MTFCA Forum

Har har har. I couldn’t resist. I’m looking for a real nice original condition lid for one. If you run across an extra one, let me know. (email). Wood finger joints have to be tight and something nobody’s ever fooled around with. Quality of finish not important. Would actually prefer ancient black p...

The digital scale I bought for balancing parts about 15 years ago was over $300 and I did a lot of looking for the best one for the money. It has resolution of 0.1 gram and repeatability is excellent.

You set the lid down on top of the coil box and then latch the latches. Pretty much the same as the later coil boxes except the box is wood and the latches are different...

got10carz wrote: ↑
Wed Apr 07, 2021 10:18 am
1 hole needs repair.

What’s the best method for repairing that hole?

This is a good one to remember for next years April Fools Day, we should all go on Bob’s eBay auctions and ask stupid questions!

I suggested the bronze brush and I see that was quickly dismissed as something that it will ruin your brass... Not true. Plastic bristles like a toothbrush would be ideal, but if they don’t work, try metal (ideally bronze or brass) It is actual experience and works fine for me. Just don’t be stupid ...

Toothbrush.

Toothbrush style bronze wire brush from an industrial supplier.

Adam, Could you elaborate on what you mean by "worn undersize"? Are you talking about the thrust? If so, I am also interested in how others are pouring the thrust surface? Are people machining material off the thrust end to get and adequate amount of babbitt on the end? If so, what thickness is nee...

The link to Mike Bender has some good advice, but the “issues” he describes with reproduction cam bushings currently is not a factor. There is a different manufacturer within the last couple years and his cam bearings are good and sold thru the major vendors. As far as rebabbitting your own... about...

99% of the time if the battery is okay and the wiring is fairly decent, then the problem is inside the starter. The particular issue is usually a hairline crack in the solder bond between the terminal bolt and the field coil strap that goes thru it. You can sometimes even pull the cover band and see...

It’s pretty unusual to have that many switch failures, maybe its the switch, but I’d be looking pretty close at “everything else”. If it is not a switch issue, I’d suspect the cables. (Cables too small, or cables with failing connections.) If the problem isn’t the switch and you replace it with some...

It’s best identified by the shape of the handle.

If the little wells around one or more of the spark plugs eventually start to fill with oil, you have worn valve guides. The car generally will smoke a little but it certainly isn’t something that suddenly happens over winter storage...

Absolutely clean rims make a huge difference. Just a little rust scale where the bead goes and you’ll never get it latched without kinking the rim. If you’ve already tried a scissors jack, the rim might already be kinked. There were also some 21” tires from the 1990’s into the 2000’s that seem to be...

If it’s antifreeze making that much smoke, you WILL be able to smell it. It is usually quite unmistakable and even someone who has never smelled antifreeze out the tailpipe generally will say “It smells like antifreeze!”.

Old, thick, evaporated, varnish-y gas in the carburetor bowl from several months of sitting can do that. It makes a T very hard to start and makes a ton of stinky white smoke. Usually, running a few minutes with fresh gas will fix it, but If you’re unlucky, it can stick one or more valves and/or req...

Antifreeze is anti-corrosion. The T water jacket is about 1/8” thick on the bottom. If plain water corroded .002” per year, then sometime after 63 years of operation, you might see some rust-thru. Lots of T’s have been in continuous operation for decades. Lots of people also have rusted-thru blocks....

Loc n Stitch is an excellent product but won’t work on a block that is rusted thru because the material to be pinned needs to be 1/8” thick. Sometimes you can fix a freeze crack with them, but rust thru is real dicey to deal with. When you start drilling into the water jacket, you generally find met...

If you found one spot rusted thru, then there are likely to be more very thin spots. The best option will probably be replacing the block with a better one.

If you go to antique malls/stores, you should easily be able to buy a genuine old sewing awl in good condition and maybe even in its original box. Should be under $20.

DHort wrote: ↑
Mon Mar 22, 2021 10:05 pm
Was he on his way to Elroy?

