Tips For Driving Your Model T Ford

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Driving Back In Time

Going through some boxes of old family photos and papers, I discovered an email written by my step-dad about his memories of the Model T Ford. He described what it was like to drive it and recalled how it was put together.

For any gear-heads out there, and for those who enjoy a jaunt back in time, I offer his own words. And here, a photo of a 1927 Model T Ford Roadster with a Pickup Body.

Hit The Road In Your Model T Ford

 

His words: The Model T Ford had three pedals that connected to bands in the transmission. One pedal was for the brake band within the transmission. There were no brakes at any of the wheels.

The emergency brake was hand operated and on the earlier models it was on the left side of the driver. When you pulled on it, it provided braking and the drive band was put in neutral, which put the drive pedal in the middle of its range.

The drive pedal was depressed down for low gear and let all the way up for drive. This caused a problem for some people that were learning to drive or were inebriated from drink – for example, when they pulled into the garage they could push the pedal down half-way and it would be in neutral, but if they happened to push it too far, it was in low gear, and could push out the back wall of their garage.

The third pedal was for the reverse band and could also be used for a brake if the brake band was worn thin and didn't function well.

 
 

His words continued: The throttle and spark advance levers were both hand-operated and located just up under the steering wheel. To start it, you first retarded the spark and advanced the throttle lever slightly, then hand cranked the engine to start. 

As soon as it started, the spark was advanced to the running position. If it were left retarded, the engine would get extremely hot. If you happened to forget to retard it to start, the crank would kick back from the pre-ignition and could even break your arm.

Once you were on the road, it was only a steering job. The hand throttle stayed where you set it and the drive pedal was up. That's about all you need to know to drive a Model T Ford. 

 

Photo courtesy of The Murphy Auto Museum.

Ford Trucks And Their History

Segment One: the Model T Years 1925-1927:

 
“When ordered from the Ford factories the Model T Runabouts with Pickup Body were usually painted black or green.

For 1927, the last year Ford would produce the Model T, additional colors were made available for the Runabouts. Blue and Brown were the colors added and, if you wanted one of these colors, your Model T Runabout with Pickup Body came with black painted fenders, running board and a radiator shell.

Some owners dressed up their pickups with the Model T Ford’s nickel plated radiator shell and wire type wheels to give their trucks a more modern look.

At the end of the model year, Ford had produced some 18,142 Model T Runabouts with Pickup Body trucks which was a pretty good number of units for those times.”
— Ford Trucks, Paul McLaughlin
 

The cost of a 1927 Model T Ford Runabout with Pickup Body was $366.

We Drive Computers Today, Not Cars

I remember my dad lamenting the changes to cars even by the 1980s, how they were becoming so computerized, that he couldn't work on them anymore. Instead of car parts, there were computers and you needed specialized computer equipment to make repairs.

The Details Of History

It was a treat to "hear" my dad's voice describing his memories of the Model T Ford. I'm grateful to have found his email printed out.

Perhaps the next time you hop in your car you'll think back to the Model T Ford.

Our cars are still only four wheels running down the road, and yet, how different they are today.

 

Easter Comes On Sunday

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If you're looking for Easter, you will always find it on Sunday.

The trick is figuring which Sunday. That's when the hunt begins.

 

Easter Is A Wandering Celebration

You undoubtedly noticed that Easter wanders around the calendar. You have to check each year as to when you'll need to have your Easter bonnet purchased.

Easter can be celebrated as early as the end of March or in the last half of April. The Easter holiday schedule from now until 2050 shows Easter as early as March 25 and as late as April 25. That's a lot of wandering.

Easter is a moveable feast. It evokes something magical even though it has a scientific basis in the timing of lunar cycles.

 
“The date of Easter is determined according to the lunar calendar (the date of Christmas is fixed on the solar calendar on 25 December).
Before 325 AD, there was no official celebration of the birth of Christ, and Easter was celebrated by some Christians on Passover (a lunar holiday) and by others the following Sunday.

