Pretty sure he means..If someone was trying to steal it. They wouldn't go anywhere because an average person does not know how to drive it. Haha. Nothing like modern cars.
Robert Sampson that's what I say. Cars like this made people back then much better drivers. I see today cars are so safe and easy and brainless, that's exactly why people adamantly drive with their hand held devices
@@deanfarr3249 My great uncle basically owns our city's 1923 Model T Fire Engine. He drives it around quite often and he also takes it to festivals. If it's close enough, he drives it all the way there
This is absolutely incredible. It really gives me a new appreciation for modern car technology and how much almost every aspect of driving has improved and become easier. It must be a real privilege to learn to drive this and actually get to cruise around. What an absolutely phenomenal bit of history. Thanks for taking the time to show us the steps and all the little minutia like how to avoid having your thumb broken by the crank! Those little additional tips make the whole process more interesting to see.
Nah. Cars in the 50s-60s-70s were easy to drive, as well as fixable by the owner. Now it's all computers, which ruin the experience, and are much less reliable than mechanical-controlled engines
Now days, in the USA, if you can drive a 5 speed manual transmission you are pretty unique. I learned to drive in a 3 speed manual, with the shift lever on the steering column. I have had automatics over the years, but always preferred a stick. The worst thing to me is not being able to push start the automatics. There have been so many times where being able to push start ( get the vehicle rolling, pop the clutch ) has saved the day! With an automatic if you do not have a set of cables and a jump handy, you are stuck. But a manual transmission is still a long way from a model T, lol.
The early - 50s - automatics can be push-started, or roll started if on a steep hill, as they have 2 pumps, a front pump and a rear pump. Later ones only have one pump.
My dad showed me how to pop the clutch to start the engine in his 1986 Isuzu P'up. After that rusted into dust (but still ran like a champ) he bought a 2002 Nissan Frontier, which had safety mechanisms in place that prevented popping the clutch. He replaced the 2002 Frontier with a 2011 Frontier, which also didn't pop start. Nissan clearly doesn't want you popping their clutches in what few cars they still make with manuals.
I'm very glad that every car manufacturer uses the same standard for either stick shift or autmatic. Imagine if every different brand would use completely different controls for driving.
@@namenamename390Some Model S Teslas including the "Plaid" performance edition. Rectangular "yoke" like an aircraft instead of a round wheel. Reviews are quite negative.
This is how my grandfather took me fishing . . . Seven decades & some ago. He had another one that had been converted to a tractor. I remember the smell of the gas, the throttle & spark levers and the sound of the engine. And the smile on his face when we rode down the dirt roads around Kersey, Pennsylvania going to his favorite fishing spot. Thanks for the memories.
Thanks for sharing the story 😁 precisely what I love about the internet is how we can feel more connected to history because of the availability of first hand accounts
Awesome video! About 65 years age I got to ride in a model T. I'm 73 now and have ridden in a 1928 model A passenger seat and the rumble seat. Not easy for a senior to climb in and out of! But it was on my bucket list! Marvelous cars back then! I can't imagine going from horse and buggy to the model T, then model A. That would have been a big transition. A great change in the mode of transportation! I went from a 6 cylinder 62 Chevy Impala to a Cessna T-37, then Northrop T-38 and went supersonic! Another bucket list item. I also flew B-52 G & H airplanes weighing 488,000 lbs on takeoff. 20 years in USAF. Transportation has changed drastically. Best regards.
I'm a millennial that got to figure out how to make one of these run and drive after it sat for decades. One of my favorite memories of my old job. I wish more people in my generation were into this stuff.
I am Gen Z, my father and I recently purchased a 1919 Model T Roadster in moderately good condition. I've been working day and night restoring each and every part, removing all the rust and ancient enamel. Hopefully going to have the engine running by the end of next month, and have everything repainted in about 2 weeks.
It's interesting isn't it? I'm a gen X and my first car had a 3speed manual column shift. It surprises me how many youngsters can't even drive a modern stick.
