MTFCA Forum

I usually assemble with the springs nearly fully compressed. The thought being, that if the wishbone gets yanked forward, the springs will not be able to further compress enough to allow the ball to come out of the socket. You only need to see that happen once in order to guard against it.

Agreed.

Also that bulletin reminds you to use cotter...

For what it's worth, no one drive their model T more or as hard as I do. A recent engine problem on our return trip from Canada caused me to have to disassemble the engine in old #4. Broke a connecting rod. Last time new rings were installed was 25+ years ago and they were Grant rings. On disassembly, as I examined the parts I was really impressed...

Agreed - pretty good bunch of folks on here !

EA were one of the suppliers for A model horns. Perhaps an A model owner could help

Allan from down under

How do you measure ring gap?
Put the rings in the cylinder one at a time and check where the ends meet with a feeler gauge?

Yes. Use an upside down piston to ensure it is square in the bore.

It's a very home made utility which began life as a Rugby tourer. Had an interesting load of old stuff arranged on the tray and on wires strung along one side
Included was a full steel of 50 s era kitchen canisters! WTH.

Allan from down under

From one Iowan to another, welcome! About where are you located? Great looking T!

Here is an old thread discussing front hub changes that may be helpful.

Wonderful advice, all of you! I just want the tool to take the rims off, if anyone has an extra, love to buy one!

If you search for Tire Valve Fishing Tool, you should be able to find one pretty easily at auto parts stores, tractor supply, etc. Slime is a common brand.

That tool is also useful for getting things things lined up when installing a tube in a split rim.

Check the hardness of the ring gear with a file. A ring gear should not be so hard that you cannot file the edge of a tooth. Those look like brittle failures, which a hard gear might cause. Just something to easily check.

Thank you so much for that.

>> Most all cotter pinned bolts are Fine thread on the T.
Well that makes sense and I really should have engaged brain first!

And thank you for the shortcut link to the Gallery - I had found the amazing Vowellart diagrams but not gone as far as the bolt chart. Really, the resources on here are outstanding. What with...

It appears to be a bird house - dove cote ? homing pigeons ?
Rather strange !

I am with Vernon on this. A dropped screw will not go far. The head is bigger than the shaft, it is a cone, it will not roll away, just roll in a circle. If it isnt nearby on the floor it has fallen on the chassis or fell in the engine.

Likely TMI . . .
My first love was a 1920 cutoff touring derelict that had been driven into the ground and left outside with the hogshead removed. As a wide-eyed 14 year old, my perception of “restoration” was to disassemble everything, clean it, paint it, and reassemble.

Pulling the engine was accomplished with the help of two buddies on either...

We have a '19 - I fabricated the tube mount as they're quite rare for the closed cars, then used a nice original open car mirror.

That restoration thread was fascinating to read. Old builds really do have unmatched charm. While relaxing after, I tried Elvis Frog in Vegas free spins — lighthearted and fun after looking through so many technical details. Love seeing vintage projects shared here!

HI William,
Vinegar can be purchased in concentrations of from 4% to 80% acetic acid. It goes to say that that the more acetic acid the greater the rust
removal also the cost.
Craig.

I have a few goodies for sale: a complete new unused rocky mountain brake kit, a Holley H1 for 1912, an original 1909 minnesota license plate and large amount of items on the one and five dollar tables. Ask me whats in the shed too. Looking to thin out.

My gas door on my 27 touring would not close completely with a repo. So stuck with my original Ford Script with no soffit.

A side note, not all recent repo oval tanks have same filler hole threads

Thank you, gentlemen, for the responses and thoughts on the tires. I kind of figured the yellow markings would remaon a mystery.

Number 4 appears to be a wedding day photo in a 1911 Torpedo roadster.

My clutch was kinda slipping a bit, so I decided to adjust the clutch fingers, the gap between the collar and the plate is supposed to be 13/16 the gap was much larger, I put the gap to said measurement

That measure is for new rebuild with new or tested clutch spring .......

For clutch slipping, you follow Chapter XXXV of the Ford Service...

Sorry if I sound dumb but what should be the distance of the main leaf on a 7 leaf spring. Eye to Eye.

Also should that measurement be taken when it is assembled with all springs attached or by itself. On the floor or on the shackles.

Would a spring that is too long only get longer when compressed and rest on the axle if long enough and bang on...

Just received my order. Sorry for those who were unable to get one. If I find some more I’ll let you know.

