MTFCA Forum

Allan

My fault Dan, for commenting on how happy thr Oil Co rep looked. Just looking forward to fuel prices returming to previous levels myself. I bet they won't.
Allan from down under

Allan

Spot on Jerry except for the two man top bit. With no foding mechanism to wear and become mis-aligned, the two man top is less susceptible to variations in tension between components. I'd much rather work on a two man top. When making the top irons for my wide body roadster, it took three different ...

Allan

It will be interesting to see who gains what?
Allan from down under.

Allan

it is heavily taxed here too Pat. But that is not the reason that the price of diesel has doubled and is still increasing. Put that down to the uncertainty caused by the middle east fiasco. How are US prices?

Allan from down under.

Allan

Over the years the folding mechanism will have worn pins, perhaps bent irons and other maladies. It is important to get the bow set working and aligned as it should be before setting out fitting the top. The foundations need to be correct for a decent job. Using the webbing straps to maintain this b...

Allan

The Continental Oil Co man looks happy. Perhaps he foresaw the present prices.
Allan from down under.

Allan

I had those on my 1915 speedster, but mine had Brass bodies too.

Allan from down under.

Allan

It all comes back to the need for high pressure in clincher tyres to keep them from moving on the rims. If the minimum pressure on a light car is 55psi, and the crown on those skinny Wards Riverside tyres still wears, there is no room for adjustment to wear the sides down.

Allan from down under.

Allan

I see a foot throttle as an improvement only on a car with an auxiliary transmission/Ruckstell fitted. then it frees up one hand for gear/ratio selection. Otherwise it is a superfluous addition.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Might I suggest that "balloon tires " is confusing. Usually it applies to wider tyres, like 4.40' s on 21 inch T wheels. There were "balloon' 4.40 clincher tyres, before Chev went to 4.40 x 23'" straight sided tyres, but those clincher tyres were still high pressure tyres. I suggest "balloon tyres" ...

Allan

Any idea what that 'safe minimum" pressure might be?

Allan from down under.

Allan

When Australia went metric from miles to kilometers, there were al sorts of stickers, cards, etc produced to attach to existing speedo glasses with the new calibrations marked. The speedo was not changed, the dial was altered to reflect the new range. There were a few gear adaptors made which were i...

Allan

Daniel, rear Hayes wire wheel hubs, more often than not, have flogged out keyways. I fix these by machining down a good T hub and boring out the Hayes hub to take the machined T hub. You might be able to do the same to make that hub fit.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Reducing the pressure to allow greater tread contact on the road is done to correct wear patterns on modern car tyres. My service centre just upped the pressure on my Mazda CX5 to take a make a bit more pf a crown in the tyres. I doubt you could lower the pressure in these little Wards tyres enough ...

Allan

That's interesting Trent. I have a number of axles with the Ford script in the keyway, but I was not aware of the significance. In mining stuff from my stash at the farm, my spares could have come from any rear axle assembly, but while i do have Ford axles so stamped, I do not have many big brake dr...

Allan

John, that's my Henrietta.

Allan from down under.

Allan

We have two wheel wrights that I know of George. One used to use only spotted gum, a strong eucalypt with similar load capabilities to hickory. It is deep red/brown in colour and really needs to be painted to suit a model T. Now one can do the job with imported hickory. I post my felloes, two at a t...

Allan

Pat, I think that is what I was reporting. The red lens filters out much of the white light spectrum allowing only the red end to pass. That is why a red bulb is needed. Most of its light will pass through a red lens.

Allan from down under.

Allan

I can still see traces of the moulding dimples on the outer edges of the wards tread. It looks like the wear is more concentrated in the centre of the narrow tread Wards tyre, as would be expected. The wider, flatter tread on the Blockley tyre would mean a greater foootprint on the road and conseque...

Allan

First, safety hubs do not prevent broken axles. Depending on how they are installed they may prevent the wheel/axle from departing from the car, allowing a safe stop. I have only ever broken one axle in almost 60 years of T driving, so it is a rare occurence in my experience. That one axle broke at ...

Allan

Good one Layden. You have me stumped. I suppose it depends if he is in reverse gear.
Seriously, that hub has a LH thread, so like Model T outer front wheel bearings, it belongs on the right side of the car.

