A Ruckstell can add value to a TT, this one claims to have a Ruckstell in the ad, but I don’t see it or the shift lever to engage it. Am I missing something?
This is just my take on cars in general, and as I apply it to my TT ownership.
I do not expect anyone to adopt my view, I only throw it out there for consideration
… “your mileage may vary” .
I am not a person with rooms full of uncounted money. I have to plan for and
allocate my intake and outflow of green rectangles with some care, or bad things
happen, like the lights get shut off and we go hungry. OK, … it’s not that bad,
but I don’t have a trust fund and I do have a budget.
As a result, buying cars whimsically has never been my M.O. I am very selective
and purposeful in what I want, rejecting many options and only selecting a few.
I cannot afford a warehouse full of cars. At least not nice ones that I can drive
and enjoy.
The TT has been a pestering “dream car” since I was really little. My friends and
I used to play in several that sat derelict in fields and barns around our farm when
I was a kid. The impractical nature of a T kept me from ever acting on it until a
chopper crash in AFG caused me to rethink how I put off things in life and maybe
that “someday” might never come … I set out and bought my truck upon demobing.
Now, my schtick, if you will, is an old farm truck going down the road, being used
as if it is 1939. It is period correct, it is appropriately worn and dirty and shows
the scars of life as a work truck. THAT, to me, is where the “value” is. A glossy
red oak “thing” like this TT would never have existed before 1970, and it simply
does not carry the feeling and ambiance of a truck as I like and value them. My
Grandad would have called this a “clown car” or “clown mobile”. In other words,
it has zero value to me, because it does not do what I want one of these things
to do. Maybe the next guy is all about showing off his woodworking and/or cabi-
netry skills, and loves doing parades or car shows, and this would be right up his
alley …
My point is, anyone with a limited fund for an old car hobby should really define
for themselves what it is they like and want to do with that old car BEFORE they
go shopping for one. This could involve the aethetics, such as a truck like mine
versus a truck like this. It could go as deep as how you would use it and all the
tech it would take to build a truck to do that. I say this because of the Ruckstell
reference. I have a Ruckstell. I spend a bunch of time and money rebuilding that
Ruckstell. After building my engine and installing express gears, I no longer use my
Ruckstell, and wish I had not wasted my time and money on it. Or to put it another
way, … had I had a knowledgeable plan before I rebuilt the Ruckstell, I would know
it would be of no value to me, and thusly not wasted my time and money.
Tom, I do not see even a hole in that pretty oak floor for a Ruckstell shifter to
come up through ! There are no underside pix to show the rear end of shifter/rod.
I would say you are correct, and this is another case of someone who knows not the
Model T, and is tossing around what they think are impressive words to enhance
sales potential.
Putting on my cynic’s hat, I would even submit that the seller (if asked) thinks a
Ruckstell makes the vehicle go faster (higher gear) ! … as most people want TT’s
to go faster than the usual 15-20mph. In reality, a Ruckstell will help the owner take
that 15-20 and wind that truck out of sight at 7-10mph ! Is that added “value” ???
Not to this TT guy ! Ruckstells might be a good idea for high geared cars or TT’s used
to move buildings and pull stumps. Otherwise, I would say the Ruckstell works against
most modern day uses for TT’s that already have super low gearing.