4 ms·

Would love to know how they maintain it, eg replacement parts.

tivert 2y ago
> Would love to know how they maintain it, eg replacement parts. Total speculation: I'd bet some combination of collector interest keeping parts available and the relative ease of manufacture of such parts using modern techniques.
- SoftTalker 2y ago
  Yep. There's a viable collector/restoration market for these cars, the parts are all very simple and not particularly tolerance-critical by modern standards, and easy to recreate with all the plans available.
ocdtrekkie 2y ago
I would bet making parts for it is not super hard, and that there is also probably a whole market for those parts from the museum/antique restoration crowd. https://www.modeltford.com/ https://www.modeltford.com/ claims to sell new and used parts.
analog31 2y ago
IIRC Ford made shop drawings for replacement parts available, and the car was designed to be repairable. A quick bit of Google research suggests that a WWII Jeep would also serve this purpose. But it would be shameful to use a vehicle from Ohio.
- Daz1 2y ago
  Repairable because they usually didn't last more than 3 years
  - eru 2y ago
    Yes. People love to complain that modern cars aren't repairable, but they typically do last much longer than those of decades ago.
    - SkyPuncher 2y ago
      Cara barely use to last to 100k miles. Now, most people expect nearly 200k. More if you do proper maintenance (namely preventing rusting)
      - Daz1 2y ago
        There's a reason odometers have 6 digits now.
        bravetraveler 2y ago
        ... and there are reasons for the rollover odometer meme too. Is the supposition that they didn't need the digit until recently? I doubt that was a concern - if any, more financial/cosmetic than engineering. The older cars didn't fail spectacularly. The used car market is made mostly of these repairable cars. Again, they lasted long enough for the odometer rollover... but also for Toyota trucks to become an icon. These 'junkers' (said lovingly) are how 'everyone' in the Midwest learns to drive and gets to their first job, too. I'll close with my own crazy assertion! Leases are for people so bored with their work, they need financial commitments to spice things up
        eru 2y ago
        > The older cars didn't fail spectacularly. The used car market is made mostly of these repairable cars. Well, we need to specify which ages of car we are talking about. The used car market is probably mostly made of cars built in the last twenty years. I also had even older times in mind, all the way from Model T to today.
        bravetraveler 2y ago
- hi-v-rocknroll 2y ago
  Louis Rossmann is currently trying to get Hakko to release schematics and parts lists, but they're presently hiding behind distributor-channel knowledge-hoarding and "no longer available" planned obsolescence.
bityard 2y ago
In SE Michigan, you can't swing a stunned cat without hitting an automobile museum. The are lots of people, clubs, businesses and museums to keep these things going.
myself248 2y ago
The Henry Ford Museum also maintains a whole fleet of them that ferry people around the grounds, you can ride one, and you can watch a live demonstration of one being taken completely apart and reassembled every afternoon. Many of the parts can still be made on site in the museum's workshops, too.
- hi-v-rocknroll 2y ago
  I'm sure Leno's Garage may also be a resource for 100-year-old NLA Ford parts.
fbdab103 2y ago
I would propose gutting it and replacing the engine with something modern. A moped probably has equivalent oomph. Or the heretical option and install EV motors directly onto the wheels.
blahyawnblah 2y ago
There's all kinds of reproduction or aftermarket parts
- usrusr 2y ago
  Reminds me of the accidental Wikipedia dive into the "Volkswagen engine" universe I once had: apparently the design lives on in a multitude of engines in the ultralight market, for dune buggies and the like. Bootstrapped by aftermarket parts for repurposed original engines, but then complete engines appeared making use of those aftermarket parts and now it's an interoperability standard long after repurposing original engines has stopped being a thing. Distributed Theseus.

> Would love to know how they maintain it, eg replacement parts. Total speculation: I'd bet some combination of collector interest keeping parts available and the relative ease of manufacture of such parts using modern techniques.

SoftTalker 2y ago
Yep. There's a viable collector/restoration market for these cars, the parts are all very simple and not particularly tolerance-critical by modern standards, and easy to recreate with all the plans available.

ocdtrekkie 2y ago

I would bet making parts for it is not super hard, and that there is also probably a whole market for those parts from the museum/antique restoration crowd. https://www.modeltford.com/ https://www.modeltford.com/ claims to sell new and used parts.

analog31 2y ago

IIRC Ford made shop drawings for replacement parts available, and the car was designed to be repairable. A quick bit of Google research suggests that a WWII Jeep would also serve this purpose. But it would be shameful to use a vehicle from Ohio.

Daz1 2y ago
Repairable because they usually didn't last more than 3 years
- eru 2y ago
  Yes. People love to complain that modern cars aren't repairable, but they typically do last much longer than those of decades ago.
  - SkyPuncher 2y ago
    Cara barely use to last to 100k miles. Now, most people expect nearly 200k. More if you do proper maintenance (namely preventing rusting)
    - Daz1 2y ago
      There's a reason odometers have 6 digits now.
      - bravetraveler 2y ago
        ... and there are reasons for the rollover odometer meme too. Is the supposition that they didn't need the digit until recently? I doubt that was a concern - if any, more financial/cosmetic than engineering. The older cars didn't fail spectacularly. The used car market is made mostly of these repairable cars. Again, they lasted long enough for the odometer rollover... but also for Toyota trucks to become an icon. These 'junkers' (said lovingly) are how 'everyone' in the Midwest learns to drive and gets to their first job, too. I'll close with my own crazy assertion! Leases are for people so bored with their work, they need financial commitments to spice things up
        eru 2y ago
        > The older cars didn't fail spectacularly. The used car market is made mostly of these repairable cars. Well, we need to specify which ages of car we are talking about. The used car market is probably mostly made of cars built in the last twenty years. I also had even older times in mind, all the way from Model T to today.
        bravetraveler 2y ago
hi-v-rocknroll 2y ago
Louis Rossmann is currently trying to get Hakko to release schematics and parts lists, but they're presently hiding behind distributor-channel knowledge-hoarding and "no longer available" planned obsolescence.

bityard 2y ago

In SE Michigan, you can't swing a stunned cat without hitting an automobile museum. The are lots of people, clubs, businesses and museums to keep these things going.

myself248 2y ago

The Henry Ford Museum also maintains a whole fleet of them that ferry people around the grounds, you can ride one, and you can watch a live demonstration of one being taken completely apart and reassembled every afternoon. Many of the parts can still be made on site in the museum's workshops, too.

hi-v-rocknroll 2y ago
I'm sure Leno's Garage may also be a resource for 100-year-old NLA Ford parts.

fbdab103 2y ago

I would propose gutting it and replacing the engine with something modern. A moped probably has equivalent oomph. Or the heretical option and install EV motors directly onto the wheels.

blahyawnblah 2y ago

There's all kinds of reproduction or aftermarket parts

usrusr 2y ago
Reminds me of the accidental Wikipedia dive into the "Volkswagen engine" universe I once had: apparently the design lives on in a multitude of engines in the ultralight market, for dune buggies and the like. Bootstrapped by aftermarket parts for repurposed original engines, but then complete engines appeared making use of those aftermarket parts and now it's an interoperability standard long after repurposing original engines has stopped being a thing. Distributed Theseus.