MTFCA Forum

Erik Johnson

Might be Hurdsfield, ND based on the banner.

Erik Johnson

Original Ford factory paint doesn't peel off in sheets. That's a sign that it was most likely painted with lacquer which, years ago, was a popular choice for hotrodders and antique car hobbyists who did their own paint work because you could repeatedly paint and buff as many coats as your heart desi...

Erik Johnson

What is shown is "Mickey Mouse." 1918 and later two-man tops had square sockets and didn't use the T-head pins and leather straps. The square sockets had obvious outward seams as shown in your photos. The square sockets use a clip that slides up and down the top socket. Any rivets at the pivots poin...

Erik Johnson

Don't confuse Royce D. Peterson with his son Royce N. Peterson. Royce D. Peterson died in 2015 at age 98. His son, Royce N. Peterson, wasn't born yet when my father and his father flat-towed the 1917 roadster from Hastings to Minneapolis in 1951 (I had the date wrong in my original post). Below is a...

Erik Johnson

In 1952, my dad and the late Royce Peterson flat-towed a 1917 roadster from Hastings, MN to Minneapolis, a distance over over 30 miles. They removed the sparkplugs, put some oil in the cylinders and left it in high gear. Around that same time, my dad borrowed Royce's tow bar and flat towed a 1913 to...

Erik Johnson

After tacking the material and before installing the hidem-welt, you should cut slits or wedges in the material between the tacks where it goes around the corners. That helps to minimize puckering of the material at the corners so it will lay flatter and give a neater, higher quality appearance.

Erik Johnson

What is shown in the first photo is a factory gas tank hinged cover/lid/door for a touring or roadster. Note that it has two hinges near the seat back. Depending on the year of the car and/or manufacturer of the body, they were wood or stamped sheet metal. The wood covers typically have two hinges w...

Erik Johnson

My father has a 1910 IHC Model T roadster which he acquired in 1951. It has 27 inch wheels and came with 34 x 3.5 clincher tires from the factory. 34 x 3.5 tires weren't available when he restored the car and I don't think they are available now. Originally, he installed 36 x 4.5 straight-side Fires...

Erik Johnson

http://www.mtfca.com/encyclo/T-100.pdf

https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3A ... UTF-8#ip=1

Erik Johnson

Looks like a cut-off touring body that has been "married" to a trunk.

Erik Johnson

Years ago, I got permission the ropes at Harold Warp's Pioneer Village and examine and take photos of their 1917 coupelet. You probably already have this information but, on the Warp car, 28850 is stamped on the seat riser and T1884 on the passenger side floor sill. I could not locate any dates stam...

Erik Johnson

Here are photos of an original upholstery nail as well as what is currently available. SEAT, DOOR PANEL and TOP BINDING/TRIM UPHOLSTERY NAILS: A = original nail from my unrestored 1917 roadster used on seat and door panel binding Diameter = 3/8" Head profile = flat Pros = it's 100% correct for my ca...

Erik Johnson

Walt -

I sent you a private message.

Erik Johnson

Please have some patience. I don't know what the diameter of the large nails are on the Rip Van Winkle Ford but I believe my father took some measurements off of an unrestored Ford and put that information in his files - I'll ask him next time I see him which is tomorrow. I will also measure and pos...

Erik Johnson

Allan:

Count down to the eighth photo as that is one to which I am referring as indicated in my original post.

Erik Johnson

My unrestored 1917 roadster has its original upholstery nails and they are most definitely 3/8" in diameter and undersize compared to what is available today. Regarding the large upholstery nails, I presume you are referring to the two large nails that are on each of the bows. For a touring, is a to...

Erik Johnson

Third photo is a rare, 1918 coupelet.

Eighth photos is a rare 1917 or 1918 sedan.

Erik Johnson

My father has been collecting license plates for 70 years and, even though I am not a collector, I've been fully immersed since I was born. The most common period solution was to simply punch or drill extra holes in the license plate so it could be mounted on the bracket. This wasn't always pretty, ...

Erik Johnson

I won't get into the details but it appears to be an early 1918 that has been dolled-up to look like a 1916.