The First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD established that Easter would fall on the Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal (spring) equinox.
The church’s methods are a bit imprecise, in part because the vernal equinox doesn’t always fall on March 21 and in part because the church uses traditional tables (rather than modern astronomy) to determine the dates of full moons.”
 
 

Combine The Old And New

We expand our knowledge of the moon and Easter as well as spring and its new beginnings. The connections extend deep within our history and link back to festivals that existed long before the religion of Christianity.

Bunnies are a leftover from the pagan festival of Eostre, a Germanic goddess whose symbol was a rabbit or hare.

The exchange of eggs is an ancient custom representing rebirth and one can easily see the new beginning that spring represents. In Persia, eggs have been painted for thousands of years as part of the spring celebration of No Ruz, which is the Zoroastrian new year.

Hot Cross Buns

Easter has an ancient lineage and hot cross buns harken back to that history. Their delightful story reminds us of the adage: "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." 

In the Old Testament, the Israelites baked sweet buns for an idol, and religious leaders tried to put a stop to it. The early church clergy also tried to stop sacred cakes being baked at Easter. Ultimately, in the face of defiant cake-baking pagan women, they gave up and blessed the cake instead. Hence, we benefit today from tasty hot cross buns.

 

A Moveable Feast

I have always loved the notion of a moveable feast. Partly because it's intriguing to be kept guessing each year, and partly because of the book by that name, written by Ernest Hemingway.

Hemingway recounts his life in Paris as a young man during the 1920s and describes it in this well-known quote: 

 
“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”
— Hemingway
 

I passed though my Hemingway phase during my first years in college. Our youth whispered that we were immortal. There were times when reading his books, I would almost feel tipsy, caused by living vicariously as he quaffed vast amounts of clear, crisp white wine or imbibed in bar-drinks that had to be clean.

We dreamed everything was still possible: 

 
“...we would be together and have our books and at night be warm in bed together with the windows open and the stars bright.”
— Hemingway
 

And while we are a bit older and wiser now – spring equinox, Easter, rebirth and moveable feasts are still a part of our celebrations.

 

Daylight Saving Time

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Here It Comes Again

That persnickety daylight saving time (DST). It’s here. Already. We barely got a break from it before it's right on top of us again.

Of course, you know the correct term is daylight SAVING (no s) time. But over time, it has been easy for people to add an "s" in their conversations.

I have a theory that we're subconsciously thinking of our monetary "savings" which, heaven knows, is usually too small. Just like the amount of sleep we get in the first days after the time change. That's not very scientific, it’s just a fun idea. 

Benjamin Franklin Invented It

It's likely that Franklin was more joking than serious, when he thought up the idea of daylight saving time many years ago. Unfortunately, that didn't stop the rest of us from enacting it. 

The Verge gave us an article entitled Daylight Saving Time is Hot Garbage from which I quote below :

“Daylight Saving Time wasn’t introduced in America until 1918, when it was meant to conserve energy for World War I.
The thought was, essentially, Franklin’s: that people tend be more active in the evenings, so the extra daylight there would mean fewer hours where people lit their houses at night.
After the war, farmers lobbied to get the law repealed; turns out, it’s easier to do farm work when the rest of the world is also on the sun’s schedule.
In 1942, during World War II, DST was enacted again, but year-round.”

Daylight saving time didn't end after the war. Congress kept enacting and repealing DST until they finally made it law.

“DST was reintroduced by the federal government in 1966, though whether or not it was observed was up to states (Arizona and Hawaii don’t observe DST, for example).
And in 2007, a law passed by President George W. Bush expanded DST by more than a month — it now runs from March to November.”
 

Daylight Saving Time purportedly would save us energy consumption and costs. Studies, in fact, prove just the opposite. We consume more energy with our use of electronics and running our air conditions.

With this evidence in place, you'd think we'd remove DST just as easily as we added it, but somehow, it doesn't work that way.

Daylight Saving Time Studies

Not only does daylight saving time do little to save energy, we now have evidence that it has negative effects on our health and safety.

