MTFCA Forum

The normal way for this scam to work is the check has included extra money for shipping.

You ship the item and deposit the check right away, as requested, and then send a check to return the extra shipping money.

A day or two later, the bank calls you and tells you the check was bogus.

Evidently the bolts are missing because the safety wire was missing, because someone did not know the importance of the safety wire or else did not install correct bolts with the drilled head for the wire.

Then too, those people running the Montana 500 put a restriction in the engine to radiator hose to slow the water flow and give the radiator more time to remove the heat. I have not tried that yet, but it is reported as a functional improvement. I have removed the water pump from every Model T I hav...

The real problem is it takes 3 or 4 horsepower to operate it and you only have about 20 hp, with none to waste or share. The next problem is it will leak around the shaft and when the nut is tight enough so the leak is stopped the shaft will not turn. The next problem is the belt usually comes off t...

Buckeye electric in Ohio has been selected as a repair station for those starters.

I asked Generator Joe about them a few months ago.

He said they are an authorized repair station, and they have a complete set of spare parts, but none have went bad and needed any parts yet.

That new starter has been around for many years and was original equipment on some foreign cars. Only the Model T adapter plate is new. That gear appears to run on the flywheel all the time, with the Bendix hidden inside. I have only seen photos so far, but the one that has been installed that I kno...

with the ignition key in Bat, measure the voltage on the red and black wires going to the TrueFire Timer.

If it is not at least 11.5 volts, you may not be getting any sparks to the spark plugs as a 12 volt Ford coil is the heart of the system.

The usual problem is the steering to timer rod needs to be lengthened some to have the timing correct. When the timing happens too late, the waste spark cylinder has just started down to draw in some fuel. The waste spark ignites that fuel and causes a backfire through the carburetor, which sometime...

While watching the Weather Channel News this morning, it was suggested that Hurricane Sally is headed right toward Dustin, Florida and knocking on our new MTFCA Board member's front door.

I do hope and pray her home and Model Ts survive the high winds and water.

Maryland went to one plate for Historic vehicles about a year or more ago. You have to carry the plate with you and it is good as long as you own the vehicle. You can display period correct early plates, after they are inspected at the DMV and verified correct, then a lifetime registration is purcha...

All four cylinders should read about 100 psi with a Z head.

That engine must be too tired for the extra compression.

My rebuilt engine read 75 psi with just domed pistons.

Is there still a source for VW 009 distributor shaft bushings and a few other small parts?

The shaft bushings seems to wear the most and is the most difficult to find.

Maryland passed a law about 10 years ago that states, "any licensed vehicle is illegal to be driven on any road with a posted speed limit, if the vehicle cannot be driven at 5 mph above the posted speed limit." I researched the reason and intent of the law and was told it was passed primarily for mo...

Most of the new repros have smaller metric screws with smaller heads.

I re-tap them to the American size, but finding screws of the correct length is impossible.

So screws have to be trimmed enough to allow the switch contacts to fit the depressions.

Those holes were not there for valve grinding.

They were part of the manufacturing process to attach the cast valve to the machined stem.

Henry Ford (actually Edsel was in charge by then) switched the Model A to a Positive + Ground and the polarity remained that way for quite a few years.

No one has ever found or published a reason for the change.

In another story and word found on the Internet: Who invented the first Automotive Assembly Line? "Automotive pioneer Ransom Eli Olds deserves credit for patenting the first assembly line process , and for starting the automotive industry in the Detroit area. Henry Ford is usually given credit for i...

Does anyone know of a good source for a replacement VW 231 178 009 Industrial Distributor?

Are the Made in China look-alikes just as good?

The whole Model T kit appears easier to find and buy.

The bushing used to be available, but I lost the part number for that item.

When I was stationed in New Zealand in the late 1950 era, I was surprised at all the items they rebuilt, when they were just thrown away in the USA. One item was that little flasher can, that normally only needed the points polished. The can was crimped around the base and that metal was straightene...

Those lights stay on until the current heats a strip of metal in that little can. The metal is two different types fused together, so it bends when heated, due to a different coefficient of expansion for the two metal types. The switch points go through that strip, so when it gets hot and bends, the...

The actual engine temperature is a better gauge than the boiling point of Evans, which is about 40 degrees F above water.

Ask for Generator Joe at Buckeye Electric.

He knows all the answers.

One question I have never found an answer to in my 40 years of recent Model T ownership is, "why did Henry Ford change from a Negative Model T Ground to an Positive Model A Ground?"

Then too, what difference does it or could it possibly make?

Has anyone done any research on how many horsepower is taken from the engine to run the water pump?

