MTFCA Forum

Started dusting them off from there winter nap. Waiting for spring to go Ting again.

Just put in an order for my Ceterdoor. Hoping to get it put back together for spring.

Just finished up making my door hinges for my Delivery Car. These are 4 knuckle hinges with differing right and left sides.

Set the hand brake and hit the starter button and she spun right over. Did not try to start, just checking the battery and splashed some oil around.

Model T work, but not my car. I straightened a warped exhaust manifold for a friend.
Unfortunately, a light inside the manifold shows a tiny crack. Oh, well. We knew this sometimes happens. Straightening these things is a gamble. This time we lost. Wonder if I could braze it.

Set the body on the frame, first time in decades.

I have been doing some starter and generator "fixing" this Winter.

Steve, we had a guy in our club that straightened tons of manifolds. He put them in a bucket of sand before they cooled and this kept them from cracking. Worked every time.

Re: Sand bucket: Make sure the sand is absolutely DRY.

Nothing. Dealing with this today. A snow go kit would be fun now.

Working on body lines, everything is just trial and error. First attempt at metal fabrication, decided to let the metal dictate the body frame, instead of forming the metal to fit the body frame.
Want to use this dash, 1926 Dodge
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After a couple of fittings, the dash was too upright
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Noticed most speedsters have the dash slanted, doubles for bracing too.
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Still visualizing, eventually will make a plan. Aluminum body panels will be joined by riveted exoskeleton strips on the outside of the body similar to the picture below. No welding. Wish me luck, I need it

First time body has been on frame in decades.

That's pretty good. A big oil spot under a car that doesn't even nave an engine yet.

Started hand polishing scratches made by previous owners(s) to get paint in places acceptable looking. Someone in the past decided to wipe down the horizontal places with dry rags leaving swirl marks on a otherwise beautiful paint job.

Also planning on stripping the hood and repainting. Besides major scratches on the top panels large chips of paint have come off along the hinges and someone previous decided to re paint the areas with a floor mop.

Steve, take a grinder and “v” the crack and weld it with the MIG, peen it and grind it smooth.

Gentlemen:
getting items ready for Chickasha Swap meet in March ... re-babbitted ball caps and bored to common sizes , re-babbitted main bearings and fit scat crankshaft for customer pickup , have been gathering misc. distributors , carburators and other items to take to meet ...always an optimist ...Gene French

pictures of re-babbitted ball caps ... also i need more ball cap cores for re-babbitt and also need transport from Henery Lee's to Chickasha ( 21" model A wheels )...Gene French

I am starting to fabricate the wood I need for my 24 coupe. I have been procrastinating on this. I needed to create some space to work in my basement, which I have done. I made a dust collector for my band saw and hung a light over the workspace and then started on one of the sills. This has been a long time coming.

Pulled the front axle for cleanup and rebuild anything thats needed. This is in preperation for Twin Hassler install. Apart and degreased I think a couple bushings and paint is all thats needed. Dave Stroud went through this frontend many years ago Im sure. I will disassemble springs and paint with slip plate before reassembled. Ok, back to the shop!

Newbie here, picked up a 1915 express a few months ago, overall in very nice shape, but it did not want to drive in a straight line nor handled bumps very well in front.
So took full front end apart added shims, new bushings, adjusted clearances, regreased bearings and ball ends, and adjusted toe-in. Steering wheel play 1/2 inch which I hear is not bad.
While front end was loose removed front spring and took it apart and removed loads of hardened grease, sprayed graphite coating on each leaf and remounted assembly.
Should be ready for test drive in a couple of days, going to be 70 degrees here in Northern California next week, glad I no longer live out east.
Hopefully it will drive much better, was interesting learning experience for a rookie.
Next change all fluids…

Welcome, nice car! You are smart to go through the front end before the driving season. 1/2" of steering wheel play is indeed pretty good. Be sure to check that the front spring perches are installed in the correct direction and that the front wheels have enough positive caster (axle leaning back).

{attachment=0]IMG_0542.jpg[/attachment] Waiting for Spring

The seat frame in my Runabout is broken. It has always had a bulge in the front of the seat. I pulled the upholstery back and found the break. The perimeter frame ends were bent up and digging into the vinyl.
I straightened the ends and made a "taco" splint out of 16 GA. I crimped it around the butted ends. The reassembled frame is straight and comfy. I will replace that taco with a painted one when the weather is warm enough to paint.

I’ve manly been working on the new building it’s being housed in. Putting windows in insulation and such. Installed a homemade work bench made from cut down warehouse pallet racking. It’s finally got it so all the bits and pieces of the T are in the same place! And finished the engine stand apparatus that bolts to the block! And crawled around under the car spraying penetrating oil on every nut I can find to prepare for disassembly! Life is good

Getting this rim ready...
to take care of this...

Looks like the problem is the tube. Not the rim.

Last Friday I got the engine back from the machine shop for our '22 coupe, (that had broken the crankshaft last November) The brass and steel cam gear shim kit for the brass cam gear I had to adjust, because the brass gear is thicker than a stock one.