He was on his way back from St Paul.

I will add that the only band you should ever install is a genuine Ford script one! They are the correct steel and the correct hardness. Just hard enough to be springy enough that they don’t distort too easily, but not so hard they break easily. The worst demountable bands out there are stamped “G.M...

Polishing eventually rounds sharp edges and removes crisp details. Not a problem on a modern car, but there are a lot of T’s out there that have probably had their brass polished HUNDREDS of times. If your brass items have crisp sharp details and are in excellent condition, you may want to do everyt...

It isn’t an “original” grease cup, but it also looks to me like it is might be cross-threaded, tipping it forward a little. The grease cups from the vendors are okay but not as good as a decent original. The reproduction cups aren’t threaded all the way to the end of the cap, so don’t have as much c...

I have a '30 Model A that used to vibrate noticeably when decelerating in high gear against the engine compression. I installed a high compression head on the car and the vibration stopped. I remember seeing a post on the Model A forum about the reason years ago but can't remember what it was. Now ...

There is nothing wrong with your rims. They were made that way. Most people don’t know the lug bolts are supposed to be swedged into the felloes (not removable). The oval lug hole near the valve stem makes it possible to swing the rim onto the felloe over that bolt without distorting the valve stem...

speedytinc wrote: ↑
Fri Mar 19, 2021 11:04 am
You can determine magnet position by pulling top inspection cover. No need to remove hogshead. Once you are in the ballpark with your compass align brass magnet screws evenly to mag post connection. (part of recharging instruction).

Are you sure about that?

jab35 wrote: ↑
Thu Mar 18, 2021 1:23 pm
Adam: What is the thickness of the 'New', thinner brass thrust washers?

They’ve been coming thru from both the manufacturers for well over a year at .199”.

They used to be in the .204” to .208” range which allowed for quick & easy custom fitting without shims.

*New bronze thrusts will be too thick to allow the housings to meet. That’s the way it used to be... You probably had some thrust washers that were a few years old the “last” time you did it... The most recent axle rebuild I did was last March. I buy brass thrust washers 10 at a time and was out so...

Steve Jelf wrote: ↑
Wed Mar 17, 2021 11:10 am
For a head gasket contact Adam Doleshal.

IMG_5392 copy.JPG

I do have a few of the graphite head gaskets available. If you need one, just email me thru the forum. (Click on the contact “cloud” with the three dots inside it and then click on the envelope that appears)

Model A axle shafts got most of their torque load in only one direction because of wheel brakes.

Model T axle shafts get torque loads in both directions due to the brake on the drive line.

They are completely different animals in that respect.

3v is pretty darn low. Is your magneto pickup post also an outside oil line? Older ones in particular can be a cause of issues and be intermittent. If your mag got some battery current thru it while running, it could have significantly discharged the magnets. If your 3rd main bearing cap has excessi...

Is that pliers you have resting in the oil filler hole jamming the timing gear?

I’d ditch the foam pad and use felt. That’s what was originally used. I have doubts about how well that foam will pad out a top and how long it will last.

Also, Did you hang your headliner first? The headliner goes in before the top goes on

It’s very very common to see a broken axle shaft that is broken where the ‘26-‘27 Ford style seal has scratched a little groove in the axle shaft. So common that you shouldn’t re-use an axle shaft if it has even a hint of a groove there. It’s also something that was known about back in the day. I se...

In viewing the above image, does anyone think the “new, better bearing” is a bit shadetree? The instruction even says it isn’t an ideal fit... Picture an original axle shaft being a light slip fit to loose fit in the inner bearing race of that modern bearing. The axle shaft is now “rolling” on two t...

Go to Northern Tool, Harbor Freight, or your local Farm & Home type store and buy the cheapest hydraulic press they sell. It should be able to do most any pressing required on a T with the exception of the axle shaft gears if the press isn’t tall enough. They are usually made of a metal frame and a ...

