MTFCA Forum

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February 3, 2025

Bill and his love for our hobby will be missed greatly.

Those who have assisted Bill Bennett over the past 4 years in keeping the Bakersfield Brass Era/ PreWar Swap Meet going are committed to carrying on Bill’s legacy. If there is a path to a 2025 Bakersfield Swap Meet in Tulare, CA., this team will find it. Keep positive...

It's not the fit of the wrench that is the problem. It is the fact that the load applied when tightening the nut is not in line with the nut that causes the wrench to twist off the flats. The better flywheel cap screw wrenches have long handles and three right angle bends to clear the flywheel magnets and bring the handle end back in line with the...

Collecting Ford oil cans is quite an obsession, as I had stated there are about 20-21 cans in my collection . Of course there are repeats, but I'm still searching for the elusive British can, it has a considerably smaller lid neck. Bit different than our American breed, only saw a picture of one once. Anybody got one? Wingnut

The guy with the missing tire is just stopped and waiting for it to catch up to him. It will roll up in about 15 more minutes!

The guys with no steering wheels are using a vise-grips to hold the steering shaft. They cut the upper steering gearbox off with a hack-saw.

I never checked the archives to see when the stanchion design changed. I suspect the early style was prone to cracking and the design changed.

That said, I have the later stanchions on my early ‘26. I can live with the improved design and most people don’t know the difference.

As far as Howell’s I got lucky twice: The Chickasaw meet used to...

Probably for switching earlier Ts to electric headlamps?

lisa, even if you could find the formula/specs for the Chanel Green, and you could find the correct Chanel Green, a computer cannot reliably show it. The same input on different screens will not necessarily display the same colour. Sometimes you just have to get out into the real world.

If you can find the colour green you like, match it to a...

Hi Dan!
Now I’m wondering if the earlier open cars like the 21 Touring I have had the kick panel like your later 25 does. It doesn’t matter to me since my car didn’t have any interior at all. It’s a built up Touring from as many of the correct parts I could find. Took me about 3 years to build it up.
If Classtique added it that’s fine by me. I...

If you move the seat back, will this interfere with access to the battery? Also, if you have strong arms, you can use a steering wheel from an earlier year which is smaller in diameter and would allow more room for the legs for pedal operation.
Norm

All very interesting, thanks for sharing. Here's some technical data on B23. Interesting also that the yield strengths drop by roughly 50% when the temperature warms form 60 degrees F to 212 degrees F. jb

Its cheaper than snake oil.

The type also depends on how the bows nest' - notice some have separate holders whereas some have single top & bottom but the middle ones are paired.

Thank you all for your posts and pictures. I have purchased an original T battery carrier that I will tune up and mount in the chassis. From pictures posted it looks like setting the muffler in place and positioning the carrier behind the rear running board support but forward of the muffler puts it about where Ford mounted it in the early 20's...

Fitting bows to sockets is not fun.

Mr Smith notes: The current article in the Vintage Ford is not needed, especially since the author couldn't get the mans name correct!

Is the issue with the spelling of Ruckstell's first name Glover as 'Grover'? FWIW, the VF article, pp 19-21 is the same as the information printed on pg 2 in the MTFCA Restoring the Ruckstell Axle Comprehensive...

Love all the old photos Tom, keep it up! Third photo from the bottom is in front of San Antonio de Pala Mission near San Diego. Here's another view of the mission bell tower and sign post from the same angle.

It was not all my doing George. I had a PM about them also, which led to the confirmation.

Allan from down under.

Terry,

PM sent.

Jerry, I haven't seen a PM or email. Could you resend using email?

Did you eventually get my email?

I figured it out, had two problems - I was trying to use the wrong nuts (too thick) and the perches I was trying to use were worn down on the thread end, took the pieces off my old rear end and all is well, thanks to all who offered help.
Jerry

Hey Bob and Allan, this is great advice. I'll be starting on the top project next week. I'll set the bows up as You advised !!

Thanks
Steve

Jerry, you hit on the second reason the ball races failed in timer conversions. I was a ware of it, but do you think i could recall it?

We had a bearing company rep give a talk at our old car club one time. He related a story about repeated failures of U joint bearings on a particular series of new Volvo trucks. They were getting repeated...

Like I said, 12000 miles on a set of four Universal T-Drivers --- actually, they still show some tread but I decided to replace them because I do a lot of touring. If you aren't getting that kind of miles from similar tires is it possible that being a little off-balance played a role? True, out of balance tires are not as obvious at slower speeds...

Also, the letter B is seen on the inside.

Roger

Also check the timer wires to the coil box for any sign of bad insulation. The spark plug wires should be arranged so that they are at least 1 from each other or anything else. Worn spark plug electrodes can cause mis-firing at higher engine speeds, especially if the gap is on the wide side. Worn electrodes can often be filed to improve...

