Diffusing a bomb

Restoring a Model T is not an inherently dangerous activity.  Sure, you should take the usual precautions like wearing safety glasses if grinding, wearing respirator if painting, using jack stands etc.  However, you reallllly need to do be careful when disassembling the leaf springs.  

Modern cars often use a combination of a coil spring and a shock absorber attached to each wheel to soak up the jolt you would otherwise get when driving over a pothole.  The Model T, and other early cars, instead used a "leaf spring" consisting of several steel rectangular pieces stacked together.  Basically it was a carryover from the horse wagons and buggies used before the car was invented.  It is no surprise that the bodies for the early Fords and other auto makers came from buggy manufacturers.  

If you ever had to take a physics class, you probably learned about springs.  How much a spring deflects under a certain amount of load depends on the physical dimensions of the spring, and the spring material's physical characteristics.  Leaf springs are sometimes preloaded and formed into an arch in order to provide the desired characteristics such as how high the car sits off the ground and how it handles while turning a corner.  

The Model T springs uses a lot of preload and curvature; a lot.  Not so much in the front axle spring as the rear.  Restoring the springs requires taking them apart to strip and repaint the individual pieces.  Taking them apart is like diffusing a bomb; something done with great care so that pieces don't go flying everywhere and hitting or hurting whatever is in its way.

This is the second time that I've taken T springs apart, so I was less nervous this time.  I start with the front spring because they have less preload.  The procedure for either spring is the same.  I start by using at least two parallel clamps to hold the spring together.  I then remove the pin holding the U shaped brackets toward each end that help the keep the leaf spring pieces stacked up correctly.  Then I loosen the nut on the bolt at the center of the spring assembly and carefully loosen the parallel clamps until the loosened center bolt is under load again.  I repeat the process until all the preload is removed.  The picture below show the process, including how much preloading the spring was under.  That was a lot of stored energy!

After painting but prior to reassembly, the individual pieces have a coat of "slip paint" applied to improve the sliding characteristics between the individual spring pieces.  The process is reversed for assembling the springs.  Reassembly is also less nerve wracking!

Model T rear leaf spring as removed

Starting to disassemble the rear leaf spring

Rear leaf spring disassembled

Disassembling the rear axle

The engine and rear axle of the Model T are the most mechanically complex assemblies that need to be taken apart for the restoration.  Like removing the engine, it is good to have some help getting the axle removed from the car.  Fortunately helper Alec was once again avialable.

The basic design of an automotive rear drive axle/rear axle engineer brother.  I'll take his word for it.  I kind of fog over when trying to understand how the Model T planetary transmission and differential in the rear axle work.  Anyway, here is a cutaway picture of what the Model T rear axle looks like for those interested.

Model T Rear Axle/Driveshaft assembly

This cutaway does not clearly show the two diagonal radius rods that attach from the front of the driveshaft to each end of the rear axle.  This can be seen in the picture below.  Engineers love triangles because they make a very stable structure.  These radius rods allow the driveshaft to stay properly oriented to the rear axle when the frame of the car is twisting as it goes over rough terrain.  The Model T was really the first successful SUV, because there were very few paved roads when it was introduced.  

Disassembling the rear axle/driveshaft

Following the handy Model T Service Manual made disassembly pretty uneventful.  My only problem was not covered in the manual; which was how to get the stuck driveshaft out of the rear axle "pumpkin".  It was supposed to come right out, but this one would not.  I finally hung it up like a deer hunter would do after a successful day out in the woods, and the driveshaft finally came free.  The problem was caused by a previous mechanic using sealer along the attach flange to keep it from leaking.

The Model T rear axle was pretty reliable, but had one design issue that every T owner should know about.  There are thrust washers installed on each axle shaft near the differential assembly.  These washers were originally made of a babbitt, a soft alloy used as the bearing surface for the engine crankshaft and piston connecting rods.  While it was (and is) a good solution for the engine, it was not a good thrust washer material.  Bad things can happen when a T driver least expects it if the babbitt washers disintegrate while driving.  Unfortunately, the only way to determine if these thrust washers have been replaced with more durable ones made of bronze is by removing and disassembling the rear axle.   Sort of like having to kill your pet to find out if it has rabies... 

I was planning on rebuilding this rear axle no matter what, so the difference would only be if I had to buy bronze thrust washers.  The good news was that the offending babbitt washers had been replaced sometime in its past.  One of the bronze washers can be seen on the axle shaft on the right side of the picture below.  