I pretty much buy just TT inner axle felts and make the rest of the felts I need out of them. And just like the cars, the TT should have a felt on the inside of the hub too. The outer cap is very thin and there isn’t much room for a felt. It also seems that some TT’s may not have had an outer felt u...

If you aren’t a machinist, you probably can’t fix that yourself and end up with a gear that has acceptable runout. Send it back and get a better one.

Maybe the outside of the brake drum has a little runout (not perfectly concentric with the centerlines of its bushings). It could be checked by putting a dial indicator on the drum between the band ends and cranking over in high gear with spark plugs removed and rear wheels off the ground. Maybe a d...

The guy “has no idea what it is” but has a $50 price on it...

Dan, Have you called them to tell them you can’t make it this year and asked if they would be willing to hold your fee and carry it over to next year?

Jerry, Well clarified and good additional information.

I agree with Jerry and Chris on this, and I base my opinion on the geometry and alignment of the contacts. However, there have been so many hobbyists over the years claiming the New Day timers run better than original style timers with a centering error that the issue might warrant further study. It...

When I drive at night, I run an MC acetylene tank in an upright position strapped into a collapsed running board luggage rack right next to the generator on the running board. I have a small regulator on the MC tank. The outlet fitting on the regulator has been replaced with a right-angle needle val...

Upper quadrant rivets are good ones to do on a milling machine where you can clamp the column and precisely align them so they can be drilled out (drilled hollow and punched out, ideally) without drilling into the shank of the gear case. If the existing quadrant and gear case shank is absolutely tig...

Another thought (From actual experience)... If the top looked great when it was installed and now looks loose, it could be due to body wood problems.

And don't be surprised if within a year, you'll be opening the switch back up to re-work the brass tabs inside. Seems these new re-pops don't hold up. Been there. ...“within a year”, is generous. Usually the reproduction switches begin to have problems in a month or two if you drive a lot... So if ...

It might not be the worlds best top, but it might not be nearly as bad as you think either. A lot of what I see looks to me like wrinkles from being down a long time. The best way to have a fantastic looking top is to never put it down. Wrinkles, etc from being down for a long time may take quite a ...

So Larry, do you think this bent one I posted a picture of a couple weeks ago was made that way or a straight one that was bent? (Note the pin hole is very off center - possibly a manufacturing defect?) I too have seen enough of the bent levers that look like the later style levers, that I had thoug...

In case anyone’s interested here’s two examples of iron hogsheads that originally had non-demountable bands and where they had to be ground to eliminate interference when switching over to using quick-change bands. These are the “usual spots” and it depends on where those cores ended up. 7A69248B-60...

Joe, I do believe there is a potential support issue on the aluminum hogsheads and I don’t cut the low shaft on them either. Also, many of the demountable bands will have interference issues inside the aluminum hogshead on the left side and you are generally better off using non-demountable bands be...

The Thieman unit is really nice. If it’s like the ones I have, there is a Timken roller bearing and sleeve inside.

Thanks for all input. The next question. Are all distributors selling gears made by the same people? I’m leaning toward aluminum. Are they all made by the same manufacturer? My crank gear seems to be in good condition as the fiber gear didn’t wear it (there’s one good thing about fiber). Should I c...

The top two pictures in Franks post above are actually kits that were manufactured by Theiman Harvester Company of Albert City Iowa. The pulley in Caffin’s first post (the one that isn’t sold yet does appear to be the factory made pulley for the Theiman setup. I recognized it because I have two of t...

I talked to Andy a couple weeks ago and look forward to trying his gaskets too.

Robert, Looking closely at your photo of your gasket, the material looks slightly different than the ones I’ve had issues with, so I’m thinking this might be an occasional issue from more than one manufacturer?

For what it’s worth, several years ago a friend of mine had one and said he used T brake shoes on the rear. He claimed they were the same.

Robert, That is an occasional issue with some pan rail and trans cover gaskets from one of the sources that manufacturers them. I’ve noticed it off and on for maybe about the last five years. I think what happens is maybe the gasket material isn’t perfectly flat when the gasket is stamped out. Soaki...

