MTFCA Forum

And we wonder why folks new to the hobby are hesitant to post on this forum. His car, his engine, his consequences. I've built quite a few Model T engines. A pull up to 40 won't hurt a new engine if you back off right away. Up and down helps seat the rings. Just my opinion, and why I don't share much.

I agree with DHort. Every Scat I have put in along with new rods has required the corner radius of the rod big ends to be increased a little. The Scat crank evidently has a larger radius at the rod journals. I haven't measured the difference. It's not a problem, that's just part of fitting the rods.

Looks like the remains of a brake light switch. Not Model T.

I sure hate to hear this Vech. I joined the club a couple of years ago. I had just turned a corner and was was lightly accelerating when the crank broke. It sounded like a shotgun going off. It broke next to the 4th rod journal and took out the back wall of the block with it. Completely destroyed th...

This is a great idea from some up and coming entrepreneurs. These boys are learning to identify parts, how to approach and speak to people, and many other important life lessons. If I was planning to attend this meet I would use them for sure just to help give them the experience.

When we went to the store in the small town I grew up in, we went “uptown”. The business part of the larger town up the highway was considered “downtown”.

If what I am seeing is correct, the crank looks to be horizontal to the engine, the pistons tops can not bee seen and if you look close you can see the hole for the pin in the pulley on top. So even if a SCAT crank were installed, does not look like it would be in position to be hitting as suggeste...

Does it have a Scat crank? If so, the rear counterweight can hit the horseshoe that the lower cover bolts thread into. I had that happen once. I failed to check for clearance there, and when I bolted the cover up, the engine would not turn over. After a few minutes of panic, I realized what I had do...

78298FB9-8D37-42FF-94DE-999A7C230CD1.jpeg I like them. Here they are on my speedster. I redrilled the disks to match the T hubs. The disks have a 3” hole through the center, so I made adapters that just slip on the hubs and have a shoulder to fit inside the disk center hole. The adapters are 3/4” t...

I have a question for the balancing pros. I always have the flywheels dynamically balanced. I don’t know he how holds them in his machine, but I assumed it was on some sort of mandrel. It seems to me there might be a significant difference between locating in the center bore like the crank flange is...

Congratulations! You will love your A. I have both an A and a few T’s and I like them all!

You can put a fan on backwards and the blades will still be pitched the same direction. Wayne is correct.

I use stove polish on exhaust manifolds. It keeps them from rusting, holds up well to the heat, and is easy to touch up if needed.

Jonah, regarding your original question, when you are hand cranking the engine, you will only get a compression stroke every half revolution of the hand crank. It takes two complete revolutions to get all four cylinders over a compression stroke. You will not be able to crank it over two compression...

Is one of the timer posts hitting the pan bolt directly beneath the timer?

Ricky forgot to mention that the Tennessee T's offer FREE memberships to students. We do this to encourage interested younger folks to participate. We would love to have you as a member. Just go to our web site and fill out the membership application. Be sure to note on the application that you are ...

This is the only one I could find a picture of. 1-3/4 HP Buckeye. Made in Lima, Ohio in the mid teens.

Hank, I can't say enough how great this is. You have given these young men some discipline and direction that will affect them for the rest of their lives. They will never forget what you have provided for them. I had a shop teacher in high school that did the same for me, and to this day I am thank...

I vote for vacuum leak at the intake manifold. I would not pull the pistons to change the rings at this point. Also, you said there was some smoke coming out of the hole in the valve cover. That would indicate to me loose valve guides, which would be less likely to make a sticky valve. Before you te...

Most shops only take off a few thousandths when they deck a block. Just enough to make it flat. I usually have them leave witness marks to show that a minimum was removed. I have had to have the area you are concerned about spray welded to build it up before the decking operation. I don’t like to cu...

The needles or rollers in those bearings would have to be tapered to rotate correctly. The straight ones, like the ones you buy today, will have to do some skidding as the assembly rotates. That's what wears them flat. The straight ones seem to me to be a poor design.

This is discussed from time to time. My opinion. Ford built the Model T to be capable of going 45 mph. That doesn’t mean that is the cruising speed. You wouldn’t go out and drive your modern car wide open all the time. Most tours I’ve been on run 25 to 35, and we plan about 25 when we are setting up...

Those are ugly. The corner radii are not round, and there is a lot of grime on the flat areas around the bolts, even on the edges of the babbitt. The X grooves will do nothing without oil holes and dippers. I have seen nicer grooves put in with a can opener. You would be better off without them. Som...

It looks to me like the bearing inner sleeve on the drive shaft is preventing the gear from seating on the taper. Push the sleeve on a little further by tightening the gear down with the nut and there's your dinner. Nothing wrong with the gear.

Tell them to social distance. End of problem.