Allan from down under.

Allan from down under.

Allan

You are a naughty boy Steve! Here I am trying to educate the populace in Henry's nomenclature, and you go and mess it up. Well done Bryan. Go to the top of the class.

Allan from down under.

Allan

A participant in our recent tour suggested you fellows may be interested in these two photos. Both cars are set up by a well respected, long time T owner, and both have covered about 3000km. The Wards Riversides are about 1/2 worn wjile the Blockleys still have the mould pips on the sides. 20260321_...

Allan

Two more T's joined us along the way, the cream 27 tourer and the blue 25 coupe on the far end of this line-up. These are just like US T's, but the tourer was built on the new Ford factory in Geelong. It has a wooden base frsme still, like all the previous cars, but the panelwork is just like yours ...

Allan

It was almost 30 years ago that I fitted a True-Fire ignition set-up on my 1912 van, when I got down to just three working Heinze coils. I haven't seen the need to take the timer off since then, but I do know I fitted the True-fire innards to the alloy cover. The maker made a special order unit for ...

Allan

We had a specialist light guru address our club meeting recently. I found this disclosure very interesting. A white LED will transmit just a small percentage of its output through a red lens, that part of the light spectrum which is red. Remember ROY G BIV from school days. Only the red portion of t...

Allan

A carpenter's square has short sides and this relies on the cross members being in perfect order to get an accurate reading. Check the diagonals. If you do not have access to a porta power use a couple of lengths of chain and a turnbuckle to pull the longer diagonal back a bit. Go easy and do it in ...

Allan

Notice, hub is stamped RIGHT, not passenger side.
Allan from down under.

Allan

If it is a Ford timer, it is an earlier one. I have one on my 1912 van. Just don't let the fan belt wear a slot in it!
Allan from down under.

Allan

It'snot hard to remedy, so why not do so?
A carpenter"s
tool to check squareness is a simple length of light timber with a nail in one end. Park the nail in one corner and mark off the diagonal. The swap to the other side corner to check.
Allan from down under.

Allan

I have found great variations in the placement of the oiler hole in the spring eye. Having it squarely on top is less than usual in many cases. Perhaps this is am indication that many main leaves are replacements not necessarily with Ford factory parts.
Allan from down under

Allan

This weekend is our annual MTFCA run, this year centred on the famous Barossa Valley wine growing area. These cars were at the start and we picked up more along the route. All is going well, including the weather.

Allan from down under.

Allan

I once broke a pinion gear tooth off. Going down the road i could hear a faint ticking that others unfamiliar with the car would never have picked. The louder noise only came on trailing throttle. under brakes and when reversing.If you have found yours. it is not a busted pinion gear! Allan from dow...

Allan

The black and yellow tape is likely a much better solution than using duct tape. However, neither is necessary if a flap is used. Using an old tube for an improvised flap is OK, if it stays in place during fitting!

Allan from down under.

Allan

A previous post reminded me that on a two man top, the second and third bows are set at the same height. This is not the case on a one man top.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Hardened split steel bushings were cheap junk in the T days, and nothing has changed. Use the bronze ones. They are actually round. They are easily reamed to fit the shackles too. Your oiler needs to be pressed in up to the shoulder on the oiler body. Then you should have enough clearance. Allan fro...

Allan

John and Mike have it nailed. A good fit all the way around and down comes with patience and checking all the time, and removal of the high spots as revealed with contact points. The same process works when fitting hammer handles etc and when fitting ferrules on new handles for Model T screwdrivers....

Allan

I do mine vertically too. After the first coat, you need to brush up on your counting to 12. Putting black over black, it is not easy to see where you have been. Starting at the valve stem hole, I rotate the wheel and spray one spoke at a time from the one direction, then rotate in the opposite dire...

Allan

Screwdriver spoken for.
Allan from down under.

Allan

At $200 I think I will pass!
Allan from down under.

Allan

20260314_150330.jpg Oops! This post was meant for the forum. The classifieds post is for the screwdriver . that has a new handle made to the Ford print. Same price as before for others that I have made. $80 posted to your door. Hope the postage hasn't blown up! Paypal forpayment. Allan from down un...