I should point out that the actual turning portion of the driveshaft and axles are enclosed in  cylindrical housings.  You can see how skinny the axle shafts are in the picture, compared to the robust axle housings.  The driveshaft is similarly skinny.  I went over to one of the local Model T guys to use some specialty tools that he had that make it easier to disassemble the driveshaft.  One of the parts that was supposed to be pressed on the the shaft just fell off.  Well that was not good.  The driveshaft bushing was pressed into the driveshaft housing and his special tool was very helpful in getting that out.  After that, the parts were all cleaned and the housings stripped of there paint.  The axle will be painted and reassembled later.  The only part that needed replacing was the driveshaft due to some cracking around the keyway at where the drive gear attaches.  The original driveshafts were forged(!) and only machined where they needed to by round.  The modern replacements are machined from a round steel rod and result in smoother ride.  If you have ever ridden in a Model T, you know that anything to make is smoother is a good thing.

Rear axle disassembled

Disassembling the engine

Taking apart an old car is like restoring an old house.  You  always are going to find something unexpected.  Rarely is that unexpected item good.  Taking apart a Model T engine is pretty easy if following the Model T Service Manual, but there are three points along the way that can really give a person headaches.  

The first is when you remove the top of the engine.  The early Ford cars had "flathead" engines where the top of the engine is a cast iron piece that is domed for the top of each of the four piston's combustion chambers.  The top has no moving parts; just four threaded spark plug holes and holes for the bolts to hold it to the engine block.  It is also hollow to allow the engine coolant to circulate and cool it.  

It is the long bolts that hold on the head that can cause a headache if they snap off, requiring care to drill out and remove the broken bolt.  I watched a YouTube video of a guy disassembling a T engine and was using a powered wrench to remove the bolts.  No, no, no!  It was not surprising that he snapped one or two of the bolts.  I did what I could to prevent the problem by spraying liquid wrench on the bolt heads weeks before removal, along with carefully tapping on the bolt heads with a peen end of a hammer to break any rust in the threads.  Fortunately all 15 bolts came out without breaking, so I could proceed to the next hurdles.

These hurdles occur when taking apart the transmission, where the mechanic needs to remove parts that have been pressed onto a shaft.  The first is the "clutch drum", which is like a small open cylinder where the clutch plates are located.  A very strong, specialized puller is needed to remove it.  Sometimes they are stuck on so bad that heat, otherwise know as a "fire wrench" is needed.  Ford sold a special puller for removing it, but it is flimsier than an aftermarket puller made back in the day by the Stevens company.  The Stevens pullers are being reproduced today and I used one to successfully pull off the clutch drum.

The last hurdle was removing the transmission drive gear from the transmission shaft.  This time I used an original Ford puller specifically designed for the job.  This 100 year old puller worked flawlessly.  Whew, all hurdles cleared and now I could now finish the job.

The rest of the engine disassembly was uneventful, but it was at this stage that I found the unexpected surprises.  The first was some scoring on a couple of the cylinder walls caused by debris getting caught between the piston rings and cylinder walls.  A Model T does not have an oil filter systems like modern cars, so any contaminants in the oil will happily go where ever the oil is flung and will do what it can to cause damage.  One of must have aftermarket items developed during the T era was a screen trough with a magnet at the bottom that is installed just below the access panel on top of the transmission.  Because the Model T engine and transmission share the same oil, the oil flung by the spinning transmission drums ends up going through the screen trough.  Any metallic debris or other pieces of crud get caught by it.  The magnet attracts any of those iron based particles to prevent them from escaping the trough.  

Every T owner should have one of these low cost transmission screens installed to protect their engines.  For some reason, this engine didn't have one installed.  The scoring looked worse than it the actual depth of the grooves, but it would still need to be removed.  That meant honing or likely boring out for an oversized piston.  Speaking of pistons, the ones in the engine were original style cast iron pistons.  Why aluminum pistons were not installed at the last rebuild in 1971 is unknown.  I planned on replacing them with lighter aluminum pistons, which most people use now when rebuilding a T engine.  Their main benefit is less wear and tear on the engine due to their lower mass.  The best news was that the crankshaft measured out to "standard" dimensions, meaning that it does not need to be ground down to a smaller set diameter, usually .010, 0.020 or more inches below standard diameter.

