MTFCA Forum

Not me but a good friend had disc brakes. Worked wonderfully until he had small hydraulic fluid leak, discs nicely lubricated, no stopping at all. I recognise that the hobby is big enough to accommodate almost everyone, but my question is, if you want to go that fast why don't you get a Corvette?

Get an acetylene "B" tank (offset valve), mount it on the running board, solves the problem. You can get Prestolite decals to make it look more "authentic" but they will disappear when you take the tank to be exchanged. I tried to get an original Prestolite tank filled but was told that the tank had...

Agree: NOS glass makes for a death-mobile. I am currently having all the glass replaced in my 1924 Fordor. NOS is OK right up until someone crashes into your car, then you are covered in flying thick heavy glass, the cause of most car-crash deaths "back i n the day". I am sorry to remove the glass f...

Yes, OT is for non-T stuff. In this particular case the question that arises is if there were an EMP attack, would the T's still run or would the EMP wipe out the coils? Early T's with wood coil boxes have very little metal to form a Faraday cage while later T's with steel coil boxes might survive. ...

When turtles can fly!!!!

Allan, I always enjoy your posts, informative and fun. I wear little other than bibbies, have put a lot of experience to work finding the best. I don't care for Liberty, find them cheaply made. Key is fine, as is Roundhouse (Made in USA), but the best, by far, are Five-Guys (Made in USA) can be boug...

My recently purchased 1924 Fordor came with an after-market locking steering box at the top of the steering column. I have no idea what the key looks like, but it is just a thought.

Model T's are not that complex, helps to stop pretending they are Aston-Martins or the like. Over heating comes from several factors. 1. Spark timing, make sure timing is correct and advanced properly: retarded spark = hotter engine. 2. carburettor: when you get the needle valve adjusted remember to...

I avoided lithium batteries, not entirely certain I wish to take a chance on the things spontaneously combusting to burn up a non-replaceable Model T. Check out MGuy on YouTube to see just how bad lithium batteries can be.

That was a nice eastern king snake in the transmission. Keep it, they eat venomous serpents for supper.

Recently bought 1924 Model T Fordor sedan. Side rearview mirrors would be very helpful. What do folks do to get side mirrors without too much damage to the car?

Vinegar 1: water 4. Vinegar does not attack clean metal, only corrosion.

Suffered the same symptoms on my 1910 Buick Model 10. Finally turned out to be vapor lock. I run the fuel line under the exhaust on my Model T's, have never had a vapor lock those cars.

Two mote trailer options: always travel with enough folding chairs to entertain the guests that will descend, especially if you are cooking, and I don't have but wish I did have a retracting awning for those days and evenings when it is raining.

Go for 20', no such thing as a trailer too big. Mine has V-nose, space for a full floor-mounted multi-drawer tool box for tools yes, but also nearly all parts for building a new T on the road, plus machinist vise. Don't put your winch in the middle of the floor always in the way to stumble over. Min...

The problem is not skin deep, it goes to the heart. Today, nothing is ever repaired: broken... replace. With no repair shops, opportunities to earn skills and trades vanishes. How many times do i see queries on this forum and other antique car fora asking where to get a radiator repaired? How many k...

If wishes were RR Silver Ghosts.........

But my daily driver is a 1991 Mercedes 300 diesel.

Blockley for sure. Couple thousand on the front tires with no signs of wear, tubes are at least twice as thick as anything else. One issue, Blockleys are so good (thick and substantial) that it is nearly impossible to get a flap inside. I gave up, no flaps, and no problems.

Blockley for sure. Couple thousand on the front tires with no signs of wear, tubes are at least twice as thick as anything else. One issue, Blockleys are so good (thick and substantial) that it is nearly impossible to get a flap inside. I gave up, no flaps, and no problems.

For those complaining about slow Forum, just try to remember dial-up modems, or maybe sell the Model T and get a Corvette.

I installed a carrier in the frame from a later car. I don't like the look but one has to get under the car to see it. Perhaps another query is what sort of battery is used? My battery is for hand crank starting and to run LED brake and turn signals, so I used a 12v marine deep cycle battery (Wouldn...

