MTFCA Forum

Buy the book and read the setup procedure, Ron wrote a lot of it. With the generator out of the engine, I noticed if you put an ammeter in line with a + voltage to the generator terminal and touch a bare spot on the case, the amps will be the same as the generator operating in the engine. The test i...

This photo shows the 1910 or a little later firewall riser.

That 4 inch firewall riser suggests it is an early 1910 Model Year or Late 1909 Calendar Year.

From http://www.mtfca.com/encyclo/C-D.htm CARBURETORS Early 1909 Part # Factory # Description ----- 553 Kingston 5-ball, no choke ________________________________________1909 4100 553 Kingston. Same as above. The factory number was shown as T553A on the April 6, 1909 blueprint. ----- ----- Buffalo, ...

Mr. Original, 1/0 is correct for the Electric 1919 to 1927 Model T. 2/0 was correct for the very early Model As, but they soon went back to the 1/0 cables. I have always wondered, if when they doubled the engine horsepower, they thought they had to double the battery cable size to have an efficient ...

Jeff:

I have two of your units here.

This is a case where the customer is always right and gets what he wants.

One might be added later.

I finally got back to the hot generator problem today and replaced the Cutout with a Diode only inside type, as one of my very knowledgeable friends recommended.

The ammeter was showing a 7 or 8 Amp charge and everything is back to normal now.

Henry Ford once said he did not need to know about mechanics and/or electricians, as he had enough money to buy good ones. That he did and he got the very best of the best. We have a few members that have demonstrated they had or still have abilities enough that they would have been hired by Henry. ...

I found that problem with a TT Fire Truck that had been restored.

They put the front axle on wrong side out and that changes the angles of the wheel shaft.

The Cutout was bad from the beginning and the cause of my grief. Ron Patterson called and explained the whole problem and outcome to me this morning. I will replace the generator and CutOut, which I suspect is an early mechanical type, as this T was in storage for over 20 years. I can also bench tes...

Yesterday, I went to help a friend do some repairs on his friend's newly purchased 1926 Touring T. The engine started fairly easily, but I noticed the ammeter was not showing a charge with a fast idle. The ammeter pegged when I did a jumper around the cutout to flash the field coils. The generator t...

A hot cable or terminal is a good indication of a bad connection.

You do not need a 12 volt starter, you just need the 0 Gauge battery cables that ford specified in the blue print to get the current to the 6 volt starter.

Most battery cables sold today are 2 Gauge 12 Volt cables that cannot transfer the proper current required.

Just holding that test set on a coil for a few seconds should make the battery last for years, so it is not likely to be a problem.

Making the device that thin takes a lot of talent!

Are there any opinions on how long a 6 Volt Group 1 Battery should live, if it is seldom used, but left in the vehicle, or which battery is the best??

He is Jon, short for Jonathan P. Anderson, in Gerry, NY

Actually, the price is the same, but the value of the dollar has fell though the floorboards!

Larry just sent me this note and suggestion. Rural King Stores bought out the old abandon K-Mart stores and they offer a great Group 1, 6 Volt Battery and 750 CCA for $89.00! They offer a two year warranty and are tax exempt with a Tennessee farm tax exempt card. The batteries are made by Exide, in ...

Did you know we had electric clocks before we had electricity plugged in to the houses to operate them? They sold a kit with some material that worked as the electrolyte, a copper plate and an iron plate with two wires about 10 feet long that would be attached to those plates and went through a hole...

You need to show how those wires attach to the tail light.

The clear area to light the license plate does not appear to be correct and is extra large.

Has anyone bought a 6 Volt, Group 1 Battery for their Model T lately? The same major brand that I bought three years ago that was $75.00 with a trade in battery is now $155.00 with a trade in battery. One auto parts store still has them for $114.95 with a trade in battery. Both stores still add $15....

Another modern improvement is a very thin battery to make the lights come on with very thin bulbs!

Ron that is OK there.

Note the gas rod is half way up the other side to go through the engine between cylinders 2 and 3 to get to the carburetor.

I just bought one.

The Part Number looks like T-2689 but it does not curl around the shaft.

There are two slightly smaller versions with similar numbers.