That flasher works by current heating a metal strip that flips open to interrupt the current and turn the lights off momentarily. A 4 way flasher needing extra current would probably work normally. They make an electronic 12 volt flasher that will et you add extra lights, like towing a trailer will ...

Replace the frame too.

Dishwasher soap makes no bubbles.

I have always wanted to try that in the radiator with plain water for cleaning.

The simple part is the temperature of a cotton band will cause a burned up band and relieve the pressure on the drum at a much lower temperature than Kevlar. It is kind of rocket science as Kevlar was used as the exhaust part of the rocket, because it did not burn up and survived much higher tempera...

That would be for Model MP1

Wanted TruCut Utility Press Parts or Parts List.

Jim Golden, Bowie, Maryand

That company was in my hometown, Clayton, New York.

It went out with the depression!

I have more information and photos about the company.

The boat museum there has two or three different make Model T engines in boats.

When you get that all figured out, the can markings, grading and contents are soon all going to change again.

I read someplace that the early engine oil was not much thicker than kerosene or automatic transmission fluid.

That would not work well today, as any drip is frowned on!

I just repaired a 1924 with the same or very similar symptoms.

They were most notable at higher speeds with either the Bat or Mag selected.

The fix was a new timer with a smoother cover and a stronger roller spring.

Dan, I made a key for a switch that looked like yours that was correct for a totally restored (about a 1935 Chris Craft) wood boat for a guy in Texas. I never saw the boat, but the key was smaller than the Model T keys and other wise the same. A few early cars also had a larger key and a similar Mod...

Yesterday, I helped a guy rewire his 1924 T Pickup that had a wiring fire and ammeter melt down. Naturally I suspected the usual problem and found another ammeter for him, not an easy task now days. He had the small upgrade and I found an original. I had previously tested the ammeter by running 6 vo...

When I bought my T, in 1980, it came with a new box of those Scandinavia band lining that were closer to a yellow color. They were purchased about 1960, according to the previous owner. I installed them, and was ready for a tour, around 1990. I was stopping about every 10 miles to adjust low again a...

That is not a Model T Part.

In the old days, firemen were taught the center third of those gauges was the most accurate area to set and run the water pumps.

The 100 psi max gauge puts most Model T stock engines right in the center area.

Wanted To By - A Model T Generator Pole Screw Removing Tool.

Jim Golden, Bowie, MD

There used to be another aluminum High Compression Head available, made by Ralph G. Reeder, in Dickinson, Texas. I have always wondered if he was friends with Ralph Zajicek or if they worked together to design those heads. It had Ford years cast in it, on the driver's side in back and I have one in ...

Would someone please explain the purpose of that Kingston L4 small cork above the flapper valve?

What is the purpose of the Flapper Valve?

Would there be any noticeable effect if that cork was missing and the flapper valve was there in good condition??

I have that Yellow Fuse Holder (that I got from John) in the proper place and that has not been any problem at all! I also had that Electronic Cutout that I got from John, but it went bad and they are very hard to get now. They are not too hard to convert to a just plain diode. That is still working...

Some of the blocks that I have disassembled have a groove cut for the smaller or thinner lock washers and also cotter pins.

I have only found those thinner lock washers on house and garage electrical fittings in fuse boxes.

Then you have to measure the hub hole where you are trying to install the hubcap. The 1926/1927 rims have a hubcap with FORD Made IN USA on it. The 1928 rims are identical, except the 1928 rim has a 3/8th inch larger hole with a hubcap that only has FORD on it. The 1928 tabs all have to be bent slig...

The only problem with the fuse plan is that if your engine is running on Magneto and the fuse blows for some other reason, the engine will continue to run and the generator will consume all the current generated and burn itself out.

The common scenario is that the cardboard ammeter terminal insulators shrink and allow the terminal to drop down, short to the case and draw maximum current from the battery and generator, which usually starts a fire and destroys the generator.

I have one of those wrenches and have been wondering what it was supposed to be used to fix, etc.

I hope someone finds the real answer.

Ford jumped the gun with that 1926 engine and started installing the new engine in all vehicles about July 1, 1925, making the official 1926 start date August 1, 1925. I recently opened up a July 20, 1925 original engine and found all the 1926 changes had been made, including those screw head bolts ...

There is a note in one of the publications about Henry Ford having two radiator types available for the Model Ts. One was for cold countries that needed les cooling. The Flat tube and Round tube radiators made today are supposed to be exact copies, but one kind has 4 rows and the other type has 5 ro...

Buckeye will sell you the parts and let you do it yourself, if you know what you are doing.