Erik Johnson

The speedster in the fourth photo has a Chevy emblem on the radiator shell - or at least the outline of one.

Erik Johnson

Holyoke Township (note the spelling).

Erik Johnson

Where exactly in Minnesota did your father grow up?

Erik Johnson

The Quadricycle has onechain for the final drive which is on the right side of the car as shown in one of the photos. It also has a differential on the right side.

Erik Johnson

My dad's 1900 Waverley Electric has nickel over cast brass octagon hubcaps. He has cast iron octagon wrench in the toolbox that uses. Not sure if it was originally meant to be a hubcap wrench or if it is an implement wrench - it does have numbers on it but no other markings. I measured it this after...

Erik Johnson

If someone can identify the make of the three vehicles at the far right which appear to be brand new, you should be able to pinpoint the year of the photo.

Erik Johnson

Note: The snapshot posted by Darel was taken in the fall of 1948 by Howard Evers, a friend of my father since their days at Minneapolis Washburn High School. A few weeks ago, Howard, who is now 91 years old, gave my father that snapshot and a few others of Darel's Model T taken that same day in 1948...

Erik Johnson

I suggest reading this thread if you are not already aware of it: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/80257/92965.html As I posted above, there is a nearly identical 1915 omnibus here in the Twin Cities including the green color that was built by Dave Ferch in the 1960s. His son Peter now owns it. ...

Erik Johnson

The windshield was sold locally a year or two ago.

I apologize for not updating the ad.

Erik Johnson

Second photo is a 1917 or 1918 sedan - very few seem to have survived today.

Also, note the photo of a rare 1918 coupelet being pulled by working steers.

Both of the above have aftermarket demountable wheels.

Erik Johnson

Robbie:

I sent you a private message.

Erik Johnson

I sold that black over brass horn with the nickel-plated bezel four or five years ago. I can give you the name of the person who bought it if you want to track it down and see if it is for sale (I realize you only want a bezel and not an entire horn). http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/708324/8003...

Erik Johnson

Is that a Minnesota Pioneer license plate #338 on your car?

If it is, I can tell you to whom the plates were originally registered.

Erik Johnson

I didn't raise my Ford to be a jitney.....

Erik Johnson

If you camped overnight on a Minneapolis street in your Prius, the catalytic converter would be gone in the morning.

Erik Johnson

A really nice unrestored 1920 Dodge was just sold at auction here in Minnesota. It went for over $60,000! Here is a link to the listing - you may want to download the photos to your computer for reference. https://www.mecum.com/lots/ES0922-531924/1920-dodge-touring-car/ (If you want to see the aucti...

Erik Johnson

Before resorting to a shim, I would swap things around. 1) swap the brake shoes - left to right, right to left or 2) swap the rear wheels - left to right, right to left or 3) swap both the brake shoes AND the rear wheels If none of the above cure the problem, then grind down the edge of the brake sh...

Erik Johnson

For many years, my dad had a stack of NOS alloy thrust washers on the shelf that he acquired from a Ford dealer about 70 years ago but I believe he threw them out ten or twenty years ago.

I'm sure others probably have some NOS specimens in their parts collections.

Erik Johnson

Here is a similar accessory breather/filler also made by Apco:

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/118802/119805.html

Erik Johnson

Model Ts are dated by the serial number stamped on the block, just above the water inlet. The embossed date to the right of the block is the date the block was cast. I have always believed that the numbers embossed on the head are month and day the head was cast. Body numbers were stamped by the res...

Erik Johnson

VIN is a concept that didn't exist until the 1950s, wasn't formalized until the 1960s and wasn't adopted as a standardized 17 digit code by U.S. automakers until 1981. Model T Fords never had VINs from the factory. They have serial numbers. For modern registration and title purposes, serial numbers ...

Erik Johnson

My advice is whatever you decide to put on the paint (if anything at all), clean it first. After I bought my 1917 roadster, I stopped by an auto detailer on the way home and had the running gear and engine compartment steam cleaned to get rid of decades of country road dirt. The original owner of my...

Erik Johnson

That "1910" Model T is just a fantasy. Here's a link for those who are interested: https://www.mecum.com/lots/ES0922-531810/1910-ford-model-t-runabout/ Darel, the 1924 Hupmobile with Minnesota Pioneer license plate 55 was owned and restored by Bob Hawkinson. Perhaps you remember it. It's a great car...

