MTFCA Forum

Dennis, I have basically tried what you contemplating with mixed results. Playing with coils is entertaining to some of us A few suggestions based on my experience are: A train transformer will not work so well because the frequency is too high. I use 3 or four D cell batteries. Capacitor testers ca...

Larry, Thanks for supporting me on the compression calculation. I thought about explaining how the heat of compression increases the pressure, but just didn't feel like arguing with others. Under ideal conditions the ratio would be raised to a power of 1.4 for air. Under realistic conditions, some o...

Reusing a head gasket is a $50. decision. So far I have gone with a new head gasket with the model t. I have successfully reused head gaskets in the 60's when I had even less money than I do.

Art Mirtes

Ron,
You posted the above while I was typing my above reply.

Art Mirtes

Ron, My car has always hand started on mag. Please tell me what I did to enable this when I rebuilt the engine and adjusted the coils. I have no idea if the trick is in the mag or is in the coil setting. My low budget forced me to charge the magnets with number 12 house wire rather than to use a reg...

James,
Your car looks very nice. I hope you drive it often. Maybe you can drive it 100 miles on the day it turns 100. I did that with mine on September 1, 2022. Coincidentally, that day would have been my mother's 114th birthday.

Art Mirtes

I recommend the single stack magneto coil with the starter notch. Also changed the flywheel to one with a starter ring gear. These recommendations are based on the possibility of added a starter. Both Lang's and Snyder's catalogs show rebuilt mag rings. The lenght of the 1919 to 1922 coil cores are ...

John Codman,
Your roller timer has been in your car for ten years. What's your secret to its long life. I cannot get a year out of one. I drive about 2000 miles per year.

Art Mirtes

The catalogs from Snyder's and from Gaslight show roller timers. You would have to contact them to determine if they actually have them.

Art Mirtes

I have been using the roller type timer. They last about 1600 miles then the internal surface gets lumpy, which causes misfiring. Additionally the roller requires cleaning and oiling every few hundred miles. An ANCO (flapper) timer interests me. This design requires good alignment between the camsha...

Cousin Eddy's dog, schnops, preferred Pennzoil. Apparently Eddy used it as well in his motor home.
It must be good to keep that "tenement on wheels" on the road.

Art Mirtes

I am about half way through rewinding a generator armature. Soldering has turned into a learning experience. The local motor shops have been a good source for materials, even though they don't work on armatures. One shop wanted throw me out for thinking I wanted them to do the rewinding. After the o...

David,
If you cannot use your Giant head, I could use it.

Art Mirtes

Jeff,
What do you mean by good sleeves? That might be like asking which oil to use.

Art Mirtes

Boat gas and Av fuel are about the same price in my area.
The Av fuel I can get is 100 octane is supposed to be good for 10 years. I have had good luck with ethanol gas in the model T. I drive about 2000 miles between April and November, so the gas stays fresh in the summer.

Art Mirtes

I use aviation fuel in the my snow blowers and in the chain saws. I don't run out the gas when i put them away. They always easily start when needed.

Art Mirtes

Craig, That's a nice looking fire extinguisher. Until about 60 years ago, they were commonly filled with carbontetracloride. The FRX brand was made in my childhood hometown. Carbontetracloride was commonly used in my area as a cleaner when working on engines, transmissions, etc. Later it was declare...

Up until about 4 years ago, I used non alcohol gas in the model T. The price jumped from 50 cents per gallon to a dollar difference in price compared to regular ethanol gas. During winter storage I fill the tank ethanol gas and treat it with Sta-bil. I drain the gas in the carburetor. If needed, I c...

I am quiet sure Gaslight has them in stock

Forty years ago, I taught algebra and trigonometry at night to apprentices. I asked the school for chalk to use on the chalk board. They thought I was nuts, but the students liked my method. But I never had to throw an eraser. Today I would be sued for all kinds of damages.

Art Mirtes

Forty years ago, I taught algebra and trigonometry at night to apprentices. I asked the school for chalk to use on the chalk board. They thought I was nuts, but the students liked my method. But I never had to throw an eraser. Today I would be sued for all kinds of damages.

Art Mirtes

Are they the same as those in a 26 axle. I am assuming the gears at the ones pressed onto the axle shaft.