A bit of history: In the colonial period, large landowners were required to grow hemp to provide cordage for the Royal Navy, a certain percentage of land given over to that crop. George Washington was such a large landowner, so complied and grew hemp as required. An interesting side note: Mr. Washin...

The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there (L.P. Hartley, "The Go-Between"). When the automobile was introduced, it was a very expensive toy. Only the most wealthy could afford one. Those electric vehicles were used primarily to traverse the bank executive from home to bank offi...

Beware! Give a man a fish and he will have a nice meal, teach a man to fish and he will spend the rest of his life in a boat drinking Budweiser! Some Model T tasks require a lot of practice, like proper painting. Some require obscure tools, like pouring babbit. Is it worth all the cans of paint wast...

With the demise of Gunk SC, I am now making my own with naphtha, try-propylene glycol, and Dawn dish soap. Cut the finished mixture with kerosene and it is like the 1950's all over again!

I empathise with Mr.Codman above. Used to drive a lot more than now, wife bedridden with dementia, not so much fun as it used to be, also can't leave the house for overnights. No more touring but do drive in parades and to a few car shows, also drive every Thursday about 15 miles round trip to Model...

In all the pictures presented here I did not see one over-weight person. What has happened to us?

Vinegar 50/50 with water. Dissolves corrosion without touching good metal. Excellent for all metal cleaning. Cheap!

Thanks to all for sharing experiences with external brakes. Seems I will be sticking with what Mr. Ford gave us.

We live in mountains in western North Carolina. I have been considering installing a set of A/C brakes in our possession, but have a question of those who use them. While the idea of external brakes seems appealing given locally steep terrain, I have also read that they aren't great when wet. Our lo...

Possibly another amazing example of if Henry didn't put it on the car then you don't need it. Get rid of all the "e" stuff, get a Ford timer, put back an original Ford coil box, toss the plastic coils and get some real ones. It was all so simple and so easy, originally.

Been using that style in brass for years. Excellent in that they are steady. Only drawback is that a lock washer is required or the screw into the windshield post comes loose, requires finding a machine screw just 1/4 inch longer, not easy in brass.

Yes, make a French polish: linseed oil, turpentine, shaved bees wax, can't remember the proportions. The point is that many folks ruin wonderful antiques by applying new finishes. To be best as an antique, nothing should be done that can't be reversed. There is a huge literature out there on these t...

If Henry didn't put it on the car then you don't need it. Always need to remember that Mr. Ford did not just throw the car together. Every piece was engineered to be just right for the torque and speed expected. To keep costs down and profits high, nothing was over-engineered. Somehow my friends who...

So what can we say?!?!? If you live in a polity that thinks everybody is owed everything, cost of living will be high (There is no such thing as a free lunch: Kurt Vonnegut). Then, you add in all the costs associated with eco-freak tree huggers out to save the planet (from what?) and the cost of eve...

Mr. Patterson,

You have rebuilt a few KW coils for me in the past, with which I have been very pleased. Query: Do you rebuild 1911-12 style Kingston coils? Any chance you would have one such Kington coil for sale?

Cheers,

Tom Loftfield
Loftfield@Hotmail.com
828-243-7454
Brevard, North Carolina

Jeff Dreibus in Nebo. North Carolina does carbs under the business name Old Carb Doctor. Can be reached online at Old Carb Doctor. He has done several Model T carbs as wells Scheblers for Buicks for me, always excellent work.

Another small idea: when you shut off the engine after a run, try opening the throttle as the engine dies (ignition off). My experience has been that the car will start easily even when warm, no choke at all, one or two pulls on the crank handle. Beyond that benefit, the car more often than not give...

Why does your insurance company say you must rid yourself of good parts? Is this action more California lunacy?

Just a query: would a modern aluminium core allow sufficient water flow without a water pump?

The key words are "hot and dry". Your spokes have shrunk. When faced with the same dilemma, I dismount the wheel and soak the whole thing in a cheap kiddie swimming pool from Walmart, usually overnight is sufficient. Spokes absorb water, expand, tight again. In between, washing the wheels with water...

I live in mountains of North Carolina, worry about losing braking from broken drive train. I own a set of AC brakes, have not installed them yet. Some commentators have mentioned that external drum brakes don't work when wet. Our area enjoys 70+ inches of rain a year so wet breaks are a potential wo...

