MTFCA Forum

BuddyTheRoadster

It's the same weekend as the Long Beach Model T Club swapmeet, but I'm going to try to make it to the gypsy camp post-Tahoe.

BuddyTheRoadster

I've seen how The Vintage Ford has changed over time. So have most other magazines with changes in printing technology, readership, and club demographics. I will say this, the magazine depends on the material submitted; if you want to see an article on a particular topic, write it or help another pe...

BuddyTheRoadster

This is a new motor that was never run, so I don't have a benchmark. It's got noisy timing gears though. I don't have your phone number so I'll DM you mine.

BuddyTheRoadster

Hey folks, I'm getting my T ready for the National Tour and installed a motor rebuilt by my late father. I don't know if he used stock clutches or Watts clutches--he used both at different times. I put the motor in, installed the bands very loose, and drove it around the block. Neutral creeped a lit...

BuddyTheRoadster

The flywheel magneto was unique to the market in 1908 and could have been touted as an advantage. Outboard high tension magnetos were certainly a standard thing in the T era, but when they go out, they go out. The T ignition system is surprisingly resilient, and often you can limp home on three cyli...

BuddyTheRoadster

Do you have a planned arrival date yet?

BuddyTheRoadster

They're listed in the 1932 Western Auto catalog. I thought they'd be older, but maybe not.

BuddyTheRoadster

There might be an Autochrome somewhere showing a 1909-1913 or 1926-1927 T in its original color glory, but it hasn't been published. And it wouldn't render a color sample to copy, it would give a general impression instead. And with the exception of Kodachrome, old color slides are notorious for agi...

BuddyTheRoadster

The side panel backing material would have been a sort of pasteboard---think posterboard instead of corrugated cardboard. Often door panels were slightly padded with cotton batting between the upholstery and the backing material. The upper side panels usually weren't padded. Automotive upholstery su...

BuddyTheRoadster

The short answer is that most paints in the T era aged quickly, especially if the car lived outdoors. Here comes the long answer: Early Ts were hand painted using carriage painting techniques. Painters primed the body, applied about three coats of ground color, and finished with multiple coats of cl...

BuddyTheRoadster

I removed, cleaned, and reinstalled my sediment bowl. It didn't fight me surprisingly! It's kind of novel to have a shut off at the gas tank.

BuddyTheRoadster

There are infinite possibilities of cam grinds. When you go looking, ask yourself if you're looking for speed or torque, and then consider what RPM range you want. There are cam grinders out there who can customize to your needs, and that'll probably give you more satisfying results than "oh, just t...

BuddyTheRoadster

Here's a report on the topic from Hemmings : https://www.hemmings.com/stories/californias-stance-on-classic-cars/ The legislation is taking a very holistic stance of classic cars to include modern classic cars--remember, to the young generation, the 1990s are classic cars--and John Swanton of CARB i...

BuddyTheRoadster

Thanks! Henry took out the patent at least for both the Models NRS and Model T suspension. That explains a lot.

BuddyTheRoadster

I was discussing transverse spring suspension with a Model A guy, and it got me wondering who developed three point suspension for the Model T? Did they innovate it themselves, or did they copy someone else?

BuddyTheRoadster

That's my auction listing. Indeed, that carburetor is almost certainly off a Willys-Overland Light Four, Model 91, 92, or Redbird. Stromberg the OF (and later the RF) for both Ford and Overland. Stromberg supplied Willys-Knight with either an OD-1 or an OS-2 depending on year. The float bowl cover s...

BuddyTheRoadster

Check out Blacksmith Bolt as well. https://www.blacksmithbolt.com/ I use them for proper milled wood screws in my pump organ repairs.

BuddyTheRoadster

A set of original aftermarket drum headlights with a crossbar so the whole unit installed as one into the factory headlight mounts. We were starting a road trip and stopped by a T vendor on a whim, and he had just unloaded those headlights in a collection. He demurred to name a price, and I was too ...

BuddyTheRoadster

Attacked some of my anxiety and wrestled a new motor into the roadster. It should be running next week.

BuddyTheRoadster

My Dad told me that the oldtimers method was to hand fit the bearings in the same manner as Dobro1956 posted above, only after scraping, you would remove shims and tighten the individual bearing until you couldn’t crank the motor. Then go back and add one shim. I think I prefer having Plastigage. :)

BuddyTheRoadster

If you’re not wedded to using a G&G, a Stewart tank will probably be more reliable. Chevrolet had a lot of warranty issues with G&G and went back to using Stewarts.