Erik Johnson

Yeah but I'm sayin', that TruCoat, you don't get it, you get oxidation problems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2LLB9CGfLs

Erik Johnson

The very first thing I would do is research the Colorado motor vehicle statutes, especially those that pertain to antique, collector class, street rod, etc. vehicles and see if there is any prohibition on registering wood-bodied vehicles and operating them on public roads. That should trump the opin...

Erik Johnson

Years ago, the very talented late Don Cusack welded-up and ground down a couple of wishbone balls for my father and me. During the process of grinding down the ball, he used a washer with a 1 1/4" inner diameter as a gauge so he could make it as uniform as possible. If you look at this thread, you c...

Erik Johnson

Watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/azz2RgaqLbA

Erik Johnson

Canvas desert water bags are for keeping drinking water cool in hot climates, not for keeping the radiator cool. The water soaks through the canvas and, as it evaporates, it cools the water inside the bag. I believe hanging it on the front bumper, headlight bar. door handle or sideview mirror was co...

Erik Johnson

Elizabeth Estepp and her husband sold their home in Ham Lake, MN two years ago and purchased a winery in North Branch. My father and I visited her a few months ago.

https://www.northridgewinery.com/

You'll have to ask her if she still does mobile top and upholstery installation.

Erik Johnson

Mike Walker is correct, the firewall should be painted black on 1915 and forward. Be aware that the firewalls sold by the vendors are generic and miss a lot of important details. That doesn't mean they aren't functional - they just aren't exactly like original factory issue. The patent plate should ...

Erik Johnson

I personally cannot get excited about a varnished maple Ford steering wheel as, in my opinion, it detracts from the looks of a car. There is nothing spectacular about the grain - it's about about as exciting as a high school gymnasium floor. It's not like it's mahogony or burled walnut where the gra...

Erik Johnson

Jarrod: To elaborate on what Tim posted above, regardless if you do or do not remove the top assembly from the car, in order to remove the old upholstery and install new upholstery on the rear seat back of a touring, you need to remove the tacks at the bottom of the rear curtain of the top where it ...

Erik Johnson

I grew up around antique cars and have seen a number of original, unrestored cars and/or cars that at least still had their original leather upholstery and not just Model Ts. In my opinion, glossy leather is period correct for Model T Fords that originally had leather upholstery and for other cars o...

Erik Johnson

Richening the fuel mixture will help it run a little cooler.

Erik Johnson

Years ago, the late Gary Hoonsbeen wrote an article for Vintage Ford years ago about the pads and how to go about reproducing them yourself. If I recall correctly the leather on the factory issued pads was tapered. My dad made a set himself a while back after he re-built the front end and rear end o...

Erik Johnson

Are you talking about the screw that holds the leather strap and key/pin on the top socket? Here is a photo of my 1917 roadster top sockets that I recycled from another post (the reason for the arrows). The top most arrow points at the leather strap to which I am referring. Be aware that the origina...

Erik Johnson

Just a reminder that it's a Canadian Ford as indicated by the original poster and others and the photo itself: - driver's side door - Canadian top saddle clamps (not saddles with leather pads and straps) - side-curtain hooks on the windshield - additional details I may have missed Subsequently, you ...

Erik Johnson

Post more photos.

Take some shots of the entire car - side view, front view, rear view, three-quarter front view, three-quarter rear view.

Erik Johnson

I'm just finishing-up the install of a new top on my dad's 1917 touring. It's the same as your 1916 touring except the rear curtain is three-window instead of a single "tombstone" window. If you buy all new bows, whatever you do be sure to keep shim that is currently on the original rear bow and ins...

Erik Johnson

If it is a roadster, you might consider 55 PSI instead of 60 for a gentler ride.

Erik Johnson

Here's the original factory top on the 1917 "Rip Van Winkle" touring - June motor number and most likely assembled at the downtown Minneapolis plant as it was originally sold to a Minnesota resident 40 miles east of the Twin Cities. The only thing not factory are the aftermarket Hastings rear curtai...

