MTFCA Forum

I am moving and clearing out a lot of stuff. One interesting find is a set of four drawings (each about 30”x20”) for the wood in a 17-22 roadster. They are available for the postage.
I don’t see any name or copyright on the drawings.

When I had access to a mill, I use to cut about 1/8” off the lifter boss so I could more easily adjust the lifters. It didn’t seem to do any harm. If Terry really is writing about the valve guide, I can’t see 1/4” missing causing too much harm. I suppose it could be welded and ream out but knowing m...

I find it best not to try any short cuts when re-installing the hogs head in the car. This includes removing the exhaust manifold, loosening the bolts below the UJ housing, nothing loose above the opening such as a key in the ignition and ANYTHING in the way. I also use the custom tool to hold the n...

Frank surely you mean non-demountable wheels in your first sentence. From my limited experience I didn’t need to remove a non-demountable wheel as I only suffered one flat and I changed the tube with the wheel still on the car. Mind you I prefer demountable rims on a car used for longer tours. 😊 I d...

Les, what was the problem with the Ford rods?

I expanded the very first picture and there appears to be a rusty line and a clear line around the hub. To me this implies the hub is moving with respect to the spokes. If the nuts are tight then is time for new spokes. I made a spoke press and have rebuilt several demountable wheels quite successfu...

My 09 came with a Heinz coil box but the build sheet indicated it should be a Kingston. I found one in Michigan and had to drive to his home to pick it up (see this months Vintage Ford).
When I arrived home it fitted perfectly

It was the same thread for the whole of the Model T production from my 1909 Touring thru to my friends 1927 touring

By the way the two bolts should have holes in the heads and then wired together

On my 14 Touring I can remove and replace the motor without removing the steering column but I have to leave the starter off. It’s tight but I’ve done it a couple of times. I use a lifting eye in #4 for the vertical lift and then switch to one in #1 for the vertical lift. I also helped a friend with...

As I remember the valve on the Chevy rims are at a different location to the valve on the Model T rims.
I found this to my cost when the spare on the 17 Touring was a Chevy and all the rest Ford.

If the car is wired as an original Model T and you didn’t turn on the ignition or start the engine during the charging process, then you did no damage. My reasoning is simple if you follow the wiring diagram, as there will be no path for an excess voltage or current to reach the generator (the engin...

There are at least three way of looking inside the guts of a T motor besides pulling the cylinder head and only requires simple tools. First it the bottom pan, yes I know it’s 15 small bolts but it’s easy enough. From here you can see and measure the end play in the crank and rods. If they are withi...

Jerry’s idea worked just fine. I had a couple of spare tappets so I even had the correct screw and nut. So I replaced the valve, adjusted the tappet, not too tight, and buttoned it all up. It runs but now has an exhaust leak. I can fix that another day.

Thanks Jerry

Great idea.
I’ll give that a try when I get more enthusiastic.

The speedster wasn’t running good when I went to it a couple of weeks ago in preparation for the annual speedster run. There didn’t seem too much compression on a couple of cylinders. So I removed the head and I wasn’t too happy as there was lots crud in a couple of cylinders which settled under a c...

According to the build sheet for my 1909, the number was the second engine stamped on 4 October 1909 and it was shipped to a customer later that day !
By the way an abridged version of the engine dating is available on this web site under Encyclopedia.

I built up a speedster 4 valve rajo for a customer and the block didn’t have the two oil drain holes. The oil built up and would leak out at car shows much to the isners annoyance. So we bought a long drill, removed the inspection pan and drilled the two missing holes from the bottom. They may not b...

Be careful as to the order of installing the rivets on the front cross member

: Installing rivets on front crossmember

When I restored the 1909 Touring, the teeth on the quadrant eere very worn. Also it appeared to be a 1914 style column at 56” long. So I made the decision to cut it down to the correct 50” and replace the quadrant. There were no very difficult problems though installing the two brass rivets to hold ...

Just today on Facebook, Stan Howe recounted how a coupe he now owns was used into the fifties by a local Montana couple.

