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Aha! Now those are real visual clues. Thanks!

Just for the record, my top kit was made by Classtique, not Cartouche.

Thanks for your input. So it sounds like matching the angle of the side irons to the cut of the top's side panels is the way to go. This puts my rear bow 1 1/4" rear of the body tack strip.

I have read a lot of posts about top installations, but I am unclear on these points which are appearing as I start the installation of my Classtique top. I purchased this kit 10 years ago and did not unpack it for a couple of years. I have been advised that it will have creases in it for life, but ...

Thanks for your info on the TW timer. The brush wear comparison is interesting. My engine is still in break-in stage, so running is constantly improving. I just cleaned the dust out of my TW timer, and I could swear the idle is smoother now. 20250811 TW timer dust a.jpg 20250811 TW timer dust b.jpg ...

Alfredo, log out and log back in. I had the same thing happen to me today.

Oh, and the new brush extends out 1/4".

Here are the measurements of the Snyder's brush sold 20 years ago.

Tim, you are the New Day timer expert in my book.

I now see the beginnings of the plastic being displaced on my timer, and that on a unit with so few miles on it! Makes me glad I popped for the TW timer.

I appreciate your observations and sharing your experience.

Tim, you posted “For what it's worth, one of the worst reproductions of a New Day is the "Best" - it really wears quickly. See how the plastic has been scraped out between the contacts. The debris piled up on the bottom edge is plastic.” I assume you are referring to the marking on the original Snyd...

Thanks for that one Herb.

Too bad all five men stood in front of the cars instead of beside them... no one had dreamed that people would be interested in looking at that picture over 100 years later.

Gregory, great job on dialing that photo in.

OK, thanks Jeff.

Jeff, thanks very much for that information with detailed descriptions. My '27 dates from September 1926. The upper boards are not plywood, but the bottom board is plywood and looks like a replacement. You mention that the floorboards on the later production cars were plywood and that the cleats wer...

In this post from 2013, https://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/331880/354649.html?1366131784, about 26-27 floorboards, there is a picture of the bottom board with 2 cleats mounted underneath. They are to be glued and nailed from the bottom up, and the ends of the nails bent over. Original_floorboards...

Removed the front spring and took measurements against the values on Ken's table: The width between center of eyes is spot on. The height is 8mm / 0.315 inches higher. Since the car has already settled 0.50 inches since I started driving it (less than 50 miles), I'm counting on the spring settling i...

Headlight socket reorientation 9.jpg New horizontal orientation of the bulb contacts. Headlight socket reorientation 10.jpg New vertical orientation of the filaments. Using 50/32 CP incandescent bulbs: Headlight socket reorientation 11.jpg Low beam Headlight socket reorientation 12.jpg High beam

After reading up on the Model T battery-powered electric headlights, I have learned that the original Ford headlight bulbs had a 2 CP filament on Dim and a 21 CP filament on Bright. The filament was a teepee style oriented horizontally, the most efficient position to send light to the reflectors to ...

Is that Ford info? I have the Encyclopedia, but never found this kind of information. Fantastic data to work with.
Thanks very much Ken.

That's a great reference on the front axle types, thanks Dan. My axle is straight, so the swooped or dipped axles appearing in August 1926 either missed my car (engine date late September 1926) or else the axle has been replaced somewhere along the line. 20250512_090349.jpg Jerry, I rechecked the to...

The front axle has been on this car since at least 1965. I think they are interchangeable for all model years. The spindles are 26-27 style, so the axle stub is dropped 1 1/2" instead of being placed in the center of the spindle like the previous models were. That's what gives the later cars that sp...

Just for the record, my car was fully assembled (except for the top) from the start of this post. The component pictures are from the restoration process. I raised the front wheels off the ground, checked for any play in the steering and found a little knocking noise when turning the steering wheel ...

Before the restoration the car tracked very nicely and, if I removed the wishbone ball cap, the ball was perfectly aligned with the socket. During the restoration I replaced the spindle bushings, spring perches, steering support bushing, steering box gears and pins. I adjusted all the play out of th...