Art Mirtes

Peter, I totally agree with you. No way would I sign a waiver. Unless they are paying for articles, they have no right to claim ownership. The only reason that I can figure out is to prevent the same article to appear in the MTFCI magazine. Without this requirement, I am sure l there would be more a...

Received my issue today. Maybe the cover photo is a result of generational differences.

Art Mirtes

Treaded tires normally last longer than smooth tires.
What brand is best?

Let the debate begin.

Art Mirtes

Is the transmission, etc included in your shipment

I and many other forum users appreciate the all of the people who maintain the forum. I am sure there are many issues that the average user does see.

Keep up the work.

Art Mirtes

I am not familiar with FACT for coil testing. Can someone explain this.

Art Mirtes

I favor the northern route across Pennsylvania, I80. This is shorter than the route across southern New York. The interstate across Northern NY has a pricy toll, but might be the shortest route by a few miles.
As previously suggested, check the weather before making the decision. Good luc

Is this limited to MTFCA chapters.

Norman, I am happy to hear that you are maintaining and are using your model t's at 89. You might consider getting an alternator instead of a generator. An alternator is about the same price and a lot more reliable. My car has not had a charging system for 5 years I just occasionally recharge the ba...

My testing has shown that $100. is a lot to pay for something that is not necessary.

Art Mirtes

Andre, Thanks for clearing up my wire diameter concern. I will order the .8 mm, which is American Wire Gauge (AWG) 20. It will be easier to handle than AWG 18, 1.0 mm. I am interested in the use of a growler. I have one, but don't fully understand how to interpret the results. I watched my father us...

Andre, Thanks for sharing the detailed information on winding armature. The explanation is excellent. I am now excited to start. One question is the size of the wire. The old wire is approximately 1.25 mm. You use .8 mm diameter wire. The thinner wire will be easier to handle. I am hoping that your ...

Andre, Your generator armature rewinding looks really nice. I am interested in rewinding an armature that burned up because of a loose connection to the battery. My questions are 1. What is the white material along the slots. 2. Any preferred wire brand or supplier. 3. Are the wires soldered to the ...

I saw the pick up box for sale as well. It did look nice. Unfortunately, I don't have anything to put it on. Would love to gave a pickup, especially a 1912.

Arr Mirtes

Where in New York are you located.

That's good to hear. It shows that there are a lot of good and honest people in this great hobby.

Arr Mirtes

Eight years ago, I bought new cam bearings. The endplay clearance was ok. But, I had to scrape the babbit to get a proper journal fit. It was somewhat time consuming.

Art Mirtes

I agree with Steve about the price. I charged my magnets with about a dollars worth of material and had great success. An ammeter is really not needed to use your magnetizer. The unknown is how much voltage is needed charge a magnet. I would start with a 12 volt battery and add more batteries in ser...

I worked in a grease pit 60 some years ago. Hated every minute of it. I preferred working on a creeper at that time. I don't have a lift, so creeper it is

Art Mirtes

Ford made model C pickup trucks in 1933 and 34 with a 4 cylinder engine if my childhood memory serves correctly.

Art Mirtes

I should have said cut in voltage was about 6.2 volts. The cut out resulted at about 5.7 volts.

Art Mirtes

Prior to having a laboratory quality DC power supply, I used 4 D cell batteries to set the cut in voltage. The cutout was about 5.7 volts. This worked well until a loose connection at the terminal block caused the generator armature to burn up. Now I have to figure out how to rewind the armature. I ...

With any project, there are those who wonder what is happening, there are those who watch it happen, and then, there are those who make it happen.

Art Mirtes

I am wondering:
Type of varnish, water base or oil base
Sandpaper grit before each coating
Kind of brush, type bristle or foam.

Has anyone tried lacquer as a finish.

Art Mirtes

I still like my method of charging magneto magnets, with thr exception of being too close to the battery. I recommend using jumper cables between the battery and the charging coils. The coils are easy to wind. The required material is easy obtained and is very affordable. Pictured are shown above in...

I usually tour with Tim several times each year. Haven't seen him in the past year.

Art Mirtes

I would use a 12 volt unless your equipment is 6 volt.
12 volt Marine battery. 6 volt golf cart battery

Art Mirtes

When I bought my 23 touring, the garage door was about 1/2 inch too low for the car. I let let the air out of the rear tires. And yes, I did have trouble with a damaged tube stem. At the time, I didn't know the connection of tire slipping on the rim and low tire pressure. In 1977, tire shops were wi...

