MTFCA Forum

Remove the transmission cover and then slowly turn the engine. You will soon see what if anything came loose on the flywheel. Look closely as you turn it. Then you can see what your up against if it did come off the flywheel and magneto and parts. You might have to remove the cover anyway no matter ...

Try to park your car in a dark garage or raise the hood and start and run the engine at night. Watch for any sparking or intermittent sparks around the wiring and coil box. Sometimes a loose or shorting wire can cause a miss. Just a guess of course. I found a short causing a miss on my 24 Coupe that...

Wow! It’s amazing to still see those T parts piles! By the way they are stacked somebody took a little time to do it. I have to say by the amount of T parts that are still there Ford made those 15,000.000 T’s the parts are still out there. And lots of those same parts were made up until the early 19...

The last photo says a whole lot! Piles of T parts in junk yards and on the farm. The remains are still out there today whether it’s pieces or T farm trailers somewhere in the woods but not as plentiful as they use to be. Farm sell outs almost always had piles of farm junk in lots to go to the highes...

Here’s a good forum post about charging the Magneto in the car. http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/506218/528397.html

This 23-25 T Coupe wood drawing from Fordwood may help you with you may need for your 25. They sell a kit or you can buy individual pieces as needed. Another wood maker is Classic Auto Wood that might be of help. The wood body drawing isn’t an exact blueprint but it’s pretty close. Another thing to ...

Looks like your Coupe is a very late 24 Coupe because of the steel framed doors. Ford used that style beginning late 24 and onward into 25 when getting ready for the so-called improved 26-27 Ford T’s. There is a sequence that’s used to replace the tops on the 24-25 T Coupes. There are several thread...

The first photo of the turned over advertising T looks as if the T was top heavy and made a turn and over it went. The different style front axle being added to help with the steering or???
Or could it be another frame altogether and the T body added.

By this time Mel Millers plans have been sold and copied many times as well as Leon Parkers. With that being said maybe it’s best to buy a wood kit from Fordwood or Classic Wood products and be done with it if a person feels uneasy about it. After all these companies got their wood plans from some w...

Here’s an interesting newspaper article about early road work in the Model T era close to Waco, Texas. It gives a clue about old car owners and the accepted nuisance of fixing flats. We can only imagine the hassle of going to town and being dressed then having to get out and fix a flat. Evidently ro...

Mark G. has it right about fitting wood to a T open body. I texted Leon Parker several years ago when fitting wood to the 21 Touring I rewooded with a kit. That’s when I found out about the different body makers. Mel Miller was selling plans for T bodies many years before Leon Parker came along and ...

You have asked a great question. There was a reliable source of Model T blueprints and after the owner /creator passed away they were sold and the buyer has sat on them supposedly “for the good of the hobby” or so it seems. We were warned this was going to happen and so far no body wood prints have ...

A PICTURE of what you’re up against will say a thousand words. People will have a different picture in their mind what you are talking about. If you can walk down to the car and take a photo there and another couple of shots to and from the area will say two thousand words.

Absolutely it is relevant to post about steep grades and hills when going on tours or just driving alone on these types of roads. It needs to be brought up from time to time to remind folks of driving a 100 year old vehicle.

From your description of the chassis location the cheapest and less time consuming way to get it out the size of the trees and brush would be the factor. I would use a chainsaw and clear a path down to it, rent or use a tractor with a front end and load it on a trailer and haul it off. You didn’t me...

My opinion is that the Tours should be on good roads that don’t have really steep grades either up or down. Maybe if you’ve got a lot of expierence and a T in good shape. I don’t do tours and have good black top farm to market roads but unless you haven’t been driving on highways in the last 10-15 y...

That’s a desirable Stevens tool to have. This probably doesn’t show up very often. Unless you know what you’re looking for this is a tool that’s probably been looked over in junk boxes at swap meets.

For clarification the torque wrench I was talking about are the ones we know about today. The Ford tool kits didn’t have the type of torque wrenches that are in the forum post. It’s all in the interpretation.

As far as twisted off Model T head bolts go there has always been people twist off head bolts and other types of bolts in various equipment. I’m not the smartest guy in the world but I have enough common sense to know when to stop tightening. Ford didn’t offer torque wrenches in his tool kits and if...