If you are just talking about the glass swinging, the lower glass on the Canadian cars swung but the windshield post were not hinged like the 15-22 cars. Chevrolet used a very similar design windshield post, their lower glass also swung. Then there could have been windshield/posts that were offered aftermarket where the top half folded down.

In the real world of modern farming, GPS guided self steer tractors can sew seed at 4 accuracy, placing the new seed precisely between the rows of the previous season's sowing.

Allan from down under.

Me three...

At least it is supposed to get in the low 50s tomorrow. The first time this year.

Don't forget the special cotter pins designed to fit the top irons in 1921-22.

I would think that the archives possibly has the prints for the splash shields that had the battery cable holes in them. In addition, where the holes were drilled in the running board for that box. Certainly the ground strap could be similar to the positive cable.

Thanks for all responses.

I had the great pleasure of talking with Stan on the phone several times when he was rebuilding a Holly G for me. After I received the carb. I continued to call just to hear the stories and talk a bit about many subjects one I really enjoyed was our conversations of a old radio program in the Midwest, it was a set up call to a unsuspecting person...

Visit our Facebook page for info on the 2025 MTFCI tour: “Model T Ford Club International tour Owatonna Minnesota 2025”. We have a great week of touring and activities planned. Owatonna is one hour south of Minneapolis. Registration forms will appear in the Model T Times in the Jan-Feb issue.

Thanks, Mark! Members can also find the tour on the...

Unfortunately, not universally accepted.

I understand where Larry is coming from. As one who has most certainly closely examined more era photos of the first half of the 20th century than have 99 percent of the educated people of the world, and I have closely examined literally tens of thousands of era photos of model T Fords. I have seen too...

Thank you Dan & John!

Herb, I agree. Thanks for the heads up. I’ve seen the Model K Roadster photo before, and I think it was a 1908 or 09 race in Kansas City, but I’ll have to check. My guess is the Model N is a 1907 or 08, judging by the sidelamps and radiator. I believe the car in the other end of the race start is an Oldsmobile.

With a little help:...

33.0 lbs. 1925 Transmission Cover with Cover, High Speed Clutch Assembly and No reverse or brake Pedals
32.0 lbs. 1926 Transmission Cover with High Speed Clutch Assembly and No reverse or brake Pedals

Kent, the LHD Tudor sedan I bought in USA came with a Texas T parts foot throttle. What a complicated piece of geegawry it was. Whoever fitted it made a real mess of the floorboards so I made new replacements, and got rid of the foot feed at the same time. There was no Ruckstell or accessory gearbox on the car so it was a superfluous...

4400 miles in 8 days. 225 gallons of gas. Averaged 19.3 mpg. Everything accomplished except seeing my cousin in Vermont.

Thank you to everybody for all your help.

How bad is bad ? A few years back, the “brown death” was overtaking the newer all-white tires. This was not “yellowing” that responded to Bleche-Wite or other whitewall cleaners. As Wayne noted, many suspected reaction with the tubes sold at the time. That tubes posed a problem seems borne out by the fact that some vendors would not guarantee them...

The type you have mounts to door latch post and do come in L/R's and should work. The 8401X would be both the same. Go down to Richard Eagle's post in the link. He was working on a 1914 but same idea, also in this link are a lot of measurements that might be handy.

Thanks Mark! I did read thru this post when trying to find answers. The...

Great, bring it along. Hopefully this morning's -8° is replaced with the 30°s their calling for,

The top fender brackets with which I am familiar are left and right. The mounting holes in the fenders may be the same pattern, but one of the brackets would need to be rotated to align with the holes, putting the mounting slot either in front or behind the frame iron.

Allan from down under.

Ed, I will send you an email with my phone number.

Most trash transfer stations around here have drive-up scales for weighing bulky waste. If you have one in your town they may help you out if you drive the packed crate there and get a weight, and then return for a weight of the empty truck.

My letter to the Holley Brothers is ready to drop in the mail! Inquiring minds and all....

Pretty sure they are all the same width. Take a look at the picture of the seat clip and you can get an idea of how thick the top of the center frame piece is. Just be sure you cut the bottoms at an angle like is shown in the picture from my car. I’m not sure what degree the angle is. The angle cut helps guide the seat back down into place. When...

Maybe a byline to the original poster?

The closest active group to me is Pensacola last I knew.

We tried a few years ago (in Pensacola) to get a club off the ground but nothing really happened.

Jeff

Yes, I know there's nothing out there. That's why we're asking. I was there in 2024. Are you part of this year's event?

Not part of the event. Just helping answer questions every now & then

Keith, I think I can make out a box pinstripping on the rear seat bottom. It's looks faint but there? It does appear to have a break where the lower rear seat hinge is though? Pretty clear that the hood is not boxed on the top section.

