MTFCA Forum

Looking forward to days like this...

Actually installed over the last couple days but rolled her out with my "new to me" Pharis Buffalo wires & new Firestones !

This week I started an involuntary four week furlough from work, so I've had more time during the day to work on putting our 15 runabout back together. However, our 21 touring has been getting jealous, so this afternoon I gave it a thorough polishing. It is much happier now!

Rebuilding a front axle for a friends 26 Tudor.

Went for a nice ride in the country, stopped by the local historical society for a picture..... Oops.....ran out of gas on the way home....duh......rescue!

I put the last 4 valves in today & cleaned the block & head to prepare for installing. Waiting on the manifold gaskets coming from Lang's. It's been apart since October.

The weather is great so after doing some lawn mower repair and some mowing I finally found some time to work on Rusty (1927 roadster pickup L.A.F.D. Mountain Patrol Vehicle).

This morning I installed and reamed new triple gear bushings.

Then I replaced all the magnet spools and screws, nine spools were cracked.

The new ones I purchased from Lang’s are much better than the cast originals. The new parts look like they were turned from rods or billet.

Here it is so far: I am ready to level magnets. This time I am planning to use shims instead of a hammer.

I am looking forward to finishing this job long before the shelter at home mandate ends. I figure test driving a model T is essential!

TH

Do you have a gap gauge or do you need to use mine?

Today was a beautiful day in my part of Michigan. Bright sunshine and highs in the mid-50's. A few weeks ago I purchased a nice Hayes front wheel into which I installed new bearing cups before painting the rim and hub. My plan was to replace the left front wheel of my '17 touring because it has a little wobble in it.

I rolled the T out of my barn, jacked it up and swapped wheels without difficulty. A quick check showed it ran fairly true so it was time for a test drive. I turned the engine over a few times with the crank to free it up and it started on the the second try. Not bad after sitting for over three months.

I thought I would just drive to a nearby village and drop off a deposit at the bank but my T had other ideas. I ended up driving to the county seat where I bought some snacks and topped off the tank. I went a total of 43 miles without a hiccup!

Along the way I got lots of waves, thumbs-up, honks, flashing lights and grins...Even from the cops. In these uncertain times I think I cheered a few people up, if only for a moment.... I know I felt better than I have in a few weeks.

Tim you are correct. I ran some errands today with my RPU. That new engine is really starting to run good. I put about 30 miles on it today. Lots of smiles, and thumbs up. Ended up at the Fire Department for a meeting this evening. After the meeting I got my 1st free start with this engine!!!! What a great day. My quiet boring drive on an unpaved road to town. IT WAS GREAT!

Got my wheels and License plates back from the blaster. Test fit my new toolbox and gas can. Primed the plates and toolbox. Procrastinating sanding the wheels before I start painting them.

John, if you want to clear finish your wooden spokes, don't be tempted to take a short cut an use a strip of emery cloth pulled around the spokes. All sanding needs to be done along the grain.

Hope this helps.
Allan from down under.

I got this far today and ran it conservatively. The clutch slips a little when I pull the throttle last 4 oclock.
I adjusted the clutch fingers and will take another trip after re-torquing in the morning.

Got a bunch done but still have lots to do. Lucky for us we aren't trying to do a restoration, we just want it to look nicer.

I started rebuilding a front axle to put into my 26 Coupe.

Today we celebrate the marriage of the body and frame of the 1915 (look a like) touring.
Hope it will be a happy marriage and will stay for a long time.

Andre
Belgium

I like the color Andre, nice work. Great looking project.

Spend about 2 hours removing five old, like 60 year old! Wards Riverside tires, and two old Samson, from some Disteel disc wheels.

Gathered every tire tool from the drawer to go to work.
The tires were so stiff, even jumping on the sidewall wouldn't budge them from the clincher rim. So drove the tools into the bead with lead hammer, and then, inching along the whole permitter, by hammering the tools sideways, got one side free. Ooff. Huff.some work

Then, flipped over and had to do the opposite side to free the tire by pushing it into the rim and free the bead edge.


Finally, the large spoon driven in and pried the casing from the wheel, at that point the stiff tire came off like the lid on a can. Boy old stiff rubber is hard!
For the last Samson, had to use the SawsAll, that tire was a rock!.
Anyone care to have some stiff, sidewall cracked 60 year old 30" x 3 1/2" tires, there're free, come get 'em. oh...can't say that, we are quarantined, even the local recycle center is closed. The county is aware everyone at home is cleaning out stuff with free time, and they don't want people on the road going to dumps or recycle centers, only accepting trash and hazardous wastes.

