MTFCA Forum

I just acquired a TT, or some of one, with a Ruckstell rear end. It is a typical TT worm drive otherwise.

Does anyone have any info on this?

THANKS

A TT Ruckstell is still the TT worm drive rear end with the addition of an underdrive. A TT with a Ruckstell goes from slow to slower and now even slower. Like the regular T Ruckstell, it provides direct and under drive.

You should try to figure out which gear set it has, low speed or high speed. IMHO it makes more sense to add a Ruckstell to the high speed gears than the slow speed gears, but that's just my opinion.

Post a picture or two of your truck. I'm sure we'd all love to see it!!

I sure would like to see it !

Have a read of these - the car and truck Ruckstels operate much the same.
If you plan any work on the Ruckstel, buy the MTFA book on repair and maintenance, it has a section on TT ones.

This is just my opinion, so take it for what it cost you.

I'm betting that almost all of the Ruckstell rearends have the high speed gears.

Why would anyone want to slow down the low speed gears - even 90+ years ago?

I have a few around here but have never checked the gearing. I do have one that has some sort of overdrive in the driveshaft just in front of the differential. It's the only one that runs.......and drives.

My OP: You can not look from the prospective of 2021 on why and what was done 90 to 100 years ago. These truck were used and abused carrying huge amounts of weight on bad roads, so yes they would have been geared down, that is why the Ruckstell was installed in the first place. Unless someone can quantify that the majority of TT trucks had high speed gears installed along with the Ruckstell or show factory proof of doing so.

There were TT's that had a Warford or Lincoln or Chicago, etc., just behind the engine, a Rocky Mountain ahead of the differential and a Ruckstell in the Differential. About the only way to get much load capacity out of those 20 horses up front. Slow, but all it had to be was faster than a six up of horses and didn't need to be rested or fed and watered, didn't have to be harnessed and didn't eat hay when it wasn't working.

Years ago we sold a TT C cab that had a setup like that at an auction. C cab, probably pretty cold be warmer than sitting up on that wagon seat at 30 below and a lot faster going home, didn't play out like the horses did and didn't need to be fed, watered and unharnessed when you go there. It had a hand crank dump box with a chute for putting the coal in a coal shed or cellar.

It was used in the mountains in Montana to haul coal from the coal yard along the Milwaukee to the surrounding towns and farms.

Stan - We had a guy in our local club here (Kris Watters, R.I.P., Carbon Canyon Model T Ford Club) that had a TT like you mentioned,....had a Ruckstell rear end, and two auxiliaries like you mentioned. I never rode in it with him, but he used to say that by the time those 20 horses got through all those gears, there was barely enough power left to turn the wheels! I really never saw him drive it, so altho' I always thought he was "kidding", but then maybe not,.....harold

Thanks all. Great information.

I may try to post a photo, but not sure how. Attempts in the past were unsuccessful. Retired with no IT staff to assist I have to rely on grandchildren.

Ah, where would we be without IT Support or Grandchildren

Have a look at this post which explain photo posting:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=11645

Cheers