had a top speed of about 45 mph.) And in an interesting connection to today, the engine could run on either gasoline or ethanol and got 13 to 21 miles per gallon. Denverite Whissen was among 13 Colorado Model T owners who participated in last week’s Model T centennial fete in Richmond, Ind. Claire Martin
Q: How many Model T’s do you own?
A: Two, including one called a brass T.
Q: A what?
A: They’re older. They have brass radiators. I went into other Fords along the way, but the Model T is my favorite.
Q: Why is that?
A: Because it’s more of a challenge to go places. They’re pretty primitive — one step off a buggy. They’re early technology, from a time when there was a lot of trial and error.
Q: For example?
A: The Model T had a planetary transmission. You shifted gears with your feet. There are three pedals. One’s the clutch. One is the reverse. The other is the brake. The clutch, when you push it all the way down, that’s low gear. All the way out is high gear. There are just two speeds.
Q: Does that leave your hands free, except to steer?
A: Well, you had the throttle on the steering column, so you need your right hand to work the throttle — the gas — and then your left hand advanced and retarded the spark. So you’re constantly moving.
Q: Where do you drive your Model T’s?
A: Well, in 1987, I drove with some other Model T owners from Texas to Alaska. We drove 16 Model T’s up to the Arctic Circle. It was kind of unbelievable to drive those cars that far — 10,000 miles round trip. It took us two months. All the cars were made between 1909 and 1927, and we didn’t have any modern cars with us. We were on our own, helping each other when someone broke down.
Q: What was the most common problem?
A: Flat tires. We did about 200 miles a day, and all of us carried inner tubes — they make replacement tires and tubes for Model T collectors — and hand pumps. The hardest part to replace was the Ruckstell axle, a two-speed axle that gave you a lower gear to go up hills. Underdrive, not overdrive. If those go bad, you have to take it out of the car, take it apart, and find another one or weld the one you’ve got.
Q: Did you drive to the centennial in Indiana?
A: No! I put the Model T on a trailer, an open-air trailer. It starts a lot of conversations. People honk their horns and ask a lot of questions.