A fellow Model T'er got a group of us together today for a "Smiles Parade", at least that's what I'll call it. We took several Model As, my Model T (running on only two cylinders), and a smattering of other rolling iron and did a parade though the township's neighborhoods, honking our horns as we went. The amount of people waving and cheering us as we drove by, families in their homes running to the door to see the commotion, really warmed my heart.

I would gladly do it again

Went out to get real, non-ethanol, gas today. Only station around that sells it is 8 to 10 miles away. So, yes it takes at least a gallon to fill up and get home! But I went with protection, crazy world...……….



Have fun!
Rich

Finnaly finished installing and painting my 25s Delivery/Hack's canvas top. Now on tho the rest of the wood body and the seats.

Had a Friend cut a bronze washer down for my Ruckstell....getting close

This is my Lawn ornament...actually early spring project...no engine or drive shaft...but still eye candy

Just finished installing an accessory road lamp on Nellie, the '23 cutoff pickup. These lamps were sold in the day to add more light across the road, esp. for staying out of ruts and ditches.

Normally mounted on a bumper bar, but no bumper on Nellie. So chose a spot tucked under the left front fender. Mounted the bracket on the fender iron. Plenty of space and out of the way on full wheel travel too.


Now, with a push/pull switch on the dash, the road lamp comes on, giving a nice illumination for safer night rides




Typical style of these road lamps:


1925

Got everything painted and ready to be put back together. Everything is finger tight right now. I wont drop her off the jack stand until I double check everything.

Completed the restoration of my 1926 Roadster Pickup with the last part I needed. Stan Howe sent me the Zenith U5 carb for the Rajo Head I needed.

And running coils how cool is that! Just before I pulled the Chevrolet head off I set mine up to run coils. Did good, but was having valve issues that's why I pulled it.

I told Mike Bender that if I got a free start when I turned on the ignition for the engine he rebuilt for our 15 runabout restoration, then I'd buy him a drink. Well, I didn't get a free start, after a bunch of huffing and puffing it finally fired up! I still probably need to buy him a drink though!

Anyway, it is nice to get passed this milestone. I've got a couple more runs to do before I get a few friends to be "Model T pallbearers" to help me get the body onto the frame.

Thats a sweet sound Neal when it 1st roars to life.

I have been working on this little Tudor for a friend. It came to me with a bent axle and many other problems. It was a museum auction car. After two years at my friends shop, he brought it over to get it running and I found the axle issue. All grease was dried to crumbles in every cup and bearing. Tire wouldnt hold air. Still have some minor details to finish.
After a complete front end rebuild and different axle, I took it for a little drive tonight. Made it home and since the wife and I took a 20 mile ride in the RPU I stopped in the drive for photo op.

Today was the first day since Winter warm enough to work in the shop. I mentioned changing a tire in another thread. The tools were all hiding from me and my muscles and bones weren't used to the exercise but things went pretty well in spite of it. It was beautiful with the door open and great to be out of the house.
First I charged my 12V motorcycle battery (for ignition, starting). I hadn't cleaned the carb or sediment bulb for ages and both were dripping a bit. The car had been getting hard to start also. Solvent did the trick. I had it on hand and Carb cleaner hasn't done any better for me. Also the float level wasn't right. Can they change over time? They aren't as shiny and pretty as the ones Stan does but should work fine. No leaks so far. These weren't that significant other than I have two cars that weren't functional yesterday.
T work is the best.
Rich

I finally finished putting new tires on my 15 runabout.
Today I put a tire on the 21 inch de mountable rim for the 25 pickup .
Two of the wheels that came on the pickup were not ford so I had to drill new valve stem holes in the rims.
My next project is to find out where the coolant is getting out of the 15's system.
Then on to the top.
I have lots of stuff to work on.

Today not much done on the T's, just did some experiences with an old Lucas magneto ignition system I found during the clean out of my dad's workshop. It didn't work first. Took it apart and cleaned what I could and reassembled it. As I took it from the bench I turned some how the wheel on it and get a jank that I dropped it.
During the test after with a drill I had a spark 1/2" long, I think it is a live again.

Enjoy Easter
Andre
Belgium

I got our '21 Touring back together after replacing all eight valves. We rode it some and it seems fine. I got 11 free starts in a row the first day back together.
Now I will start doing what I can to prepare it for the top installation. I have a top kit and have talked to a man not far from here in Valdese, NC that is experienced in installing T tops. I have seen his work and it looks great. I am bending and installing the wood in the curved portions of the top sockets before I take the car to him. I am going to have him do whatever he needs to do to pre-plan for some side curtains sometime later.