Erik Johnson

Those are brake drums.

Refer to the diagram I posted. Click on it to enlarge.

Erik Johnson

Before you start making adjustments - When installing the hogshead, you have to make sure that the clutch fork (clutch yoke) is seated properly in the clutch shift. The clutch shift is on the driving plate shaft, fore of the clutch spring and clutch spring support and pin. The clutch shift has two g...

Erik Johnson

I am currently finishing-up the installation of new a top on my father's 1917 touring. It is being done completely by scratch, not a kit, and emulates what was done at the factory. If you want to do your 1922 two-man top per the factory, jute furniture webbing was not used. Also, the material used i...

Erik Johnson

Was that a "pre-tour" due to the fact there is a 1913 Pierce and Model Ts in one of the videos?

Erik Johnson

When my dad first became involved in the antique car hobby in 1948 when he was 16 years old, he used the drained oil from his father's 1941 Cadillac for his Model Ts. I know another fellow who was in the antique car hobby early-on who passed away last year at age 95. He told me that when he was a te...

Erik Johnson

That looks like a "figure eight" shackle that was used from the 1913 model year through about the end of the 1917 model year (U.S. Fords). Instead of an Alemite pin type grease fitting, depending on the model year of the car there should be a brass twist oiler or steel snap oiler (which is what I ha...

Erik Johnson

If it has Minnesota Pioneer license plates that are lower than approximately #2100, I can look the number up for you and tell you to whom they were originally registered.

Erik Johnson
Minneapolis, MN

Erik Johnson

Rich:

My dad's 1910 IHC Model F roadster also has a Hill Precision Oiler (The Shooting Oiler) but not the same model as the one on your Buick.

It operates via a lever on the right side of the unit that is driven by an eccentric around the same shaft that drives the magneto (second photo).

Erik Johnson

1917 Fords had round felloe wheels from the factory. First photo: my unrestored May 1917 roadster has it's original round felloe rear wheels. The front wheels are 30x3.5 square felloe and I can only surmise that, because the original owner drover the car until 1947, he replaced the front wheels beca...

Erik Johnson

Original brass windshield rods, regardless of brand, are typically thin brass over a steel tube.

Erik Johnson

I've never done any research, but I question if one-man tops came with those straps from the factory. By comparison, I'm installing a new two-man top on my dad's 1917 tourings from scratch, not a kit, per how it was done at the factory. My dad bought the car unrestored from the original family in 19...

Erik Johnson

This is a modern brochure but shows a cut from a 1920s Knapheide sales literature with a grain/farm box on a Ford TT. http://farmbro.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Knapheide-All-Products-Tri-Fold-Brochures.pdf 1940 Knapheide sales brochure - construction of the grain boxes shown is similar to the Fo...

Erik Johnson

That top is my father's handiwork from 1950 or 1951 when he was 18 or 19 years old but the material is incorrect as stated above.

He's currently 90 years old and we are in the process of re-doing it with the correct material.

Erik Johnson

1917 Model T Fords still had the oval sockets and steamed bows, like 1915 and 1916. The 1918 model year is when square sockets were introduced and the curve was part of the socket and fixed. Also, the model T shown in the word document is my father's 1917 touring (July motor number) that he bought i...

Erik Johnson

Hot-rodders build.

Unless it's a "put-together," antique car owners restore.

Erik Johnson

Clark Heaters were insulated with asbestos which was covered by wool carpet.

Erik Johnson

The fact that a Packard hearse was used for Henry Ford's funeral is neither here nor there. Most hearses and ambulances that were available in and around Dearborn at the time of Henry Fords death were most likely Cadillacs, Buicks, Packards and Studebakers, the reason being those were the chassis th...

Erik Johnson

Those old drill presses are easy to disassemble for cleaning and lubrication. Someone mentioned Vintagemachinery.org There is a lot of literature than can be downloaded for free on that website. If you know the model number of the drill press and the make and model number of the motor, you should be...

Erik Johnson

What are the two most widely possessed yet never read books?

