The Ford Barn

Russ B · 08-31-2023, 02:03 PM

I was 12 when I got my cabriolet and it is now 60 years since. Initially my efforts were in reading all I could and then getting my hands dirty doing all I could. I was young and somewhat reckless driving my car then, but the car and I survived. Then there were no interstate freeways, disk brakes, or radial tires, so all cars were more or less on the same footing safety wise. Now the big requirement is for active driving at all times, using care to defend against faster, better handling, and better stopping modern cars, and against driver who have no clue about the safety limitations of our vehicles.

So patience and hyper awareness of all the other cars and drivers is the new skill I need. The mechanical stuff is less of an issue to me now, as I don’t worry much about being unable to fix whatever happens when I am on the road to keep going.

08-31-2023, 02:03 PM	#11
Russ B Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Millbrae, CA Posts: 550	Re: Skills Necessary To Own & Operate A Model "A" I was 12 when I got my cabriolet and it is now 60 years since. Initially my efforts were in reading all I could and then getting my hands dirty doing all I could. I was young and somewhat reckless driving my car then, but the car and I survived. Then there were no interstate freeways, disk brakes, or radial tires, so all cars were more or less on the same footing safety wise. Now the big requirement is for active driving at all times, using care to defend against faster, better handling, and better stopping modern cars, and against driver who have no clue about the safety limitations of our vehicles. So patience and hyper awareness of all the other cars and drivers is the new skill I need. The mechanical stuff is less of an issue to me now, as I don’t worry much about being unable to fix whatever happens when I am on the road to keep going.