MTFCA Forum

Why can't the coils be shimmed to reduce the gap, there are variable thickness shims available that are inserted behind the three bolts holding the coils.

Sacrificial oil system lots of cars had them.

I replaced the brake band on my 26 and I fought with it for a couple of hours, after I finished I was wondering what that clasp was on top?

The obvious intent was to stiffen the running boards, the original rods may have been damaged or just weren't stiff enough, they appear to be remade somewhat stiffer than the originals. They may be better, except for the dip in the rear rod.

The radiator does look nickel plated.

If you guess the photo is about 1930 and the man in the photo is about 80 would place him back to about to 1850??

Looks like a 26 radiator.

I made a wood engine cradle that was designed so that I could turn the engine over and place it in upside down. I would put it on the floor and gingerly turn it over and pick it up replace it upside down. This is not as convenient as a fancy engine stand but it only takes a few minutes longer, and y...

You could not move the rim on the felloe unless the rivets are broken, if that is what happened you will Some time the rivets are hard to define in the rim because they are rusted and blend with the rim. With a Dremel tool you can grind the rust and define the rivet.

You have to do a thorough diagnosis firstly, just a wabbly wheel could be several things. Jack it up chalk and spin it and see what is untrue, the wheel on the axle, is the rim running true, is the tire running true, is the felloe misaligned. I made about a dozen wheels, turned the spokes and made t...

I think it has been mostly summed up I think generally your lights are not compatible with your power supply. My grandson installed some very expensive LED headlights in hid Ford Ranger and all they did was flash (very fast) and were excessively bright. He was forced to revert back to the stock ligh...

I sent them $750 for some panels they kept the money and I never got the panels. They continued to promise me for about 4 years and that was about 12 years ago. I finally gave up in total frustration and disgust.

I would suggest that you are running with spark retarded or too lean or both. I don't think the water level or the water pump has anything to do with it. The only time my 26 with a water pump gurgled over was when I want up a 2 mile grade in low gear and I had my licence plate attached to the light ...

There is no 100% environmentally friendly method of disposal of a hydrocarbon, but to rid yourself of it I would just let it evaporate from an open container.

To check for a stuck valve all you have to do is pull it over center and feel it, you will feel some resistance at each TDC and nothing at the bad order, a gage is not needed for this. If a stuck valve is discovered remove the offending spark plug and tap it down with a wood dowel. If the situation ...

Firstly get the engine established, it appears that the two cylinders in the center have no reaction, one with no spark and one with spark but no reaction when shorted. Start with turning the engine with ignition on and confirm that all coils are buzzing, if one is not then trace the wiring from tha...

Find the Model T parts

By now the repairs have been done but there is a low heat brazing rod available that will melt with a propane torch. I bought a pack of them and they work well just like brazing, but very expensive.

I was in Reno one year and went to the museum where they had the Model T prop from Flubber and I noticed they had the steering wheel on upside down I mentioned it to the curator and he was adamant it was on correctly and I equally assured him it was not, he responded that it can't go on upside down,...

I dodged a very serious accident when my differential let go, I had it wound up peaking about 30 mph and a lady pulled right in front of me I only had time to hit the brake hard and the pinion stripped, there was no teeth left on it and no babbitt washers left in the housing.

Maybe there was a difference in models but my '26 touring came with wood spoke wheels, was black and with a light bar, however I have seen several photos of 26 models with no light bar and fitted with pedestal lights and some with no lights at all. It is conceivable that dealers may have modified so...

Some early 15s had carbide lights and no switch or hole, if somebody changed the lights over to electric later in its life the hole could be any where and any size. Some of these cars could be ordered with no head lights and some were installed by dealers after the fact. Many were used in the daytim...

In any case the pins should feel right when installed they shouldn't take any more than a three pound hammer and a block of hard wood to install, if they require tons of pressure something is wrong. Except for the last 1/2 - 5/8" they should press in through the flywheel with no effort.

Drilling holes anywhere in the tube will not fix the problem, if oil is getting down the tube there is a seal problem at the rear of the engine. In the early days when this would occur and oil would leak out the ends of the axles a quick fix was to stuff a wad of felts up into the axle housing to st...

You could have two leaking spark plugs causing a lean condition, before you adjust the mixture assure the plugs are not leaking, they are a pipe thread and don't seal that well.