I don’t believe moving the hole on either the crank, dog or crankshaft will not do what you wrote in the first thread. There are two compression on each revolution of the crankshaft. It follows that there will be one compression for each half turn of the crankshaft. You can move the alignment as to ...

In 1988 I was visiting my brother in New Zealand and on one of the trips we saw a Model T pick up. Naturally we caught up and met a delightful young couple who we living off the land. I suppose they were hippies but very pleasant. However the pick up was their only means of transport. So some (rathe...

You can easily reverse the internals within the Ford rear axle. Don’t ask how I know. However you cannot do it with a Ruckstell axle.

Is the roadster body still available ?

Is the roadster body still available ?

I think your diagnosis is correct.
The magneto might be a little weak but I doubt even a rebuilt one could supply two six volt bulbs in parallel. A simple solution requiring no rewiring would be to switch to twelve volt bulbs.

One of my customers runs Model A manifolds on all his Ts complete with Zenith or Tilletson (?) carbs and custom exhaust systems. They run great and are superior to the Model T set up and that includes the Stomberg OF that I use. Except for my requirement to be reasonably authentic, I’d run them as w...

You can only post five pictures in each post. The solution is just to add more pictures in a second post. There appears to be no limit on how many posts

You made me think

Thanks
Tony

While I was working on my 09 I took a photo of Kim Dobbins very original 1910.

: Wiring on original 1910

I duplicated it on my 09 except I never found the correct clip. Hopefully the new owner will find one or make an appropriate clip.

The 1909 cars used a shorter column. I suspect some portly owners had the column shortened to provide a more comfortable driving position. When I restored the 09 it had a standard 1914 column which is too long. After some consideration I decided to shorte both the shaft and the outer column and repl...

One of my customers has a Frontiac overhead and wanted more torque than the rewiring of a standard T for 12 volts can provide. So he bought one of these geared starters from Chaffins and it seems to work just fine. It’s been in service for close to a year and he is still happy. I too was concerned a...

I remember speaking to Bruce McCalley on this very subject, well actually was it worth magnafluxing a model T crank. He advised not bothering as most T cranks show some crack somewhere. So on my coupe, which was rebuilt in 1990, was just reground and rebabbitted. So far it’s been fine. Of course bot...

Jeff has made an adjustment to the BBB web site.
This is my picture that would not upload.

: 1909 on its way to Quebec

Success
Thanks Jeff

I email my failing picture to Chris but I have heard nothing back to date.

Craig rather than a DMM I use a 12v bulb 18 watt bulb.
Bulbs give all the info you need, essentially a perfect GO/NOGO test.
DMMs often get confused by the nasty non-sinusoidal waveforms put out by the magneto and the rotten DC put out from the generator.

I strongly suggest you acquire the booklets put out by the MTFCA regarding both the transmission and the electrical systems. While pnot inclusive of the early cars, they are invaluable for all black radiator Model Ts. They will help you solve both your problems. You do need a correct band for that b...

This is the picture I tried to post but here I reduced the pixel count to 720 high and 540 wide 168E5F60-8F96-4E6E-964B-E0C56222C8BC.jpeg This version is 1280 by 960 759B85D1-4ADE-47C4-B103-590FD1F72272.jpeg This is the original 4032 x 3024 47672B0F-6241-4C32-8EDC-5819A2E601ED.png Strange that the p...

I’m using an Apple iPhone 10 with 13.7 OS

Picture that failed Oh I can’t post it but here is the error message 😊 8413C5F4-09CA-4D9C-889C-D26F7C6FCDB6.png In case you can’t see the small print, it reads: The picture must be at least 0 pixels wide, and 0 pixels high and at most 1600 pixels wide and 1200 pixels high. The submitted picture is 1...

Strange as the site did not resize mine. I wonder why. I sent mine to Chris with no response to date.

Steve, I downloaded your picture and it is 553 pixels wide and 1200 pixels high. The 1200 appears to be the upper limit from my experience. The terms portrait and scenery are usually referenced as to how the picture is presented. In your case it is clearly presented as a portrait even though we all ...

When I post vertical picture, portrait I believe, I get the dreaded triangle which indicates a limit of 1200 pixels high and 2400 pixels horizontally. So I have to reduce the picture so it’s less, then it works fine.
Chris I’ll send you the latest one to fail.