I found a 36 inch wrench online for about 60 bucks, but it's got an aluminum handle. Sounds a little scary, but maybe it'll work for a one-time job.

Has anybody used a pipe wrench with an aluminum handle for this job before?

A good bet would be to post a "Want to buy" on the Classifieds - Parts section of this Forum. There have to be some out there!

If you're going to use the 1927 setup, then yes, you need the metal pieces (45065X Trim retainer-front lock pillar Right and 45066X Trim retainer-front lock pillar Left). In your second picture, the wood piece (on the right and painted black) goes in the front lock pillar on the 1926 setup for fixin...

That's a pretty cool tool to have, but it's going to more than double in price to get it to my neighborhood. For those of you who have used this specific Model T tool, is the 48" handle enough to do the job, or does it need to be extended even longer with a pipe or such? I'm thinking of borrowing a ...

Dennis, my original wishbone on the car measures 27 3/16" at the rear of the ball when placed on the ground as in your pictures.

The other one I have measures 26 15/16", but this one has a bit of a bend on one of the arms, so that may be the reason it's shorter.

Here are some pics of the ball socket, maybe better trained eyes can see if it is pushed into the crankcase at all.
The starter motor is wearing a diaper until I get the seal on it.

Ken, thanks for your input. It makes sense that the 26-27 models would have a different angle on the front radius rod (wishbone) where it mounts under the spring perches, but I have not seen any reference made about this nor can I find it in the parts catalog. Screenshot 2025-05-06 at 10.30.09.png I...

Thanks for all your replies and thanks Wayne for the introduction :). It's taken me 16 years (blush) to get the car back on the road after a broken low drum put it out of commission. It's mostly back together (need to do the top and few other things) and I am doing short drives to break in the engin...

The spindles are tilted rearward at the top.

Here are some pictures before the installation.

My car used to track just fine, but after the rebuild, the steering is fairly squirrely. The springs have been re-arched, new perches, new spindle bolts, new shackles, pretty much everything has been replaced. The spindles are now showing about 2 degrees of inclination. I loosened the wishbone at th...

I would add the starter to the list. Mine leaks an incredible amount of oil, mostly after engine shutdown, through the shaft bushing. The oil flows along the inside of the starter and drips out through the drain hole at the commutator end of the housing. This is a fix for that leak: Starter shaft se...

Mike, thanks to your post I learned something new about my car. The wire on my 27 Roadster has always gone under the body and looped back up to the tail light. I just took a closer look. The hole in the fender was welded up at some point, so I guess it did originally go through the fender. In my opi...

Pitman arm maybe?

Here is my interpretation and how I have fitted the insulating supports for the tail light wire on my 27 Roadster. The extra wiring loom carries the turn indicator and brake light wires. I attached the tail light wire separately just because that's how it came from the factory. What can I say, I'm a...

It's a different style than the one shown in the repair manual, but maybe it's a generator gear puller.

Dan, those images surpass 1000 words. Thanks so much. Your description of the material reminds me of the conical-shaped rubber grommets used on old electrical appliances which break easily and crumble if you manipulate them too much. They almost seemed to be made of a tar-like material the way they ...

The piece in the picture is of my doing. I didn't make the wires parallel with a 1/4" between them, they came from the vendor that way and now I know that was factory correct. Having the wire flat below the bushing does make the installation easier as it allows the bushing to set closer to the frame...

The rubber grommets used to make the tail lamp wire bushings dried up and fell apart after thirty-some years of service, so I replaced them with new ones of about the same size. 20241221_195026.jpg A local Model T buddy found some old porcelain insulators and we are trying to find out what size the ...

It looks like the same young lady later took an automotive shop course, to help keep her own car going no doubt

: 1927 Grace Wagner-Central High Auto Mechanics class-Washington DC.jpg (40.68 KiB) Viewed 4734 times

I appreciate your answer Craig, I will definitely not be using the scorched wood lining. The return springs are the "extra long" type, they all measured the same before I installed them. I figured the same as Robert, that the stronger the spring, the better the band would pull back away from the dru...