Bruce McCalley lists them in his big black book with Model T 1926 Tools.

Joe, I have bought a few things from you every year at Hershey with good results, but I never found you this year!

You are on my Good Model T Guy List anyway.

What year are they supposed to fit?

219 is the Factory Number for the 1909 to 1927 replacement hubs.

If you are doing an exact 1912 restoration, the 1912 hub is required.

They are not all the same and Gail missed the different 1912 hub.

Would anyone know the Factory Number for a 1912 Front Wheel Hub or know how to tell the difference from the earlier and later Front Hubs.

Joe, with all the excitement, I missed your note. My note got me scammed out of $300 for the head and $35 for shipping. Then $15 more was requested to receive post office notices when mail arrived. Not a problem, as the Post Office Clerk would not pass the letter envelope to a person with a correct ...

The value of flexibility is there with the woven cable.

There is no value in covering the plastic or rubber cable with woven sewing thread!

Dan, I did not make any friends when I got a copy of the original blueprint from the Ford Archives in Michigan and posted the information. 0 Gauge, AKA 1/0 Gauge, was what was on that blueprint. When the Model A first came out, it was upgraded to 00 Gauge, AKA 2/0 Gauge and about a year later the sp...

That Master Switch came in real handy for me once. Sometimes, I would put my feet back and kick the starter switch. I kicked it once too often and the rivet on top came lose to let the switch engage when the part came lose. That engaged the starter, while I was driving at about 35 MPH. It was easy t...

Most of the time, I have had to remove the handle part by punching out the pin.

Then, sawing off the extra.

Then, drilling a very small hole and replacing the pin.

Drills the small break easy if you press too hard, you have to let the drill do the cutting!

Dan, I spent four times as much as I sold, but I did buy a lot of good things!

Will see you again at Luray in seven months!

Mike, thanks for sharing your thread here! This is Don Meller’s and my third year in the Orange Field at OR-29, 30, and 31. Don is selling his 1914 Model T that starts easy, and runs great on mag. The motor number is 503549. The carburetor was rebuilt by Russ Potter. It has a Ruckstell rear end and ...

Apparently, the cost to build a casting mold is much larger than the market that would be willing to buy one of those heads.

Here are some new options. Hershey Eastern Fall 2025 Flea Market Hold on to your hats boys and girls! An unexpected but welcomed opportunity has come to AACA members who would like to be a flea market vendor at the 2025 Eastern Division Fall Nationals also known as the Hershey Fall Meet. This year t...

Terry, you are not the guilty party in Texas, but I was surprised there were more Jason Moores than John Smiths in Texas.

That cylinder is a few thousands larger and will only replace a new switch that also uses those cylinders. There were a huge number of those cylinders made about 30 years ago or so and they are all worthless to use with a rebuilt original switch. Ben Martin was paying $50 to $80 for those original c...

What I really wanted was more information on why the Low Heads have never been reproduced in aluminum.

So far, I have only been SCAMMED by two individuals, one in Texas and one in Pensacola, Florida!

I only have 1 original that looks like NOS Silver Plated, but I do not have a close-up camera.

What are they worth now?

Thanks Dan!

This is another Unknown Hub Wrench

The nut sizes are 7/8th and 1 inch and 1 3/4th inches.

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Good Luck on finding a new Ignition Switch!

I still have three of the new 1926-27 ignition switches.

I did this one earlier last week and installed it on Saturday.

I put the wire set on to the Terminal Block to save installation time.

What you really have to be careful of is to make sure you slide the Bendix on without popping that key out the back and into your transmission.

Does anyone know what this Switch Panel goes to, seem like I saw one once on an early fire truck.

The key works and has BASCO on it. The fuse cover is missing, but they are labeled Horn, Rear, RHead, and LHead.

A spare fuse stands on end in the middle.

Over the years, I have got several Model T parts right out of closed original Model T garage shelves.
Many of those parts seemed to have been returned as defective, and held to show customers what else they may have done wrong!

The Model T radiator core was also used in some of the fork lift tools.

There is someone still making them, as an old radiator shop in Baltimore, MD is still redoing the Model T radiators with them.

