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Henry Ford LOVED planetary trannies-He 1st used one on his 1st "Big, luxurious" car, the 1905-07 Model K, & then on the T model. They were simple & sturdy, & relatively easy to operate, which was likely why Henry was so fond of them. And I think most of the early automatics were at least partially based on planetaries. Neat story-A bud of mine & I were cruising around in the countryside one night, LONG ago, we started up this one rather large mountain/hill. Tom sez, "I'm gonna tell you one of the deepest, darkest secrets of my family, if you promise NEVER to tell..." Oh,boy, he's gonna finally own up tobeing Hitler's unknown kid, I think, so I swear on my Mama's life that'll I'll NEVER breathe a word. Shit, I couldn't WAIT to spill this 'Un, if it was as good as Tomas claimed... So he sez-"My Dad drove a T-Model up this hill BACKWARDS... Ain't THAT Somethin' ?!?" I looked at him, & blinked ? Whatdaphuk is THIS Shyte? You forget I know a LOT about T models, Ol' Sport.... There are 2 reasons he did that. One the Gas Tank in a T was under the seat, there was no fuel pump, you had to keep the seat/gas tank higher than the motor, or it would stall, & second, Ts had a planetary transmission that ran w/leather/fabric bands. They weren't very long lasting, you'd run in reverse a lot to equalize wear & maybe get a little more life outta them, 'cause changing 'em out was a dirty, all day mess... Tom kinda mumbled, I'd just took all the wind outta his sails, & he sulked the rest of that evening. Never did ask his dad, Hap, about that story, but I wish now I had. Hap's dad was one of the judges at Nuremberg, he was sort of a Big Shot..Tom is a Lawyer in Birmingham, but as I tease him,havin' HIM as a lawyer would be like "Breakin' IN Jail..." (Grin)
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Benevolent Despot
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