IMG_3925.jpeg

With older Model T’s that had the tank under the seat, running out of gas on long inclines was a common occurrence. Not so much with the ‘26-‘27 that had the tank in the cowl.

There was an old T era cartoon of a Model T salesman taking his customer for a test drive. As he approached a hill he knew the T could not make before running out of gas,...

I remove my oil fill cap and rev the engine some. If I see oil spray hitting the cover I figure that oil is getting thru the tube. While this works with the original spoked gear, need to test with the solid type.

I did upholstery on collector cars for about 30 years. Saddle soap is good for older leathers, especially for those that are surface coated. More modern leathers that are vat dyed do not recommend saddle soap, just a cloth with warm water and regular soap.

The picture of the red Optima 6 volt battery shows the positive cable connection to the positive terminal of the battery... What is the problem with having a insulated 1/0 or 2/0 size negative cable?.... It's the size of the cable that counts!

I agree!! In fact that Optima is in the running board battery box, cables exit the box, so for the...

I have checked it out online, I may go to Florida fly wheelers. And maybe check it out in person

LittleTimmy52,

There is an oil tube inside the engine with the funnel right below the magneto to direct oil to the timing gears and Rod & Main #1.
The best way to clean it is to remove the front cover and blow back from the front to make sure it is clear.
But on an assembled engine this is not very practical.
So look between the magnets towards...

It took me four weeks to stretch a set of 5 new old stock Olympic BE tyres. They had been well stored in the dark, but had shrunk almost 2 in circumference over some 50 years.My friendly tyre fitter set me up with four different rim/tyre combinations of differing diameters. I started with the smallest one and progressed up the series every second...

Ford Model T dot net offers a lot of information. See also Cimorelli Model T, and, of course, this site.

IMG_2498.jpeg
Our Booth with Model T Medic (Chris Mize), The Coil Dr (Brent Mize), and MTS (me)
.
IMG_2502.jpeg
Chris Mize from Model T Medic
.
IMG_2501.jpeg
My Booth
.
IMG_2517.jpeg
1904 Oldsmobile
.
IMG_2512.jpeg
1926 Lincoln
.
IMG_2510.jpeg
1904 Rolls Royce - only $725,00
.
IMG_2505.jpeg
Ghost Busters!
.

I don't think its an ames..... But I'll do an I net search and see what I can find thanks for the info
And I don't have any pictures yet I'm in The process of buying it but I'll update when I get pictures..... Thanks for tne.info

There is one on eBay now.

Yes an oiler goes there. Only a couple of squirts of oil will fit. I have never had a problem with oil and the parking brake.

I had the same thoughts about making repairs. A prominent collector told me not to do so. It can devalue a good original sign. Besides, on this one it looks like two nails were driven through the bottom to mount it some way, so the panel itself would need repair, possibly extending the damage in the process.

Allan from down under.

That's great Jason, way to go!!

Have a look here:

You could reach out to Martynn, he may be able to help out (send him as PM from his forum profile).

Judging by the curved path and steps leading to it, I would guess that it is a picnic, swimming and hiking park. I think that the driver parked the T near the edge of the parking lot and forgot to set the emergency brake and it rolled down the steps and into the water. I don’t think it was a boat launching area or a ferry loading area since there...

Most of the time, I have had to remove the handle part by punching out the pin.

Then, sawing off the extra.

Then, drilling a very small hole and replacing the pin.

Drills the small break easy if you press too hard, you have to let the drill do the cutting!

Early tires were made with natural rubber and no carbon black. It was found that adding carbon black to the rubber made the rubber far more durable. It also made it black. Ever since the WWII era, most all tires are made of synthetic rubber, or a blend of natural and synthetic rubber. Synthetic rubber is a petrochemical substance that emits gases,...

Keith,
That sounds likely what they were. It’s interesting that there were a few parts in the Model T that were flash brassed.

You want to move oil, but you don't want to build a fluid drive that hydraulically couples your flywheel to the block and hogshead.

Martynn- the one I posted the picture of was a front bearing. The non-modified end has a large radius on the bore on one end as do the later front bearings. This radius was necessary to allow clearance for the radius on the front cam journal adjacent to the flange. Too bad the one I have has been modified on the rear side......

Done well enough all the parts fit each other. I was impressed.

He took a liking to me when I was 12 years old. Treated me like an adult and would take the time to show me the difference in parts by their years especially in the brass era. I am grateful to call him a friend. Jim would talk for hours on the phone and oddly having grown up in the hobby we knew a lot of the same guys. The hobby lost a great asset...