BuddyTheRoadster

First off, I hope you and yours are safe physically and emotionally. That's a lot to process. Now, what is your T? How hot did the fire get? All the cosmetic damage can get sorted out, but if your car has significant wood that got heat damage, you might have a bigger job. Tell us more, and we might ...

BuddyTheRoadster

As you're posting from Vienna, do you want Austrian or American fashion? Also, are you looking at working class, middle class, or wealthy fashion? In America, poor people had whatever clothing they could get and afford, middle class people had usually about three sets of clothes, and the wealthy dre...

BuddyTheRoadster

There probably would not have been a higher compression cylinder head in 1914 as 1914s came with the low head that had slightly higher compression. (Ford switched to the high head in 1916, it had lower compression to cope with crappy wartime gasoline.) There really weren't that many performance-enha...

BuddyTheRoadster

There was an aftermarket Gray & Davis starter-generator unit that bolted to the motor on the driver's side and ran a chain drive off the crank pulley. They'd be a viable option, albeit hard to find.

BuddyTheRoadster

I may have something. Give me a day or two and I will email you.

BuddyTheRoadster

Good ol’ Clara! I have asked different people about Henry and unions. I always felt that his story, “My wife said she leave me otherwise,” felt like saving face. One historian told me that when the union finally did get the opportunity to sit down with Henry, he was stunned because their demands wer...

BuddyTheRoadster

I respectfully disagree with Mark that the A was a stopgap. I think it was more of a Plan B after the X-8 project failed. Ernest Kanzler wrote an 8-page memo to Henry in January 1926 saying, "We need a six, the market's changing, and we need a six now until the X-8 is ready." He got fired. https://m...

BuddyTheRoadster

I’m pretty sure I do. I can scan it when I get out from teaching tomorrow.

BuddyTheRoadster

Thanks Tim! I've never seen copper plating on a contemporary carb, but a "rustproofing" flash plating wouldn't surprise me at all.

BuddyTheRoadster

I started cleaning a Stromberg OF, and the throttle and economizer arms look like they were copper plated. I know that Winfield copper plated S and SR bodies, but has anybody seen this on Stromberg steel parts?

BuddyTheRoadster

I had the pleasure of meeting Stan at Bakersfield 2019, and I sold him a Zenith S4BF. I got it for a good price and sold it to him at cost, he said, "No, you've got to make a profit, here, buy the neighbor kids an ice cream cone." He was a good guy, I'll miss him a lot.

BuddyTheRoadster

I think the real issue isn't "100% original" but a question of taking the car on its own terms and making modifications that won't be regretted later. Some people have mentioned improved braking because they live in hilly areas or adding starters because they are more mature collectors. All those ch...

BuddyTheRoadster

Well... it says something that when Ford, Edison, and Firestone did their big camping trip in 1916, they rode in Cadillacs. The T was an exceptional car for 1909, but it did not stay competitive. (Forgive my dates, I'm going off the top of my head here.) T got electric headlights in 1915, after the ...

BuddyTheRoadster

Some of the shops specializing in hopped up Model A engine rebuilding might be able to help you out, but again, why? Are you building a full race overhead engine? I can see why you'd want inserts and pressure for an application like that, but if you're running a stock or mostly stock engine, staying...

BuddyTheRoadster

Hey guys, I'm loving the constructive and even-toned comments from most of us on the thread, and I'm replying since I don't want to work on grad school stuff tonight. @Dan: I've heard that too. One friend found some 1920s Duco (Dupont pyroxylin lacquer) ads that said, "And your finish will get bette...

BuddyTheRoadster

@Steve, oh yeah. We have paint chips of the era. We just don't have any from Ford for 1926-1927. Sort of like how we don't have a NOS control sample of moleskin pyroxylin engine paint. I'm a little skeptical of very old paint chips. I've compared 1910-1930 paint chip samples to printed facsimiles in...

BuddyTheRoadster

I'm glad Steve brought this up and that some people are looking at definitions for "restoration" versus "renovation" or what have you. It's funny, in historic preservation restoration is discouraged because they prefer to conserve original material instead of trying to turn back the clock and make a...