George House,
Thanks for the pictures.

Art Mirtes

Ron Patterson,
Thanks for the explanation. That is exactly what I was looking for. I might add one to my spare generator. My other generator burned up about 5 years ago because of a loose connection

Art Mirtes

George,
Your 5 amp fuse in your generator is interesting to me. Could you describe where it is connected. Does it reduce the chances of the generator burning up if the battery connection to the generator is lost.

Art Mirtes

I am not the owner. I HOPE the owner drives and shows the car.

That is a very nice looking car. I the owner frequently drives and shows the car.

Period tire irons include pieces of leaf springs. My collection from my father's tools include several spring leafs.

Art Mirtes

I like Rajoracer's method of measuring caster except my sliderule indicates a .44 inch spacer should be used in order to obtain 5.5 degree caster.

Art Mirtes

Harbor Fright might have what you want. At times I use 3 irons when dealing the tires.

Art Mirtes

Tom Moorehead,
In order to use dental floss, I drilled a hole in the washers and in the nuts before installation. Removal prior to drilling requires rags and and a lot of care.

Art Mirtes

A club member and I found that a Garmin will work without any problems with our 6 volt cars. Each of us have been using a Garmin for at least 7 years.
Other members use a cell phone to track speed, mileage etc.

Art Mirtes

Todd, Pulling the engine and rebuilding it is a good choice. Get it rebuilt over the winter and have it ready for touring in the spring. I live about 60 miles north of you and I suspect the comfortable touring season is over. Normally I do several tours in November. Probably not this year. Art Mirtes

Todd, Pulling the engine and rebuilding it is a good choice. Get it rebuilt over the winter and have it ready for touring in the spring. I live about 60 miles north of you and I suspect the comfortable touring season is over. Normally I do several tours in November. Probably not this year. Art Mirtes

I just scrapped a dozen roller timers. Without a lathe, I didn't know how to correct the lumpy contact surface. Now I wish I had the old timers back. About 1600 miles seems to be the life of a roller timer for me. I frequently clean and lube the roller. The roller life has improved in recent years. ...

Wayne,
The grade 8 bolts that you talk about might not have the right alloys or not have been properly hardened and tempered. Years ago many bolts from a hardware store were lacking the correct metallurgy.

Art Mirtes

I just happen to see the tires were are on a 25. What are the size of the tires. They might not be 30x3.5

Art Mirtes

10,000 miles on tires and showing little wear is incredible. If this is typical, my next tires might be Firestones even though they are priced higher than other brands.

Art Mirtes

When I was a teenager, I worked with the late Larry Becker (Norwalk, Ohio). He thought me a lot and he had very few failures with his tinkering. He was great at teaching the young ones.

Art Mirtes

Almost all industrial bearing ate sized in metric. The ball sizes are in fraction of inches.

Art Mirtes

My thought is that the side doesn't matter. It is important to made sure the clamping surfaces and the threads are clean. The bolt should be torqued to about 35 ft-lb. I think the bolt size is 3/8-24. The resulting clamp load is about 8350 lb. At 2000 rpm, the rod load at the piston pin is about 290...

Good job Tim and Jeff. Fifty years after Gettysburg, a reunion was held at Gettysburg. Sources say that there were 50,000 veterans attended. This was 1913, the same year as Tim's car. There were discussions of holding a 60 year reunion, but the thought was that there were too few veterans still livi...

My wallpaper steamer would probably work for cleaning parts. After steaming the last of the never returning wallpaper, I gave the steamer to my son. I still don't want it back because my wife might get some funny ideas.

Art Mirtes

James,
Your information is interesting and helpful for preparation.

What size generator do you have? Can all the appliances be operated at the same time? How much fuel per day is consumed?

Art Mirtes

Any NH carbs.

Art Mirtes

Valve 3052M from Langs has on oversize head which requires a special valve seat. The stem is also .030 oversize. Make sure the part number is correct.

Art Mirtes

I made a puller from scrap. It's not pretty, but does the job quite well.
The arms on the Ford design has a tendency to bend inward, which could possibly damage the basket.