Steve, your metal plate around the pedals is so nice and shiny I mistook it for an accessory plate fitting over the mat. After closer inspection I see that the older mats are cut out around the pedals. Looks like Ford wanted to make the interior more weather proof and made the pedals fit through sli...

My camera takes crummy pictures, making the drum look rough and the wood liners like leather. Just about everything that could be replaced in the transmission was replaced with new parts. The brake drum is a used part with 0.005" out of round and no apparent taper. It is so much nicer than my origin...

Hello fellow Model T drivers. I appreciate your input and intended to answer your questions and give some details on what happened on the inaugural drive of my car, but something went wrong and the post just disappeared without a trace. It's been a long week and I am too tired to try to rewrite it s...

Norman, I'll keep in mind the sideways movement of the pedals. It just seems like an open slot would make it easier to manage over the pedals.

Steve, I've never seen a trim plate like yours. That would probably solve my installation problems.

Thanks for the ideas. I may be using them soon.

I have used Scandinavia linings on my car for many years without trouble but the thought of practically "maintainance free" kevlar sounded attractive, so I opted for this material. The low drum cracked within a year and it has taken me 16 years to redo the transmission while completely restoring the...

I have some self-designed items on my car but I enjoy having it as close to factory equipped as possible. I saw this mat on the Forum and it has cut-outs for the pedals, so I was thinking about doing the same if it helps to fit it over the pedals. Not sure if it would really help or not. 26-27 Floor...

Thanks for the tips. I'll try them out tomorrow.

I bought a new floor mat 8 years ago and with great difficulty installed it last week, tearing the brake pedal slot in the process. 26-27 Floor mat_Langs.jpg The old mat was already quite torn, making it easy to install and remove. 26-27 Floor mat_old.jpg The new mat is covered in a black sort of du...

If you're transporting the turtle deck separately, it's about 42" long.

It sounds like you're transporting just the body like I had to do with my 27 Roadster after it was painted. The body is 47" wide (no top mounting hardware installed) and is aproximately 92" long. Mine ALMOST fit in a Nissan Vanette, but I had the top mounting studs screwed in and that was too wide. ...

This post from 2013 https://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/331880/354649.html?1366131784 got me looking more closely at the floorboards in my 27 Roadster. After some inspection I was surprised to find that the upper board (nº 1) is made from not 1 piece but 5 pieces of wood which are dovetailed and t...

In Spain there is a supplier specialized in American cars, AUTO CLÁSICO.

Here is a link to their Model T catalog: https://www.autoclasico.es/recambios/ford-t

I have always purchased my material from suppliers in the USA. I haven't ordered anything from this outfit yet.

Dan and Chuck, my frame matches the dimensions you indicate, which means all I have to do is flip the upper windshield and it'll be right as rain (pun intended) ;) Norman, your cars got nicely centered mirrors, unlike mine which will be 2 1/2" off-center towards the passenger side, but at least the ...

As I understand it, the rearview mirror was a dealer-installed option. Do we know if a jig was used to position the wiper and the mirror or did Ford recommend a certain position? I ask this because my car has always had the rearview mirror holes offset to the driver's side, but I always used a clamp...

Frank, thanks for the pic. Now I get it

Scott, thanks for the link.

It never ceases to amaze me that after more than 40 years repairing and maintaining this car, that new (to me) parts and pieces keep showing up.

Thanks Scott. I don't do a lot of miles but have replaced so many timer commutator wires I've lost count. They usually break around the mounting tabs when the wires get oil soaked or stiff. Is the T-2124 wire commutator retainer sold by someone, or is there a good picture/explanation of how to make ...

Just a matter of curiosity, I have searched the Forum and parts vendors but haven't found an answer.

What is the T-2124 Commutator wire retainer, and is it at all helpful to have one?