End of an era. My 1909 has been sold and is on its way to a new home. I believe he will look after it the way such a unique car should be looked after for many years to come. C939569C-87D5-48C6-80E6-511D9AC3053C.jpeg 0884E402-C5FB-4382-A620-C5829F65BA4F.jpeg 253027BB-FDBC-4C47-9963-D6D5240CAF97.jpeg

Look like the 1909 is sold to Anthony in Quebec.
Thanks MTFCA

I can’t see the detail on the wiring of the ten bolts for the ring gear, but Lee Pierce taught me to wire them in pairs. So bolts are wired in pairs. The three bolts on the differential can be split pinned but those using three studs should be wired together. One old timers trick if the hub or axle ...

Couple of nibbles but no bites.
If anyone is interested, make me an offer, it’s already priced less than it cost me for parts and labor.

From memory the cylinder head bolts on the Curved Dash Oldsmobile was 1/2”-12. These were designed in 1900-01 period and I had assumed (Ass U Me) that the now standard 1/2”-13 had not yet be established. Correct me if I’m wrong but it does seems odd that Ransom Olds would choose an English thread wh...

When I installed the starter on the 1914 speedster I was faced with the same problem, made worse as I wanted to keep the same carb which only had the control for the radiator check. So I made a swivel arm from the manifold stud pulled from the firewall which thru the swivel pulled the choke forward....

When I made the shorter steering shaft for the 09, I used a later column and recut the taper, thread and keyway. I would not recommend welding. JMHO

How sad, such a loss to our T community. I met at Chickasha years ago and was intrigued by his 1910 T in pieces. We discussed it several times and during the discussions I learnt about his skill of converting 1914 blocks into open valve replacements. He even let it slip how you can tell if it’s an o...

Over the years I have run across at least two Model Ts with later 12 volt generators complete with a three terminal voltage regulator box. In both cases I replaced them with the Texas T alternator. Indeed I think I have one of the systems available as taken off a T. If anyone is prepared to pay ship...

Being a retired electrical engineer I have little faith in 100 year old instruments so in the days before LED bulbs we use to set the generator output by turning on all the lites and then moving the third brush until the ammeter read zero. After all running at nite is not typical use for a T and who...

First you want to make sure that when the engine does run, nothing is damaged. So first disconnect the wire From the generator. Insulate the bare end of the wire then connect the terminal on the generator to ground. This will protect the generator from any damage. Now connect a wire from the battery...

Those coils look like the Kingston coils used in 1909-10 model T

15,007,033 at end of primary production in may 1927

They built several thousand more engines until 1941.

It’s all in the Encyclopedia section of this site

I have no irons in this discussion except what I know and can see. The wheels on the picture provided by Glen which is said to be as 220 was purchased has demountable wheels. 6423563D-C8AB-4A17-8EC9-854D875526EE.png To me they look like 6” hubs and I can’t tell if they are one piece spindles. The pi...

The supposed reason to use the positive ground was to reduce the corrosion at the battery terminals.
This is the story I was told, personally I think it’s a load of nonsense. JMHO

Yet even more photos

: Magneto coil ring

: Cast magnets

: Clutch spring retainer

: Transmission in chassis

: Fan spring

Some extra photos.

: Two piece timer

: Boss on left hand side of the block

: Kingston five ball carburetor

: 50” steering column and Kingston coil box

My newly restored 1909 Model T is up for sale. It does appear that I need to downsize a little, so I have reluctantly decided to find a new and loving home for my 09. It has less than six miles on the engine, following a comprehensive rebuild which included all new babbitt, new piston, valves and a ...

My 1909 kit of parts included a white rubber mat, I guess it must be a repro from sometime in the past. If does look quite nice and matches the white rubber mat at the front. Mind you I rather prefer the look of the stained and varnished wood floor.

My daughter enjoys sewing and made me a mask 432EC266-D546-4989-B785-E043C8A3618A.jpeg I asked if she could make one with a T 7639DBE6-1563-493F-9936-3224339B79B6.jpeg This was OK but I wanted an Model T 7125A6AD-CAA8-4F46-BB10-5E6FA5F9FE32.jpeg Oh dear, if it’s an early T it should be green 047806F...

