Model T crash in Utah

Great Lakes Greg

Great Lakes Greg

Well-known member
There is a news story of a '15 T overturning in Zion National Park. It pulled off the road for traffic to pass, and the wood wheel apparently came apart. The crash claimed the life of a Minnesota woman. Sad news for sure. Sorry, I don't know how to attach links.
 
Is there any way to reinforce the wooden wheels? Or use new wood that will stand up to the use? There has to be a solution.
 
I suppose that hickory could be rotten under the paint, and nobody would be the wiser.
Looked like a show car with those white tires and shined up brass.
 
Tony, spokes can loosen up with time and dry conditions. If not tightened up, the ends of the spokes will damage themself as they were not made to move around. If not tightened, the ends will wear down to nothing and than break.
I have been to tours and heard cars go by with the spokes creaking.
I shim the spokes in the tapered part at the center of the wheel. This procedure works good, but new spokes is also a solution.
You should be able to grab the top of the tire and pull as hard as you can in and out pull. If you hear any creaks, the spokes are loose. Also look for cracks on the spokes.
 
My dad said he used to set the sprinkler next to his wooden wheel spokes to swell them up into place....
 
My dad told me about people driving their wood spoke T's into a shallow gravel bottom creek and let the car sit for a while and move it a little until all spokes got soaked in the creek.
I am sure this worked for a short peroid of time, but when the spokes dried up, Here we go again to the creek.
 
Do not fear wood wheels as they are strong, i get my car on 2 wheels, handbrake slides, as long as the wood is not rotten or shrunk it makes an excellent wheel. Avoid hitting curbs sideways while sliding, that will bend steel wheels and fracture wooden ones.
 
Wood wheels in good condition are not a safety problem. The tragic accident in Utah was not caused by a failed wheel. The wheel was destroyed as a result of the rollover, not the cause of it.
All of us in the T world are so sad about this awful event. It is not the first, others have been lost in T accidents, even recently. Please keep your T in good condition for safety. If you have questions, find help here or with a local T club chapter. Remember, these cars drive on technology a hundred years old. When you get out of your Toyota with eight air bags, antilock brakes, traction control, and seat belts and then get into your T, drive with the utmost caution. The future of our hobby is in your hands at that time.
Fordially, Erik
 
WELL PUT ERIC!! In a lot of my posts, I am gonna start refering to the parts' "SHELF LIFE". Im a 3rd generation T guy, 58 Y.O. now and been doing this stuff starting as a kid. Just last winter I changed out rear thrust washers for the first time ever. They were good, BUT, very brittle as I dropped one flat on the floor and it shattered. Much the same as flywheel magnet screws become brittle, and wood wheels wallow out the tenon in the felloe which takes ULTRA CLOSE scrutiny.
Ts are almost indestructible and were built to last, literally forever, but ya gotta do your Due Diligence. Even a lousy cotter pin failure can have disastrous effects! ws
 
Erik, Some friends of mine from the Dallas area were the first T to arrive at the accident scene. They talked to the driver of the vehicle that passed the T when it pulled onto the shoulder of the road. The passing vehicle driver said the T stayed on the narrow shoulder of the road and the wheel broke first causing the roll over.
My friend also assisted with the CPR, but he said she never had a pulse after the accident. Her 19 year old son was the driver of the T.
 
Wood wheels are very strong. I will give everyone advise from what I have been doing for years. Soak the wheels even after they are painted in antifreeze. The antifreeze will swell the spokes and will last that way for several years and it can be redone. Antifreeze does not evaporate hardly at all I get it from my local garage used and made a pan for soaking the wheels. I got this from a model T race car driver many years ago. (55 to be exact). Has always worked for me. Caution this will not help much if the wood is rotten , in that case get a new wheel made. Whitmer coach shop makes my wheels , they are very good and reasonable. 717 656-3411 they can be sent UPS have never had any problems with their wheels. You can paint first the antifreeze will seep between the joints and swell I do new wheels after their second year on the car. JMHO
 
What a sad tragedy indeed. My thoughts and prayers
go out to the family for their loss.















.
 
I read about this accident in the news. Apparently it was not a violent rollover but more like the T slowly tumbled and the lady got pinched in the wrong place. It was a sad day indeed.
 
Willie,
Thanks for the additional info. It's always ill advised to comment on events that you do not personally witness. Our sources have different takes on what they saw. I should have left it at that and not made conclusions. Let's let the investigators with all the evidence and witness accounts do that.
No matter what happened, it's tragic. We lost one of our own in the T community and many lives will be changed. Please keep your T in safe condition and drive carefully.
Fordially, Erik
 
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