One last little thing. When using aluminium pistons the wrist pins need to be honed. My then recently rebuilt engine stopped suddenly after a parade and long drive, engine overheating badly all the time. Engine stuck. Next day, engine turned over but clearly something was wrong. A better rebuild dis...

But when? On an average day after an average drive, no boil. However, if air temp is very high, or after a long slog up a good hill, the system may boil if the engine is stopped, hence the advice to not shut off at the top of the hill but let the engine idle until the temp comes down.

12 volt gel deep cycle battery, held in an inappropriate battery carrier from a 1920's Model T. I use the battery for many free starts, and for stop and turn lights. I was going to go for a lithium ion battery until discovering how hot they burn (watch MGUY on YouTube), no need to take a chance with...

First antique cars on which I was allowed to work as a teenager were neighbor's Rolls Royce Silver Ghosts. Hand crank, BUT, not cranked as we crank our T's. The technique was to prime the engine via the crank, then stop the crank with a cylinder just past TDC. Turn on battery ignition and start on c...

Yup, my local tire place that does the farm equipment and truck tires could not get the Blockley tires on the rims. They lost $$$$$ just trying. it finally developed that the trouble was flaps, which are really not needed on Blockley's with Blockley tubes. The job got done at home, sans flaps, the s...

So it seems the big EV revolution is dying in the trenches, or on the vine. Suggest watching MGUY on Youtuibe, I think he is also on X and another such media. Quick stories explaining why the EV market is collapsing. My take on the situation is that everybody thought Elon Musk was going to be the ne...

I grew up with Model T's in Northeast Ohio. Unlike most, I did not put my T down for the winter so learned how to start cold, meaning bone-chilling cold. Keep an incandescent trouble light under the transmission pan, helps a lot. I avoid heated garages because heated air is dry air, dries out wheels...

My first car,1924 Model T Fordor, came home in pieces on a trailer in 1962, 16th birthday. Have loved them ever since. Mine are for driving, concessions to modern consist of kevlar bands, Anderson timer, brake and turn signals so I get home alive. Every drive is a participation in living history. Un...

Thanks to George Mills for a wonderful description of how Granddad would have solved the problem. Knowledge of these older techniques needs to be preserved, an essential part of the antique car hobby.

The true joy of the 1912. Almost anything is correct or incorrect and no real way to make the determination. Hood straps? Front doors? Which coil box and coils? Which carburetor? Leather or faux? .........

Tractor Supply Company has a nice 6-volt battery, fits the Model T battery cage under the back seat. Lithium ion batteries seem wonderful right up until you see how many of them catch fire and can't be extinguished...store your car outside warnings. Your insurance will replace your Tesla, but replac...

But maybe the real question is can you speak Model T? Buzz coil, coil, coil box, timer, commutator, etc. Let's see how many vocabulary words apply to Model T only. Then there are the highly specialised words used when no amount of hand cranking can get the thing started, or when dropping something i...

What hard pavement?

Save yourself a lot of anxiety and effort. Clean the area thoroughly, as f you were going to paint it, then use J-B weld or some there epoxy. Fiberglass resin will not work, must be epoxy, not polyester resin. No worries, little fuss, and if it fails you just grind off the epoxy and try again.

Why Dress? When we drive in parades, car shows, or tours, we prefer to dress, meaning put on clothes appropriate for the period of our cars (Edwardian Era brass…sort of). At 1910-1912 we just miss the true Edwardian period (Edward VII died in 1910), but the fashions did not change that much in two y...

Yup. I remember having bonded linings installed on a T in the 1960's. car left my ownership shortly thereafter so no news on what damage the linings did to drums or other engine innards. It was just a "thing" back then to get away from Scandinavia, looking for longer band life. Then came wood and no...

Salt will be good forever, it is indeed, likely a zillion years old already, hence the point of salting meats etc. If yours is clumped from moisture then a quick trip in the food processor or blender will bring it back to proper condition.

2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit; boo for the Chinese partial ownership of what was once Chrysler but at least it is made in USA. 2018 Ford F-250 Superduty, pulls the 20' enclosed trailer for the Model T when touring far away and does most of its work on the farm.