The scored cylinders and crud on some of the exhaust valve seats explained the very low compression that I measured before removing the engine.  The valves seats will be reworked at the same time that the cylinders are bored out.  No big deal, and I pretty much expected that I would need to do the cylinders and valves anyway.  The real unexpected surprise was found on the engine block.  The engine block has three thick webs that hold the crankshaft while it rotates.  Two of the web flanges had a piece missing that looked like something took a "bite" out of them.  This appeared to have happened long ago, as there was no cast iron debris was found in the oil or oil pan when it was removed.  

I consulted with a couple of expert Model T engine rebuilders to get there thoughts on what to do.  Neither was concerned about the missing flange pieces, as the web on the left next to the engine flywheel and has the highest load.  One of the experts did notice a slight crack in that web when looking at the picture.  He had a good eye, as I did not see the crack until looking at the block more closely.  The crack was different than what occurred in other two flanges, but could have been caused by a change in overall block stiffness due to the missing flange pieces.  It is impossible to know if it was caused by that, but the block needed to be fixed.

After further discussion with them and another shop about possibly mechanically "stitching" the web crack, the best course of action was to have the block brazed by a professional.  This required heating the block in an oven, brazing the repair, and slowly letting the block cool.  Several weeks later I was able to get the block properly repaired.  The brazer was also able to build up the web flanges so that the original stiffness of these webs would be restored. The only drawback was that the oven temperature melted the babbitt material that formed the bearing surface for the crankshaft.  This was known going into the repair, but was necessary in order to properly repair the block.  The plan is to have this babbitt poured and line drilled to the proper diameter for the crankshaft in June.

Model T engine 

Removing the engine

Working on Model T's is not a hobby for those who don't like to get dirty.  Just like emptying the cat litter or cleaning up after a dog, getting dirty often goes along with something that is worth having or doing.  Henry Ford once supposedly said about a Model T's penchant for leaking that "if it is not leaking, then it is out of oil".  I've even seen ancient pictures of Ford Model T dealerships with oil pans located under cars on the showroom floor.  So, a reasonable amount of oil dripping can be expected if you own a Model T.  What is reasonable depends on the condition of the car.  

Therefore, it was no surprise that taking a Model T apart to restore was going to be a messy proposition.  So it was in mid March when I started disassembling the car.  It had not been driven since at least 2003 (the last date on the license plate) and the engine had been rebuilt in 1971, so the engine and chassis were pretty well covered with at least 50 year old oil and dirt. 

Dirt and grime aside, taking apart a Model T is pretty easy.  Ford published a Model T Service Manual in 1925 that every T mechanic uses.  I am not sure what T mechanics used before then, although the "owner's manual" actually has a fair amount of maintenance instructions in it.  Another T owner once referred to it as the "first tool a Model T owner should buy".  Amen to that brother.  These manuals are available as reprints and are also found in pdf format online.  They have good pictures, are simple to follow with step by step instructions.  

The Service Manual even should how to completely disassemble the car (and how to reassemble it in a later chapter).  I recall following it closely when I first disassembled the 1915 runabout that I restored three years ago.  This time I just reviewed the procedure since I had been down this road before.

Removing the engine is one of the first steps in disassembling the car.  For an earlier Model T like this one, it is easier to remove the firewall assembly, which includes the steering column and windshield.  It also a good idea to remove the head and side lamps to keep from damaging them while removing the engine.  After removing those, along with the radiator, it is pretty easy to pull the engine.  It is good to have some help at that stage, which my son Alec did.  He helped do the same on the runabout project, so he was experienced and I could blame him if anything went wrong.  

Back to a Model T leaking oil.  This car leaked more oil than "usual".  Even with the oil drained, oil kept dripping out.  Like the Old Testament story of the widow whose jars kept producing olive oil during a famine, I wondered if this engine would continue to produce oil indefinitely...  Fortunately no, as I discovered when I tore the engine down that there was a crushed gasket and damaged retaining ring for the access panel on the bottom of the engine pan.  I had a new gasket, but what about the damaged retaining ring?  It was shortly after finding the damaged rating ring that I was able to find an undamaged one for this style of oil pan.  Who has a 110 year old Model T oil pan retaining ring??? Kim Dobbins.  Thank you Kim!

Removing the windshield, headlights and other parts in preparation for removing the engine.  Note how much oil is still dripping from the engine AFTER the oil had been drained.