Today I installed the restored body onto the restored chassis of our 1915 runabout. I decided to have plenty of help on hand while I guided it over the steering wheel and fuel tank. Thankfully it went on without too much fuss, and more importantly, no scratches on the paint!

Neal

Did some wheel swapping yesterday. Finally rounded up 4 rims for the Chevrolet disk wheels. Two had been sandblasted, the other 2 need attention. I did install the front ones on the 21, the rears will have to wait. I just needed to prime and paint the 2 sandblasted ones. She running disk on the front and spokes on the rear at least all 4 tiers are the same size, 21". The 25 now has 30X3-1/2 wheels and tires on all four corners now too so I can move it. It's been on stands for almost a year under a tarp in the backyard. Also have been doing some work on my friend Clay's new wheels for the 1912, painting the hub as he wants;

Took two days of vacation to get my T out of hibernation and to change water hoses - what brought me to asking myself again if perhaps I am 'underskilled' for this hobby: it took me nearly 4 hours for the change (incl. cleaning of the metal hose and fighting with the clamps).
At least there is no leak until now ...




Also washed and polished the T and yesterday celebrated it's 104th birthday.

Just a little saftey upgrade. My cousin gave me this NOS stop light but the ring to hold the lense in was missing. Tim Morsher sent me a ring that was missing a tab for the screw. Thanks Tim. I figured short of making one it was impossible to find the ring for this light. After fixing the missing tab , I now have a brake light and tail light on both sides. The reflector inside is very shiney with just a few specs of rust. I made a mounting bracket and existing holes in the stale pocket. A brake light switch that came with other T parts last summer. I guess I can take the bicycle flashers off the rear curtian now. These lights are very bright at night.

I finished up installing the tack strip and arm rest wood pieces. Looks better now. Thanks to JP Autowood for those pieces, needed a bit of bending and adjusting but turned out well. Now on to installing the wood corners for the top bows that I received from them. Maybe one day I will install a tan colored top on it like Dallas has done. That will require more knowledge than I have so it will have to go on the back burner.

Mark, That top was my 1st time. You can do it. Any questions I had were answered here and Classtique. Takes time but not difficult. I watched a couple videos because the instructions are a little vague.

Thanks Rich, I will be sure to check with you when the time comes. I am still collecting the small bits and pieces that attach to the wood and the bows themselves. Don't know what all was supposed to be there since most of mine fell off over years of sitting out. (like your pickup by the way).

I was able to re-use most of the original bolts/nuts in this project. I have some questions about the tack strip and a metal piece/support that I found in the center. I put everything back the way it was but there are some holes up there that I don't know what their purpose would be for.

During the Easter weekend my back was killing me, so no advance on the 1912 and the 1915 tourings. Just rebuild a few coils .
I had to stop no parts left. They have all new points, new capacitors, all solder points are checked and redone where needed, poored tar in all the coils and repaired and treaded the wood boxes with wax. They are smelling fresh now. Take care

Andre
Belgium

Andre'; They are looking again TIP TOP .
Greetings from a closed Holland . All the best .

Toon .

RajoRacer wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 01, 2020 12:34 pm

Actually installed over the last couple days but rolled her out with my "new to me" Pharis Buffalo wires & new Firestones !

Steve, did you get the new "radials"? Jim Beal says they are great.

Hey Guys,

With all of this extra time, I've been able to go out the shop and tinker with my '26 Touring Car nearly every day. I haven't posted anything on this forum for a while, so I'll share what I've done. Earlier in the year, I bought some wheels from Denny Behning in Indiana to replace my loose, wobbly-spoked rear wheels. The ones I bought were actually front wheels, so I pressed out the hubs and swapped them with the hubs from my old wheels. I stripped and painted all hubs and felloes black. I also very carefully stripped all spokes and refinished them with spar urethane. Once all wheels were restored, I ordered a set of five tubes and flaps, along with two new Lucas tires from Mac's . While waiting for the tires and tubes to arrive, I sanded and repainted my rims. A neighbor happened to have the rim compressing tool he'd picked up at a swap meet, so I traded him an unrestored vintage fan for it, and it worked like a charm. I put the two new tires in front and the old ones in back as rolling tires while I work on the T. I've got to say, it really feels great to have her on four restored wheels with good tires. I also cleaned and repacked all bearings, and replaced the oil seals in the rear to stop the classic oil leak to break drum problem. These past few days, I've replaced the rear shackles as the driver's side upper bolt was cracked, and the passenger side pretty well worn. Steve Jelf has been a wealth of advice. I've also been replacing the missing oilers and cotter pins here and there. My next project will be to remove the gas tank and have it cleaned and sealed. Then I'll reinstall it and replace the cracked sediment bulb, and get to work on starting her up. She's been in my shop since last summer, and I want to get her out in the full daylight soon. I'm looking forward to our first drives to Audubon Park, and maybe the Rivershack along the River Road.