My dad learned on a T, and his description of the methods for starting, driving and stopping are identical to what's shown here. (1) Thumb position. (2) Spark up, gas down. (3) Emergency stop with all three pedals.
If you think, that is complicated, just read the instructions of an new car - oh, maybe you won't do so- gotta upload it first, then print it...badly, when you haven't got a computer. So buy you one first. Then install internet second...When ALL OF THIS IS DONE, you maybe can read the real big book, called owner's manual. You really think, the model T is complicated? Try to change a broken headlight bulb on a modern car and then, change it on the model T... This one is the far better car, of course not the more comfortable one...
@@dabeanne The key start on a modern car is more or less the same system, just with a lock cylinder instead of the button. There are still anti-theft systems that communicate with the key. Plus, there isn't a whole lot to break in a push-button start, unless a computer fails (which would still render a car with a key start unusable)
@@thetechconspiracy2 I hate the brake switch interlock that always goes along with it. For some reason all the manufacturers felt the need to add that with push button start.
Looks complicated and a bit confusing but I'd love to give it a try. This car came out over 100 years ago, ie, about the time the Titanic was launched.... Amazing.
Awesome video! My dad was born in 1922 and learned to drive in Dodge City, Kansas. He told me his first car was a well worn Model T. He told me he paid 40 dollars for the car and 40 cents for the driver's license as a teen.
Dad learned how to drive in the mod t when he was about 12. After a few turns I'm sure it was like riding a bike. Grand called em' leapin' Lena. Great vid...
Thanks. I've never driven a T, but have long understood that they have a unique pedal arrangement. I've never seen a clear explanation of what it took to drive one before.
this is awesome. its funny how people will look at this and just think its an old 'outdated' car but the reality is this thing is over 100 yrs old and still running. there isnt single car made now that will ever start or run at that age. these are the original all terain vehicles. you could drive them anywhere. on road. off.they weren't built for looks. they were built to work. those days are gone.
tacos mexicanstyle these were workhorses. they went wherever the driver pointed them even with the lack of power steering. there's tons of old videos of these things traversing roads that a lot of newer cars wouldn't be able to. snow. dirt. mud. whatever. power steering is a luxury. like plush seats or ac.
clock143 I think you should try driving something without power assisted steering and thick tyres designed for grip. trust me these old cars are a huge struggle off road because even if they'll "go" where you point it, good luck being able to point it anywhere!
Dude, there are tones of videos of people back in the day driving these through some really dang rough terrain, like jeep level stuff, thus you are wrong.
Actually it has ärmstrong"power steering like my splittie kombi, lots of leverage from the large diameter steering wheel and steering box reduction gears gives a mechanical advantage.
My Dad came to America in 08 at 15 and he eventually got a Model T. He once missed the bias and banged into a tree. He took it to a blacksmith and had the fender straightened. Eventually he and his buddy that came from Europe with him decided to go to LA. They set out in the Model T and I'm not sure how far they got, but a farmer traded the Ford for a train ticket to LA and the rest is more history. What a great moment for me. Thanks!
They don't seem as complicated as I thought they'd be. Nevertheless, it's pretty cool though. What a lot of folks don't realize is that these little Tin Lizzies are incredible vehicles to get around in on rough terrain and in snowy conditions. They were great off road vehicles remember they were driven primarily back in the day when there wasn't a lot of road ways. Most of these things were driven on old wagon trails and cow paths and farmers fields until roads were built.
Nice job. My grabfather went to Chicago and worked on the Model T line after WW1. Met Henry Ford. Came back to Australia and ran a garage for 25 years. Always had a Ford.
Thanks! Been wanting to see these video instructions for years. My father owned a T in the 30's and i have always been fascinated by them. He told me how to drive them years ago from memory, but I have never seen all the details.
Someone who drove the Model T would probably feel it was all intuitive and that we’re very skilled to go as fast as we do and work all the controls in our modern cars 😉 the push button start would probably be a pretty big wow factor, along with enclosed, climate controlled cabins.