Alec helping to pull the engine from the car.

Engine ready for teardown.

So long my little friend

 I am a cat person.  I admit it.  For many years we have had three indoor cats that have entertained and sometimes annoyed us.  Unofficially, we also had a fourth cat.  She supposedly belonged to a neighbor girl and was supposedly named "Biscuit", but we knew better.  My wife called her an "interloper" when she first started hanging around six years ago.  English was never my strong suit, so I did not know what that word meant, but I figured that it was not complimentary.  

She eventually won my wife over and one of my son's started calling her Graybles, and the name stuck.  Twice a day she would come over for a "snack" and for some attention.  Some times she came just for attention and to see what we were up to.  She was a smart cat; she knew my car and would start heading towards our house if she saw me coming down the street when I got home from work.

She regularly came over to watch me work while restoring the 1915 runabout three years ago, and I was looking forward to her "help" when I started restoring the 1911 T this past March.  However, that was not to be.  Right before I started the restoration, she was killed by the only natural predator that a cat has in this country, an automobile.  So long my little friend, I will miss you!

Dinner time yet?

Graybles checking out my paint booth tent

Graybles checking over the 1911 Model T before the restoration started

It was not uncommon to find her sleeping on our front porch chairs

Every T has a story

 The Ford Motor Company produced over 15 million Model T cars between October 1908 and May 1927.  Many of those cars were the first car that a person or family ever owned.  Often their previous vehicle was a horse.  There are many pictures taken during that era showing the happy new owner posing with the car; often with the whole family.  So every Model T has a story.  Unfortunately the vast majority of those stories have been lost to time.  Families may have some old photos showing their grandparents or great grandparents with their first Model T, but almost always that car no longer exists.  If it does exist, it has been sold many times over the years and the history has been lost.  

That is the case with our 1915 Model T runabout that I previously restored.  It was built, or more correctly the engine was assembled, on September 30th 1914.  The engine serial number can be used to determine its assembly date from the largely intact Ford records.  However, almost all the car's history has been lost.  The 89 year old gentleman that I bought it from bought it from an ailing cousin who was in a nursing home, but had no knowledge of its history.  

It was while I was looking for my next restoration project when this rare Model T came up for sale.  Rare because it was made in November 1911.  Unfortunately, the exact production date is unknown due to a 1970 Henry Ford Museum fire that resulted in the loss of records for that period.  It is even more rare because its complete ownership history was known.  History, especially paper documentation or physical photos, can be easily lost.  This was one of the reasons that I wanted to create this blog; to digitally preserve some of its known history.   

There have only been three prior owners of this car in the last 110 years, so here is some of the information known about them and the car through the years.

"Captain" William F. Markham

Our story begins with William F. Markham.  Born in 1851 in Plymouth, MI, in his early days he worked in some capacity on a Great Lakes shipping boat and that was when he started referring to himself as a "Captain" and wore a captain style hat for the rest of his life.  He started a manufacturing company that made wooden tanks and cisterns in the 1880s, but his fame and fortune came when he picked up the rights to a wooden air rifle design and created the Markham Air Rifle Company.  He improved the design and got a Patent for spring powered air rifle (like used on the Daisy Red Ryder BB gun).  His company was quite successful and it is not surprising that he became friends with another successful businessman in the area, Henry Ford.  Markham's company and Daisy were competitors during this era, with Daisy eventually purchasing Markham's controlling interest in his company.  So in the fall of 1911, Markham and his new wife decided that it was a good time to move to sunny California.  

It was shortly after they moved to California that Henry Ford gave Markham this Model T.  Henry was known for giving a Model T to his friends.  Some of his close friends like Thomas Edison would receive a new Model T every year.  Two of those are on display at different Edison museums; one in New Jersey and the other at his Florida winter residence.

Markham became very wealthy from his real estate dealings around Hollywood after moving to California.  When he died in 1930, his estate was valued at around 2 million at the height of the depression, which would be over $30 million in 2022.  California DMV records from the early 20s show that he owned numerous cars at the time, including this Model T.  The story of the car being a gift from Henry Ford came from Markham's gardener Ed Jenkins and from his long time employee Ben Sprague, whose duties varied from being a chauffer to caretaker of his mansion.  Both meant a lot to Markham, as they were named in his will to receive a monthly stipend after his death.  In Sprague's case, it was for the rest of his life. 