I need to insure the 09 and our friends at Grundy need two pictures. So I cranked it up and parked near the trees and took about a dozen pictures.

: 1909 on Oak Valley

I don’t think the arm should actually touch the frame. All the contact should be the wood block and I believe your block accomplishes that feat. I must admit the arms should lie flatter on top of the frame, that is best fixed with the pan out of the frame. Don’t forget the horizontal bolt. Not too t...

Seems to me that you are telling us that the carb has not been touched from before the rebuild. It would seem reasonable, assuming you are correct, then the problem is nothing to do with the carb. Vacuum leak seems reasonable. Did you put new copper rings and steel rings on the manifold? Is the cams...

When I first rebuilt the 14 Touring I decided to use Evans coolant because of the Z head. It never appeared to boil but would run very hot. I discussed the hot running with the agent for the Evans coolant and he told me the specific gravity does not change with temperature. Oh oh this mean the therm...

When Reading an existing entry on an iPhone, just open two fingers on the screen. When writing an entry, open a reply on an iPhone and just above the Smiles in Normal. Click on Normal and choose the size (large in my example) and you get size=150 and /size both in square brackets. Insert your text b...

From memory the final drive on the 218mph car was 1.8:1 with about 43mph per 1000rpm. The crown wheel and pinion were custom made. I’m sure the whole rear end was very special. The first runs were made with a two speed transmission. On the second attempt a five (or four) gearbox was used. A major pr...

I’m not happy with the motor in the 1914 touring. It runs well but ever since I broke the crank and installed a SCAT , I can hear a knock which I cannot Place. So I plan to remove the motor and check everything again. I suspect a twisted or bent rod. Sooooo I have woken up the coupe so I still have ...

This was a pressure fed crank with less than 10 hours but 6500rpm

: Broken crank

Reliability is in the eye of the beholder.
(Picture from Erik Barrett)

I assemble the hoses and water pipe and the inlet and outlet on the radiator before I put the radiator on the car. Once it is roughly assembled with all six hose clamps, I ensure the two studs are vertical. For some reason all mine want to point outwards. Then I lower the radiator on the studs, lett...

One of the problems with these discussions is the meaning of “minor” modifications. My comment relate to unmodified Ford Model T engines and drive chains. As built the power curve peaked at 22HP and 25mph and stopped at 16HP and 36mph. When run like this it was probably the most reliable inexpensive...

I thought the four valve Rajo Model A was designed specifically to fit a standard firewall. The Four valve A will give you a much power as you need, they are plenty fast from my experience. JMHO

The Model T engine was designed in 1908 when there were no paved road and cars ran on mud trails. The engine power curve peaks at about 1100 rpm and terminates at 1600 rpm. This equates to about 25 mph and 36 mph and this seems to equate to the normal and maximum speed that is normally associated wi...

It is easier to get the band out from the reverse band position. I suggest you pull out the reverse pedal, then pull the reverse band. Then if you are luck you and strong you might be able to pull out the low band towards the RHS. This is one error I haven't made so I can’t say it’s possible or not....

Sold to Tim pending payment.

Thanks to MTFCA

No one seems to want them as I’ve two and offered one as low as $50 without a real nibble. So they can stay on the shelf until they come back into fashion.

For sale is a used but rebuilt Planator sliding gear. Some years ago I had two Ts with these two speed drive shafts and this gear failed. I had gear rebuilt by Alan Schmitt and I had two more made by a friend in Pheonix. One went into the failed axle and the other new one was sold some years ago. In...

The English Austin Seven was made from 1923 to 1937 with the same chassis and same motor (thru 1936) and in 1939 the 750 Motor Club was formed to support owners of these unique little vehicles. They are still around today. That’s about 81 years, same age as me

I missed the bit in the very first thread that the 1915 used a 12 volt battery. I ordered some and sure enough they will not work on the six volt system on my Coupe. I looked around the Superbrightled site and dug into the specifications on every light it found and none will operate on six volts. I ...