That’s a good observation about life in 1917. Life was slower, less complicated, and not so many distractions. Overall more respect for the other folks in some ways. And no digital devices either! A lot of folks in that era didn’t have radios as we know them today. News traveled slower too.

When I saw this photo it sure made me wonder how this would have happened. At first I was thinking it was a publicity stunt but if it wasn’t it would be a real night mare if some of those cars wouldn’t start. The two motorcycles in the bottom of the photo could get out fairly easy. Interesting for s...

Here is a photo of a World Series parking lot in the late teens. Must have been a rush to see the game! Supposedly it’s in Boston for the first series game of 1917. Bet they had a hard time leaving!

I also have to say that the Harbour Freight tools have gotten better over time. The HVLP paint spray guns are pretty good too. I got some advice from the Auto Body instructors at the school I worked for about which spray guns to use when I restored my T’s. I was surprised when they told me to use th...

When attempting to grind off the weld try to grind off just enough to remove the weld.
Remember that grinding off to much you’ll lose the length of the perch where the cotter pin goes through.
But if that happens you can use a lock washer to secure another nut.

I’m always asking questions but I wonder how long the low band lasted in the 23 Roadster pulling some sort of plowing set up. It wouldn’t be fun to try to change it in the middle of a plowed field. Whatever it was pulling I think it might have been a harrow instead of a plow. It wouldn’t have to go ...

Could it be that the cowl lamps were avaliable on the non-starter cars? The encyclopedia says side and tail lamps were similiar to the 1917 non-starter cars and an electric tail lamp on for the 23 year with no side lights. So are the side lights the kerosene side lamps??? Or maybe I’m confused with ...

I always like to see these T photos of T life nearly a century ago. All of them could tell a story and the T that’s 5th from the bottom of the post looks like to me that the guy is using a wider tire tied on to each rear wheel to gain traction to plow a field. I guess you could say this is a genuine...

Another question is how much do you want to spend.
Besides that what are you expecting to do with a Model T.

Reuse the nails if you can. I grew up on our farm and we would save “good used nails” for the next project when one would come up. Depending on how far with restoring or repairing the trailer I think I would replace the bushings on the perch’s and maybe others if needed. Makes me wonder if the diffe...

The washers were probably put on behind the pulley to help take up any pulley looseness. Replace the crankshaft pulley and pin, the bushing in the nose of the pan and if you can find a better hand crank that’s even better. The crankshaft nose might be OK without fileing or carefully grinding off the...

From a purists point of view (which I’m not) does an accessory water pump knock off points at a Model T car show? I’m in the crowd that believes is a good radiator is the best option for an engine that may be suspected of over heating or cooling troubles. I’ve had two in the past to no avail until I...

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Here’s another

This has been brought up before. For a short time around 1915 they were bronze. Here’s an earlier post about it. There are others also. https://mtfca.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=33037

Having all the old cars and parts gives him something to do. It’s his cars and parts to do with as he wants. He’s asking top money to begin with and hopefully some items might get sold but not many for a while.

Using Go-Jo hand cleaner works wonders for lubing up the beads for tire removal or installing. Other similar brands would also work. Go-Jo also works great for removing grease stains on your shirts or light colored pants if you are working on your car.

The open valve engines and drivetrains on the very early T’s should be left as is. It’s hard enough to find an open valve engine itself besides adding upgrades to it. I have 3 T’s in the so called black era and that era of T’s might be better to experiment with but not the brass era cars and especia...

The 6th photo from the top looks like the dealer was selling a wringer washing machine besides Model T’s. It sure looks a wringer washer to me anyway. Maybe they used it in the dealership? I grew up with a Montgomery Wards machine that looked almost identical to the one that’s shown in the photo. Wh...

I’ve wondered why Ford didn’t use just I size wheels to begin with and use 30 x3 1/2. Maybe Fords engineers thought using the smaller size was some sort of advantage for the Model T car. When the smaller size was made that meant the spokes, rims, tires, and tubes had to be made differently too. That...

The reproduction sediment bulbs are spot on good. This is a reproduction part that is well worth it if you need one. I bought one for my 24 Coupe after I tried to repair the old one which worked for while. No more worries about any gas tank area leaks.

