Fixing up classic cars to a T

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/10/2020 (1954 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Even though his 1921 Ford Model T won’t be back on the road until spring, Jack Watt is still hard at work maintaining the antique vehicle his father bought almost a century ago.

The 71-year-old retiree showed the Sun his progress so far on Tuesday, revealing that the car’s engine needs some major retooling after he spent the summer cruising around Brandon.

Of course, this process is a lot easier said than done, since the Model T’s engine runs on an a magneto, a device that produces electricity using magnets and buzz coils.

While some motorists have attempted to modernize this process by using distributors instead, Watt opts to do things the hard way by rebuilding his own buzz coils by hand, feeling that this method is more in line with founder Henry Ford’s original vision for the car.

“It’s a lot of work because I had to pull the engine out and take it all apart, but now it’s ready to go back in,” he said on Tuesday.

But beyond tinkering around just for the sake of staying busy this winter, Watt is also personally invested in keeping this Model T alive.

This is because the car originally came into his family back in 1921, when his father purchased it in Alexander for around $366.

In the early 1950s, Watt’s father sold the Ford to family friend Bill Dawson, who later took Watt under his wing and taught him how to fix vehicles using Model Ts as a foundation.

“I used to follow Bill around when I was about nine or 10 years old and he was a very, very patient person,” he said. “He was knowledgable in anything mechanical. He could fix anything.”

Thanks to Dawson’s tutelage, Watt quickly developed a love for the Model T’s old school design, even though they pale in comparison to most modern cars in terms of performance.

“The top speed would be about 30 miles an hour,” he said. “Some claim 40-45, but if you’re riding in it you don’t want to go that fast. The suspension and the steering and everything isn’t meant for high speed.”

That being said, Watt’s historic appreciation for Model Ts overrides any technical shortcomings the cars might have.

After all, Henry Ford’s assembly line production method made the vehicle cheap and accessible to North America’s rising middle class, resulting in it being one of the highest-selling cars of all time.

“It was revolutionary. It was sort of like Bill Gates and his Windows system,” Watt said. “He was just in the right place at the right time … and he was smart enough to hire a lot of smart people and they just took off.”

In terms of his personal collection, Watt has been acquiring Model Ts since around 1990 and currently has three different classic Fords stored away on his property.

This includes the very same vehicle his father purchased in 1921, which was bequeathed to Watts around three years ago after Dawson passed away.

And while these antique cars require way more maintenance and TLC than your average vehicle, Watt said the process of fixing them up is very rewarding, especially since Model T parts are still widely available.

However, the car’s primitive design can still be a barrier for a lot of people. As such, Watt recommends that curious gear heads should consult with a mentor figure, like he did with Dawson, before diving head first into their own restoration projects.

“If you have somebody standing over your shoulder and telling you a few tricks here or there … it can save you an awful lot of time and you don’t make anywhere near as many mistakes,” he said.

But for the time being, Watt is perfectly content with spending the next couple months toiling away in his heated garage, especially if that means his father’s Model T will be ready to ride come April.

“But that’s the joy of the hobby,” he said. “Just pace yourself and away you go.”

The Ford Motor Company originally produced the Model T from 1908 to 1927.

» kdarbyson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @KyleDarbyson