Luke - the second picture looks like a 1913 model. The firewall hood former is not extended 1915, the headlamps appear to be solid brass so it’s not a 1914. It has doors which make it later than 1912 so that leaves 1913. My only concern is the side lamps which appear to be black with brass trim whic...

Now ii can hand crank it, I’ll admit I did try a huge slow speed electric drill. First time I held with my skinny arms, it threw me half way across the workshop. Next time I made a support system and managed to strip a gear in my friends drill. After removing the engine, transmission and rear axle, ...

Bruce once told me that the Fordor had aluminum doors. But I annoyed him when I pointed out that the doors on my 24 coupe are aluminum. He of course had a response that someone had changed them. Quite honestly I think he was wrong. I can see one being changed due to an accident but not both. A frien...

I’m fairly confident about the date of manufacture with two irrefutable items. Both were in the video but only visible for a few seconds. The first is the serial number tag shows 11150 which according to the encyclopedia is 4 October 1909. 33C2490C-4E08-4737-B575-62FCE3A747B2.jpeg The second was eve...

My top is still up after the filming and there is no one around to help lower it. However I measure 66-67” to the top of the folded wind screen. Hope this helps.

On the hogs head issue. Once we decided it was a repro and I had pictures from Kim on what the original looks like, I stuck it in the mill and chopped off the excess. Now I can reach the two internal nuts with a wrench! There were a few other items that were binding and I cut them away. Now it seems...

As I mentioned earlier I had checked Lang’s but I had not checked Snyders. I just called and they have a set, that saves a great deal of effort. Thanks guys.

On Monday my grandson came up and we spent the morning working in the yard and the afternoon playing with the 1909 touring. He had been up previously to help with the installation of seat backs, so he is familiar with the vehicle. It started as usual with a flood of the five ball, three cranks and t...

I need a set of Walker hose clamps for my 1909 touring. I spoke to Steve at Lang’s and they have none in stock and little chance of new stock. They have some of the tooling but they believe it’s incomplete. So does anyone have details of the design so I could have a set fabricated. I looked at the p...

Calling the local police or sheriff is a complete waste of your time. I was cheated when buying lamps for the 09 and paid by Western Union.
No one cared.
Not the local police.
Not the county Sheriff.
And biggest surprise to me, neither did Western Union.

Interesting.... Ford built almost 5,000 model T engines in 1929 according to dear old Bruce and who would argue with that. I had always assumed that they were 1927 style with a vaporizer and bolts between the block and hogs head. Bruce states that they were “replacement” engines so it’s unlikely the...

I have a Z head on the 14 touring and a Prus on the 15 Speedster. Both are an improvement on the Ford head but I prefer the torque characteristics offered by the Prus. I think the combustion chamber shape is better and it gives more useable torque and better mileage. JMHO

Against my advise, the block of Lucky 7 was bored out to 0.125”. It seems to work just fine, lucky I guess

That was a great presentation, thanks to Trent for his research and Rob for making it available. I remember Bruce McCalley making a presentation about the prototype and specifically the angle bracket at the front corner. He casually mentioned it was modified in production to include the lengthening ...

Today the San Duego club had a Social Distancing Tour from the city out to Campo, a distance of about 45 miles each way. Along the way we climbed to about 4000 feet just outside Pine Valley. We had ten Model Ts on the run and one Hudson. DF403E5F-DA2B-40BB-AC58-6AF194186BB8.jpeg In Campo the choice ...

I asked because Steve thought it had been postponed.
Actually an email a couple of minutes before the online meeting doesn’t just enough notice to get a reasonable response. JMHO

Sorry I missed it, however I’m confused, easy these days, did it happen or was it postponed?

I haven’t driven any of my Ts since I returned from Death Valley tour on Feb 28. However I have driven a customers T after I reworked his Ruckstell axle. Also I had the 09 on jack stands and was able to crank it. At last. I have a video which I’ll add a link to in due course. I’m now working on thos...

If the problem was in the magneto it would be present when the vehicle is stationary. If the thrust washers have failed there will be shiny bits in the rear axle oil. I my experience a UJ failure is worse at low speed and lessens once up to a steady speed. In any case if it’s a UJ or rear axle, the ...

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