Ron I’m pretty sure you know about how to obtain copies of original Ford drawings from the Ford archives. I would have thought that some where on older forum posts there might be copies but I couldn’t find them. Maybe others might could find them some where on the net besides from Ford. They probabl...

The moulding seems to be made from some type of aluminum or pot metal. I have a 24 T Coupe and did have a 25 Four door sedan which I sold several years ago. Both of them had the moulding and was made of the same aluminum type material. It was nailed on with a type of finishing nail and then counter ...

You can fabricate one out of half rounded moulding that can be bought in different lengths and widths. You can buy it from industrial supply houses. It’s used for trimming out shelving, kitchen areas in restaurants, and other similar uses. I bought some years ago to finish out the seam trimming on t...

Using the improved funnel for the front oiling of the crankshaft and the outside oil line that attaches on the top of the transmission cover through the mag terminal seems like it would be enough. I’ve seen the high volume attachment posts for several years. Now I’m seeing that for some engines it m...

Here in the states it’s called baling wire and it’s used to tightly hold the bale of hay together. I grew up in Texas and raise cattle. Most if not all the large round or rolls of hay is held together with heavy twine or something similiar but not wire. Wire is used for the small 75 lb. small rectan...

And don’t forget the rag stuffing procedure. I wonder if Joe had time to do that!

I’ve wondered about the add too! It says he changed them in 12 minutes but does that include bradding on the band material ? The Ford service manual says that one man doing the job should do it in 40 minutes with improved bands with removable ears. But that’s way too fast for me. The times listed in...

No laughing here. I used a Oxy-Acetelyne welding rod. You can also use a coat hanger to do it. 1” banding also works OK. The 1” banding with a split brown handle about 6” long makes for a good handle for it too. Here an advertisement from Ford about Joe Snow and how long it took for him to do it. I’...

This comes up sometimes when fitting new sheet metal. I’ve found that by installing the pieces loosely for preliminary fitting and using taper punches, sometimes using a round file to enlarge the holes if necessary will help getting a balanced fit for the sheet metal. I can remember reading and look...

The tires may last a while yet since you wouldn’t be using the wagon on the road that much. They probably aren’t the originals to the wheels and may not have come to the “ may pop” stage yet. As far as the rear end goes jack up the rear end off the ground if they will let you and turn it by hand and...

Looks like the front end is still fairly tight. It doesn’t look like it’s been over used and banged up like so many are. Some one took care of it. If you could get it for to use in you farm business go for it. You maybe could repaint it to have a closer match for your Farmall than John Deere green!!...

Picture of your Model T farm wagon would help. Use to see them in various set-ups in Farm auctions. If you did intend to use it behind you H Farmall new tires for it would cost more than what the rest of it would be worth. You never know though what someone would pay for it though if they wanted it....

There is still interest in cotton band linings for Model T transmissions. Like other Model T parts finding a company that has the weaving machinery to make them as the older originals were like Scandanivia, Sears, Wards and a few others isn’t easy to do because of being able to make a decent profit....

It’s all in how you treat them. Whether it’s cotton or Kevlar. And when you think that since you’ve got the new Kevlars which hardly wear that’s when you might start to disregard your driving habits in a Model T. This subject has always gone back and forth. I have Kevlar in my 24 Coupe and cotton in...

The first photo of the T carrying the milk cans is interesting. They have to be new cans just by looking how nice the galvanized coat is on them. Hard to believe milk cans looked this nice as we have a few of them and the galvanized coating is pretty much gone.

The battery suppliers to the stores that carry them are SUPPOSED to rearrange the batteries according to build date age and move them to the front while the new and newer ones go towards the back of the line. What I started doing is to go to the back of the line and that’s usually where the newer bu...

The storage box on the back of the T on the 4th photo down must have been a common brand to use. It’s been seen on other T photos before beside this one. I can’t tell if the car was a Runabout or a later PU that came out in 25.

What about just filing down the points just enough to smooth them out. I’ve got lots of them taken off and kept a bunch of them. That may not be the best thing to do but if you don’t drive a T all that much it would work OK. My opinion. Maybe that’s the reason my Grandfather kept several copper head...