Allan

I found sn original T screwdriver in a second hsnd tool store recently. It has been well hammered on the handle end and the handle is a bit short as a result but it is still recognisable, so into my 1912 van tool roll it goes. That liberates the one I fitted with a new handle made to the Ford print....

Allan

Pat, that's what Ford did in Australia when the world's first closed cab utility was built. A ford dealership tour took us to a property on the NSW side of the Murray river and a big collection of cars in various stages of decay. Carefully stored in a locked shed among other cars was such a ute. Pre...

Allan

I have a new Nordic recliner chair.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Gator, you should know the driver can be on either side of the car since your trips down under?

Allan from down under

Allan

Don't they have a core of vertical wood strips, sandwiched between two venerrs, one on each side?
Aĺlan from down under

Allan

Mike, we are fortunate here in Oz that any fuel with alcohol in the blend is labeled E10, so we can easily avoid using it. It's a couple of cents per litre cheaper than 91 octane, my usual choice. The 2c discount is eaten up by lesser mileage and performance. My T's need all the help they can get, s...

Allan

I do not know what the correct running clearance on the fan bushings might be. I do know they will squeal, and seize, if they are set too closely. Hopefully there is a standard reference for clearance that somebody can recommend. I give mine .003"clearance. The felt used in all the modern gasket set...

Allan

Some tools make memories which last. I was given a plastic tool roll by a Model T Club member for my 21st birthday. It was German made quality and had all sorts of blades which fitted into a lock-on screwdriver handle, some pliers and a punch or two. I lost a couple of bits over the years. Just a fe...

Allan

Ditto Timothy. There is an information board on Henrietta informing onlookers she is a 1925 model. I still get asked if I bought it new! I am tempted to answer in the affirmative sometimes, but at 80, I would be presenting well as a 115 year old with a car I bought new at 15 YO. Allan from down under.

Allan

Kim, it looks like four 1915 rims with the small clips for the plain lenses and three with the wider clips for the H lenses. Someone may like these to nickel plate them for a 26-7 model.
That sure is a keen price.

Allan from down under.

Allan

The adjusting screw on a magneto horn is at the back of the horn trumpet. If you have the back cover off a later battery horn and are loooking at an adjustment screw, the advice will be different.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Bryant's photo is of a way earlier car with no doors. It has been updated with electric lights and a louvred hood.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Then there were these.

Allan from down under.

Allan

My mum taught me to avoid anything with spots on. Now you guys say it's OK in given circumstances!

Allan from down under.

Allan

Victor, I an guessing the original hubcap is on the left. It shows some roundness in the pressed Ford script. In contrast, the one on the right is crisp and even all over. I suspect it is not a pressing. It is certainly a great acquisition to complete a car restoration, while you hunt out a nice ori...

Allan

The starter cable terminal has two nuts. The first is tightened only firmly against the hard plastic bushing in the housing. Wrenching it up even tighter may well crush the bushing and twist the internal bar connecting the field core windings. You need a thinned down wrench to hold this nut when tig...

Allan

Sometimes the tapered thread on the shut-off valve and in the tank have been abused/over tightened and orienting the outlet is difficult. I once had to thoroughly clean the thread on the valve and tin it wit solder. This allowed the valve to be set at a far better angle for the pipe hook-up. I too u...

Allan

I am absolutely amazed by what printing technology can do. How on earth can you print stainless steel? It would seem you could almost replicate anything! But it is still a replica, with flawless, crisp detail and edges to all facets. Is it possible to make the printer soften the corners, duplicate t...

Allan

Having an almost blank dash to start with is a bonus. It is far easier to drill a new bolt hole half an hole out of line with a plan than it is lo align the body to a pre drilled hole. There may never be another 1912 T model just like yours, but who could tell. On the hood fit and the hood shelf pos...

Allan

Ford recognised that T models had a cooling problem. Louvred hoods were introduced towards the end of the brass era to help. No sooner than this was done, a larger radiator was introduced on the 1917 models, which continued with louvres in the hood. A still larger radiator was introduced in 1923. Th...

Allan

I can understand the pans being of use keeping dust, mud, water at bay, especially on the right hand side. Is there period literature to show the need for the development of pressure areas under the hood of a model T to draw air through the radiator> It seems to me to be a requirement for much more ...

