Old Historie about Model T Barn

plind

plind

Senior Member
Hi Fordbarn,

I have been told a good story here in Denmark, it should have happened in the U.S., and is about an old man who bought 3 brand new Fort T, because he could still get them from the factory .. And he bought 3 because he was happy for Model T, and would only run in the Model T. And it was his plan to have extra Model T in the garage when the first Car was worn out .. And for sure to run model T rest of his life, he bought the third .. 2 came together, and the last in a large transport wooden box. So it was easy to complete assembly .. He never got to use the 3 Model T, and therefore there was a person who was very happy about late sixties early seventies, when he found a brand new Model T in a large wood box in a old garage.... Know some on this site to anyone who has heard about the story?? Is that a correct historical, or is it a lie.??

Best Regards

Per Jensen
Denmark
 
plind .......................
With as many as they made, there could still be a "new" one out there somewhere.
But, it sounds like one of those "urband legends" to me. It's not really a lie, but a story that just got enhanced, every time that it was told.
MIKE :)
 
I have heard this tale and believe it is true. Many drivers thought the T was easy to operate and maintain and feared having to learn to shift and use a clutch.
 
Hi,
I do not know about the truth , in this histories.. But did any in this forum, ever hear this before.???
If yes, there must be an old Model T, in the states with low miles on the colck. And maybe the owner is on this site. And could tell the reel histories...

Best Regards
Per
 
Pretty unlikely. As cheap as we think Model Ts were they were not that cheap. The average guy making them on the assembly line could not afford one.
 
Perhaps the story of the "Old Timer" buying 3 T's could be a stretch but I went to an auction with my Dad in Seattle (in the mid 60's) on the waterfront at a warf warehouse that had a brand new mid 20's Touring in the shipping crate. I don't recall what my Dad bid up to but unfortunately, we didn't get to bring it home !
 
Around here the urban legend was about Army Harleys still in the crates for $100. Many fellows spent a lot of time trying to track them down. I am afraid the same guys previously got to hold the bag on a snipe hunt.

I do though have a real 1960 Jeep in my barn with 41 original miles on it - only it has no body. It was a display. Anybody have a spare CJ5 body???
 
Back in the fifties and sixties my dad always had what we thought were really dirty books that he use to bring home from the mines under the seat of his car. They had names like Stag and For Men Only and would show pictures of women in their bras and granny panties. And there were a million stories of how soldiers got left somewhere in bunkers, basements and hidden caves and all other kinds of places with innocent virgins that weren't so innocent when they came out of the bunkers, basements and hidden caves. In the back of the magazines there were ads where you could buy army surplus Harleys and jeeps still in their crates. I never knew if it was true or not because most of the vets that lived in Northern Minnesota could barely afford "work" cars much less harleys and jeeps. I do remember going into the Army Navy Surplus Store in my home town and buying army rifles and carbines for $50.00 and $100.00. The majority of them were made in Russia or Finland or somewhere obscure and were 7.62 bolt action rifles but I also remember guys deer hunting with "sporterized" Garands. So Jeeps, Harleys? I don't know. There's no way I'd say no.
 
Ok, the story I love and think “well it could be true” goes like this:
There was a railroad freight yard (pick a location, Detroit works best) and sometime in the late 1960’s or early 70’s they had to move all the rolling stock off this section of yard. Sitting there was this ancient rusted locked freight car. How long had it been there??? No one knew. What was in it??? No one knew. Where was any documentation on the car and it’s status… you guessed it. NO ONE KNEW.
So the bolt cutters come out and cut the rusted ancient padlock on the car and what to their wondering eyes to they find but 6 brand new Model T Fords that had been misplaced, overlooked and never delivered to the dealer to which they were bound.
Don’t know what happened to them after that……
If it wasn’t true we all kinda wish it was.
I heard this story at Hershey in 1979.
Larry
 
Well I have a story and I know this one is true. Unfortunately not Model T's though. Back around 1970 a guy whose mother lived down the street was in England and they were cleaning out a bunch of old military crap from a hangar on an airbase they were abandoning. He went to the auction and bought over 2 dozen BSA 650 single thumper military bikes left over from the war. Some were used, some were brand new, some had some stuff missing.He also bought a huge stock of parts including engines in cosmoline right down to bare wheels and odd pistons. These things were all in one colossal heap in the back of the hanger. He filled a couple shipping containers and sent them all back to VT. I heard about them because my older brother was in the market for a new bike and I went with him to look at these. He didn't buy one but my shop teacher in high school bought a pile and chopped most of them. My 5th grade teacher and his best friend each bought one. Another friend of mine bought a couple (which he still has) and God knows what happened to the rest of them. There is still probably lots of stuff out there tucked away.
 
In 1960 a neighbor came rolling up our driveway on a '30 or '40 something Indian. I believe it was a Chief. As he came in it was running a little rough because he hadn't done anything since he got it from another neighbor a couple years earlier. He'd traded his Henry J for it and wasn't sure it was such a good deal but he'd always wanted a motorcycle and this one seemed to fit the bill. When he got to the top of the driveway he stopped an was sitting revving the engine and somehow he let the clutch go and the bike jumped ahead and went down and stuck the carburetor of the bike right into the sand. The bike died rather quickly and he never got it started again. So he pushed it down into the shed that we used for storing hay for our horses. So the bike sat there for a few years until I got to be around 14 years old and finally got up enough nerve to ask the guy if I could have the old bike. By this time my Old man had taken the engine off the frame tore it apart and junked it. I guess in those days an old indian engine wasn't worth much. After I played around with the old frame for a while and completely took it apart I rolled it up against the outside of the shed until it got picked up by a junk dealer that stopped by the house and hauled it in for scrap iron. Now when I think about that old Indian motorcycle and what happened to it I get a little tear in my eye. I sure wish I had it now.
 
Nice histories, there is stil some good barnfind outthere... But is there anybody, there may have heart about this storie i wrothe in the first post.?? If not..., i think it not true.!!!
 
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