Model T’s among other older cars and tractors use a Group 1 6 volt battery. I’ve used the ones avaliable at Farm and Ranch stores and I’ve had them last as long as 4 years down to 18 months only because I didn’t check the build date on the battery! I use a trickle charger for my T’s since they aren’...

If not early auto related they could be valve or crankcase covers for early air compressors, pumps and etc. Could be they were put in among old car parts over time.

Dave’s restoration and machine advertises regularly in the MTFCA Vintage Ford magazine.

I was thinking the only difference in some of the earlier T 11-21 2 valve chamber doors was the thickness and the overall size was the same.

Auto accidents can be bad in any era. Not being careful, bad luck and bad driving can kill or mame. Growing up in the 60’s, Jan and Dean had a hit song named “Dead Man’s Curve” which we listened to a lot when cruising downtown in our cars. It came out in 1964 and was story of a drag race gone bad. I...

I would think you would have to know how to use this. Would wrong connection to the magneto cause the magnets to be discharged accidentally?

Here’s a Facebook Maketplace listing I saw today and I know nothing about the Truck or the owner than what’s on Facebook. He’s asking 4900.00 for it and may be to much since it’s not running but it’s not a rusted up back fourty find. Seems to be all there ?. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item...

I think Norman K. makes a good point. Just this morning we went out to lunch and I noticed there was the local car show that was advertised. Most if not all were 50’s 80’s cars. Several had grey haired owners in their 60’s. Tinkering on old cars and Model T’s is a hobby and not a money making game. ...

The people that grew up and had family either have passed on or their family members are now in their 60s-70’s and up. I grew up around my Grandfathers 24 Coupe and later restored it around 25 years later. Along the way I restored a my 1919 Roadster and a 21 Touring. I’m 77 and don’t drive them as m...

If it were me I would take it to frame straightening shop or do it yourself. It’s not that hard to do. If you have a stable mounted vise mount it in the vise and use a 2” cheater pipe 4-5ft long and place it over the wishbone and carefully straighten it a little at a time. Try that first, reinstall ...

The 3rd photo from the top makes me wonder what ever happened to the Pep-O-Mint advertising car! One of a kind I’m sure.
It must have been driven since it has tail lights on it. The body builder who made it did a good job building it.

I think the Ford logo was added years later. Not original to the radiator.

Get and read the Model t Ford service manual. Other publications explaining how a Model T and runs are avaliable from the T parts suppliers and the MTFCA. Study and read so you can become your own T mechanic as best you can. Remember T’s don’t have real brakes and driving them is a little different ...

Lang’s has 26-27 door latch repair repair kits. You can call them to see if the ones they have are for the closed car latches or open cars. https://www.modeltford.com/item/5679-80RK.aspx
Hope this helps.

The 4th T from the bottom of the post looks to be a Sinclair Oil delivery or advertising vehicle. The lighter color body of the car is probably a light shade of green since Sinclair was green but could it be anything else? What is the round object just under the drivers side fender. It doesn’t seem ...

When I finally started putting together what eventually was a 1921 Touring body I started having questions about the details and the so called body bolt. The body was found in a back tree line and was pretty much complete less the chassis. It had sat out for years and the wood was completely gone. T...

Here’s a 26-27 set I bought a few years ago like the ones pictured from a person in Virginia. I don’t have a 26-27 T but I was thinking I could use the 2 narrow bands for one of my 3 earlier T’s. They were sold by Sears but I’m not sure who actually made them. Really well made too. Years ago I read ...

That’s the way old tractors, amateur radios and guitar sites do it. You cant buy or sell without being a member.

The pictures of the cotton bands you posted are some really good cotton bands made by Montgomery Wards or Allstate. Good as original Scandinavia and long lasting. They are made with really tight weaving like Scandinavia which made for long lasting cotton bands. Of course Kevlar are the best long las...

If the car was found in a child’s hearse setup, cleaned up as is and gotten running and driving that may have been the way to go as far as selling it. But desirability plays a big part for a potential buyer in this case because it’s such an early T.

Since this 1908 2 lever T wasn’t a Touring car to begin with makes me wonder if it had been maybe it would have met the reserve. Regardless though the early T’s probably don’t show up for sale very often. It depends on point of view I guess.