BuddyTheRoadster

"Accurate" paint has been one interests since I was your age Jonah. 1926-1927 T paint is complicated because we don't have formulas or chemically-stable samples. (McCalley talked about opening NOS samples of Windsor Maroon, and they'd turned black in the can.) Reds used to be notorious for being uns...

BuddyTheRoadster

Well the current motor is "factory cast iron pistons" stock. But I could see myself doing the next one with aluminum pistons, a Waukesha head, SCAT crank, just enough porting to smooth the intake passages, and a slightly higher lift cam. I've got a mid-1920s Winfield pamphlet that listed the 4V for ...

BuddyTheRoadster

Is anyone running a Winfield 5H sidedraft carb? I have one and wonder if it'd be too much for a slightly warmed up T motor?

BuddyTheRoadster

Besides thirding the question about the bows being padded, I wonder if the installer did not pull the material tight enough. Top material can act like tires and relax a bit on a hot day. What seems "too tight" at installation often stretches to fit just right.

BuddyTheRoadster

Stan, ignore the naysayers. Their complaints say more about them than you. Chad, a quick scan looks like Buick and some others used a Schebler L carburetor around 1913. The air valve carbs can be fussy to get right. A friend has a Schebler S Duplex on his 1929 Kissel, and the carburetor went through...

BuddyTheRoadster

I'll buy a space to sell, and if they need a remote logistics person, I can donate my time for that too.

BuddyTheRoadster

Bakersfield is 4 hours north of me, but it's truly one of the highlights of my year. I'd gladly help run it if I can do it remotely.

BuddyTheRoadster

For me, ultimately it's the personality that each Model T has. They're all slightly different, and sometimes you can almost have a conversation with the car.

Also, I love the nimbleness of my roadster. It's about as "bicycle-like" as a car will get.

BuddyTheRoadster

Erik, you must be the camera whisperer. LOL Those are two droolworthy box cameras right there.

BuddyTheRoadster

Anytime dude! I went through a box and folding camera collecting phase in college, and I spent way too much time on the Brownie camera website. Here's the breakdown on the No. 2 Brownie. https://www.brownie-camera.com/53.shtml They were cardboard covered with leatherette from 1902-1924, and the last...

BuddyTheRoadster

Tim, That was the original Kodak camera of 1888, it came preloaded with a 100 exposure film roll. You sent the whole camera back to Eastman for processing. http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Kodak_Camera The cool thing about those was that the photographs are round. The Brownie came out in 1900, and the no...

BuddyTheRoadster

I would pick it up if I were you. The MB-1 is a rare Stromberg and apparently popular with the Fronty guys as you can mount it directly to the head. A choke butterfly wouldn't be hard to fabricate, the cap over the float needle C in the diagram is often missing and can be made, and if you're missing...

BuddyTheRoadster

Your best bet might be to read era newspapers and see what colors were advertised. This link will show what sorts of colors were offered in the carriage varnish era: https://www.autocolorlibrary.com/pages/coaches-carriages I would take these and era color ads as inspiration. Keep in mind, though, th...

BuddyTheRoadster

Jim, Original paint is a fascinating topic and a rabbit hole too. I think closed cars got a little more attention than open as they were the expensive models, but that's just my intuition talking. I did see the Rip Van Winkle 1917 touring car at Bakersfield a few years back, and it still has origina...

BuddyTheRoadster

Well Ron beat me, but I'm thirding the Scripps-Booth suggestion.

BuddyTheRoadster

It can be hard to make a direct comparison by adjusting prices as many things are not direct comparisons. In general, housing prices have gone up while food and clothing prices have gone down. Other things have come and gone. (I checked 1909 advertised prices. A new player piano could be $800, a Vic...

BuddyTheRoadster

Here's another one: a Ward's Dynamic Timer.

BuddyTheRoadster

My grandfather, Harry Lee Polto, was a Pearl Harbor survivor. He's mentioned in Walter Lord's Day of Infamy.

BuddyTheRoadster

The Hassler rebound check was a sort of snubber like Gabriel snubber and the "shock absorbers" that were option on 1926-1927. Rebound check is a perfect name, because that's exactly what it does. Here's the patent: https://patents.google.com/patent/US1646583A/en My 1923 roadster came with single Has...

BuddyTheRoadster

Can you post a picture of the mystery Zenith? I haven't seen ")$" on a casting, but I've only studied them for a few years. Could it be "O4" or "O5" with 100 years of wear and tear? O4s came on Chevrolet 490 and probably a number of obscure cars. Zenith S4BF is a darn good carb from everything I've ...