@@georgemartin5980 I was once waiting next to a Model T and waiting for its start, but was disappointed to discover that it had no crank start. I asked the driver and he told me it was a later Model T, with key-start
This reminds me of some ways of the 1926 Chrysler Imperial that my former boss would allow me to drive. I would have to hand crank it, manually work the choke to keep it running, and there was a manual spark advance on it as well. But it actually had a three speed manual transmission with an extremely stiff cable operated clutch. It actually had an accelerator pedal, but it was in between the clutch and brake pedals. It was really fun but challenging to drive it properly. It cruised at a brisk 37 mph. These antique cars are like driving old tractors. You have to pay a lot of attention!
Very cool video! Accidentally pressing wrong pedal and ending up in a building, I can somehow understand that when driving this car. Why this happens to so many people in a modern car is a complete mystery to me.
Thank you You Tube, I have never seen, been near or ever gotten into a model T, buuutttt if I ever come into contact with a model T, I now possess the knowledge and the wisdom needed to drive it at no more than 20 mph.
I just went to Greenfield Village in Detroit a few days ago. They some truly beautiful Model T’s you can ride in. It was a great experience watching someone else drive. And the sound of a well-tuned Model T was delightful.
One of the vehicles I learned to drive with was a post war Studebaker truck with a 3 speed. I thought the clutch was difficult on that but this is completely different!
This reminds me of the startup of early airplanes. It's so crazy how those two technologies basically used the same engineering when it comes to the motor. Nowadays things are different due to jets and all, but it's still cool to think about.
My uncle has a model t powered boat. In his new house there was a shed with a destroyed model t inside. He took the engine out and used it to power his old motorboat
Thank you for this video. Very interesting to see how the driving experience actually works. I feel like you can hear memories of your Grandpa teaching you how to drive this and then relaying that on to us at various points during this video.
Hi Todd, Thanks for taking the time to make this video! My Father in law has a 1920's chev and is very close in how it operates, dosent have the hand brake function, but still uses the 3 pedals in the same order, my oldest car is a 1966 dodge pick up made in South Australia, i really enjoy the older cars and it is great seeing you show people how things use to be
Chevys did not have the same arrangement. Chevys, and almost all other cars, had the same arrangement as today from the 20s on, in the teens, many cars had the throttle pedal between the clutch and brake pedals.
I found 1 with a metal detector buried 4 ft underground. I dug it up and am currently piecing it together. I did get the engine and trans unstuck. It's close to being able to try starting, last driven in 1930. Thanks for the demo,saves me from ending up in the hospital!
Older folks told of how harrowing a quick stop in a Model T could be. "Flivvers" were equipped with two wheel mechanical brakes. Dodge came out with four wheel hydraulic brakes in 1927. Dodge drivers spent a lot of time extracting their teeth from the dash board because they could figuratively "Stop on a dime." Henry Ford would never admit that someone else designed a car better than he could. Subsequently, Fords weren't equipped with hydraulic brakes until 1939. That was because Edsel Ford, Henry's only son, insisted on the improvement. Ford's advertising "Nothing but steel from pedal to wheel" resulted in a brake system that left more skid marks in the drivers shorts than on the pavement. Loved this demo.😁
Really cool to see it in action! I've read about it but never actually saw it in a video (or in real life) before. I have a model AA which already has a "regular" transmission and clutch system
Because you ain't as smart as your grampaw, that's what you're saying? Yeah I betcha ain't. All you fucking "millennials" are the stupidest generation ever.
DAMN RIGHT. you all think your smart because you understand technology, but most of you are as dumb as dog shit with your hands/practically...GOOGLE it? dumb fucks. I don't know how many times I see examples of this with cars, [TOO MANY] but the current car attracts SO MANY that are too stupid to drive a car from even the 1970's.
Sounds more like unusual and unfamiliar rather than actually difficult to drive, it just needs practice. Being just two gears plus reverse probably makes it less complicated than it could be though.