Bought some parts off this site, and today went to my friend's house (Lloyd Hansen) and we laminated a top bow for the '16, three more mornings doing this, and the corners will be done. Then to scarf joint the centers onto this ends. While I have a nice set of bows for the '16, they have been off for decades, and the steam bent bows have deformed enough that replacing them seems prudent.
However, the next of my cars to get LOTS off attention will be Barney, the '25 Runabout--but Barney has to wait for the house, which I need to get back to and get off this computer!!!

More spring maintenance. One of the front wheel bearings had a growl when rotated so I pulled it and re-packed it. Still has a little growl so I think a replacement is in order. The TT is up next.

I cut one up into little pieces:

Took the wheels off again and painted the silver part of the rims with RustOleum Reflective paint. It goes on clear and reflects bright white. I want to be a little safer at night but dont want to add lights.

John

You need to take a picture of your car at night, away from the street lamps, so we can see how it glows.

Not a bad idea.

I would love to get some of that paint, but its restricted in California- go figure!!

Sun came out and I got some paint on the Ruckstell. Won’t be long now !!

I drove the RPU to the fire station for our meeting. Coming home in a 20mph cross wind after dark, pouring rain with no side curtians ! Fun stuff! Its all part of the charm of these little fords. The truck needed washed and I will dry out, so it all worked out. I think some side curtians would be nice some day.

DHort wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 20, 2020 3:26 pm

John

You need to take a picture of your car at night, away from the street lamps, so we can see how it glows.

Not a bad idea.

I will do that. It is really bright.

You cant tell any difference in the daylight. I was foing to do the license plates but it turned the glosa black to matte. So I did the zinc part of the rims instead. And if you look closely, I forgot to tape off the valve stems.

Father and me set the engine into his 1920 touring, spent the winter months changing to alum. pistons, new clutch pack, new 4th main etc.

For mounting the new magneto speedo/tach, decided to use an old switch plate. Cutting off one side yields the ammeter mount, which is what the new speedo fits.

Laid out the spot on the dash of the '25 touring, and with the speedo mounted just to the left of the dash switch plate, easy to read the numerals from the driver's seat, view is fine. So instead of just cutting a round hole and mounting with the ammeter screws, will mount the speedo to the modified switch piece.

Should, when mounted, look almost like factory accessory


Forming cut edge to mimic the switch plate.


Pretty close to what is should be.....good enough anyway

Ready now for some finish paint, then drill a dash hole and 4 mounting holes for the plate screws and ....done!

Just got the car in February, so March and April have been a flurry of activity trying to get her from “drivable” to “roadworthy”. New tires, new parking brakes, tail lights, brake lights, carburetor linkages. Fresh coils, new plugs, new Anderson style timer.
Current tasks —
I have all the parts to install the hood shelves, so we can trim the firewall in order to install the hood.

Waiting on parts to put the fuel system back together correctly after a misfire problem

Waiting on parts to finish the turn signal installation

In the near future— mirrors , high compression head

Haven't been as busy as some of you but I did finish the seat supports, the floorboards, and the dash. Onto the window frames while I wait for seat cushion supplies.

Nice job Wayferer!

Finally had some time today and finished attaching the rear leaf spring to the newly installed Ruckstell. Got the rear bumper brackets on as well, thanks Jeff Humble.

Last fall I started to put the new top on the 09 but the weather turned cold and made it impossible to do it right so the car sat all winter with the top half done. Then a couple weeks ago it got up to almost 80 two days in a row so I pulled the car out and finished getting the main deck on before running out of daylight and energy. The warm sun helped things a lot but I had to do the final cut and trim a few days later back inside the barn so I still have not been able to step back and look at it and get a picture. I am still working on my Moms house every day since she passed back in Sept. so had to take 2 days off to work on the T. I hope to take a couple of hours and drive it soon and get some pictures of how it looks now.

Bob,

Your info says you live in Indiana but the only place I know of that has sunlight at midnight is Alaska. OR, that's on heck of a yard light you have on your garage.

No matter how you get the light, the old girl is looking GOOD

It was warm for Jan. that year I guess. LOL

My VCR still blinks 12:00 too and yes I still have a VCR. Maybe someday I will set the time and date on that camera but every time I want to upload a picture I need to take the memory card out and it is inside the battery door so it is always midnight somewhere in my pictures. Need to learn how to remove the date stamp!