This guy on YouTube is running a test of gasoline and several additives for a year. He starts and runs 10 different small engines to see what is happening to the fuel. Keep in mind he is part comedian, but he does have some good videos. The original post concerned SeaFoam, and one of the additives h...

You can also get your steering components too tight which will cause your car to wander all over the road and be difficult to drive.

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It is possible to install the cam shaft 180 out of time when the timing marks on the crankshaft and camshaft line up correctly. Put the gear on the camshaft with the timing marks aligned then rotate the engine by hand and watch when the exhaust valve opens on number one cylinder. It should start to...

I’m sorry. I thought it was on topic. I was trying to explain why you can’t get the cam gear out 180 degrees, which was his question.

There could actually be two timing marks on the cam gear 180 apart and either one would work. If all other things are equal, you might want to rethink that. I don’t understand what you are saying. The gear could go on the cam two possible ways. One way is 180 out from the other. That means the cam ...

Dom is too mean to get sick.

A Model A timing gear indexes only one way because of the way you time the ignition. Timing is set at #1 TDC. When you take the timing pin out, turn it over and put it back in the hole, there is only one spot on the gear that is #1 TDC. That’s where the pin drops into the dimple. I guess Ford though...

I don’t quite understand his terminal strip either. Looks like a jumper from the battery terminal (yellow wire) to one of the headlight terminals. If he installed that jumper, that could be why he only has one working.

Is this country’s reaction to this virus what we have to look forward to now in the future? The CDC estimates that 12,000 people died from the flu between October 1, 2019 and February 1, 2020, or four months. This new virus has been here since at least November of last year, and we have as of this a...

Red Perma-Tex engine assembly lube. Stays in place and doesn’t harden.

What is the advantage of “breaking in” an engine with air instead of running in the car?

Like I said, I’m not disparaging any other engine builder. I’m sure they must know some secrets I don’t and I’m open to learn. Maybe I should go visit them. The OP asked if 4000 was reasonable for parts. I listed most of the common parts I replace when I build an engine and got the prices out of one...

He probably meant to say that the crankshaft was being reground, not rebuilt. If I got an estimate from somebody (professional) who said he could rebuild a complete engine and transmission for $2,000 in parts, I think I would keep looking. You can't do it now for what you could a year ago. I'm not i...

4K does not sound unreasonable to me for parts. By the time you do the machining on the block and buy all the parts, you won't be far from that. The last several engines I have built have bumped that amount. He said new cam, pistons, rods, valves, mains redone, crank ground, magneto, transmission, e...

I've had the privilege to see it in person. It truly is a beautiful car, probably more so in person if that’s possible. Congratulations Ricky on finding the car of your dreams.

If it is ignition related, it would be a backfire, or for some reason igniting when the intake valve is open. If it’s not firing back out of the carb and just chuffing raw gas spray out, it has to be valve related. The only way gas can flow backward through the carb is through an open intake valve. ...

I got these out using penetrating oil and tapping the butt end through the lifter holes. Patience is key. I have seen them so thin that they break off as soon as you start tapping. I have never had to drill one out.

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He is having the problem with magneto headlights. They are wired in series. I don’t quite understand how one can work and one not since the current has to pass through both. If one burned out, neither one lights. Seems like it would have to be a ground problem.

I looked at Langs’ catalog for Stipe cams. It says they “can be used with stock lifters”. It doesn’t say you can’t use adjustable lifters. I take that to mean no special lifters required. I have put in several Stipe cams with adjustable lifters with no problems.

Checking out the cotton crop here in West Tennessee.

Cotton likes the hot weather. The bolls are starting to open. Soon it will be time for defoliation and the fields will be pure white as far as the eye can see.

If you run over a walrus in the road, it could get jammed up under there and break the glass.

Sorry to hear this news, Charles. Hope you heal quickly.

MTFCA National Tour in Cookeville, TN sponsored by the Tennessee T’s.

Dallas, if that boy had a beard I'd think it was you.

Top prop nut keeper. Not sure if that’s the right nomenclature.

I love Model T’s, but I think sometimes we need to be reminded that the Model T was designed and built during the period of automotive infancy. Henry Ford was smart and had a keen mechanical mind, but he was not perfect. Let’s face it. There are some less than perfectly designed parts on the car, du...

I have had good luck with the Rust-oleum High Performance Enamel. You have to closely follow the instructions on the can. If it says wait 10 minutes to recoat, watch the time and spray in 10 minutes. If it says wait a few minutes, I usually wait about five. If you can’t recoat in the specified time,...

It should turn ccw as you are looking at the blade side of the saw, and cut on the pulling stroke. Those are good saws. When the blade wears out, you can make several nice knife blades from it.

That broken piece of valve that was missing may have gotten under the intake valve and bent it. I would check compression on #3.

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