It was from the widow of Ed Jenkins that several pictures of Markham and the 1911 Model T were preserved.  She also recalled that Ben Sprague drove the T from Michigan to California when he came out to join Markham there.  Ben continued to drive the T after Markham's death until it was sold in 1934.

Ed Jenkins, Ben Sprague and William Markham with the 1911 T on a coyote hunting trip in Mojave, CA

Basil Daniels

Markham's widow continued to live in their Glendale, CA mansion until her death in 1937.  Before her death, the Model T was sold in 1934 to Beverly Hills resident Basil Daniels.  He found the car in the show room of a used car dealer and bought it for $100.  Shortly after he bought it he got the history of the car from Ben Sprague who was still living at and taking care of the Markham mansion.  

Basil seemed to be very proud of the car and liked to show it off.  The documentation that came with the car includes a few newspaper articles from the mid 1930's about the car, which was very old even then.  He made at least one fairly long trip in it from Los Angeles to San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico in 1935.  As a couple of the pictures below show, guys have been trying to use cars to try to pick up girls for a long time.  Finding several pictures of girls sitting on the fenders solved the mystery of the denting around the attach brackets for the front fenders...

Living near Hollywood, Basil would rent the car to the movie studios when they needed an "old car".  The last movie that it was used for was a Red Skelton 1951 movie "Eat my Dust", where he got paid $50/day for the use of the car.

Basil worked for a Ford dealership in Hollywood during the late 40s and early 50s.  It was in 1949 was repainted the unauthentic green color that the car still had when I bought it.  After that it was displayed in the dealer's showroom for several years.  There are too many other pictures to include of Basil and others posing or traveling with the Model T.  They are fun to look at though, as he often dressed up as various characters when showing off the car.  Watching him age while going through his pictures is just another reminder that we really don't own anything, but are just caretakers of things for period of time.

Basil Daniels and friend driving the T in San Diego in 1935

Basil using the T to pick up some Tijuana girls in 1935

Some Beverly Hills girls taking their turn to sit on the car

Basil using the T to chauffer movie stars

Basil and other Ford mechanics after the T was repainted in 1949

The 1911 Model T on display at Coberly Ford in Hollywood

On the movie set of "Excuse my Dust"

"Excuse My Dust" scene with car.

Giving a tour around Hollywood.  I guess they were too old to sit on the fenders

Basil looking the T over during a 1975 visit

Chad Champlin

Chad Champlin was a 23 year old Cal Poly student when spotted the ad for a 1910 Model T for sale.  Basil Daniels referred to the car as a 1910 Model T for the 30 years that he owned it, even though the 1921 California DMV correctly had it labeled as a 1911 car.  Chad bought the car, and became its longest caretaker until he passed away in 2017. 

Chad spent a lot of time early on researching, and keeping notes, of what he could learn about the history of the car.  Basil Daniels gave him his numerous photos, newspaper clippings and letters to and from the Edison Institute (now the Henry Ford Museum) in 1938 relating the history of the car and seeing whether they wanted it for the museum.  It was in the correspondence with the Edison Institute that the earliest written history of the car as received from the then living Ben Sprague was captured.  Chad built on that history by tracking down the widow of Markham's gardener, who gave him the previously mentioned pictures of her husband with the car and the original owner.  

Chad also tracked down Markham's son and wrote to him asking if he knew any more about the car.  He had no knowledge of the car's origins, as he did not move out to California until some years later.  He did recall riding in the car and that as the car got older, his dad carried an axe under the rear seat and threatened to smash it to pieces if it broke down again!  

It was during that time that Chad also documented what was missing or not correct on the car when he bought it, and then replaced those with correct year items.  For example, the side and rear kerosene lamps were missing when Basil bought the car and he put ones on from another car.  Chad found correct lamps to replace them.  The only other major items that needed replacing with correct parts was the brass horn, acetylene generator tank, coil box and transmission cover.  

The car was now an authentic enough to be used as an example of a correct 1911 Model T in one of the first Model T reference books, "From Here to Obscurity" published in 1971 by Bruce McCalley.  Chad did not restore the car, which still had the original leather interior and convertible top that had been replaced when Markham owned it.  The only major work that he appeared to do to it was rebuild the engine in 1971.  Unfortunately I do not know much else about the car's history during this time other than he drove it on his honeymoon in 1974 when he married Janice.  It was from Janice that I bought the car last fall.

