Makin’ Tracks: 1926 Ford Model T Snowmobile
Old man winter seems to be upon us in force this year! It’s actually snowing today where I am, so it seems appropriate to present this original version of a snow machine. This is a 1926 Ford Model T Roadster Snowmobile and I think the seller has chosen the right time of year to sell this machine. Included are appropriate pictures of this gem in the snow in all of its glory. You’ll find this Model T Snowmobile listed here on eBay and it’s located in Hardwick, Vermont. The owner has set the auction to open at $10k with a BIN price of $25k, but at the time of writing, there have been no bids. Special thanks to Barn Finder Patrick S for providing this tip.
Seller reports that he’s had this Model T for about 20 years and he’s had many great memories using it on his property. Owner says the vehicle is in good running and driving condition but it’s never had an odometer so the actual mileage is unknown. The interior and overall condition look good and very serviceable – not fully restored but driving and in usable condition, which means you can use it and have fun without too much worry.
All seems to be in order here with the standard Ford Model T 20hp 177 cubic inch inline 4-cylinder engine. In 1917 Virgil White received a patent for an attachment designed to convert a Model T into a “Snowmobile”, the name coined and copyrighted by White. White was a Ford dealer in Ossipee, New Hampshire and he put this conversion on the market in the winter of 1922. Machines like these were used back when roads were rolled to pack down the snow, not plowed. Country doctors and rural mail carriers were the largest users of these vehicles and there were many other applications too.
So if you live in snow country and winter is your thing, this Model T Snowmobile may be a great way for you to combine your love of vintage cars with working and playing in the snow. There’s a devoted following of these vehicles with The Model T Ford Snowmobile Club which is a chapter of the Model T Ford Club of America. Here’s an interesting website devoted to these machines, ModelTFordSnowmobile. Who likes to play in the snow?!
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Comments
At the 2018 New England auto Auction at Owl’s Head Teansportarion Museum a 1917 Buick snowmobile sold for $13,200. Pretty neat vehicle.
http://owlshead.org/auctions/detail/1917-buick-snowmobile
These are WAY TOO COOL!
I can see cruising through snow country in one. It would be the hit at any ski or trail-ride venue. Awesome. (Wear appropriate clothing when operating!)
I was there the day after the auction, got to see a lot of the auctioned cars up close, including the blue Superbird.
They have one of these Snowmobiles in their permanent collection that they take out periodically.
http://owlshead.org/collections/detail/1926-ford-snowmobile
So thing thing is not completely modified by the owner? If not, insanely cool!
Back in the day Sears, Roebuck and Company along with Montgomery Ward used to sell these along with many other useful devices from their catalogs.
Didnt Fred Astaire drive this in a animated Christmas movie. Really neat vehicle. I agree with a previous post. What a show piece for a ski resort!
I’ve seen a couple of pictures of one of these in use from back in the day, picture was taken and posted in the newspaper. It was one of those pictures reposted in a centennial issue of the paper referencing the blizzard of 1936. The mailman used one when the roads were otherwise unpassable and from what the article said the mailman would help some of the farmers by delivering groceries in addition to the mail when the roads were otherwise unpassible. Family story is my Grandmother had to be gotten to the hospital about 25 miles away in the middle of the blizzard (worst one of the century from what Grandpa had said). The story goes that the various farmers between my Grandparents farm and town cut fences to get through and using horses and cutters most of the way shuttled Grandma from one to another farm to get her to town and an ambulance. Apparently the last to get her to town was the local mailman and he used his mail vehicle (a tracked Model T with ski’s) to shuttle Grandma the last mile or two. Once in town, a snowplow lead the ambulance the last 15 or so miles to the hospital. Grandma survived, a large abdominal tumor removed and my Aunt was born via Cesarean (apparently Grandma didn’t know she was pregnant, my Aunt was premature but she survived). All turned out well, but a comparable vehicle helped make it possible.
I’d love to tour Yellowstone in the winter with one of these!
Back in the late 70s I went up to a friend’s fathers farm in Lyndeborough NH and wandered around the barn and in a back corner was one of these covered in dust. When I asked about it, he said his great grandfather was a doctor and used this back in the day for his rounds. They said it probably had been sitting there since the mid 1940s as there was a part they no longer could get. Unfortunately, I guess I showed a little too much interest in buying it, that when I went back up 6 months later it was gone and I was told that his Dad started to research it and sold it to a collector. If I had only cooled it on excitement, It probably would have been mine. I’ve learned since…
I believe the one that you mentioned is now part of the collection at Owls Head Transportation museum. Also, I think the aftermarket units were manufactured in New Hampshire. Ingenuity…to get through the deep un-plowed snow. Somewhere I saw photos of a model A outfitted with airplane tires in the 40’s to traverse the mud season roads too.
healeydays: Click on the link below and view the slideshow of the vehicle at Owl’s Head. Maybe you can tell if it is the same one.
http://owlshead.org/collections/detail/1926-ford-snowmobile
OHTM has a 1926 Ford. I’m a former volunteer and actually got to drive it quite a bit. The Buick sold at auction is a different one.
I remember the bed was dark green and it had NH plates so I can’t guarantee it is the same vehicle
Hardwick is home to Gates Auto Salvage, worth a look if you’re in the area.
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepic!!!!!!
Never daw one of these but back in the 1930s Dr. Mainprize from Midale, Sask. drove a Model A coach monted on 5 Foot tall narrow tractor wheels to get around in the winter snows. I’m sure it is still there in the Midale museum.
This should be a public Facebook video. It was posted in a group I follow. It was a meet up a few weeks ago. https://www.facebook.com/tracksideblazers/videos/385505375360147/?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARAhER4jtgxQ3cVu98H2cGSl3XxOhHE2LPCAwxXO69WjDGmYvdmMImdv6osHCHkpNCWfD9VX3SUplm4pLxn6yl7hOU9-APmLeORZaw1DZ6bQCuFEdmoZ2PiXAO8vxJvUCSKwNFsUTDQBPw8a5Xk3pyx_GOFLJQQH2TRmbsFYhRyM-2hUdFDdGRhe3aKsYIeEzuhy8MrvVJwu4UkVznoINMlPoVhpaGQOt4PY8vX3hPLpmDtqU271jIXnYzk9iGqtn-Iir3EtsDVP_TzmRGTXfFEXrazLXDJBB4MOt5o-OEdmYIiDjWqoop7D3UQ-p3iY0TU1XUh1iCeTltEzLQHYkjMf4KNgqTGXQ5iM&__tn__=H-R
Very cool video, great to see so many in one place, and being used!
https://youtu.be/Wol8g5ILqao
Can’t see how many pedals it has, But it appears to have a Model A shift lever ? or is that something else ?
Does anyone know what the floor shift lever is for?
Starting bid:US $10,000.00
Reserve not met
[ 0 bids ]
Price:US $23,950.00
Eh,
I see 15 bids, to $15,600
Yes, Reserve Not Met.
Relisted then.
Yep. And the relist got no bids, because the “Item Was No Longer Available” We all know the drill…..