There's old...
And then there is REALLY old school...
1924 Ford Model T fuel tanker. Unrestored (except seat was redone years ago).
Yes, the plate is correct and did belong to the Model T in 1924. The engine cranks over, and he also got the ‘air pump’ hook up that goes with the truck. The Model T could actually run on 2 cylinders and if you pulled the plugs and screwed in the ‘air pump’, you could actually put air in the tires (which they needed on a regular basis).
And it was used by the Continental Oil Co. distributor to take gasoline to the service stations.
This is the back of the tank, with the original Conoco logo vaguely visible...
Yes, those are original wheels. Waooden spoked, three piece, split rim wheels! And the fronts are also wooden spoked split rims.
The new owner is planning to ‘fix it up’, repairing the 2x4s the tank is sitting on, welding up the tank (after the rust repair), and hopefully keeping the old logo visible.
He said the engine turns over, so he plans to get it running again (since it has a battery to start it with, in addition to the crank). And will be part of an old gas station display in addition to his plan to drive it in parades. He said he already has another Model T so is familiar with their operation (and lack of stopping power, mechanical brakes ONLY on the rear wheels activated by a pushrod by the driver’s foot on the brake).
He was on his way to Houston to have the repairs started, and I hope I get to see it after it’s completed (And I hope he gets rid of the ‘new’ 1930 Conoco emblems on the doors)...







Neato! A very good friend of mine who lives in Anchorage now is a big "T" fan and has two of them, one a pickup. He was kind enough to leave a few extra parts in my garage when he was transporting the pickup from Nevada to Alaska... I keep tripping over a transmission housing and crankshaft he left with me "for later". ;^) Still very cool stuff.
Gordon
Labor of love there. Impressive