You can buy a kit at most drug stores and supermarkets that will let you determine whether you have Covid or the flu for about $15.

The best cure is not well known!

Wanted to Buy - An R G Reeder Aluminum Low Head or more information on why no one is selling the low head. Jim Golden

I came home from a Watertown, NY vacation on 15 August and learned my morning runny nose was Covid. Then, I was getting better, but I visited Charles Town, WV on 30 August. Like the doc said, "you got it again son!" It was clearing up, so I got the Covid and Flu shots on 10 September. I woke up the ...

Is the Watts Clutch Pack different than the Jack Rabbit Clutch Pack than Snyders sells now?

I have several and the matching screw sets.

You can buy a set from Amazon for a lot less.

Thet have a slightly different shape and are made in China.

They are all yellow, as the manufacturing process leaves them that color. To quote Will Rogers, who once said he never met a man he didn't like, I never found a Kevlar band that did not work fine and last a long time. The real secret of success is to keep your feet off all the pedals and avoid any o...

I visited John Baumgarten, in Schoharie, New York about 25 years ago. I don't remember the year, but he had just got an award for setting up at Hershey for 40 years without a missed year. He showed us several Model Ts, some he was trying to sell. That was the first time I ever saw or heard about the...

N.O.S. CRYSTAL TIMERS FOR SALE FOR SALE BY OUR DOWNEAST CHAPTER, ORIGINAL 1920’S CRYSTAL TIMERS THAT HAVE BEEN MACHINED TO FIT THE TIMER COVER. PART OF PROCEEDS BENEFIT MTFCA MUSEUM IN RICHMOND, INDIANA $50.00 (includes postage paid in continental United States) Mail check made out to: Downeast Chap...

Are they all sold out now?

I have one like it, but my step on part got lost.

There was a note 15 or 20 years ago that said the spring was too strong and you had to cut out two loops of wire to make it right.

When I rebuilt my first transmission about 40 years ago, I had difficulty finding anyone that knew the thickness of new clutch disks to determine if they were needed. A random measurement of what appeared to be slightly used original new disks produced an average .0485 measurement. A random selectio...

Seems like I saw a note someplace that the open cars had wood spoke wheels in 1926, and for $60 more, you could get the wire wheels like the closed cars had, wind wings, the radiator nickel plated surround, like the closed cars had and a brown canvas top.

Some New Day Timers have a number by each terminal and the numbers are just going around like clock numbers and they will cause you to put the wires in the wrong order.

1 and 2 might be right or 3 and 4 might be wrong.

If the lever is cast, that is a real early switch and I have one or two that I am not going to restore.

I have four frames I don't need if anyone want to try Ed's plan.

I get $209 plus $11 shipping.

2 sets of late: $139 + $70 = $219 plus $11 shipping.

That brass radiator has the top inlet 3/8th inch off center, but it is hardly noticed until you repair one with the part on wrong side out and then it is 3/4th inch off center.

If you turn the crank just a little bit, and the buzzing stops, you are OK.

If the buzzing continues, you have a problem!

Great News!

Thank you!

Is there anyone still making Model T Radiators here or in China?

If not, is anyone planning to start building them?

The rest of the story is they were made in West Virginia by a member of the Paul family that made 50 specials using original 1922 dies and the E was added to keep the metal from warping.

Cliff Jenkins has the rest of this story his book, "My first 50 Years".

Then, if you don't get the magazine with your number on top of the address, you have move without leaving a new address or your dues have expired.

That little oval part on the left was pressed for a choke and there was no choke wire in those early years, if my memory serves me well!

I have this one that is copper and nickel plated.

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Eagle had stopped making Ford Oil Cans, but Cliff Jenkins organized a 1984 New York to Seattle Cross Country Tour and met someone that owned that factory in West Virginia and they agree to do a small run of about 50 to 100 oil cans for the members that went on the tour. That one with the E on the ca...

My July-August 2025 The Vintage Ford magazine arrived today and gave me something to read this afternoon.

It also gave me two questions.

1. Has anyone ever seen or owned one of these devices that is shown on Page 41?

2. What was the Voltage and Amperage the unit supplied to the Coil Ring?

The Right Side Tail Light Bracket seems to be another part no longer available.