: Screenshot 2022-12-11 at 23.05.55.png (100.15 KiB) Viewed 3065 times

Hahaha, the rabbit turds did the trick, but it doesn't hurt anything to have that water pump lubricant either. Oops, don't want to start a battle here. Some people put leak repair products in their cooling system as a preventative. I don't normally condone this but I have on some occasions put a sma...

BTW, these are the accessory anti rattler springs that take up the play in the tie rod bolts.

Bob, I think you have found the cause of your wobble. The 2 tie rod bolts have a shoulder that will not allow them to compress any more than they already are. The 1/16" play is due to wear and is quite common since these parts have an oiler but many times didn't get oiled. Mine were worn but the car...

Most likely since this is an old radiator it has lost thermal connections to tubes. You need a new full size radiator. After driving many years with a borderline 3 tube radiator and trying to have it repaired, I would back up what Dan says. I didn't realize just how "borderline" it was until I put ...

Scott, the pulley for the 3 row radiator on my 27 is one inch longer than the new pulley I bought after installing a 5 row radiator. The overall pulley length is 3.2". Here it is being held up to the new one. IMG_20220708_113439.jpg I drove a lot of years with the 3 row and was accustomed to hearing...

Good eye James, you're absolutely right!
I have been tweeking this wafer and it unlocks much better now.
I won't be able to paint the handle for at least a week, so the reassembly will have to wait a bit.

I replaced the ignition and light switch contacts 30 some years ago. Everything worked ok, but I wanted to have the face plate nickel plated. After disassembling everything I found the lock cylinder (tumbler) was missing 2 of the 4 wafers. The rectangular end of the pot metal cylinder wasn't so rect...

Properly adjusted coils are necessary to get good service from the timer. Poorly adjusted coils will destroy a new timer in short order. I believe that running on magneto is best for the timer. If the timer and coils are adjusted right, there will be little or no current flow at the timer contacts ...

Gasoline's running about $9.00 a gallon (US) in my area, but I can find "cheap gas" for $8,15 at the low cost stations. Not much of a discount but anything helps

Incredible how the Model T passengers sit almost as high as the driver of the horse buggy.

Could someone post a picture? I've never seen the wiring looms with metal tags on them. Just curious.

My original pads were extremely worn and areas were missing. I bought the new webbing, peeled off the paper and the adhesive stuck them right onto the body. Here they are glued into place.

Your originals look pretty nice.

I had the headlight reflectors recovered with an aluminized finish. They look fantastic. Headllght_on.jpg I've never seen such a clear pattern from these headlights. Now it looks like the picture in the shop manual. I have yet to focus the beams but I took a shot about 3 feet away just for grins. He...

The apron that was on my 27 is like your gray one, no sign of a thimble ever having been there. I don't understand what the thimble is really for. Maybe on the earlier models without the mounting screw below the crank hole it avoided rattling by pushing the crank spring inward against the front engi...

Funny how we humans grow fond of silly little nothings? Wearing in the new tire is a normal and desirable step forward, yet, somehow a small sadness invades us as we make that positive step forward. Silly little nubs. NOT a sadness! Eric Sole! Glad to see you posting here again! Is the roadster get...

Good riddance to the nubbles and may your new Blockleys be long time faithful friends.

Moving along with the sorely overdue reassembly of my 27 Roadster (post-bodywork and painting), today I assembled the hood. I have been dreading this, overthinking how it would come together, but after suffering to get the radiator apron to fit last week (see post "1927 radiator mounting studs and a...

If you turn the excentric clockwise, viewed from engine side, the belt moves slightly away from the timer and it's wires. This gives a little more margin for wire movement as spark is adjusted. I didn't realize that you had an early 26 water outlet when I wrote my comment. The threaded adjuster on ...

The clean, orderly bolting together of bright, shiny, newly painted parts exists only in my fantasies. It's been a mind boggling assembly process. Obviously the best way is to have the body work done first, then refit everything, then remove everything, have it all painted and then reassemble. Oh we...