Might be 45 here tomorrow. Planning a 50 mile drive in the TT tomorrow. Bet it’s warm enough to disconnect the heater or open the windows...

I have one of the style in Mark’s photo too. They were used in non-electric cars that had provisions for a starter and were installed in place of the ammeter in the regular switch panel. I wonder if it is nearly the same if you take it out of that housing that blocks out the ammeter???

Dan M, The “off the shelf” Sunnen hone isn’t long enough according to the Sunnen”book”, but it does work fine (just barely).

If it indeed was something noticeable with different grades of gas, you probably have more going on there than just “a problem with cheap gas”. Back when E-85 was really cheap, myself and a couple friends would use it in our T’s. It ran pretty much the same as anything else except I had to open up t...

My experience using the parking brakes to stop the car on flat ground was dismal at best. At 20 MPH with clean lined adjusted small drum shoes, it slowed down but never really stopped, maybe given enough distance it would have. Could not get enough leverage on the handle to be effective let alone l...

Many of the valves on the explosion whistles don’t seal that great and need some work so they don’t leak compression.

This was mentioned here and I’ve heard too many people say it : “They are parking brakes not stopping brakes” I STRONGLY DISAGREE!!! The rear brakes are EMERGENCY BRAKES and highly important. If any of the multiple parts in the drive line between the rivet on the brake pedal shaft and the rear wheel...

If it’s actually a ‘27 axle, they are typically quite a bit harder and odds are you might just end up breaking the tapered reamer. They can be kind of dicey to use the Stevens tooling on unless you are quite experienced. My recommendation would be to find a better axle.

I believe that’s a ‘10-‘12 handle & pin in your picture.

The sleeve in my picture is ‘14-‘22. The late ‘12-‘14 sleeves are aluminum. I believe all the late ‘12-‘22 pins should be interchangeable.

Here’s another one I had that I sold back in November. Also like your picture.

Darn good question. I just looked at my very original ‘13 and it has the longer style like in your picture. So does a very nice original ‘14 column in my parts stash. But, check out the hole location... Maybe just manufacturing variance? The other later ones aren't quite centered either. I didn’t se...

I finally got to my swap meet bins and dug them out. Here they are. I’d take $50 for a NOS pin and sleeve. Let me know. A pin only would be $20.

Did you find any yet? Dug thru my swap meet stuff and found these. $8 ea. Only the one that is sideways is the “bent style”.

By “close style setup”, I imagine you mean “pre-‘26 narrow style pedal? There are 4 styles: Lettered (pre-‘15). Ribbed (‘15). Plain for non-starter hogshead (‘16-‘19). Plain for hogshead with starter provision (‘19-‘25). If you have provisions for a starter, you need to use the ‘19-‘25 low pedal or ...

Adam wrote: ↑
Sat Feb 06, 2021 1:19 pm
That is an UNUSUAL number stamping set in that Ford Service bulletin...

So far, nobody has figured it out...

I generally have the straight ones. $8. Let me know if you are interested. Email only, no PM’s please. They are stored away in the bins with the rest of my swap meet stuff. Since I’d be digging anyways, I could see what ends are on the NOS crank pins I mentioned a couple weeks ago and you could have...

Is the “Motor Flush” less expensive than the same amount of cheap motor oil?

How can you tell what sort of job it does? Did you open up your engine and look?

The vendors price is less than good used ones used to fetch before they started reproducing them.

That is a manhole cover style oiler that is missing its lid. Just replace it with a small pipe plug. You should remove, clean, and re-oil your timer for regular maintenance every 80-120 miles for best operation anyway. No need to add any oil between those intervals.

TT 23” rims are split rims.

TT 20” rims are solid rims with a removable lock ring.

Bob, You should have them transferred to DVD and sell the copies. I would bet the copyright is expired.

I haven’t seen how all the repro rims out there fit on all the original felloes, but I can say that the ones I have seen didn’t seem to fit quite as well as all original parts. I do have to say that the McLaren plain rims used for non-demountables and wire wheels seem to be quite satisfactory. With ...