BuddyTheRoadster

I have worried about this for a while, as I just hit 40 and intend to drive vintage cars until I'm too old to drive. As to the question of driving "mostly stock" Ts, I think they'll be around for at least a generation or two. Part of the beauty of the T is that it is so "primitive," it has a lot of ...

BuddyTheRoadster

My 1923 roadster is Buddy. I bought him the day after I graduated from 8th grade. I had a lot of unhappiness in my early teens, and having that car gave me some direction and focus in my life, so he became my buddy when I didn't have many people friends. I hope to get him back on the road this Chris...

BuddyTheRoadster

Now that's a good looking T!

BuddyTheRoadster

I just found this ad the other day and wanted to share it. It'd be nice if we could still buy them for $57.75!

[attachment=0]Rajo ad.jpg[/attachment}

BuddyTheRoadster

Vehicle registration records would probably tell it more accurately than we can. Another option would be to see how late Ford dealers were expected to stock T parts. We know that Ford was still selling replacement engines until 1941. But clearly from the posts above, someone was still driving a T un...

BuddyTheRoadster

Nice job. My car came with a roughly 18" long piece of wood thin enough to use as gas dip stick, and it also made a decent trunk prop. (Unfortunately it disappeared on a tour.)

BuddyTheRoadster

This question comes up fairly often. Beyond the general suggestions guys have already given, the best thing I can say is to drive your car for a while and let it tell you where it's happy. Every T is a little different, and if you're mechanically inclined, you just get a sense after a while. I wish ...

BuddyTheRoadster

I bought my 1923 roadster when I was 14 and wiped out my life savings. (I regret nothing.) The paint in it is older than me, and hopefully I’ll get to it’s next restoration before I’m 60.

BuddyTheRoadster

Zenith was a "set and forget" carburetor that controlled everything through jetting. That was fine when Zenith had dealers with all the jets in stock, now we live with what we got or carefully try to modify the jets. Stan Howe makes an adjustable main jet for his restored Zeniths. It looks pretty co...

BuddyTheRoadster

What Stan said. Yes they have a lot of parts, but most of them are inert and are really just drain plugs for if and when you have to clean the passages. Your #1 is idle, #2 is the economizer needle setting, and #3 is high speed mixture. The economizer enriches the mixture at higher throttle, and you...

BuddyTheRoadster

Oh it's a Singer class 29. They were designed for cobblers and I think harness makers. They're big and have a walking beam, and I want one, but then I'd have to learn bootmaking to justify it, and...

BuddyTheRoadster

Happy Birthday Larry, many happy returns of the day!

BuddyTheRoadster

Oh that does suck. If glued, the cracks will still show when lit. Your best bet might be to look for a milk glass or opal lamp shade or lamp globe and then get the Ford script painted or stenciled on. Good luck!

BuddyTheRoadster

I'll be watching the classifieds for the next batch. Thanks for doing this for us!

BuddyTheRoadster

Are there any numbers stamped on them? They don’t immediately strike me as Stromberg or Zenith, but I can go looking through my stash.

BuddyTheRoadster

An object lesson. The left reflector is an original silvered one in tolerable shape. The right reflector is one of the aluminum coated ones from Lang's. It's a world of difference, and I'll know in a few days how much difference it'll make. And of course, check that you have good grounds. IMG_7363.j...

BuddyTheRoadster

I agree, 1924-1927 Buick. Pretty cars.

BuddyTheRoadster

Yeah, well. Apparently carbon was found to be carcinogenic. So now, burnt toast, diamonds, and organic chemistry are dangerous to your health.

Anyway, I was hoping someone had an effective homebrew solution. I’ll get the car from storage tonight and go from there.

BuddyTheRoadster

Sadly yep. Lacquer thinner, paint thinner, and acetone are available. (They’re not what they used to be, but that’s usually the case with chemicals.) MEK, tuolene, xylene, and surprisingly denatured alcohol are pretty much illegal to sell in out here.

BuddyTheRoadster

I’m pulling my roadster out of mothballs. The last time I saw it, the carburetor had varnished up, and I’m expecting the gas tank to be similar. Is there an effective cleaning solution I can do at home? I know MEK worked, but it’s illegal in my state. Any suggestions are appreciated.