Working around air plane hangers that were built in the 40’s -50’s here in Texas they look like conduit “ hangers” that were attached the to the roof line ceiling.

Doing a look up of MTFCA chapters in Idaho there was one listed as of 2020 but looking for it now the site comes up imminent domain.

Posting a photo of your 17 would help. We can tell by several photos what has been changed or original. Also using the encyclopedia in the resources section can help. Ford made noticeable and subtle changes from 17-25. Being aware of that can help what’s correct for a 17 and what’s not even though l...

That’s an interesting attachment. I wonder how many are still around. That’s an item that probably was looked over time and sold for scrap. Especially at farm auctions.

I bought a new exhaust manifold a few years ago for my 21 Touring and it worked OK.
Here’s an earlier post about manifold clamps. http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/59 ... 1473037627

Just for information purposes Facebook has 10 specifically related Model T Ford sites. Owners, parts, classifieds among others. People are looking for information where they can find it. Most sites have several thousand members more or less. Yes I know some folks don’t like Facebook for different re...

It could be the B’Gosh box is sitting over the rear trunk. Looks like there would be enough room to access the gas tank through the back doors of the B’Gosh box. But that’s a guess.

Post a picture as it would help.

If you have movement in the kingpin bushings that means there is other worn parts in the front end also. When I rebuilt the front end on my 21 Touring I removed the front end as a unit and placed it on the work bench then replaced all worn and loose fitting bushings and tie rod ends. When I did that...

Jack up the front end off the ground and slowly turn the steering wheel and watch for any movement or slack in the front end parts and the king pins. You’ll be surprised what may be a little loose. That’s the best way to check out the front end parts. Do this first then go from there.

Do you know if the starter has ever been gone through? That could be the issue. Original starters and original radiators wear out after nearly 100 years. From what you’re saying it sounds more like the starter than the starter switch.

When I removed mine I used some WD40 around the backside of the rim. It did help. Every little bit helps.

When you need to remove the cover remember you can leave one in and remove 3. The one screw helps hold the cover in place to avoid some of the hassle.

Here’s a link about headlight rim removal. https://www.mtfca.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=38311 Several good ideas about other styles and ideas about how todo it. The strap wrench is a pretty good alternative tool. The other version of Fords rim removal tool is sold by Snyder’s but it’s out of stock.

The 4th picture from the top is an example of a 24 Coupe with a pickup bed being used in the rear trunk area. I hadn’t seen that but I’ll bet it was done more than we think. I guess you do with what you have and the Coupe owner did just that! It looks like the rear box was used as a tool storage, et...

A good point to remember you don’t have to really pull down on the head bolts. Sometime we forget to get them good and tight and that’s enough. The key to getting the head to get a good seal is to stick with starting in the middle first and going out evenly from there. You don’t need a cheater bar t...

If you have some good used original ring gears maybe use one of those. A ring gear doesn’t have to be perfect to last many years of normal use.

Interesting post about speedster colors. I agree to stay away from metallic or a paint job that looks to much like plastic. More period correct as far as the color or paint sheen would be my choice if I was building one. But that’s just me. The super glossy and plastic looking paint jobs are for mor...

This is another of one of those issues which arise that can be found in the Ford Service manual. As the old saying goes “WHEN IN DOUBT READ THE INSTRUCTIONS”. It also sounds like something may be amiss with the bolt on the brake lever adjustment or excessively worn parts. Posting a picture of the pa...

When you have the head off to clean out the water passageways in the head and block be sure to carefully clean out the small holes using a ice pick or carefully use a cordless drill to drill out the holes. Quite possibly some may be almost closed with rust. After many years it can happen. Be careful...

Just read your post and as you will find people will have slightly different opinions on different subjects on the forum. Looks like you’re on your way to getting your T running. As far as cleaning the internals of the engine up using about a gallon of kerosene in it and turning the crank or starter...

I JUST DID A INTERNET SEARCH - JAMES H. McNEAL III LOCATION -
I came up with several in California listing that paticular name along with phone numbers, some that were deceased and some that moved.

I would suggest doing the search that way and call the ones with the numbers listed.

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