Allan

Once the firewall is sorted out, fitting the hood former comes next. Forget measurements/drawings and heights and fit the radiator in its final resting place first. Then put the hood and all its cushion pieces on and move the hood support around until you have it in the position which gives you the ...

Allan

Those look like Custom Friction Company bands. They could be mounted on any standard metal band. The trick was not to go drilling too deep on the Kevlar and getting through to the cotton backing. They worked well for me.

Allan from down under

Allan

The throttle linkage arm on no 2 will allow it to be used on a RHD car too, an added bonus.
Allan from down under.

Allan

For all who are interested, the next National Model T rally in Australia will be held in October 2027. In recognition of the fact that every vehicle on the rally will be 100 years old or more, The rally is called "T's in heaven in '27." We have a week long series of activities in the planning, and a...

Allan

to clarify George's point, the splash apron is sandwiched between the body brackets and the frame brackets. Just make sure the holes in the splash apron will line up with the holes in the frame brackets before you fit the body.

Allan from down under.

Allan

I'd say the wheel is unlocked if you can still drive/steer the car. In the locked position you are likely not able to turn the steering wheel. It is more likely than not that the pins were driven in from the top, meaning they will have to be driven out from underneath if the quadrant will allow acce...

Allan

Rick, Canadian frames were made for RHD and LHD, This may mean specific Canadian production. In the process, the rails were stamped with holes in both frame rails for the steering bracket, handbrake quadrant, starter switch, and, strangely, the battery carrier even though the battery was always fitt...

Allan

Well done Jim. That is a great story. Having production figures for US T models makes dating them relatively easy, unlike my experience with Henrietta, my barn find tourer buckboard. From registration records she is also 100 years old in late Feb early March 1926. I too, am the second registered own...

Allan

Are the brands stamped INTO the metal. or are they embossed above the face? I can't really tell from the photos. Steel manufacturers often had a brand engraved into the mill rollers used to make the product. Hence, the logo then appears embossed on the steel. This is evidenced in the spring leaves o...

Allan

Tapered pins were commonly used for various applications. Stewart speedo swivels had tapered pins to hold the drive gear end in the potmetal housing. If you try to drive them out the wrong way you will do damage. If there are pins, make sure any attempt to drive them out considers the possibility of...

Allan

Fitting hot rivets requires that the holes be large enough to take the hot rivet. It is the dumping/pounding and head forming which expands the rivet to make a tight fit in the holes. Riveting in a front cross member using bucking bolts is not like ordinary hot riveting, like fitting the early forge...

Allan

The flutes do get very faint over time/use. There should be eight of them rather than six. Yours looks the real deal to me.

Allan from down under.

Allan

I have accumulated a few modern inner and outer cables to fit within the original T outer cable housing, but I have never got around to using them. When I finally got all the components for my first speedo for my roadster, it was a Corbin unit. the original cable links for these are more than just t...

Allan

Thanks Layden. I have kept them rather tan scrapping them. They are heavier than T clincher rims and would make ideal donor rims for wood felloe wheels once the valve stem boss was removed.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Re-treating a treatment is not needed if the first treatment is not applied. Canvas wets, and then it dries. Damp canvas on Dacron sheeting is not a problem like using old time cotton waste sheeting. Even if it gets really wet through to the hessian/burlap, the cedar laths remain unaffected. Allan f...

Allan

Have no idea where the photos other than the van came from! Here is the shooting brake. Resized_20201108_210726.jpeg The laths are spaced with equal width gaps between them. A natural coloured burlap goes over them, stapled at the edges. The dacron is llightly glued at the edges to cover the burlap,...

Allan

Most of our Colonial built car bodies had light coloured canvas tops rather than black vinyl type covering. I used canvas over cedar laths on both my 1912 van and 19 17 shooting brake. Modern canvas fabric contains a percentage of polyester fibre in the yarn which makes it longer lasting, stronger a...

Allan

I believe the rims were not plated , cadmium or zinc. They were painted when the assembled wheel was painted.

Allan from down under.

Allan

The clue to that one is on the building. It allows lengths of timber to be carted which otherwise would not fit on a TT, regardless of the weight of the load. Other lumber merchants are likely to have similar units.
Allan from down under.