The rear drive shaft assembly has no oil seal and oil will migrate back up the shaft, less oil or heavier oil may help. They were never designed for oil, only a non-flowing grease.

I have a 26 touring and when I first got it 60 years ago I had rebuilt the engine from quality parts and carefully assembled all the parts to assure no leaks vacuum or pressure. When I started the engine there was a very noticeable popping and puffing at the exhaust indicative of a vacuum leak, I re...

It wouldn't be that difficult to shorten the shaft, don't mess with the ends just cut it in the middle remove the section, taper it well and reweld it back together. This would have to be done in a jig to keep it straight then put in a lathe turned down and polished and you wouldn't see it. My steer...

In the day Dodge supplied flywheels for Fords who probably had one or two manufactures, also Ford had several suppliers of flywheels. Most manufactures work to a + - tolerance anything from .0005 - .0020 depending on the part, the very fine tolerances would be difficult to maintain and therefore may...

I can't see how you could crack your flywheel the pins are made to press through from the rear side and press out from the inside. The last 1/2" of the pin about .0015 larger than the working area, with the pin in place, you should be able to press it through by hand then the last 1/2" will require ...

I have put them on the ground and run over it with my car keeping the tire close to the rim, it may take two or three tries.

The issue of differential lubrication comes up from time to time, how much, method of measuring, type of oil and weight etc. All the documents and manuals I have read going back into the early teens have never mentioned oil as a lubricant for a T differential. Grease or a compound is mostly mentione...

I have found loose nuts with cotter pins, it is a hassle to remove the pins to recheck the torque so they don't get retightened and often get left until they rattle apart.

On my original brass radiator the hole is in the same place.

I think MEK will attack just about anything it is nasty stuff.

I am not suggesting that my spokes and fellows are an improvement, they would be an acceptable alternative and the probability of a wheel just falling apart and causing a serious accident to the level as described is negligible. Most broken wheels are a result of gross negligence, abuse and poor mai...

Some torque values are only addressed in the number of turns on a screw, not foot or inch pounds.
I assembled a Ford V6 with all the values in number of turns, no torque wrench was used. I checked the
assembly with a torque wrench and the values were exactly the same as with a torque wrench.

There were probably several radiator manufactures that paced the hole slightly different. I have two 15 brass radiators, one I believe to be original and the hole is through the brass trim and the other I have restored with new brass trim and I chose to place the choke pull beside the brass trim in ...

I don't think Rock Maple is as bad as some believe, I have made spokes from Oak and Walnut and they haven't fallen apart yet. We baby these cars and they rarely get over 20 MPH and yes some can do over 40 but not on a regular basis. In the day these cars were driven on rutty gravel and dirt roads, u...

I believe there is more than one factor here, the original cast iron pistons were fitted with brass/bronze bushings and the bushings extended inside the piston to allow greater surface area for the bushing. The normal splash oiling system was sufficient to lube the pins. With aluminum pistons today ...

I have 15 rear wood strips and they are made of four unique pieces of 3/4" material, inside, outside left and right. These are salvaged pieces and I plan to design a mold and make myself a set.....

This time of the year humidity can be high and carb ice can form in the throat of the carb, usually only after a few minutes of running. All the adjustments in the world won't fix it, just time and temperature.

I had a wheel with loose tenons and I drilled the tenon out in place and drilled about an inch into the spoke and inserted a dowel size for size and glued it in place. I believe I turned the dowel on my lathe to assure a tight tap in fit. Because of the tight fit and the glue it will be necessary to...

The simple terms are single filament with double contact to wire them in series. In the day they were 9 volt bulbs but they are not available any more. 6 volts are at high risk of burning out and 12 volts are too dim. What can be done to reduce the risk of burning out 6 volt lamps is to wire a third...

I think that the different body manufacturers may account for some of the subtile differences as opposed to a manufactured difference in the years. There are 1925 models with light bars and pedestal lights, the same with 1926. My 1926 has a light bar, however I have seen 1926 models with pedestal li...

Now I am going to have to look all over the country for seat springs with retention prongs, can't wait for the swap meets to open again.

I think you have your answer but here is what my 26 looks like. In my earlier post I mentioned two additional boards but I had fabricated a temporary seat for a wedding. I don't know what the large hole is for in the seat frame?

My 26 touring has three boards 3/4" material one narrow and two wider, the car was never finished but it runs I have owned it for 56 years. I have done about 60% restoration, I replaced all the wood that was originally in the car and the boards were under the rear seat. I cut the new wood the same a...