Chad giving some friends a ride in 1964

Introduction

How did I end up with two Ford Model T's, and why did I start this blog?  Well, it started in June of 2018, when my wife and I went to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village with my brother and sister-in-law.  Growing up in northwest Ohio, it seemed like every year we were drug there as kids, either with the family a or on a field trip with school.  It had been many years since I had been there, so I was glad to have the chance to go again.  For those who have never been there, the Henry Ford Museum was started by... Henry Ford.  It is a great but rather eclectic collection of all things Americana.  It is a great museum though, and well worth your time if you are ever in the Detroit area.  

Henry also created Greenfield Village, which is a collection of interesting historical buildings that Henry bought and moved from all over the country to this manufactured village.  Do you want to see the Wright brother's home and bicycle shop?  Don't go to Dayton.  Henry bought them and moved them to his village.  Thomas Edison's lab is there, and many other historical buildings from around the country.  Today, many would throw a fit if someone took a historical building and moved it away, but quite likely Henry saved many of these buildings from destruction.  

Greenfield Village Model T giving rides in front of the Wright brothers home & shop

Before that day, owning a Model T had never crossed my mind.  I was a life-long airplane guy who had built a two place airplane that I still enjoy flying today.  However, going through the museum and seeing people getting rides in their fleet of Model T cars gave me the bug to get my own T.  

About a month later, a 1921 Model T touring car ended up in our garage in Andover, Kansas.  It was a nice, older restoration built in late July, 1921.  By 1921 the Model T was the undisputed king of the road; about half of all the cars on the road at that time were Model T's.  This particular car had a classic Model T look that most people would recognize: all black, convertible top, and 5 seats.  1921 was the first year that Ford built over a million Ts, and over 15 million would be produced before production ended in 1927.

When my car was restored is unknown.  My guess is the 1970s or 80s based on paint, upholstery and a few other details.  Unfortunately, nothing is known about its history, other than that the previous owner bought it for decoration in his restaurant in California.  However, it just ended up in storage for several years before he sold it.

Our First Model T.  Yes, legroom is an issue

The car was a good "first T".  It needed some minor mechanical work, but otherwise ran pretty well.  It was after several months of owning and messing with it that I realized what I really wanted to do was restore a T.  Catching my wife in a good mood in October of 2018, I brought up the subject and threw in a trip to Europe the following summer to sweeten the pot.  I was interested in finding a "brass era" T to restore, one made between 1909 and 1916, the most prominent brass item being the brass radiator.  Ford was all about reducing the cost of the Model T.  Brass was expensive, which is why it was reduced and eventually eliminated after the 1916 model year.

My search for a project car resulted in the purchase of a 1915 Runabout, which was the two seat version of the Model T.  The car made its way from Oregon to Kansas in November of 2018, where it hibernated for the winter before the frame up restoration started the following March.  I had decided that rebuilding the engine and rear axle was something that I did not want to tackle, so those were taken to expert rebuilder, Mike Bender, in Tulsa.  So began a 13 month restoration project that was completed during the beginning of the Covid pandemic.  

Our 1915 Runabout on the first anniversary of the completed restoration

I really enjoyed restoring the runabout, and  continue to enjoy driving it.  In time I got the itch to restore another T, this time an even older brass era T, but this time a touring car that ideally was old enough that it did not have front doors.  Besides, I got this message in a fortune cookie in late 2020, so how could I not look for another T project??

I blame this fortune cookie's prediction for getting the our 1911 restoration project

Model Ts are pretty awkward to enter or exit because the driver side "door" on most of the the car's production were only cosmetic, requiring the driver to get in first from the passenger side.  Model Ts from 1909 to the end of 1911 did not have front doors, making it much easier for the driver to get in.  So once again I was in the market for another T.  It was in May of 2021 that just such a project came up for sale.  After several months of negotiation, a deal was struck and the car made its way from California to Kansas.  It has a very unique history that I will cover in a future post.  Our 1921 T now had a new owner who picked it up the day before the 1911 T arrived in mid October.  The timing could not have been better!

Our 1911 Model T "before"

So you now know the answer to my first question.  The answer to the second question is that I want to provide some of the history of this unique Model T and to document my experiences restoring this car in a format that my family and friends can follow.  I hope that it will be part history, part educational, and hopefully a bit entertaining along the way!