"The greatest single generational leap in all of human history, was the thirty years from the mid 1890s till the late 1920s.
No other hundred years made so much change in the way the majority of people lived.
The automobile was both a cause, and an effect of that change, and as such, is the ultimate icon of that change".
No other hundred years made so much change in the way the majority of people lived.
The automobile was both a cause, and an effect of that change, and as such, is the ultimate icon of that change".
Our Model T came to us when my Father passed away and my Mother asked me to find a home for his car collection. At that stage the T looked pretty miserable, as can be seen in the photo below. Sandy and I had gathered all the parts we could find, so we could make the car look as complete as possible for photos for possible buyers.
But when I did find a buyer, Mum couldn't sell it to him, so if you're interested to know why and to find out how we became the owners, then read on, below.
But when I did find a buyer, Mum couldn't sell it to him, so if you're interested to know why and to find out how we became the owners, then read on, below.
The story goes that in about 1962 Mum was out with her father looking around the country for a pair of old brass headlamps for Abigail, a 1903 Curved Dash Olds that Dad was restoring. They came across a farm house at Euberta, between Wagga and Narrandera on the northern side of the Murrumbidgee River. There was no one home at the property so Mum and my Grandfather had a look around anyway and found a shed full of old Fords, about 6 of them. Mum reported the find to Dad and a couple of weekends later Mum, Dad, my sister, Beth and I all packed into the family's Wolseley 6/80 and headed out to see them.
When we arrived Beth and I were ordered to stay in the car and wait. I was 11 and Beth, about 6. Mum and Dad were met by a little old lady striding across her ploughed paddock carrying a shotgun. She didn't take kindly to them trespassing on her land and became quite annoyed, so much so, that she fainted. Dad caught her as she fell and carried her inside where Mum made her comfortable and made her a cuppa.
This little old lady, Mae Edis, lived alone and ran her 2,000 acre, wheat and sheep property, by herself. Mum took pity on her being all alone and they kept in touch with each other by sending cakes and letters via the mail truck. Soon a friendship developed and around 1964, Miss Edis said that since Mum had been looking for old car parts, would she like to choose one of her cars for herself. I remember going back out there then, to "help" Mum & Dad select a car. They were all Fords, the newest was a Customline of about '55 vintage, then a 49 Single Spinner, a '37 Sedan, a '28 model "A" Sedan with a fabric body and this Model "T" at the open end of the shed, in by far the worst condition of them all. As a matter of fact, the others were ALL in good condition. I urged Dad to take the Model "A", but he must have liked a challenge and chose the T. I found out later, it was because he grew up with one and it was the oldest.
Around 1967, Miss Edis rang Mum and asked her to come and collect the car because local car club members were pestering her for it. So, not having any shed space to put it in, Dad organized a tow truck from his mate, Lance Glasson to pick it up and take it to my Uncles farm at Galore, on the other side of the River. We stowed it there for many years until around 1975 when we dragged it all back into our new home in Wagga, where for the first time, Dad had a shed. He did "some" restoration work on the car, as much as his meagre funds would allow, but it mostly didn't progress at all.
So when Dad died in 1990, Mum had no further use for any of the cars and asked me to find new homes for them. I managed to find a buyer for the '03 Olds, in Terry Lloyd of Canberra. The Goggomobile DART, yes a Dart, was given to Beth, his Wolseley 6/80 had already been given to me before he died, Mum kept using the huge (for her) 351 ci Ford Maquis until she traded it in on a very sensible Toyota Corolla Seca. That left just the Model "T".
As I mentioned above, I had found a buyer, but when the crunch came Mum couldn't sell it to him. When pressed, she told us it was because it was given to her on one condition. That condition was that she didn't ever sell it to a man. Now, that says a LOT about MISS Mae Edis, eh? Right away, Sandy said, "well then, you'd better sell it to me" and right then, Sandy became the 3rd lady owner of this rotting heap of spare parts.