Glad I saw this as I'm getting ready to do mine.

As John states, it is an easy conversion if you just fit a whole big drum rear axle assembly. All the different bits will be taken care of. The big benefit is the much improved emergency brake.
I have seen more than one car here in Australia with the big drum rear axle, AND 30 x 3.5 clincher wheels. One such car is owned by the original Ford...

Haven't a clue on maker, might be French?

Another was on an auction site.

IMG_8260.png

And another on this website:

IMG_8272.jpeg

Don’t get too worked up over disc brakes, they’re great! If you drive conservatively you’ll only notice that you stop with a gentle pressure on the brake pedal, similar to brakes in a modern car. I’ve briefly locked my brakes twice in thousands of miles of driving, both times on loose surfaces. Keep your tires inflated and they’ll be fine.
Since...

who's to know its not authentic

Russ, That is what I needed, thank you. I was curious about how far they stuck out from the body. Art

Could be interesting to know the origins of those bad IP adresses. Russia is very active over here with cyberwarfare and this seems to be what is called a DDOS (Dee Dos) attack where numerous captured devices tries to access the same website/server at the same time.

Photo number five.
The blur in the top near middle of the photo appears to be a fast horse and rider. The people and cars are parked and standing around either a road with a curve or a race track. The people looking all directions indicate it isn't a serious race, however, whatever it is may have been connected to a county fair? Maybe the horse is...

Craig, thanks. That is helpful. The water inlet is in the same location as stock. When I was running before, I did use a pump and also added a 1/2 pipe off the water pump to the back of the head to help push water through the head. Never did any extensive testing but seem to run/cool fine.

Burned at the stake :lol: but :twisted:

Dan, I thought...

I should have rolled under the car when I saw it, but we were on a tour and I didn't feel like rolling under someone else's car! I have several of the brackets made by tractor train and could never figure out the purpose of the extra reinforcing tab on the bracket. The ones I saw last Sunday are the only ones I've seen in use on a car. I'd like to...

Was it Donnie Brown that recently had a nice original era running board dog crate for sale?

Bruce Compton in Ontario.

Allan from down under.

Sent you an email Rajo.

Registration forms and hotel links are now live at modelt.org.

My '26 had same issue but not as severe. I simply made a tapered shim to place between H/L mounting foot and fender. It took a lot of experimenting to get the correct taper and direction. For appearance I made a similar gasket for the opposite side. Quite pleased with the results. My car has an aftermarket (I believe) tie bar from fender to fender...

Not out of gas! He just doesn't have a Ruckstell to gear down for the steep hill! and his low band is out! :lol:

Norm

To which I consider a valuable install !

Thank You John!

Thank you both for your replies. That is exactly what I needed!

Funny that last photo, they must have been scared the stove would burn their hard earnings to a crisp, a board was put between the stove and the safe :D

To be picky, Ford called and marketed them as Roadsters with the mother in-law seat and the Runabout had the fuel tank on the rear. Screenshot (66).png Screenshot (363).png Screenshot (402).png
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Ken That is the type of ski I have. I guess I am being lazy not hauling a floor jack and changing out wheels for skis. I have it set up like you, just remove king pin etc. The time I save traveling with skis is lost trying to load. Just trying not to have to do the switch over in the cold, but maybe that's just the way it is.

Looking through the exhaust outlet, it looks like the muffler middle shell is out of place. It looks like when the muffler was assembled, the middle shell shifted out of place as the end plate was being tightened. It should be centered on the end flange inside the outer housing. If the middle shell is out of place, it most likely does not function...

Wish my local dealership stocked T's

I always bore the blocks out for bigger cranks on my Tobin Arp Ta 14.

Jay talking about the fire.

Thanks for posting.

Tom,

Is the transmission fully assembled? Is it installed in the transmission frame and attached to the engine?

Thanks Karl but not looking for another project. The housing was given to me and because it was free, was the only reason I was messing with it. ;)

That bone at the Cafe could conceivably be the chassis that was sold recently and is being restored. It was found in Europe.

Hey Dan, ya, I've started to do that, but, lists are one thing, personal opinions/insight are another. Being in Florida there's not much going on, other than the monthly at Sumter, or the bi-annual antique tractor/flywheelers. GA of course has Moultrie, nothing much than small taters in 'Bama, there's quite a few regionals in Ohio...
Question...

mini T firetruck.jpg
Probably the smallest T fire truck next to the world's largest fire hydrant.

Thank you all for chiming in. It’s such a charming unit I may just use as is for now on my speedster firewall. That is a brilliant looking unit Haydon.

I totally agree with the above red circle. New York City charges double tolls Northbound and none Southbound. If you hit NYC before about 6 AM and after about 9 PM, the traffic is usually manageable. Between those hours you don't want to be there.