Wanted to buy a Model T Generator Field Coils No-Go Gauge.

These are very helpful in getting a perfect alignment of the pole pieces.

Jim Golden, Bowie, Maryland

T generator field coil Go-No Go gauge.
Jim Golden, Bowie, MD

Mike is in our Model T club.

He said he thinks he has that photo.

The distance from the tank front to the fill neck is 1/2 inch on a new Brassworks radiator that I have not installed yet and is 1/4 inch on the radiator that had been installed for about 40 years. The original one fit and worked OK. I have no idea which is correct, perhaps 3/8 inch would be the best...

Does anyone have a catalog of Smith Form-a-Truck parts?

When I used to sell more parts, I weighed about every part to provide shipping costs, by weight. 52 is right on for the flywheel weight. Some Transmission Parts Weights Weight Part Description (Pounds) 91.0 Complete 1915 Flywheel and Transmission Assembly 92.0 Complete 1925 Flywheel and Transmission...

When I was stationed in Christchurch, NZ in 1957 -1959, there was one like that early one or a brass radiator type anyway that was still being used as a daily driver.

The owner didn't use it very often and either loaned or rented it to one of my Navy friends.

Galen, I need one or two of those ammeters.

Make me an offer, if you don't need them all.

WANTED - Just 1 13/32 X 16 TPI Tap!

Willing to take 2 though.

Jim Golden, Bowie, Maryland

Wanted original ammeter or new Fun Projects ammeter, if you happen to have an extra one.

Jim Golden, Bowie, Maryland

Turn on your head lights.

If they are only on while you are pushing the starter button, move the small wire to the other starter switch terminal.

I went through that problem a few years ago. I measured the height of all the new spools and thought I could just assemble the magnets, as they were all the same. That did not work so goo! The magnets were a complete original set with all the same markings and were randomly .018 difference in thickn...

Well, now I know the answer to my question. The early Model A hubcap will fit a late 1927 wire wheel, but it doesn't want to very bad. I had to bend each tab in just a little and then smack it with a big rubber hammer to put it in place. All the tabs do not need to be bent over to hold the hubcap on...

What I appear to have is a Model T rim with the right hole pattern and drum size that has a larger hole to use the early Model A hubcap.

Has anyone noticed that the 1926 - 1927 Wire Wheels have two different size hubcaps?

I started to put one on today and it just about fell through the hole.

The diameter size difference appears to be about 1/4 inch.

I was recently told that the original Ohio Law requiring a vehicle to have a light that came on when braking specified that light should have a green lens. I have not seen that in print. When I was real young, my dad wired his cowl lights to be always on at night along with the head lights. He was a...

One Ford booklet, that came with the HCCT, claims the T coil will put out up to 10,000 volts. Most coils I have tested may struggle to get 2,500 Volts. Divide that voltage between two .025 spark plug gaps and you will get no spark. I have been told by a resident EE engineer that theoretically a spar...

You cannot compare ECCT and HCCT reading and expect them to be the same.

That is like comparing apples and oranges, as they work totally different.

My last engine block rebuild cost about $3,000. The machinist told me that on an average only one in 4 blocks are crack free and worth rebuilding. The earlier blocks are more likely to have the most cracks. The main problem is that the cracks do not show up until the block is bare and completely cle...

Some Model As had that small bulb for a parking light.

The reflectors may be Model A reflectors.

I have never measured the model A lights to see if they are the same size.

I now know the answer to my question on whether anyone has received their HCCT Book Copy.

My copy came today!

It has excellent and sharp color photos and lots of them!

A very good book to have and buy!

Has anyone received their copy of this book yet?

The spark ring 3 posts above is what came with my Service Station HCCT.

It is heavier and has wider and deeper V shaped notches.

It is also more difficult to keep the sparks from hopping to the HCCT frame near the coil box.

Gene, those E-timers need 4 good coils to operate.

All they do is act as a switch to turn on the coil.

That part is precision, but that is where the great production ends.

I have a 20 July 1925 engine and transmission with the ears and bolts.

It also had the coil box on the engine.

The Mag only powers the coil box, so that would not be a problem for a T engine with a generator.

An early T engine that taps some of the mag voltage to charge a small battery could or might mess up LED lights.

My HCCT has the pulley, like Les has shown in his photos, and all the numbers cast in the frame, pulley, and spark ring, but no serial number on the side. The heavier spark ring on Bill's unit is a giveaway that it is a Service Station Equipment Company HCCT. My SSE spark ring was brass with 16 deep...