In the two days after the change to daylight saving time, there is a 24% increase in the number of heart attacks and for people over the age of 65, the risk of stroke increases by 23%. The time change is actually a "shock" to our systems. Blood pressure can also increase, putting people at risk for blood clots. These events are usually found in those who already have pre-existing conditions that increase their risk.

To help you with the time change, experts recommend exercise, cutting back on alcohol and caffeine and sticking to a schedule. Most notably, they advise us to de-stress.

Yay Or Nay For Daylight Saving Time?

Obviously, you can tell I favor elimination of daylight saving time. I trudge through it, like everyone else, but the further we get into fall, the more I long for the return of standard time. 

I'm ready to never have to change my clock again except for those wonderful times when I'm afforded the opportunity to travel to other time zones. 

And you? Where do you stand on the DST debate? Strong feelings on either side? Or maybe just a meh?

Whatever our feelings, we’ll be back to natural time in November when we change our clocks back.

Will It Ever End?

Addendum 2022: In March 2019, the European Parliament voted to eliminate the biannual clock changes and remain on Daylight Standard Time. No more springing forward or falling backward of the clocks.

Naturally, we rejoiced. But, did it actually happen? Sadly, no. Here’s a great article explaining Why Europe Couldn’t Stop Daylight Saving Time.

I suppose if we really want to avoid Daylight Saving Time in the U.S., we could move to Arizona or Hawaii – two states that refuse to change their clocks. Or, worldwide, we could move to Turkey, Russia or Belarus who have already eliminated daylight saving time.

In the meantime, the rest of us slog our way into the time change… yet again. What a wonderful day it will be when I write another addendum that daylight saving time has finally been eliminated in the United States, Europe and worldwide. But, given the glacial speed with which we move, I’m not holding my breath!

 

Casanova And The Lottery

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A Record Powerball

In January 2016 we had the biggest jackpot in U.S. history with the Powerball – $1.5 billion. The games are hard to miss. Everyone talks about it and it’s well covered in the news.

Even if you never play the lottery, your imagination couldn't help but be tickled by the idea of winning millions of dollars. Just what would you do with all that money?

How Will You Spend Your Winnings?

Are you day-dreaming how you'd spend those winning dollars? Who doesn't enjoy a little financial fantasy now and then?

Articles popped up offering advice as to whether you should take the lump sum or the annuity. The annuity pays out your winnings annually over 30 years. Tax consequences were discussed.

Everyone wholeheartedly debated their spending options, never mind that they would likely never face this choice in real life. Forget that depressing detail. It's still fun to contemplate such a weighty decision.

The $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot in January 2016 was won by three separate ticket holders, all in different states. The jackpot was split equally between them.

Even after paying significant taxes, they each had a sizable amount to spend. Divided among the three tickets, the cash lump sum was $310 million for each.

The First Lottery in France

As you chew on your pencil, bent over your Powerball ticket, deep in thought as to which numbers are going to let you sail away, you may not have considered where this whole idea of choosing six numbers started.

The first lottery in France was created in 1757. We have Casanova to thank for it.

Casanova – Professional Adventurer

Giovanni Giacomo Casanova.

Born in Venice, Italy: 02 April 1725; died in Dux, Bohemia: 04 June 1798.

Casanova is remembered today, thanks to his autobiography. Without it, his life stories would have slipped away with the ebb and flow of history. 

 
“Worthy or not, my life is my subject, and my subject is my life.”
— Giacomo Casanova
 

Casanova traveled and lived throughout Europe. He was well-educated and fluent in several languages. Although he was Italian, he wrote his autobiography entirely in eloquent French.

Most of us know the name Casanova as being associated with his reputation of being the world's greatest lover. Naturally, that is always a matter of opinion.

If his name is evoked in conversation: "He thinks he's a regular Casanova..." it tells us a man is wooing a maid, or many maids, in an overt manner. The definition of a casanova is a man who is passionate about women and has many lovers.

However, like most of us, he was multi-faceted. Not only did he write of his sexual conquests, he also revealed his life as a spy, librarian, gambler, mathematician, and bourgeois businessman. His favorite self-described avocation was that of professional adventurer.