Got my Ruckstell back in place with a little help from a friend.
If the rain holds out, I’ll finish the hook up and get a little drive time in !

Not much, set the two T outside and cleaned out the carpoort.
Later today, as I was setting the car back inside I made with both ( one at a time) a 5 miles test drive (didn't drive them since rebuild).

Made a few photos and set them close together.

Take care
Andre
Belgium

Like the color of the blue one and those are some snazzy headlights.

Got the Hayes wheels back from the powder coating people and installed. The runabout project is about as complete as any Model T project is ever complete!

Not on a Model T today but 1906 Model N. Cleaned up the four ball Kingston carburetor.

I hope it will work as good as it looks. Take care.

Andre
Belgium

Oil distribution tube clean? Check. Replace fiber timing gear with aluminum? Check. Timing cover on? Check. Rebuilt fan pulley on new water outlet from Hank? Check. I checked the timing before installing the fan belt and fan. It all looks good so now it's time for the new radiator to go on.

I repaired my Gas tank for my 1911.

Because we live in the digital age, one thing I try and make a habit of doing, is to take a quick snap of the timing and crank gear showing the marks lined up, just in case there is any question later.

Got the axle all finished and was able to go down the road and back and survived the trip !!
The Ruckstell shifts better than I ever remember it did.
I need to trim a little more off the new brake linings, I can just barely get neutral and the brake is on tight at halfway. Adjustments are backed all the way off...maybe have to take a little off the shoe at the cam area.

I noticed that the top framing on Betsy rubs on the top material when the top is down, to the point where it has worn a small hole in the rear curtain.

So today, I glued and sewed a small patch onto the inside of the curtain where the abrasion takes place. Not so much to plug the hole, rather to provide a fresh wear surface to keep the hole from getting bigger.

The camera flash makes it stand out, but in normal light it's almost invisible.

Installed my new speedometer that I bought from John Regan

Well you know, sometimes those hub caps can be hard to get on and off, esp. trying to get the cap tight against the hub collar.

That thin Ford hub cap wrench can really dig into your palm, if gloves aren't around..

So made a new tool for the workbench, Ford improved hub cap wrench, two handed style

Took a length of left over chain link frame rail tubing, hammered over the end of a tired wrench that had good hub cap end, and married the two with a mallet.



Now both hands, control to keep the thin wrench on the hub cap, and those hard to remove or place caps are thing of the past

Well! It's been since February that I last drove one of my 3 T's It's been so long I almost forgot how! Since it has been so long I decided to start on crank and then let the generator charge up the battery as I drove on magneto. Well it started right up and I was almost ready to get in and drive when it stopped. I had forgotten to turn on the gas. So then I turned on the gas and it started running out the carburetor. The float had dropped lower than it is when I drive it. So I tapped on the carburetor and it stopped leaking. I got it running again and started on my 6 mile round trip to the Pharmacy. I had to go down a hill and couldn't get it into Ruckstell so I had to pump the brake. At least I have Rocky Mountain brakes. I realized that I must shift to Ruckstell while the throttle is advanced and I was trying to shift with the brake on! Then I almost used the spark advance lever for a turn signal! I have to make hand signals with this car. I got to the Pharmacy and met some friends there. They were in the parking lot and since I had crank started the car, I left the engine running for about 5 minutes. When I backed out of the parking space, I started forward and couldn't get it into high gear! Then I realized the parking brake lever was in neutral while backing out and was still in that position. No other problems while driving home. The generator was not charging so when I got home I flashed the generator and it started charging. It had sat so long it lost it's residual magnetism. Yes I did turn off the gas when I got home. I was quite rushed on the way down because I had planned to met my friends there. That is why I made so many errors. At least now 5 hours later I still remember what happened. Just some "Senior" moments.
Norm

Got the front seats covered and the steering wheel installed. I'm gonna have to go to home depot soon to get more wood for the side panels. Not looking forward to that.

Polished out my intake manifold, without the use of power tools.

Jim,

Those seats look great and I bet they make a comfy ride.



Frank,

"Polished out my intake manifold without the use of power tools" Are your wife's arms tired?

Looking Good! Nice and shiny

perry kete wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 30, 2020 3:42 pm

"Polished out my intake manifold without the use of power tools" Are your wife's arms tired?

She doesn't visit the mancave unless is to get something fixed. It took 8 hrs to do - 8 grits of sand paper later - Fritz Metal polish- I feel like the karate kid sand on sand off

I sanded and polished the rocker cases on my H-D years ago....pretty hard on the fingers.