- The Holy Bible

- Automobile owner's manuals

Erik Johnson

You may have a worn-out transmission that is due for a rebuild. The above may sound counterintuitive because one would think if the transmission were worn-out it would be easy to get a "free neutral" even if the exterior clutch linkeage and cam bolt are adjusted "correctly" and you are running 5W-30...

Erik Johnson

The late RV Anderson manufactured fairly faithful reproductions of the front and rear black cotton webbing straps complete with hardware. The webbing is thicker and has a coarser weave than factory originals. They are available from Lang's. Front bow to windshield hinges: https://www.modeltford.com/...

Erik Johnson

My '17 roadster has a Wilmo manifold and a hot air pipe so it's like the guy who wears suspenders and a belt.

Erik Johnson

Would an original 1917 flywheel have a Ford script on it?

Erik Johnson

You are missing the rest of the bracket assembly. That particular set-up has an additional bracket that screws into the door sill. Then, you attach the horn to the "permanent" bracket on the sill with a single bolt and nut or wing nut. It's designed that way to prevent theft. It allows you to easily...

Erik Johnson

The cab of the truck in the first two photos is the front half of a towncar body.

Erik Johnson

More on Elmer Bemis, his Model K and the Anglo-American tour:

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/41 ... 1395261672

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/41 ... 1397271279

Erik Johnson

To add to what Richard Gould posted above, my father and I tightened a good set of wheels by shimming the felloes and heating up the rims during the reinstallation process. Over the years, a number of antique car owners in Minnesota have used this method. I posted a rather long treatise on the forum...

Erik Johnson

I had a similar set of shocks embossed "Lake Mfg." that were installed on a front axle that I picked up years ago. When I took them apart, they were completely worn out. They had no bushings - just iron against iron. The non-Ford parts had no provisions for lubrication other than just squirting them...

Erik Johnson

My father made up a new set of straps and pads for my '17 roadster. He used the original straps and pads for patterns and restored the original buckles.

Click on this link to view the straps:

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/70 ... 1504485238

Erik Johnson

In order to match the original factory paint, the body of the 1915 town car in the thread below was painted an extremely dark 1940s or 50s Cadillac blue approximately 65 years ago when it was owned by the late Dwight Madsen. (It was painted in the body shop of Warren Cadillac in Minneapolis.) A casu...

Erik Johnson

RE: flat vs embossed bridge washers

Read what I posted in this thread:

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/33 ... 1377072854

Erik Johnson

Hotrodders/streetrodders and custom body and paint shops that cater to them usually know who does flat glass in town - at least that is the case here in the Twin Cities. So, if you have been limiting yourself to getting referrals from stock antique car owners and restorers, talk to the above for ref...

Erik Johnson

You need to refrain from using ethanol free gasoline only if your carb float is cork and sealed with shellac.

Erik Johnson

Trent is correct. I have the factory drawings for the 1917 firewall which is basically the same as the 1915-16 firewall and I have an original 1917 firewall my the car as well as a spare original firewall. Section "BB" is the relief along the bottom edge of the firewall for the rear housing of the m...

Erik Johnson

I'm not a mechanical engineer or physicist but it seems to me that any hand-held starting device like the two shown are going to take the same amount of force and muscle as actually lifting the crank with two arms, perhaps even more because the short handles on those starters probably don't give the...

Erik Johnson

Watch 91 year old Royce D. Peterson crank his 1914 Model T Ford back in 2008:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhEnNzv6LBM

He was around Model Ts his whole life. His father owned an auto repair garage in Eagle Bend, MN and Royce started working on Model Ts when he was just a kid.

Erik Johnson

Read what I posted on this thread:

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/82 ... 1516214731

Erik Johnson

One of the photos posted above by Perry Kete was taken by me in 2010 when I visited the Patton Museum at Fort Knox Kentucky.

Click on this link to see a couple more photos I took of the tank as well as the display placard:

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/11 ... 1293740795

Erik Johnson

Bryan: Thank you for the reply. My dad owns a 1900 Waverley Electric. The National Vehicle Company was founded by two former employees of the Waverley Branch of the American Bicycle Company and the earliest National Electric models built in 1901 are practically clones of 1900 Waverleys. Charles E. T...

Erik Johnson

Was that National Electric for sale?

Do you have additional photos of it you could post?

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