When we arrived Beth and I were ordered to stay in the car and wait. I was 11 and Beth, about 6. Mum and Dad were met by a little old lady striding across her ploughed paddock carrying a shotgun. She didn't take kindly to them trespassing on her land and became quite annoyed, so much so, that she fainted. Dad caught her as she fell and carried her inside where Mum made her comfortable and made her a cuppa.
This little old lady, Mae Edis, lived alone and ran her 2,000 acre, wheat and sheep property, by herself. Mum took pity on her being all alone and they kept in touch with each other by sending cakes and letters via the mail truck. Soon a friendship developed and around 1964, Miss Edis said that since Mum had been looking for old car parts, would she like to choose one of her cars for herself. I remember going back out there then, to "help" Mum & Dad select a car. They were all Fords, the newest was a Customline of about '55 vintage, then a 49 Single Spinner, a '37 Sedan, a '28 model "A" Sedan with a fabric body and this Model "T" at the open end of the shed, in by far the worst condition of them all. As a matter of fact, the others were ALL in good condition. I urged Dad to take the Model "A", but he must have liked a challenge and chose the T. I found out later, it was because he grew up with one and it was the oldest.
Around 1967, Miss Edis rang Mum and asked her to come and collect the car because local car club members were pestering her for it. So, not having any shed space to put it in, Dad organized a tow truck from his mate, Lance Glasson to pick it up and take it to my Uncles farm at Galore, on the other side of the River. We stowed it there for many years until around 1975 when we dragged it all back into our new home in Wagga, where for the first time, Dad had a shed. He did "some" restoration work on the car, as much as his meagre funds would allow, but it mostly didn't progress at all.
So when Dad died in 1990, Mum had no further use for any of the cars and asked me to find new homes for them. I managed to find a buyer for the '03 Olds, in Terry Lloyd of Canberra. The Goggomobile DART, yes a Dart, was given to Beth, his Wolseley 6/80 had already been given to me before he died, Mum kept using the huge (for her) 351 ci Ford Maquis until she traded it in on a very sensible Toyota Corolla Seca. That left just the Model "T".
As I mentioned above, I had found a buyer, but when the crunch came Mum couldn't sell it to him. When pressed, she told us it was because it was given to her on one condition. That condition was that she didn't ever sell it to a man. Now, that says a LOT about MISS Mae Edis, eh? Right away, Sandy said, "well then, you'd better sell it to me" and right then, Sandy became the 3rd lady owner of this rotting heap of spare parts.
We managed to get the car home to Canberra, when I called on a couple of members of the Veteran Car Club of Aust (ACT) to visit and give me some guidance on its restoration. Wal Hick, John Ahearn & Terry Lloyd all assured me that it was mechanically "mostly" complete but that the rotten wood in the body would be a problem. I was impressed with these men, their knowledge and their link through old cars, so I joined the club, with the view that it would help me get the thing restored and on the road some day.
We moved house to one about 100 yards further up the same street and the car moved with us. I remember a mate, Greg Spackman, slowly towing it while I sat on the chassis and steered it from one house to the other. The rims didn't have tyres or tubes and it was just metal to bitumen. In this new garage I started the restoration and after a quick disassembly I enlisted the aid of a master craftsman, timber-worker, I worked with at the National Gallery, Arend Ebelt. Arend set about rebuilding the rotten timbers but with instructions of keeping as much of the original as possible.
When she was about 10, my Daughter, Fiona, asked me what that pile of rubbish in the corner of the shed was. I told her that I'd drive her to the church on her wedding day in that pile of junk. This was the same promise my Dad made to my sister, Beth, regarding his Olds, but, due to lack of funds, it never happened, which made me determined to succeed. Fast forward about 10 years, another house move later and Fiona told me that I had 13 months before she became another man's girl and I should get a wriggle on with the restoration because she was holding me to the promise.
