Quite a feat to do this in 2022. In a lot of ways, they travelled exactly like folks probably had to in the 1920's. Dealing with maintenance and repairs during the journey. They found kind folks willing to help when they were in need. Again, similar to how things were back when these cars were daily drivers.
Yep. A modern car is reliable on today's roads. But back then, when you had to fend for yourself on the roads of the day, a super-simple, repairable T, and the help of "kind folks" made it possible. Thanks for watching!
...great video of an unforgettable tour according to Harald.....thank you for putting this together for everyone.... I am a friend of Harald...many greetings from Germany 😀
I would love you do that in a T. Did the southern crossing in a Cadillac when I was 20. A guy Tim Moore from the UK did this after Trump got elected and wrote the book Another fine mess. My parents bought me the book and I bought a rolling T chassis a month later. Not sure I am happy about that, maybe when I get the engine back together in a month, but right now I am still raw from buying a Scat crank that was bent… anyway great video!
Excellent video. The Model T is somewhat misunderstood by the general public. Henry kept it in production with few changes for too many years and so at the end in 1926 and 27 the T was way out of date. But when introduced 19 years before, in 1908 it was state of the art in many ways. As the sales of the T exploded Henry used profits to invest in ever larger and faster tooling/machinery which would increase the economies of scale and reduce the price, in much the same way computers have come down in price over the last 30 years. The engineers at Ford were tasked with designing ever more efficient production machinery, rather than making major changes to the design of the Model T.
Henry believed the Model T was as much car as anyone would ever need. He refused to change because he believed he had achieved automotive perfection for the average man.
Love this. I followed each post with anticipation. Wish there could have been some good video along the way. What courage it takes to do that today. I still can't believe my mentor used to do that regularly. Thanks for the video.
Excellent video! Well, I guess when it comes to driving my T I'm just a big baby.. That took guts. I had no idea they were coming through my neck of the woods, or I would have made the effort to watch them come through. That's a beautiful T you got there!
Thanks. It was difficult to anticipate where they would be each day. Many who tried to intercept them were disappointed. They 'followed their nose' much of the way, so every day was an adventure!
In 1924 two college students, Seegar Swanson and Elliot Nystrom bought a well used 1919 Model "T" touring car. Without either one of them knowing how to drive. or even maintain a Model "T", they left Ashland Wisconsin on a year long journey to the four corners of the United States. Using the money they made on summer jobs they traveled the country, stopping and getting jobs to raise the funds to keep going. They worked on road building projects, picking apples and oranges etc. They at one time in the south, ran out of money and had to camp alongside the road and telegram a friend back home who mail ordered some cash to get them going again. Their trip is covered in a book written by Seegar called "Ford Tramps". It's a very enjoyable read and I highly recommend it to anyone is interested in Model "t" Fords and the 1920's.
@@davidhjortnaes2000 Being a Wisconsinite myself, though not Scandinavian (German, Dutch, French Canadian/Native American here) I would say we have to be tough to survive the winters here!! I lost a very close friend of 35 years last summer, His ancestors came from Sweden. We were both Model "T" owners and he gave me The book for Christmas one year. Like you I've read it many times and never tire of it. I'm the proud owner of a first edition issue of "Ford Tramps" that is signed by the author, Seegar Swanson. I had a 1926 Tudor and my friend also had a 26 Tudor but later had a '24 touring. Years ago on New Years Eve, we took his '24 touring out that night and drove around our small city of Sheboygan Falls. It was about 10 degrees out, we were dressed warm and had the lap robes, but I think we both had the start of hypothermia by the time we were done!!!!! I know I could barely walk! Hope you enjoy your "T" for many years. I sold mine years ago but would kind of like to find another one.
Wonderful job putting this video together and telling the epic story! I was thinking about my '17 wooden felloe wheels; while they are still solid, I dont know how far I would get on a trip such as that!
Here in Australia it would get hot and dry in Summer ,so car owners would drive their wooden wheeled cars into a Creek ford (no pun intended) and let the wheels soak .A trick from the days of horses and carriages. My Dads first car was a model T as was his dads. But his second was a Dodge victory six with wooden wheels , it had 16" tires ,achieved by sawing the spokes down and bashing old firestone rims on ....
If given the chance to take a similar adventure,I would prefer a 26' or 27 model year. The wood spoke can have devastating failures not nearly as common with the steel spoke wheel.
mine has wooden wheels and they haven't given me any trouble in 25 years. I haven't driven cross country but around town it is as reliable as anything.
You talked about drivin on freeways. I don't think that is possible on I 5 in flyover country between Olympia 60 miles south of Seattle to Columbia River bridge. Or going over I 90 at Snoqualmie pass. Traffic too heavy and fast. How did these people manage to stay off freeways. Where they traveled. You can't do that in the other Washington State because so far as I know portions of I 5 and I90 don't have any parallel old roads or highways where it is possible to drive slow and not bother anybody
