Shirley I Russell

Great story by brother Dave about this 1917 Ford Model T. An older guy in 1917 decided he’d try this whole new “horseless-carriage” thing, so he bought the car. After a few trips he concluded that he preferred the horse, so the Model T went into a shed. He didn’t die until the 1930s. Then a collector discovered it and put it in another shed. He didn’t die until the 1960s. And then another collector bought it and stored it until Dad came along. Dad said the car had never really been driven. So, one day in Milton they were naming a street after my brother Chris, and Dad, Mom and I decided we would attend via this Model T. That worked fine, and we were applauding and appreciating the event when a rain shower went through. The Model T was parked outside and got wet, probably for the first time since 1918. When the event was concluded, we couldn’t get the engine to start. Crank, crank, crank… no spark. We collected the remaining dignitaries and drafted them into a push-team, and they propelled us up and down the parking lot until eventually a couple of spark cylinders were firing. At that point I looked down at the top of the motor and sparks were leaping out of the ignition harness all over the place. Those spark plug leads were original! Obviously they were not even remotely waterproof any more! Anyway, once we got it running on two we were able to limp out onto the road, and it dried out on the way home so that were were firing on all four by the time we reached the farm. Very original car! bringatrailer.com/listing/19…