Art Mirtes

The giant sequoia tree, that cars drove through, fell in the winter of 1968/69. For a short time after that, visitors were allowed to climb on the trunk. My late brother and i spent about 15 minutes on the base of the trunk in July, 1970. We were above ground level by about 20 feet as I recall. Unfo...

Sean,
There is a way to get rid of the noise in that beautiful car, bring it to Ohio a d sell it to me.

Early this year, I had a similar problem with my 23 touring. I just could not keep the car in the middle of the lane. Everything looked good until I noticed that the steering column box to the frame was loose. The mounting bolts were pinned but loose. The wood must have shrank. The bolts were tighte...

Speedy, Calculating the compression pressure involves thermodynamic considerations. The heat of compression must be taken into consideration. Simply put, compression pressure/atmospheric pressure ratio is higher than the compression ratio. I have a std. 3.8 compression head and have 62 psi compressi...

They would look nice on the 2 pedal 09 classis that is for sale in the Cars for Sale section.

The cotton band lining in my car is similar to what Dave has in his car. After about 800 miles of break in, the bands only occasionally need to be adjusted. They now have over 3000 miles and doing well. I have only one more spare set of cotton linings, which should take me to the end of my driving, ...

Just thought of that. My apologies

Art Mirtes

I meant to say cross holes for cotter pins.

Art Mirtes

The bolts don't look like connecting rod bolts. The cross holes for wiring should be at the threaded end.

Art Mirtes

Mike's truck definitely has the faster truck rear axle gear ratio. He told me that about 10 years ago when I drove it a short distance.

After we left the restaurant on the tour, we stopped at the Smiling Fox Forge for a very interesting 1 hour visit.

Art Mirtes

Tim Juhl, I have nearly the same experience with my 30 x 3.5 Universal tires as you have. At 11,000 miles the rears are about worn out. However, the left tire has slightly more wear than the right tire. Tires have no balance beads. The difference in wear might be caused by a slight difference in the...

I am Interested

Art Mirtes

What a wonderful tour. Unfortunately, I missed it

Art Mirtes

Allan,
I bought and installed my Universal tires in April of 2018. I drive 1200 to 2000 miles per year on mostly asphalt roads that have few hills.

In my opinion, wheel alignment is critical. I prefer 1/32 toe-in on the front wheels .

Art

I have no idea how many miles model T tires normally last. I bought a set of Universal driver tires (30 x 3.5) in 2018 for my 23 touring car. The tires now have over 11,000 miles on them. The fronts still have at least 1/3 life left and the rears have maybe 1,000 miles remaining. I plan to buy Unive...

The full complement ball bearing assembly makes me think this takes place very early in Henry's production. A full complement bearing is one that has no rolling element separator. This design offers a lot of capacity, but is limited to very low speed. The film shows there were a lot of production op...

My uncle, at age 20, bought a new 1922 model t roadster. He said that he didn't have the money to buy a starter or demountable wheels. This was the day I showed him my newly purchased 23 touring in 1977. I offered him and my aunt a ride. He declined. I think he had put up with more than he wanted wi...

I have a Regan design brake switch, which works well. It involves a lever to actuate a push switch. If I was to make a brake switch, I would consider a pull type switch in order to eliminate the lever. Normally off, and on when pulled, type switches are hard to find, but are available.

Art Mirtes

Torsional vibration is greatly reduced with aluminum pistons as well as all of the other benefits.

Art Mirtes

Antifreeze will increase the boiling temperature, but I agree, the thermometer should be checked.

Art Mirtes

My 1923 touring came to me with two pieces of cardboard under the front seat. After 45 years, the cardboard pieces were worn out and were replaced with a single piece of 1/8 inch thick plywood. Cleats were added to maintain proper positioning so that the cushion goes in its proper place. Art Mirtes

Susanne, The topic of magneto output is interesting. I am going to try to detect the magneto transition while moving the timing lever. I am wondering why you fully retard the spark when shutting off the engine. I have noticed that my car starts better when the spark lever advanced by a few notches f...

Is the spec for preload or endplay.

Art Mirtes

I am interested in an Holly NH carburetor

Art Mirtes

A nice town and the covered bridge is still in service. They are interesting to drive through in a model t.

Art Mirtes

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