Perhaps another trade secret. You can slowly increase the cranking speed of a HCCT that has two meters and watch the AC Volt Meter reading increase when you increase the speed until the sparks happen around the spark ring. That lets the spark happen at a slightly different voltage level for each coi...

That device will tell you when a coil is bad if you get no sparks.

I cannot tell you the coil has a good capacitor!

There is no capacitor tester on this device.

If the capacitor was not important, the coil would not have one!

Henry was not one to hang on the bells and whistles on his T parts.

Another good plan is to keep a spare restored set, just in case you or one of your friends need some or one.

Some T owners carry one or two, a set of spark plugs, a spare timer and a spare carburetor., along with the spare tire and often a new tube.

Ron and John have been the "best of friends" for many years. That is about the same with Ron and me. Early in production, Ron suggested I should get a StroboSpark and I bought one. A few weeks later, Ron asked me how I liked it. I told him I was going to send my unit back, as it does not seem to wor...

Put another way, "Has anyone ever replaced the points on an original coil and found the capacitor was still good?" I am kind of new yet, I have only been testing coils for 45 years, and I have a Capacitor Tester, an ECCT with the Computer Program, a StroboSpark, A New and Old Stafford Coil Tester, a...

Thank you!

That narrows the list way down now!

Now I just have to fins two of them.

I sent two of those otherwise great shape coils to someone in the mid-west to rebuild.

When I asked about them two years later, I was told they needed new points and none were available.

Evidently there are still no points available!

Open up one of those coils and examine the capacitor. You will find two rolls of tin foil with two rolls of wax paper between them. The capacitor is attached to the two coil points, and they have to be open for measurements. If the capacitor is shorted, rather than open, there will be no sparks at t...

The Fire Truck.

Here is a slightly fuzzy blow up of the only one I have ever found and it was on this early Fire Truck.

: Front Tire Blow Up View.jpg (10.79 KiB) Viewed 1366 times

Would anyone recognize what company made this rim and if it was made by Ford or an After-Market Company?

One of our newer club members that lives in Baltimore, MD needs a complete 1926 Roadster Top Frame.

Email Jim Golden for more details.

Look at the carburetor cross view and notice that little tunnel that goes up alongside to the two small holes that straddle the throttle butterfly, one keeps gas flowing for an idle position. They are always overlooked and usually a problem for most "do it yourself" model T owners. A single backfire...

The first question of interest: Did the Magneto ever work? The one I posted above that produced 22 AC Volts at road speed didn't work the first time because someone had patched the Mag Coil Ring with two wire coils that belonged in the other places. Going around with the compass noted the Mag Coil w...

Anyway, they did not have any tacky old tar in them that had to be removed to replace a capacitor.

Then with the Model Year changing on 1 October 1909, or 1 October 1910, you have the Calendar Year vs Model Year argument to deal with, as to which is most important.

Take the lid off one and you will see why no one has ever heard of them.

An easy coil test is to remove the distributor cap and cover (if there is one) to see the points. Slowly turn the crank until the points are closed. Remove the coil wire from the distributor center and hold it about 1/16th inch from the metal area, like the exhaust manifold. The just reach in an ope...

A recent tourist with a Model T group had his T quit and it was the resistor in the roto had burned out.

A 6 Volt Coil on a 12 Volt system might be the problem.

This NOS Brass Fan was found in a General Store on the same location for many years.

The black paint is original on the blades. Contact Jim Golden, Bowie, MD

The rear

brass roller bearing is also there and original.

I use an old Golf Cart Battery Charger that used to charge six 6-volt batteries. It puts out 40 Volts DC and $0 amps DC or a little less if the Mag Coil Ring measures more than 1 Ohm. The Timer was changed to push button and three 5 second Zaps does a full charge. Laying the Mag Coil Ring on the Mag...

Those fan blades look dangerously close to the radiator fins.

The Top Right insulated terminal goes directly to the Magneto Post.

The Lower wire is providing a ground to make the horn blow.

The other end of that wire should go to the horn button.

The other wire from the horn button should go to ground.

Both of the horn wires should be black.

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