I think the duplicating manufacturers found a warn perch and then made them that way.

I bent my own top wood some years ago and it was a very challenging experience. I was told by the "experts" that steamed oak will bend like spaghetti, not true. I made a steam box and steamed the oak pieces (originally they were two pieces fitted in the clasps) to make it easier I made it a three pi...

Make an adapter to the spark plug to fit an air hose and pump compressed air in to each cylinder while at TDC, not high pressure just 20 - 30 lbs and listen at he carb, crankcase and exhaust, you will hear where the air is escaping.

The perches have part numbers on them. The odd numbered perch is left. 3818 right and 3819 is left.

I experienced the same thing and the vendor claimed it was OK when it left the store therefore the fault is between here and your door, try to find out who is the culprit is it will be classic royal runaround. I would suggest just keep it and order another one, it will save months of frustration. I ...

The crank is probably on the side, I wonder if those are Michelin Mudders ?

The pins should be pressed out the opposite way they were pressed in. You should able to be pushed in with limited pressure until the enlarged end enters the flywheel then the pressure is somewhat increased. I would not recommend pressing them through from the rear, only press them in from the rear....

Your nuts are under by .007, option A) redrill to 5/8 and re tap, or B) try another supplier. Also they could be metric by error. The 16 and 17 mm are very close and easily mixed up. And there are possibly 10 sizes in between. Some metric sizes are supplied as 16.1, 16.2, 16.3 etc. Some will go on 3...

Some early 1915 models still had the carbide lamps hence no hole for a switch. The 1915 parts book does not list any lighting components.

I have read material from reliable sources and it indicates 1915 was the transitional year for factory headlights. I have a 1915 parts book and headlights are not listed. It is conceivable that on some early 1915 models headlights were still optional?

I would say they were not drilled if headlights were not ordered because they were accessories. I dug my '15 out of a mud filled ditch in Saskatchewan about 40 years ago where it sat discarded for 40 years. All that was sticking out of the mud was the front fenders and the wood firewall. It did have...

There was masters available at some vendors key nos. 51 - 56, 57 - 62, 63 - 68 and 69 - 74 all in a crimped set.

12 volts is not too much, the mag can put out 18 volts so there is lots to spare, I use dry cells.

I read about wood firewalls mostly being wood/plywood, on my Canadian 1915 the firewall is wood that consists of 7 individual pieces tongue and grooved with a thickness of 21/32" then skinned with 1/16" cherry veneer to a total thickness of 3/4 +-. The tongue and groove design would all for movement...

Some libraries/archives will post photos intentionally in low resolution so if you want a high resolution you have to pay for it. From our local museum/archives I payed $40 a high res reproduction, I blew it up 2 X 3 feet and it was super clear.

I was just wondering about the battery alternator circuit. I am playing with a similar circuit on a Studebaker where as I want to charge a 12 volt battery with an alternator/regulator without all the regular circuity. As I understand that an alternator requires some power to operate, it therefore re...

Dieseling is where the oil is compressed in the small pitted holes and ignites (micro dieseling) Diesel oil can be ignited by compression A. by the oil itself or B. by super heated air and the oil injected in to it. Some large pile drivers are operated by injecting fuel oil under the hammer where it...

I read somewhere that gears with pits can cause the oil to diesel causing excessive noise and pressure inside the housing, I don't know it this is true but it seems plausible.

About the only way to tell is from the engine number, you could purchase a chassis with engine and fenders and then the fenders could be from several years. All the wood was custom made.

This transmission was assembled with 13 small thrust plates and 13 large thrust plates plus a distance plate as per the 1915 parts book. I know some later units have only 12 small, 13 large and no distance plate. With one less small clutch plate and no distance plate would allow a greater distance f...

DSC04089.JPG DSC04089.JPG What am I missing here, if I compress the spring the clutch will disengage, if I release the spring the clutch will engage, if I remove the finger screws the clutch remains engaged. The only way this transmission will disengage is when I compress the spring. What am I miss...

The only way to separate the engine/transmission from the drive shaft/differential is to compress the clutch spring. With the spring compressed the drums will still turn, the second drum will turn at a different speed than the others but it will be disconnected from the engine. The fingers will have...

My grandson has those snubber straps on his Ford Ranger to control the suspension in rough terrain, they are aftermarket but still used today.