Model D Schedulers were ubiquitous, used on numerous automobiles, stationary engines, and marine engines. The folks at the museum will find it not difficult to locate a Scheduler Model D, BUT, they must know whether it is updraft, sidedraft, etc, the diameter of the throat. spacing of the attachment...

Find the $$$$ to get an enclosed trailer. I use a 20' Kaufmann to carry 1912 touring or 1910 Buick. Car tops must come down, but just down, no need to disassemble, windshield goes in if one is careful. The big selling point is that inside my trailer is a complete set of tools, spare parts, a work be...

The AI is not better. The Haiku submitted is much more creative, says far more in far fewer words. The AI was doggerel at best.

If all the above fails try pulling the car, key on, let out he high speed clutch to get the engine to turn at a good pace. If the engine starts and runs you then know the problem is some fiddly little setting of carb or spark, just keep fiddling until you find the sweet spots.

Lost steel and iron objects that have fallen onto the ground can often be relocated by use of a strong magnet. There are wide magnets used by construction folks to recover lost nails before they find their way into a tire.

No need for a metric converted, simply call or email Blockley and the wonderful staff will do the translations for you. Been there, done that, excellent results!

Back to Mr. Sheldon's post about authenticity. Ruxtells didn't come on the market until 1920's, but they can be retrofitted back to 1913. The clamshells of the earlier cars aren't big enough to take a Ruxtell so installing one means installing a later differential, more motion away from authentic. E...

I see you won a major award, excellent! But be careful; it is frag-ee-lay.

Come on, there were tracking devices in 1906, and a lot earlier than that. They were then called wives and mothers: "Where have you been? What have you been up to? What do you mean you bought another car?"

Once, long ago, there was a thread similar in length to this one concerning "What looks good"? The overall consensus was that white tires look better on painted wheels than on varnished natural wood while black tires look better on varnished wood wheels. So, maybe, another element to this discussion...

When asked when automobile racing began. Henry Ford is said to have quipped, when the second car was finished. On the same page, after-market upgrades likely appeared about the same time. The question then develops as to just what "original" means. Wire wheels from the factory are highly unlikely, b...

Absolutely fascinating little piece of history. A proper forensic analysis of the dirt would likely indicate where it originated , locally or blown in on the storm that swept Dorothy and Toto away. Keeping the dirt is not silly, it remains a forensic example of local history, exactly the sort of evi...

My first car was a 1924 Ford sedan brought home in 1962; have had several Model T's after that; currently own two 1912's. I also own a 1909 and a 1910 Buick Model 10, Buick's low end car meant to compete with Model T. It is my observation that for $100 (10%) more, you got twice the car with the Buic...

On the other end of the story, one post alluded to we superannuated folks leaving the scene. Given the correctness of that observation, should a car be sold to an "old geezer" who will soon shuffle off leaving the car to who knows what end? Or, is the old geezer too old to properly care for the car?...

I empathize with your situation, have been there in the past, am there right now. Had an engine rebuilt by totally knowledgeable person, could not get it to start by hand crank, finally had to pull it the first few times until components got "settled". Have an engine right now just finished valve jo...

Perhaps one point missed is the consideration of just how much of a garage was needed to keep a Model T going. While pictures such as this one bring up huge quaffs of nostalgia, I can't say that it would be fun to work in such cramped quarters, much prefer the open space of modern clear-span buildin...

Blockley's are a little more expensive but they will last twice as long as any other tire. Even if adding import duty one is still way ahead with Blockley.It seems that essentially all of the vintage tires are made in one factory in Viet Nam, Blockley simply imposes their own standards. Why US tire ...

Is it true that you moved the steering wheel to the left side of the Model T because Clara asked for it to be there so she didn't have to get out into the mud and manure in the middle of the road? As a follow-on, is it true that Clara was the only person in the entire world of whom you were afraid (...

It all depends on how "correct" you want your car to appear. Blockley tubes come with threaded steel stems precisely so that you CAN affix the base nut that then carries the metal tube cover; looks "correct" even though it isn't entirely proper. While you can use one, you don't need a bridge washer ...