Casanova – Founder Of The French Lottery

As part of his gambler and mathematician activities, Casanova convinced the King of France to sponsor a lottery to help raise money for the construction of a military school in Paris, 

The Loterie de l'École Militaire was decreed on 15 October 1757.

 
“Rather than minimizing the lottery’s potential financial exposure, Casanova suggested that the state flaunt money to whet consumers’ appetites and to garner their confidence in the institution.

He suggested that the Royal Council guarantee the lottery for up to a hundred million livres. Others balked at such a large sum, but Casanova argued that such a measure would reassure consumers.

Moreover, he suggested that just the talk of such large sums of money would fire the imagination of consumers as they would project that money in their own hands.

Casanova offered the cautious men of finance a lesson in consumer psychology. As he told them: the thing is to dazzle.”
 

Quote from The Loterie de l'École Militaire: Making the Lottery Noble and Patriotic
by Robert Kruckeberg

Spinning numbers were chosen, much like today. That very first lottery in France raised the equivalent of 2 million francs in today's terms, an enormous sum for the era. 

The Energy Of Abundance

What is abundance to you? It may not always be in the form of money. Examples of abundance may be the apples in your pie, or the family smiles around your holiday table, or the bird songs in your backyard.

Six Lucky Numbers

Addendum: in October 2018, after a run of no winners, the Mega Millions Lottery jackpot hit $1.6 billion. And with no winners in the Powerball as well, its jackpot is soaring up to $620 million.

The next time you play Powerball, even if you just imagine what you'd do with big winnings from the lottery, you might cast a thought to Casanova.

When we choose six lucky numbers, we evoke his memory.

Ah, Casanova, we do remember you.

 

An Ode To My Chariot

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A Chariot Of Past Dreams

9 years.

Nine years to the exact month that I had my Volvo.

A 2007 Volvo, S40, 6 speed, T5 AWD. 

Turbo. Loved the turbo, first time for that.

The color was Barents Blue. Did I mention it had a spoiler? Pretty sexy.

Yep, I said it. My car was adorable. 

The Volvo was part of a program that let you build your own car and then pick it up in Europe. I took possession of it in Germany.

For over 4 years, I drove it in Europe, followed by another 4 1/2 years in California. It crossed the merry ocean by container ship to join me in the States. 

I zipped all over Europe in that Volvo: Italy, France, Belgium and Germany. We journeyed to the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany and four times to my Number-One-Favorite-French classes in Spa, Belgium.

I hit the road for the first time with a trusty GPS and it opened the world for me.

I laughed and cried in that car. Traveled alone and with others. I had a one-day Volvo safety driving course on a professional track. Took it to work and on vacations. I meditated in it at rest stops on long driving trips. 

Repairs To Break The Bank

I didn't plan to say goodbye. I wanted to keep my Volvo until 130K miles, at least... maybe longer if I could.

Fate, however, declared that we had to say goodbye at 80K. To be more precise, the engine repairs were going to cost more than the car was worth. My initial reaction was, "Fix it!" – then, reason stepped in.

I found myself thrust into a frantic, last minute, you need a car NOW, situation. 

So, off we rushed into a mad dash of researching and test driving new cars.

New cars? I hadn't looked at other cars for 9 years. I was very loyal to my Volvo.

1964 rambler classic, 3 speed on the column

From Manual To Automatic

Over the last 9 years, cars have made a lot of changes and technology has exploded. We now have blind spot assist on side mirrors and back up cameras.

During this time, Volvo stopped making the S-40 model that I was driving. While that was sad enough, an even bigger shock was when I discovered that many car makers don't offer the option for a manual transmission. Volvo doesn't bother to make them anymore.

They. Don't. Even. Make. It.

Face it, I'm a dinosaur. 

I started on a manual many moons ago. My first car was a used "3 on the tree" (3-speed on the column), blue 1964 Rambler Classic. Picture a glued-to-the-earth mini-tank. It's been out of U.S. production since 1969.

