T time - 23 coupe

[vern hodgson]

So, my curiosity won out and I bought a t. It took two days to figure out how to back out of my sloped driveway. Then I made the mistake of backing in. After three days of head scratching I finally realized gas would not flow into the carb. My question is, is it customary for the t to rattle and vibrate when the engine is revved? How dependable are t's on the road, so far I am afraid to venture more than two blocks away. Also in order to get on the main road I need to climb a steep, narrow one lane road, question is how do I go back down, I cannot imagine the brakes are sufficient to bring the car to a stop, would you just keep your foot on the low gear and engine at idle??? Vern

 

[J Sims]

First I would recommend finding some one in your area that knows Model T's to guide you. Model T's do vibrate and rattle to some extent but you should have it checked. In hilly areas you must keep the gas tank full. You may use low gear to help stopping but good adjusted brakes do a decent job of slowing and stopping. Good luck and have fun.

 

[CharlieB]

JS is right. Especially if you're starting from scratch. In fact I don't think a first time T driver back in the day had as much trouble learning a T. We have to kind of un-learn our modern car driving habits. I went cold turkey on my first T and made plenty of mistakes. In fact my lack of knowledge about the carb adjustment caused me to carbon up the plugs so bad the car wouldn't start! On a modern this wouldn't be something you'd check on and it took a while to realise what the problem was because I had fuel and spark. Until I finally pulled a plug. Get help. Don't experiment on a hill either.

 

[Steve Jelf]

A well-maintained Model T is very reliable. Some noise and vibration are normal, but they can be greatly reduced with care. I agree on getting some guidance/instruction from an experienced T person.
1 He may keep you from doing something harmful (expensive);
2 He may ease your mind about something that seems worrisome but isn't a problem.
Something I always tell people worried about learning to drive a T: Fifteen million were made. A lot more people than that learned to drive them. You're probably smarter than at least a couple of those folks.