Historic Hood River
Wrong Turn
11-10-2022
Notes
This Model T appears to have zigged when the road zagged. Hopefully no one was injured.
Even though cars traveled at much slower speeds in this era, they were mechanically primitive so it was easy to lose control. The steering o this car is not nearly as stable as a modern car. A bump or pothole in the road can start you swerving, and an over correction can leave you in the ditch. The driver and passenger have no protection from the dashboard or windshield. Ford didn’t start using safety glass until after the Model T production ended in 1927. The windshield looks intact, so hopefully everyone walked away from this accident.
Jeff Bryant
Grandpa Walter Wells was in a winter car crash and ended up on the cold railroad tracks in the Hood River canyon in the early 1950’s. The cold damaged the nerves in his left hand, so he had to stop playing the mandolin and could only play the harmonica. I know there was an article in the Hood River News, but have not seen it.
L.E.
I have not driven and old model car, but I wonder if the steering was similar to the older tractors. If you hit a rut or a rock, it could twist the steering wheel right out of your hand.
And I bet the brakes were not as responsive as today’s.
ArthurB
L.E., that’s called "bump steer" and was definitely an issue with older cars. A pothole or even a wind gust will turn the steering wheel in your hand, and fighting it can bend parts of the steering mechanism. (from personal experience!)
JEC
There were also no collapsible steering columns back in the day, so a frontal collision would drive that nut at the center of the steering wheel right through the driver’s rib cage>
Arlen L Sheldrake
to this day I still have a tendency to pump my brakes…..OLD guy, old habits.
nels
Interesting tread on that one visible tire.
Dale Nicol
The Model-T’s we drive at WAAAM all have a steering damper/shock absorber installed on the steering link to prevent the "death wobble" and "bump steer".
This is quite effective to make the car much safer to drive.
Regarding pumping the brakes, this was a recommended procedure for Model-T foot brakes since the mechanism is a drum and band inside the transmission, The low gear, reverse and foot brakes all use drums and bands that operate in the engine oil, so pumping the foot brake allows oil to saturate the friction material and squeezes the oil in and out to prevent premature wearing out the friction material. The transmission is called a planetary gear design that the Dodge Brothers perfected. This is the same "modern day" 2 speed Power Glide used by GM and other manufacturers.
Kyle
There are still at least two wrecked cars hiding in the woods between Hood River and Mosier along the twin tunnels trail, if you know where to look.