Loved that Rambler. The emergency brake was a pedal you stepped on. There was no power steering. AM radio was our one and only music option.

I graduated to a "4 on the floor" sporty, red 1974 Ford Mustang and that was a snazzy ride. I kept that car for many years. The next step up was a vehicle with a 5-speed.

After that, I had a 6-speed manual in my Volvo. I wasn't convinced that I needed a 6th gear, but I made good use of it on the German Autobahn.

photo by tage olsin

German Autobahn

“What began as a racing track grew into a sophisticated high-speed road system, linking to almost all the major cities in Germany. The Autobahn boasts super thick road beds, 4% or less grades, wide lanes, and utilizes sophisticated technology.”

I shall wax poetic about the German Autobahn for a moment. If you ever get a chance to drive on it, but all means do so. The old adage "fine German engineering" never rang so true as it does on this finely balanced concrete. 

In the early morning, as the fog lifted from the roads, but still hung low in the fields, you could find me swooping down the Autobahn on my way to France for a flea market. With the road to myself during those early hours, the Volvo and I skimmed the pavement at 100 to 110 mph. Even at 100 mph, it was not uncommon for a BMW or Porsche to pass me. Still, my Volvo clung to the road like a champ.

Lest you think I am entirely reckless, there are parts of the Autobahn that do not have speed limits. Your mission is to drive safely. The speed at which you do so is at your discretion. The roads are designed to handle high speeds.

I watched a program about the Autobahn before I left the States. I've included a link here. The wealth of information helped give me the confidence I needed once I started driving on the Autobahn. Even so, when I drove at high speeds, that's all I was doing: driving – focused – two hands on the steering wheel.

In southwest Germany where I lived, the Autobahn heading toward France opened up to higher speeds. The lines in this road sign mean the end of the 130 (kph) zone and a speed limit no longer applies.

Don't be fooled into thinking this "no speed limit" is good other places. When the speed limit is 50 kph in town, you'd best be going that speed because, if not, you will be flashed by a radar camera even if you're only going 52 kph. And there is no arguing. A ticket arrives in your mailbox with a photo of you in your car. Pay up and put your check in the mail. End of discussion.

Time To Buy A New Car

As I watched the sassy spoiler on the back end of my Volvo disappear behind the locked gate at CarMax, wistful strings tugged at my heart.

When CarMax handed me a check, tears filled my eyes as I realized my Volvo was gone forever and with it, an era of my life. All that remained was a colorful snapshot of the past, sweet and dear. 

Baby girl Volvo, you'll always have a place in my heart. 

On to a new chapter. Time to find a new car.

The moment has come to abandon my manual transmission and drive an automatic. It's now the way of cars in the U.S. and automatic transmissions display new dimensions.

Today's sophisticated automatics have three driving modes: economy, sport and manual. In manual mode, you shift with paddles next to the steering wheel and there is no clutch. 

A new learning curve.

As a winding road unfurls like a ribbon in front of me, I take a moment to pause and wonder: what adventures are calling?

Do you have a favorite car story of your own?

 
“I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.”
— Langston Hughes
 

Belaying Pins And Pirates

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Belaying Pins Are A Beauteous Thing

Part of the fun of pirate festivals and days set aside to talk like a pirate is the exploration into history and discovering the details of how life had meaning in another era. 

As a reminder, an illustrious day draws nigh on 19 September. Yes, our fun-loving, swashbuckling, Talk Like A Pirate Day. Be sure to mark your calendar.

Talking like a pirate expands into wearing the clothing and accoutrements of a pirate or any other sort of character who frequented the lives of pirates and lived in the late 1700s.

A Cast Of Characters

If you attend any pirate festival you'll find pirates, of course, but also those who chased them such as The Royal Navy. Amongst the crowd will also be lurking innkeepers, barmaids, aristocracy and townsfolk. Many people research the time period and know a great deal about its details.

Choosing your time travel outfit needs care and preparation. Participants aim for authenticity. At the Northern California Pirate Festival a few years back, I discovered an important part of any pirate's outfit, the belaying pin. 