The picture some time ago of shattered oak spokes is most unfair to oak spokes. The owner was towing his car and was turning too sharply on gravel and the wheels were jumping and skipping sideways he continued to turn until he was on asphalt and continued to tow forward with the wheels still skippin...

On a lot of early cars headlights were optional and so were the forks, Studebaker also used the same lights and forks. It is conceivable that a car could have come from the factory minus the headlights and were later installed with aftermarket units.

You can find out what city it came from and look up the car dealerships and home in on the most probable dealerships.

My story: On the Not For Sissies Tour I let a friend drive my 26 RPU for a day. The truck had a freshly rebuilt transmission but I thought I had broken it in. At the end I’d the days ride my friend was waiting at my trailer with some bad news. He said “listen”, cranked it and there was a loud squea...

There are so many stories about tight rebuilt engines, some have to be towed, some would not turn over because they were so stiff and some overheat and seize. Most of these engine rebuilds were done by "competent" engine rebuilders or a shop that has been in business for multi years and still these ...

I think all the shiny bits and pieces on a 26-27 were nickel. When you see a restored 26-27 with chrome to me it is far too bright.

Shouldn't a 14 have a tapered leaf spring?

I have 21" Chev wheels on the front of my 26 Canadian T 10 foot inspection you can't tell, the valve is orientated one set of spokes either left or right of the Ford location. I just re drilled a second hole. The old hole could be filled re-finished and there would be no way to tell. I believe Dodge...

I think on any car with a nut and bolt application, where ever practicable, the nut should be to the rear.

A Model T should start easily with just a pull over center. If using a battery be sure it is 1-2 notches retard to reduce a kick back. If you set the crank just over center and turn on the ignition you may get lucky and get a free start.

If it is a concerning issue, replace the block, there are lots of them out there.

To anneal a non-ferris metal, copper, brass, bronze heat to cherry red and quench in cold water, non ferris is hardened by cooling over long periods of time, the longer the harder. Non ferris will work harden and may require to be re-annealed during the working process. Iron is the opposite process,...

Is your breather cap clear? Excessive crankcase pressure will blow oil out every where, even on a perfectly sealed engine.

The hogshead would be aluminum on an early 15 and iron on a late 15.

I can only send one photo at a time because it wants to reproduce them in triplicate, these are the innards of a magneto horn that I have.

DSC03788.JPG I have an early brass fuel valve and the fitting into the tank is NPT however the fuel outlet is a running thread and seats by bottoming out against a flair. The original fitting on my 26 was a rubber hose with a moulded flair fitting. It was completely rotted out and I could not ever ...

Many times the jockeys in the hardware store don't much about these fittings and likewise in the auto parts stores too. There are 1/4 pipe taper threads and 1/4 pipe running threads and to the untrained eye they look the same. 1/4 pipe threads are 18 threads per inch, but will measure as 1/2 inch. T...

I had a frame from a 15 where the car was converted to a farm tractor and a pair of chains were wrapped around the axle housings then attached to an implement, plow, harrow etc. The chains wore a hole through the axle housings on each (it cost me $300 to have them filled). This towing action stretch...

I have a 23 Saskatchewan in good restorable condition that you can have if your interested.

There were several makers of these flywheels even Dodge made them for Fords, it is possible that the foundry made too many of the ring gear type and rather than dispose of them converted them to non- starter type. I can not see any aftermarket purpose for the conversion. 15 and 26 flywheels DSC03737...

There are several methods for checking for a vacuum leak, I am a proponent of just water spray, the engine will stumble immediately. Was the head planed? As mentioned previously, adjust the mixture, an 1/8 - 1/4 turn can make a big difference. Mine starts with one turn and runs on 7/8 turn. It will ...

In the day there were jobbers that did very good conversion jobs, I have on that looks manufactured that way and it remains dual. There was another conversion that used a wire behind the front door.

This time of the year a little water in the gas could be ice the next day.

Your issue seems more like fuel than electric, either you have power or you don't, bogging down and backfiring does appear to be fuel related.

I can only speak for my Canadian 26, the door latch is 10 - 32, striker is 1/4 - 28, sill plate is 7/32 - 24.
The 10 - 32 looks very similar to the 7/32 - 24 the 10 - 32 is only .025 smaller than the 7/32. The taps and dies are still available for the 7/32 - 24 if you are familiar with KBC tools.

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