I have to appoligize, I never met Mr. Jim Finney or spoke to him, and I did not intend on dishonoring the gentleman. Someone sent me the pictures of his towncars a long time ago, with him in the pictures. A fantastic motivator of the model T towncar hobby.
I just heard that he passed away a few days ago, my condolences to the family.

Yup, sure did, made arrangements for the tires to be hauled not long after I posted. I should get them in a couple days. Noel, I sent you a pm letting you know a ride was found a day or so ago but probably should have just made a reply to this post letting everyone one know a ride was found.
Thanks again to everyone who contacted me!
Wallace

I have several Ford 3Z & 5Z shop tools that are nickel plated.

There are two types of those nuts. One is just like the one in the drawing. The second has an externally threaded collar onto which a dust cover can be screwed. it saves having to screw the cover on all the way down the threaded stem. Larry, tell your friend I can supply the first type to fit those way oversized Blockley stems. Then he can use...

As far as a method to equalize the pull on a cable setup, an early Ford V-8 brake equalizer works very well. These are available from multiple sources but here is a link to one from CW Moss:

Your wife might object.

Interesting.
I notice the rod clevises mount to a small plate that acts as an equalizer.
The secondary pull rod has a spring to remove the slack from the system.

Thanks Keith for posting those wonderful photos!

Some tools with Ford stamped on them were for plant use, so they stayed in the plant.

The piston being scored along with poor babbitting , Basically engine overheated or parts weren't sized accordingly. Babbitt of the rod wasn't tinned and it is lead based babbitt.

So, It does come out of its home occasionally!
Bring it out this weekend for the St Louis fall tour 70 miles give or take

Scott

The fore doors were attached when I purchased it. I removed them because I wanted an open front car. I then got the 11.

IMG_3731.jpeg IMG_3698.jpeg IMG_3759.jpeg IMG_3798.jpeg

Larry,
It is not that they are reproducing the bridge washers wrong, it is that those bridge washers are made for modern truck tire inner tubes, not Model A's or Model T's. They may be similar, but they are not the same, and as people are finding, they do not fit the original clamp on style metal stems or tires.

Notice the flange for the 1915 speedometer road gear in the photos.

Charge it off the magneto with a diode and a tail light bulb. or buy the magneto charger kit from one of the vendors. Can also use it for coil power when cranking for more spark till you switch over to mag.

Automotive tempered glass is odd stuff. It can be very difficult to break. I locked my keys in a 2004 GMC pickup, and used a 24 pipe wrench to attempt to break the passenger door window with no success. I swung the wrench at the window several times, which left marks on the glass but did not break it. The commotion attracted a kid, who was willing...

To the top

I had a friend of mine who is a fireman looked over my firetruck. He was very knowledgeable about the trucks and the way they were used. He says that the tanks are for water to prime the system in order to start sucking (drafting) water from a water hole. He showed me how all the valves were used to make everything work. So to answer your...

Very clean fix.
If you have the capability, thats a great way to replace the threads.

They gather information, so when you do a search, it has already found it.

They are also called spiders.

I actually thought about going as I haven't been there since 2008. Sadly at 80 I know it would be impossible for me to cover it.

20251004_141038.jpg

Not sure how they would work. Interesting accessory.

Aaron

you mentioned that you had good strong spark when plugs are out of the car but no spark when IN the car

I am going to assume you have concluded this because 2 cylinders are not firing as indicated by shorting the plugs out with a screwdriver and the car remained operating the same when 2 specific plugs were shorted...If I am correct in...

This is my 1925 pickup. I've driven it over 1000 miles recently without lifting the floorboards. It was worth it.

Since half the time forum members can’t agree on torque specs it’s probably not a big deal.

Andy

Torque spec aside, wouldn't a simple solution be to use the extension when tightening ALL of the headbolts, not just the headbolts near the firewall? Wouldn't that guarantee uniformity?

Awww… thanks for the recognition Steve. But I can’t find my calendar now. :oops:

Here's a few more pictures from the rally. It was a wonderful week of touring around some delightful historical locations in an area established from the discovery of gold in the late 1800's. Lots of beautiful buildings and nice quiet country roads to drive on. Caught a picture of Allan working away at a lunch stop repairing a noisy fan, also...

My 24 was begun with far less than the burnt T. It took me 13 years to make it a running, drivable vehicle.

I’m currently building a Centerdoor sedan from a pile of parts. But at least it had a complete body to start with.

Probably one misstatement on this link regarding the 2nd Saturday of August.