So, how did our ancestors make it with Model-T’s? I am going to repeat a tale my father told me. I cannot vouch for dates, so will just report what he said
In 1925, when he was 18, he worked on a new development project in Chicago for rich folks. They were installing large sewage drain pipes. They would dig the trenches, then bring in large pipes, and set them in place. His job was to check with a “gauge” if they were the correct angle for drainage. If not they had to be taken out, and dirt moved around.
He said the day before Christmas, the boss told them the weather was turning too bad to work any more, so they might as well go home.
He had bought an old T from the cook for 25 dollars. He started out right after work, and drove out the Lincoln highway, now highway 30. He drove all night, and when he got too cold, he’d pull over at an all-night restaurant and drink hot coffee to warm up.
He got home, around 265 miles at this time, just as the sun was coming up. Based on sun times on that date, I’d say it may have been a 15 hour trip.
Many years after he told me this story someone dug up an old photo of that car. It had a roof on it, a windshield, but no side windows at all.
Sounds rough, but it’s the sort of adventure that a young man will remember the rest of his life, just as I will never forget my 50 hour trip across the US in 1964 after Christmas. Today we would do the same trip from Chicago in an easy 4 or 5 hours, with total comfort.