MTFCA Forum

New T owner, drove my car maybe a few thundered yards and found I needed to replace the bands, I used wood bands, new springs and other misc bits, adjusted the clutch and bands per the service manual, drove it and made minor adjustments to what I think is right but never owning a Model T before I just don't know. I'm a little worried because when I stomp on the brake the car seems to barely slow down for a bit, maybe 10-20 feet like the band isn't tight enough then it bites and stops well, hoping to locate someone local who maybe able to help me, how do I find someone, says there is a chapter in Holland MI but I haven't ever been able to contact them.
Thread I started about this whole fiasco. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=22322

Thats been my experience with wood bands. they need extra pressure to get the grab. I have removed more sets than installed. The last guy wanted to keep the wood on a rebuilt motor. There were odd symptoms with low pedal engagement & grab. Replaced with scandia. He's happy now. IMO they are too harsh. I would run them in a Montana racer for the less friction factor only. Some guys like them, I dont.

I wish I lived closer to you (actually that you lived closer to me, because I like it here). The Model T brake does not stop quickly like a modern car.

When you reline the brakes, you must be sure the bands are perfectly straight so it minimizes any high places on the lining.
First thing to do when you want to stop is push the gas all the way up, and also the spark up a few notches as you push the brake. When you get down to about 15 MPH you can also stomp the low pedal if you want to stop fast. The idea here is to use the compression of the engine to slow you down. If you are going down a hill, use the lower gear also to hold you back. It takes a little getting used to. When you do use the brake, pump the pedal to allow oil on the drum to keep the band lining from burning up, or if Kevlar, to keep the drum from overheating. If all else fails, pull on the hand brake.
It is very important to leave following distance between you and the cars in front of you so you will have the distance to stop.
With new bands, it might take a few stops to wear the bands in so they make a perfect circle around the drum. The high points will either compress or if wood, will burn to fit. So first few miles driven after re-lining the brakes you might have to adjust a few times before they settle in.
Norm

It helps to have your engine idle speed set as low as is practical. Avoid carrying needless weight.

I used wood bands, after reading many post about them they seemed a good choice, could not find scandia for a 1927 Model T and every thing I read about Kevlar said a novice should not be using them, I may change them this winter when I rebuild the transmission, if I can ever figure out how to drive this correctly.
I did find a pan in the kitchen with the same diameter as the drums and spent about 4 hour making them perfectly round but you have to stretch the crap out of them to get them around the bands.
Drove around about a mile today, my old brain is having a hell of a time figuring out the pedals and lever, constantly over revving the engine which by the way must be out of balance, anything over idle when in neutral vibrates the crap out of the car.

bmklawt wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 14, 2021 9:09 pm

I used wood bands, after reading many post about them they seemed a good choice, could not find scandia for a 1927 Model T and every thing I read about Kevlar said a novice should not be using them, I may change them this winter when I rebuild the transmission, if I can ever figure out how to drive this correctly.
I did find a pan in the kitchen with the same diameter as the drums and spent about 4 hour making them perfectly round but you have to stretch the crap out of them to get them around the bands.
Drove around about a mile today, my old brain is having a hell of a time figuring out the pedals and lever, constantly over revving the engine which by the way must be out of balance, anything over idle when in neutral vibrates the crap out of the car.

Read the operating manual again. It takes practice, practice, practice. Eventually it will become automatic.
A thought on the imbalance. Are the 3 engine mounting points tight?

Not sure if you frequently check your email. Email sent, let me know if I can help.

-Joshua

Bruce, you say you had to stretch the crap out of them to fit them over the bands. Did you mean the drums? I insert the bands and their linings right at the front of the drum set. The end of the band is threaded down around the triple gears an up the other side. Once it is positioned, it is opened up just enough to get over the reverse drum and the first band is slid forward over the brake drum. The same procedure is used to position the other two. This means the nice round bands are distorted as little as possible.

Hope this helps next time.
Allan from down under.

Allan, I did just as you said but I still had to open them up more than I was comfortable with, they were a really good fit on the drums, after I put the hogs head on I cut the wire holding the the low speed band closed, before putting in the spring or adjusting screw and it only opened up an 1/8", I was just very uncomfortable stretching them open when I installed them.

Bruce, that is the way to go. Your difficulty may be a function of the wood bands. These are likely to be far stiffer than any of the fabric bands I have fitted. Sometimes it helps to have someone hand crank the motor to help ease the bands past the triple gears.

Allan from down under.

I may have old information here but I remember Jim Gunn telling me not to install wood bands without removing the hogs head. Do not attempt to install wood band through the inspection cover.