My grandfather of age 90’ recently passed away and left my step grandmother a 1927 Ford T coupe and she doesn’t know how to drive it and I told her I would look it up and get back with her one day so we can get the ol gal going again
I’ve tried this... My impression was, this will take some practice. Oh, and this is terrifying 😄 But just Imagine how difficult it must have been to transition into a Model A.
Thank you for this. My Father in law has 2 1915, and one 1916, and I have driven the 15. I need to watch these from time to time, as I know sometime soon, I'll need to to drive them for him.
In engineering these controls, Henry was inspired by popular farm tractors of the 1906-07 period. He figured that most sales would be to rural families -- which was sensible, given the demographics of the country; in addition, as salt-of-the-earth types, they were his "favorite people". Characteristically, the simplicity and intuitiveness of the user interface, adherence to any kind of emerging technical standards (here or in Europe), and the relative ability of women to take the wheel never entered his mind. Note the narrow foot/shoe one had to have to use all those pedals adroitly. Adult men were noticeably shorter and more wiry on average back then than we are today, due to a combination of lower nutrition in childhood, lack of hormonal additives in food, the much greater amount of exercise (physical work) they performed, and the then-pervasive habit of tobacco smoking. The "T" put America on wheels, all right, but after WWI it became more and more obsolescent when compared to the competition it had inspired, eventually reaching the point of a "negative status symbol" -- after about 1923, to be seen in a "T" was frequently taken to mean that one was a hayseed, a fuddy-duddy, and/or could not afford anything better. With improvements in technology or styling largely off the table, prices had to be cut to the bone to maintain sales, eventually imperiling the viability of FoMoCo itself, -- which company suffered from almost non-existent financial management, anyway.
I have a Model A here in Australia. Normally our pedal layout is the same a Left Hand Drive, but the Right Hand Drive Model A's have the accelerator and brakes swapped. I thought that was difficult at first but Model T is a whole other level of difficulty.
@@sauter1 The clutch is still left foot so it's not too hard to get the hang of. Reverse being where first gear normally is still catches me out sometimes. Haha!
Thank you very much for this instruction. Well done! I always heard about how the Model T was a different driving experience because it was the transition from horse-drawn buggies to automobiles.
Thank you for the video! My dad's old Volkswagen Jetta Mk1, 1982 model, bought from Brussels, had the same distributor. When i saw i was like this looks familiar. Then you said it haha. Thank you. Amazing to see how these machines worked, great trip to the past.
While it may be complex compared to today's cars, imagine how amazed people were back then. This is raw, mechanical beauty. Being a gearhead I love cars but always was fascinated by the design and function of older cars. This is amazing :)
Youngsters today learn how to drive an automatic, shy away from learning how to drive a stick, too difficult. Driving a T makes ya wonder why we're not still on horses!
Well, it may look like a complicated starting but you don't do this all the time. Most T's had electric starter or have it now, standard buzz coil ignition works extremely fine... And it's not harder than starting a motorbike. One more thing: carbureted cars have much easier start in our frezzin'-cold conditions.
Please don't brake with the reverse and low bands. That's what the brake pedal is for. When you slow the car down with the reverse drum you risk cracking the drum which is already pretty fragile as it is. Low gets enough abuse just driving the car. Every time I take a transmission apart either the low drum, the reverse drum or both are cracked. It looks like you have rocky mountain brakes so there's really no reason to do it anyway.
Good points. I don't think I ever had to use reverse but I remember riding with grandpa once when a semi pulled out in front. He mashed about every pedal down there getting a car full of us stopped. Wouldn't recommend it under any normal circumstances.
I took driving test in a old 1950s right hand drive, sliding door postal Jeep. I loved it. I drove it for two years until I bought my Chevy II. It was a fun car.
It is. Henry wasn't happy about having to move away from the planetary transmission to a dry disc clutch and sliding gear transmission, but the handwriting was on the wall. Strangely, there were a LOT of T owners who wouldn't buy a Model A because they felt Henry betrayed them.. And for what it's worth, the T trans is a lot like an automatic transmission with the driver/operator acting like the valve body... Think about it!