Allan

Tyres inflated to pressures in the lower twentiy pound range were only usable on split rims. Hence, 21" split rims on later T's were often referred to as balloon tyres. Chev went to 23" split rims after clinchers, using 4.40 x 23" ballloon tyres Here in Australia you could also get 4.40 x 23" clinch...

Allan

I wish I had changed just as much Chris!
Allan from down under.

Allan

Noel no need to turn them up side down. Just stand on uour head.

AllAn from down under.

Allan

An Optima 6 volt battery fits into a standard T battery carrier, diagonally. This means the terminals can be off-set just like the originals. It also means that a wooden battery box can have triangular pieces in each corner to strengthen the box. Henrietta has such a box, on the running board, rathe...

Allan

The back wheels on Henrietta were beginning to chatter to me when rounding corners, so it was time to tighten things up somewhat. To preserve her patina, I chose to rebuild wheels of similar appearance. 31501552563413.jpeg Working on a spare from my stash, I found someone had been there before me. I...

Allan

They don't come much better than that Mark! I am amazed that it was not snapped up immediately.

Allan from down under.

Allan

I'm with Dan. A hot tank at a machine shop is the way to go. Trust the pros to know what is best. The only proviso is that all babbit material must be removed. This includes the tiny bits in the holes that help to locate the main bearings. Otherwise, anything in the tank with your parts will be coat...

Allan

You might be cautious when handling the packing/gasket material. It looks very much like woven asbestos to me. When I fitted my whistle to my chocolate van I used sheet exhaust gasket material.

Allan from down under.

Allan

I agree with John's last sentiment. In this case an equaliser is only a compromise for poorly adjusted emergency brake rods.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Chris, your fit problem may not be a problem at all. The felloes with the straight up edges and the cut-outs for the Hayes rim lugs are just like the 21" Kelsey felloes on our Canadian sourced cars. The second felloe photo shows the depression for the Hayes lug foot, just like that on my Hayes wire ...

Allan

Jacob, you can help iron out differences in the curves of the timber laths by putting a layer of Dacron fibre over them before tacking on the vinyl covering. The dacron is the stuff quilt makers use to fill out their work, and should be available from any good fabric store. It is synthetic, so is no...

Allan

Pat raises a good point. For a thrust face on the bearing in the block to be effective, the block would have to be "tinned" like rods are. This would require a very different way to pour the main bearings. In standard T engines the main bearings are not tinned to the block. They are peened in place ...

Allan

Dan, I have seen a couple of hubs welded up to make repairs back in the days. Not something I would do today, but one does as one must in some situations. In the one I mentiond above, the over thick eproduction hubcap was the saviour..

Allan from down undèr

Allan

In my experiencewith Hayes 23" wire wheels the felloes all have the depessions in the rolled in outer edge of the felloe. When bolted up, the lug should stand off the outer surface of the felloe. The rims are designed to be wedged onto the inner land on the felloe before the lug can make contact. If...

Allan

Bryan, I would suggest securely bolting the replacement cross member in place, at every point. Then proceed to do each rivet in turn. A heating guy as a helpèr is invaluable. It allows the riveter to work quickly and independently. Off the top of my head, most of those rivets can be jammed tightly i...

Allan

It is similar in concept to the Lucas one offered recenrly in the classifieds. It looks like it could be fitted without cutting the pipe in two, preserving the integrity of same.
Alan from down under.

Allan

Things must be different in the US model T's. Here in the southern hemisphere the crankshaft, flywheel and transmission assembly form one big, heavy unit. Regardless of what is pushing what, the only way the crankshaft and flywheel assembly can close the gap between the flywheel and coil plate is if...

Allan

Something is not making sense to me, but that's not unusual. Chris says the back of the no 3 bearing cap wears, and that lets the flywheel close down the magneto gap. Then Pat suggests fitting a shade tree thrust washer at the front to effectively hold the flywheel closer to the coilplate. Both "fix...

Allan

Sometimes none of the usual panic stop methods work. We were on a long interstate tour some 2000miles from home when one participant lost all brakes on a steep descent from a lookout. He rode the car to a stop at the bottom, the only damage he reported was to his underwear. All symptoms pointed to a...

Search found 6940 matches