If you turn the excentric clockwise, viewed from engine side, the belt moves slightly away from the timer and it's wires. This gives a little more margin for wire movement as spark is adjusted.

Thanks very much for the measurements John! I think I can safely say (famous last words) that my frame is within spec or at least not horribly off. As far as the repo apron goes, it's just too high for the crank to go through the hole, so I made my own adjustment based on some of the suggestions I h...

Incidentally, I tried mounting the apron below the hood risers but it's too low for the crank handle then then.

Hopefully someone can take a measurement from 27 frame. It would be helpful to figure out which direction I need to go with this part of the reassembly.

Ok, here's what I have found. The hood riser height looks to be fine with the radiator mounted in place. The only problem seems to be the radiator apron which sits too high in relation to the crank hole in the front motor mount. z_Apron_crank_hole_alignment.jpg With the old apron in place, the hand ...

Thanks Chris, I used your tip - used some spacers and tightened the nut which compressed the radiator mounting stud spring. A piece of wood underneath kept the whole thing up and gave plenty of length to put the nut onto. I opened the radiator apron mounting holes so the apron could move forward a b...

Oh, and to Jim Patrick. I printed your drawing years ago and have referred to it more times than you can imagen. Kudos for that rendering. It's a real life saver!

Thanks for everyone's input. After pulling a car apart and doing a ground up restoration there are so many things to deal with that I never saw years ago when I just got in and drove it! I doubt that the old hood riser wood was factory (it's plywood), but the hood fit just fine with those pieces and...

The hood shelf wood is the same thickness as the old pieces BUT the old wood was bent a bit and conformed better to the frame.

I have installed the repaired and repainted front fenders, new hood shelf wood and trying to fit the repo radiator apron but no cigar yet. The front of the fenders where they bend over the front of the frame extend behind the apron and won't let it come back to meet the front engine mount. The origi...

I figured that putting the manufacturer's name on the tube was a thing of the past.

Here's the only one I have with a name on it. It was put in the spare tire around 1965.

Do the Hartford tubes have a blue stripe running the perimeter like this?

After new tires and tubes were mounted in 2015 my car has yet to be driven out on the open road. The pressure drops from 32 psi to 19 psi in 30 days. This seems excessive although someone once told me that they will hold pressure better after they have seen some use out on the road. One of the tubes...

The fact that it used the original Ford crankshaft would seem to indicate that the power output was not all that high.

Deleted my post

Hey John, are those pictures taken at Snyder's?
So if the article is correct, that is the only engine of this type left in the world.

The link below recounts a really interesting story about a Ford dealer designing and manufacturing a special engine for the Model T. Henry squelched the idea at the time, but 15 years later he was making his own V8. https://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/a-model-t-ford-v8/?fbclid=IwAR2TNmmbCI2yWJjz49hz...

My sympathies go out to the Lang family.

Thanks for your input gents. It's good to know that the springs will settle in a bit after driving. I filed them down, leaf by leaf then painted them with black enamel paint with powdered graphite mixed in. They have a wonderful movement I haven't seen in decades (they hadn't been lubed for at least...

The springs on my 27 Roadster have been re-arched and I suspect they are higher than normal now, at least that's the way it looks to me now. From the floor to the bottom of frame rails I get the following measurements: Front 22 3/4" Rear 23 55/64" Additionally, the right front running board bracket ...

I mounted a master disconnect switch. It's under the seat and I cannot get to it while seated so if anything were to short-circuit while driving a fuse would still be a handy thing to have installed and protecting the circuit.

Yah, the stamped piece has about 1/3 of the material of one solid one. Makes sense.

By the way, of the five round holes along the top of the shield I can only use two - so the other three holes are for other body styles.

The slotted front hole lines up with the little block screwed into the bottom of the cowl, no problem.

Now I see why the body blocks need two holes. The forward block uses the center hole and the middle block (shown below) uses the end hole - that way the block reaches all the way over to where it can receive the fastening screw for the running board shield. I even recognize the original screw hole n...

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