A local woodworker artisan had on display gorgeous belaying pins he had created from various woods. The photo above was from his tent at the festival. He was happy to share with me some stories behind belaying pins.

Belaying Pins On A Sailing Ship

Belaying pins are not just a bit of folklore. They are an integral part of a sailing ship as shown in this photo by Bruno Girin. They secure the many ropes of the ship's rigging which is connected to the sails. When you need to release the ropes quickly, rather than taking time to unwind them, you simply pull out the belaying pin and the ropes are set free.

 
“A belaying pin is a device used on traditional sailing vessels to secure lines. Their function on modern vessels has been replaced by cleats, but they are still used, particularly on larger sailing ships.

A belaying pin is a solid wood or metal bar with a curved top portion and cylindrical shaft. It is inserted into a hole in a wooden pintail, which usually runs along the inside of the bulwarks (although free-standing pintails are also used). This means that if a line needs to be released in a hurry, the belaying pin can be lifted out, releasing the line.”
 

The rope line is guided under and behind the base of the pin, then around the top in a figure-8 pattern until at least four turns are completed.

Belaying pins are also used to provide increased friction to control a line by taking a single round-turn and one or more "S" turns around the pin. Thus, it effectively belays the line. Donald Launer sings the praises of belaying pins in his article in the magazine Good Old Boat. 

Belaying pins are usually made from a dense hardwood that can withstand the wet and salty elements found aboard a ship at sea. In the photo below, you can see this ship taking on water. Since they are located throughout a sailing ship, belaying pins are readily accessible to sailors which leads us to their other not-so-benign uses.

Belaying Pins As Weapons

Belaying pins had numerous uses including:

 
“As improvised weapons and means of discipline on both military and civilian ships. They were sometimes used to force conscripts onto a ship.
Belaying pins were also used in battle when other weapons were not available.”
 

In a romantic historical novel about Christopher Columbus entitled Columbus, author Rafael Sabatini described the use of a belaying pin in battle in the hands of his character Colon.

 
“Colon stood alone to stem the rush, armed with an iron belaying pin which he had plucked from the rack.
Colon swung the belaying pin , and the Irishman went down with a broken head...
In a moment the waist of the caravel was a scene of raging battle. Colon’s belaying pin smashed the arm of Gomez as that broken hidalgo was brandishing a knife, and it sent another of his assailants rolling in the scuppers.
Colon turned his belaying pin into a projectile, and hurled it into the mass of the assailants...”
— Columbus, by Rafael Sabatini
 

Belaying Pins And Pirates

Pirates also made use of belaying pins as an improvised weapon. Local ordinances banned sailors from carrying swords and pistols when they came ashore. Weapons had to remain on the ship. Well, being pirates with reputations to maintain for getting into skirmishes, they hedged their bets by tucking a spare belaying pin in their belts when they went tavern hopping.

Every true pirate needs a good belaying pin. Proper etiquette indicates that you wear it tucked in your belt on your back. It's in easy reach so you can pull it out should a scuffle present itself.

Arrgggh, as they say. A little self-protection.

Treasure Island And Belaying Pins

In the 1934 movie of Treasure Island, based on the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, Long John Silver knocks Ben Gunn over the head with a belaying pin before escaping off the Hispaniola.

In the 1972 Treasure Island movie version, members of Long John Silver's company take over the Hispaniola after arming themselves with belaying pins and incapacitating Redruth by throwing one at his head. (Reference: The Pirate Primer, by George Choundas.)

Making History Come Alive

When you study history or participate in Talk Like A Pirate Day, it is a chance to get in touch with past events, expanding our knowledge of history.  We expand our awareness of past and present and get in touch with different people who have influenced our times.

For any history buff, learning the details of life in another era brings delight. It's intriguing to imagine how others have lived in other times.

(A little disclaimer: in no way does this post support using belaying pins as a weapon or for harm. This is about discovering and exploring history, not making it happen again in reality.)

Could I interest you in a belaying pin, me matey?