When registering a 1911 Maxwell recently purchased, I was asked how many doors does it have. I replied, "none". The nice lady then asked, "How many doors would it have if it had doors". Answer: "Two". Matter fixed!

The topic of this thread keeps reappearing, so there apparently are some problems to be addressed. I have controlled carbon on #1 by adjustment of the needle valve. In summer warm air the car can run just a tad richer without carbon build-up, helps keep the engine cooler (trick learned from long-tim...

What to do? Cashiers checks are nearly worthless, so easily forged. Cash has always been vulnerable, if not Bonnie and Clyde then confiscation by law enforcement to bolster their banks accounts. Personal checks are a joke. Recent purchases: a unique apple cider press direct from China, paid via PayP...

My guess is that it was to carry the chief to important political events, not for highway patrol!

My solution is a bumper sticker bought recently and affixed to the dash (1912 touring). It says

WARNING: NO AIRBAGS
WE DIE LIKE REAL MEN!

Mr. Coffey, I am also in Western North Carolina, have a set of four very good demountables with nearly new tires. However, these items lack hubs, but we can talk. In any event, I'd like to know where you and your T are located. Give me a call or text at 8-two-8, two four three-7454. Hope to hear fro...

Model T came with aluminum pistons. Whoever put them in failed to hone the wrist pins, a requirement for aluminium pistons. As note above, froze up, car stopped pretty quickly. Engine needed a serious overhaul, had it done professionally as absolutely everything needed to be replaced on engine and t...

Here in Mama Bear country (Brevard, North Carolina), which is to say not too hot and not too cold, I choose to not heat the garage in winter. My experience across many decades has been that heated air is dry air, dries out the wood in the wheels and in the body, causing some serious problems. One Mo...

The alternative is to move South where we don't put up our cars for any season.

What an unfortunate name for a set of brakes!

Blockley's are a few $$$$ more but well worth the investment. Rubber at least twice as thick as the "standards". They come with a nickel plated metal stem, couldn't possibly ask for more. Always arrive in USA within a week of ordering. Can't imagine it would be any more time for you folks down under...

Forget your Model T, the coils are exactly what suffers in EMP (It was the coils on the telegraph keys that zapped the operators in the Carrington event, named after Richard Carrington, British amateur astronomer who demonstrated the existence of solar flares). Buy a good bicycle, and a whole lot of...

A couple very good studies only a few years ago found that states with inspections have no more nor fewer traffic accidents caused by equipment malfunction than those states that have no inspection. The inspection was always just a way to force people to the commercial garage where they could be eas...

We like to "dress" for parades. shows, tours, etc, often bringing weird looks from the people whose only interest is the mechanics and bodywork of their cars. "Dressing" just adds that extra little bit of authenticity. But what is authentic? The first mistake most make is looking at Downton Abbey an...

The biggest problem with the time machine is that we could all go back to see what Mr. Ford actually put on his cars. A whole lot of "experts" might be sadly embarrassed!

Have now had a chance to drive quite a few miles retarding the spark when shifting as per suggestion from Robert in New Jersey. It definitely works. I cannot say with certainty that retarding the spark instead of the throttle gives a smoother shift (if it does the difference is slight), but there is...

Robert's advice about using the spark advance has merit. I have never tried it when shifting, but retarding the spark has wonderful good effect when the engine is lugging. I believe that retarding the spark in the slow speed lug may help forestall joining the two-piece crankshaft club. While the Mod...

Just to clarify: Stutzman is Amish, hence no electronic communication.

Tarheel Tee's not the only T club. Blue Ridge Riders has a few members in the Hendersonville/Brevard/Asheville area. Alas, it is a long drive to Lake Norman. We tend to drive with Tennessee T's, a bit closer. If you get something going in the greater Charlotte area let us know, some may trailer down...

Under the back seat. Who cares? At 30mph no one is ever going to stop you for anything other than getting a good look. At least here in North Carolina no one gives a flip about cars as old as Model T.

This note to alert the passing last week of Ken Nye of Mills River/Etowah, North Carolina. Ken came late to Model T’s after an earlier life as Army helicopter crew chief, then helicopter mechanic. Ken never got his Model T to fly, but he and wife, Jenni, toured extensively in their 1923 touring car ...

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