BuddyTheRoadster

You can also cut a piece of window screen mesh and sandwich it between the upholstery panel and the hose to keep the material from tearing if it’s getting delicate.

BuddyTheRoadster

What year and body style is the car? Some kick panels may be leather, fabric, imitation leather, or cardboard.

BuddyTheRoadster

Every time you post I learn something new!
Now, for beginners like me, how do you get the old balls and spring out? And does the housing get swedged to retain the new ones?

BuddyTheRoadster

Darn it. I’m 30 miles south of La and would have driven up in a heartbeat. Safe travels!

BuddyTheRoadster

I'd like one too. Don't worry about the "money pit," I'm starting at that with a couple planned projects of my own.

BuddyTheRoadster

If I can get a motor in the roadster in time, I'll be driving. It'd be a pleasure to meet you Steve if you come out.

BuddyTheRoadster

Awesome!

How are their wood screws? Do they have cut threads like vintage ones?

BuddyTheRoadster

Is anybody running 3.33 or 3.25 rear end gears in their car? My 1923 roadster will be getting a Ruckstell within the next couple years, and I was thinking of installing taller rear axle gears than 3.63:1. The temporary motor has aluminum pistons, Waukesha head, cam with greater lift, and a high volu...

BuddyTheRoadster

I don't know if this would be long enough, but it's a possibility.

https://cwmoss.com/products/thermo-quai ... gI1lvD_BwE

BuddyTheRoadster

You bring up a lot of good questions, and I'll try to address them in the order posted. Henry Ford was a complicated man (as was his buddy Thomas Edison) and he had some contradictions that seem odd to us now. Now there are three things to remember: 1) the Model T was almost always the cheapest car ...

BuddyTheRoadster

That honestly depends on the drivers around you. I drove a model A as my daily for about a year in 2004-2005. When I was in "nice" neighborhoods, soccer moms in SUVs tailgated me and gave angry looks because I was in their way. Going through working class neighborhoods, I got smiles and offers to bu...

BuddyTheRoadster

As an under-40 model T owner, I want to chime in. First off, the generation that remembered model Ts as new or used cars has passed away. I bought my T in 1995, and at that time, elderly people remembered Ts in junkyards or the turnouts where a model T had to make a hard turn to reverse up a hill. T...

BuddyTheRoadster

Regarding Brasso, they reformulated it within the last 10 years when they went from the little metal cans to the squeeze bottles. The antique radio guys loved the old formula for polishing Bakelite, and when it was discontinued in the US, one Canadian collector bought every can he could find and res...

BuddyTheRoadster

Brent, thank you for doing historic restoration. When I went to Gonzaga, I felt like the campus architect and I were the only people who cared about all the great Edwardian architecture in Spokane. Anyway. I'm 38, I bought my T when I was 14. I call him Buddy, (hence my screen name, Buddy the Roadst...

BuddyTheRoadster

Herm, how do you chose when you use Grade No. 11 and when you use Grade No. 2 Babbitt?

BuddyTheRoadster

Aside from your top bows being probably too close to the center of the car, maybe your wood bow sections need to be trimmed a little more to go in deeper into the irons? That would probably help with the front bow overshooting the windshield by 10 inches. Good luck!

BuddyTheRoadster

Bravo!

BuddyTheRoadster

My Dad left me with about 5 T camshafts, all in numbered Iskenderian boxes but otherwise unlabeled. I want to know which cam has which grind. I have V blocks, a dial indicator, and I'm pretty sure there's a degree wheel somewhere. What do I do from there?

Thanks!

BuddyTheRoadster

Agreed. The last long drive I took on my T was the Holiday Motor Excursion in Pasadena CA. Since I was up in the city, I drove through Pasadena, to LA, to Santa Monica to show my car to an old friend. It was fine in rush hour surface traffic.

BuddyTheRoadster

Tech support is odious work. Thanks for fixing all the bugs for us!

BuddyTheRoadster

Here you go. This is Buddy, he's my first T and my first car. My late father, Steve Rini, started working on cars when he was 6, and he practically lived in the garage. When I was about 12, Dad's car books got "interesting," and I found myself liking 1920s touring cars. (I should give him credit, he...

BuddyTheRoadster

There's a fighting chance that production stopped sometime in the 1930s, and they assembled motors from parts on hand through 1941. There might be documentation at the Benson Ford Archives, but I don't know where you'd start to look.

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