Brazing and Soldering are very important skills and are a good basic foundation before “advancing” to welding. Welding is a good skill to have for body repair work and maybe even some pan repairs, but I think the most useful and most overlooked skills to have for everything else on the T is brazing ...

Exactly what Larry said! This is something you WILL have to buy new or make. 99% of Used ones will be broken when removed. The other 1% may fail in use. It’s sort of like looking for “good used” babbitt thrust washers...

Wow! Never knew anyone reproduced that AND I’m very surprised it is only $25! I’m replacing the tank in a ‘27 Tudor next month and will be ordering one!

What parts does Larry Smith produce?

I put a drain plug in every axle I rebuild and recommend changing the axle oil every season. I believe it makes a huge difference in the longevity of the rear axle components. The drain is in the right side housing at the lowest point.

I’d never use them. They are potential troublemakers. The tab that’s welded to the nut breaks off. Seen it twice in person and heard about it from others as well. If you are using Kevlar bands, there is no reason to add anything that makes adjustment more convenient. Unless you are a lousy T driver,...

Would the other folks who were interested in this please contact me? This is now available to purchase due to a non-paying buyer.

We use ours quite often and it works fine. Only buy the one that is all stainless steel. You can cook right in it and just toss it in the dishwasher when you get home. It cooks more like a slow cooker and really only works well with things that have lots of liquid. Driving time to actually cook some...

WOW! Thats a big crack in an unusual place. In one of the photos it looks like there might already be a sleeve in the cylinder. Can you verify? Can you see the crack extending down into the cylinder itself? If there is a sleeve in that cylinder, then the water is likely leaking to the outside of the...

Dan Hatch wrote: ↑
Wed Feb 10, 2021 8:18 am
Was told that if you had spaces last year they will be good for this year. Is that still the case? Dan

That’s what I was told too, but I haven’t received anything in the mail or been contacted in any way yet and it is only 5 weeks away...

Post some pictures of the crack. If its a crack between a bolt hole and water passage, it might not be a big deal. A considerable amount of water can be found in crankcase oil of cars that haven’t run for a long time and it can be condensation, not necessarily leaks.

Maybe assembled at a branch plant?

This is kind of a case where the vendors catalog might not give all the information it needs to AND/OR the glass shop just gives you what you ask for... The new channels are made for original 1/4” thick plate glass. The laminated safety glass you get made at the glass shop is called “quarter inch” b...

Yup, that’s one of the “usual” cracks. You have three choices: -Fix it with JB Weld & keep your fingers crossed. Sometimes it can be a pretty good long term repair if you do it just right. -Have it professionally pinned or welded, which will exceed the value of the block. -Find a good replacement bl...

I’ll have to look in the shop later, but I’m pretty sure I have a couple extra blueprint style wiring diagrams for the Gray & Davis electrical system for the Ford T. $20. Email if you’re interested in those and/or the starter.

I’ve got a starter if anyone needs one. It turned when hooked to a battery a couple years ago. $100 plus shipping. Why so cheap? Because it is rare! A very hard to find item if you are looking for one, but also hard to sell because there aren’t a bunch of people looking for them... And tons of this ...

i've install the e-timer. but cannot fully advance it because it comes up against the fan belt. What might be the cause? If your car has the ‘26-‘27 fan that hangs from the water outlet, then the “usual” cause is that the fan was rotated the wrong direction to tension the fan belt. The correct dire...

15,068,275 was a November 1927 engine. It would have been a factory built complete engine made after T car production for replacement or some other use.

I believe complete engines were numbered, but bare blocks and complete short blocks were not numbered.

If you decide to drill and/or bust out the cap or whatever you do, it probably will be much easier if you just remove the tank from the car. ‘26-‘27 coupe & tudor tanks are easy to remove & reinstall (so long as you can get the sediment bulb off). It’s probably only a 15 minute job to remove that ta...

$2,000 and lots of parts missing...

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