Henry, you might be closest to the real problem with your poor ground theory. I kind of specialize in electrical problems, so I helped one club member that had no light at all, front or back. The first step was to turn on the lights and measure the voltage on the wires getting to the lights. There w...

Would anyone have an extra TrueFire Timer and Rotor they don't need?

I could use a spare.

Jim Golden

The most common cause for me has been the low compression made worse by letting all the oil drain off the cylinder walls between use. The next problem is an accurate measurement of the compression has to be done by a screw in gauge to capture all the pressure for an accurate reading. That is easily ...

Scott, you have some good points! I have also noticed with the HCCT that has a voltmeter that when I start cranking and slowly increase the cranking speed there are no immediate sparks and watching the voltmeter will show the sparks start at a different voltage level for each coil tested. This situa...

I have an original July 1925 engine that has the transmission cover ears and the wide brake drum. I was surprised to notice the bolts that hold the back plate to the drum assembly had just large round flat screw heads. A little later in 1926, the bolts were elongated, as the hex head could not turn ...

Scott, the StroboSpark allows the coil to be tested at 3 different voltage levels, LOW, MED, and High. I measured each AC voltage with a coil buzzing for a load. That was several years ago and it was about 2.8 for LOW, 3.6 for MED, and 4.4 for HIGH. The voltage might vary some if you tested and aver...

Has anyone tried to buy a StroboSpark lately? A friend that wanted one a month or so ago could never find one. I have 3 HCCTs, 2 restored originals and a modern repro, a StroboSpark, an ECCT, and some Buzz Boxes. The StroboSpark and the ECCT both will tell you the capacitor is bad, which it always i...

Is the glue on those early coil boxes water soluble?

I have always wondered how you get 4 sets of dove-tails apart without destroying them.

I bought an early Hand Crank Coil Tester with a flywheel like that on it. I suspected the teeth were removed in a large lathe to keep them from catching on a workers clothes. Someplace I read that all flywheels produced after 1919 had the ring gear with the starter gear ring attached, just in case t...

Does anyone know of a source for these 5008CST Coil Point Adjusting Tools that are shown in Langs catalog?

The problem is likely one of two possible situation: 1. The engine is getting no fuel. The hot air pipe is not connected to the carb input and the venturi effect is icing up the carb and shutting off the fuel'. This can happen in less than 10 minutes on a cold wet day. 2. The engine is getting too m...

A title is worth $500 to a $1,000 in Maryland by itself, but then it is worthless alone, as most states are clamping down and inspecting the vehicle to verify the title now. They are also doing it to verify you are not trying to register a Model T with a big V-8 engine and the number is not on a lar...

The most important measurement is the spacing between those magnet pole pieces and the pickup coil pole pieces. If the spacing is close to .040 you will only have about 8 volts out of the Magneto. .025 to .030 is ideal or fine, if the engine has new main bearings. That is all I had on the first engi...

I recently purchased a complete 1925 engine that had been in storage for about 40 years. The valve cover was in place and tight, but the inside area was filled in the front area by a mouse nest and the whole center area was filled with a bee's nest. There was a very large mouse nest in the front par...

The earlier new manufactured Bendix assemblies had a slight problem with the grooves not being cut quite deep enough all the way to the end. That caused the gear to slam back hard enough to lock, so it would jam and each new Bendix was good for one start, until removed and freed up again. An easy fi...

The most difficult part is finding those magnets.

They are and remain very strong.

A friend had one just like it for sale at Hershey for the same price. Either you bought it or it was either a kit or an early cottage manufacture product. That device will tell if a coil is bad, when you get no sparks at all. It will not tell you the capacitor is bad and it is always no good! It wil...

Yes, that plastic piece with the magnets is required.

The magnets hold their strength forever!

The magnets shift to make things worse.

The plastic does a melt down.

I have been helping friends with Model T electrical problems for about 40 years now. I have helped a dozen or so with TrueFire ignition problems and most were simple to understand and repair. Two of my friends have had the Timer Rotor do a melt down, due to the engine overheating, in this hotter tha...

Wanted To Buy True Fire Box or Timer Module. Jim Golden, Bowie, Maryland

Actually, I always thought that the engine was designed that way because most people are right handed and cranking early engines often resulted in a broken arm or wrist, so it was easier to get along without your left hand broken.

Bill, that original Ford puller has a 5-Z-1172 number on it, but it is hard to see.

Dan, I stopped by Harbor Freight today and bought one of those pullers. The Part Number is 63684 and it cost $14.95 today without any coupons. The opening is listed as 1 5/16 and needs to be 1 3/4 inch for the rear hub. By careful calculations, and cutting both sides, I have exactly 1 3/4 inch now. ...

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