I put the bodywork in the hands of another master craftsman, David Robinson at Bywong. I found another in Newcastle, Hinkler Tooth, who rebuilt the wheels, using Spotted Gum for the spokes. The engine and gearbox was taken to Rob Croft at Kiama, because he was, without doubt, the best man for the job. The rest of the chassis, drive train, steering, axles etc, were taken care of by myself and yet another old car sympathizer and lateral thinker, Greg Spackman. I was lucky that Greg lived just a few blocks away and I depended on him and his expertise regularly and often. The paint was beautifully applied by David Brown, a Firefighter. (but once a professional auto painter)
About a fortnight before Fiona's wedding, the car moved under its own steam for the first time. I asked Wal Hick if he could pay me a visit to sort out any problems the car might have. He did and we found a few, which were soon sorted. Wal then drove it a few suburbs away, to have it inspected for Registration. It passed with no problems...not a single thing. But when we got down to the Motor Registry, they needed a VIN number. Model T's have only engine numbers and even though it was going on ACT Vintage car rego, it was causing problems with the system. Then I remembered that the Steenbohm's, Sydney built body had a number stamped into the wood under the front seat. I used that 4 figure number for the VIN, but with about 15 0's in front of it.
The car was now ready for the wedding but as I had only ever driven a T once before, and in a field, I wasn't ready. But on the day, I managed to drive Fiona and her bridesmaid, Nicole, all the way into Barton without problems. I was a nervous father of the bride for more than one reason on that day. And what a fabulous day it was.
We moved house to one about 100 yards further up the same street and the car moved with us. I remember a mate, Greg Spackman, slowly towing it while I sat on the chassis and steered it from one house to the other. The rims didn't have tyres or tubes and it was just metal to bitumen. In this new garage I started the restoration and after a quick disassembly I enlisted the aid of a master craftsman, timber-worker, I worked with at the National Gallery, Arend Ebelt. Arend set about rebuilding the rotten timbers but with instructions of keeping as much of the original as possible.
When she was about 10, my Daughter, Fiona, asked me what that pile of rubbish in the corner of the shed was. I told her that I'd drive her to the church on her wedding day in that pile of junk. This was the same promise my Dad made to my sister, Beth, regarding his Olds, but, due to lack of funds, it never happened, which made me determined to succeed. Fast forward about 10 years, another house move later and Fiona told me that I had 13 months before she became another man's girl and I should get a wriggle on with the restoration because she was holding me to the promise.
I put the bodywork in the hands of another master craftsman, David Robinson at Bywong. I found another in Newcastle, Hinkler Tooth, who rebuilt the wheels, using Spotted Gum for the spokes. The engine and gearbox was taken to Rob Croft at Kiama, because he was, without doubt, the best man for the job. The rest of the chassis, drive train, steering, axles etc, were taken care of by myself and yet another old car sympathizer and lateral thinker, Greg Spackman. I was lucky that Greg lived just a few blocks away and I depended on him and his expertise regularly and often. The paint was beautifully applied by David Brown, a Firefighter. (but once a professional auto painter)
About a fortnight before Fiona's wedding, the car moved under its own steam for the first time. I asked Wal Hick if he could pay me a visit to sort out any problems the car might have. He did and we found a few, which were soon sorted. Wal then drove it a few suburbs away, to have it inspected for Registration. It passed with no problems...not a single thing. But when we got down to the Motor Registry, they needed a VIN number. Model T's have only engine numbers and even though it was going on ACT Vintage car rego, it was causing problems with the system. Then I remembered that the Steenbohm's, Sydney built body had a number stamped into the wood under the front seat. I used that 4 figure number for the VIN, but with about 15 0's in front of it.
The car was now ready for the wedding but as I had only ever driven a T once before, and in a field, I wasn't ready. But on the day, I managed to drive Fiona and her bridesmaid, Nicole, all the way into Barton without problems. I was a nervous father of the bride for more than one reason on that day. And what a fabulous day it was.
It was about then that Sandy and I decided to name the car.
Since we were both ex sailors, and since ships are considered "hers" (God bless her and all who sail in her) we decided it should be a she.
"Anastasia" was chosen.
Since we were both ex sailors, and since ships are considered "hers" (God bless her and all who sail in her) we decided it should be a she.
"Anastasia" was chosen.