After doing some measuring, I had to thin down the brass shim. Why I can't get the photos to load in the correct order is beyond me, but facing off the brass shim was a success. Tomorrow I will mount the magneto ring on the crankcase, and check the height of each shoe in each winding and get it shimmed correctly, and then I tackle the plates on the magnets of the flywheel to get them true. Before the month is out, the 1922 coupe will live again

Keith

one word:

"flaps"

First, here's what I did today...fetched my 3 wheels for the Fordor from Noah Stutzman plus the new, correct sized wheel rim to growth the brass spider for the Torpedo. The wheel rim will be stained cherry but the spokes look so nice I'm tempted to strip the remaining wheel and put em all "au-natchurahl"!

As for flaps, yes I know the argument. But again I say I have never (fingers crossed) used them and had no problems. I "line" the rim with gorilla tape (this is on the non-demountables of course) and away we go.

Must be something to see you drive that fordor on three wheels Tim?

Tim, I cut a 2.5" wide strip from the outer diameter of a 13" car tube for a rim liner. My tyre shop saves me any 13" tubes they come across, just for this purpose. These rim liners are a snap fit on a 23" rim. One of my wheels has a rim liner cut from a 20" bicycle tube. These are re-usable and leave no residual glue/adhesive gunk.

Allan from down under.

Dallas, it sure is! Maybe I should just leave the 4th wheel spokes black and see if anyone notices?

Allan, that's not a bad idea. Last experience that I did have with "store bought" flaps they were so stiff and bulky, frankly they caused more trouble than worth. Part of the reason why I ditched them with thankfully no repercussions.

i did the unthinkable, put a new top on an old car...somethings just wear out, belt, hose, wires, switches, tires, bands, and vinyl tops...

I rebuilt my coil box. There are photos in my "My 1927 Model T Coupe Restoration" post today.

Finally Made it to my first Model T Event with the Model T Club of Central Florida. Our Maiden Voyage with our 12 year restoration project We drove 6 miles in our 1923 Hack to Astatula Elementary in Florida to show 6 kindergarten classes our Model Ts. 3 of My 7 Children in the photo.

Just refurbing some old coils I collected.

I purchased 1) wood body to frame mounting blocks and 2) new cross members to built the body sub-frame some time ago, only to recently find that they do not work together.
The sub-frame build is another story but the holes did not line up and I would have to drill more holes in the existing blocks.
So, I made my own custom body blocks from the scraps of popular wood left over from the top wood adventure.

Finally had a break in frigid weather in New York last week and drove the Tudor out of the garage and de-greased the tranny, then power washed it all off. Then power washed the outside to remove lots of flaking rust. Then discovered a cracked windshield (original glass). Next, I'll put a coat of rust converter all over it and spray some clearcoat. I don't have the time/money to do a body-off paint job, so I'll keep it "original". Can't wait to get it legally on the road!

John

I think you'll be horribly surprised if you use any rust converter on it. Just keep it wiped down and out of inclement weather.

I have rubber seals for the windshield frame on my ’26 Runabout. They came with my car so my uncle must have bought them at some point. I am trying to install them in the stanchions but I can’t get them to fit. Grooves in the stanchions are down to .124” at the narrowest point. They don’t open up much beyond that. The width of the rubber seal is .234”. The seal’s durometer won’t let it squish enough to fit. I clamped a section of seal in a 4” bench vise and I could not compress the seal down to .124” with the vice. I am wondering if I have the wrong seal. If I don’t, how can I install this? I am concerned about the amount of compressive force I used in the vice to get close. If I can install the seals, they would damage the stanchions.

On my 1924, I bought these seals from the vendors and they fit well in that position. Sold by the foot. The description says that 1926-27 cars require 4 feet, if it was me I would order 5 feet just in case I messed up.

https://www.modeltford.com/item/7840P.aspx

Mark - I recently installed the vendor kit on my ‘26. Hardest part was removing remnants of original rubber. Rubber fit well - a little Armor All for lubrication. Kit had a little extra length.

Hi Scott,
I already did the fenders and hood with the rust reformer/converter and they look pretty good as opposed to just rusty. I'll post pix when they're all done

Changed my oil. 3.5 quarts of dirty oil drained. I put 4 quarts of 10W-30 in until the top valve started to drip. Went for a short chilly drive after cleaning up the garage.

It's icy and frigid here, but we had a nice day last weekend and I got to go out for a quick drive and test out my new 360 camera to film tours this summer.

https://youtu.be/hvIJGcRDfm4

My wife saw this on our neighborhood Facebook page this morning from a previously unknown neighbor a couple of blocks over:

…I am hoping the gentleman that owns the Model T is in this group, or, someone knows how to get into contact with him. My daughter is participating in a wax museum at her school and she chose to do it on Henry Ford. I thought it would be fun to take a photo of her in the car so she can display it at her station. Thank you!

Uncharacteristically for Michigan this time of year it was in the mid-40s, and we’ve had some rain since the last time the roads were salted, so I dusted off Bonnie(‘24 Touring), who had been sitting for a few months, tightened up a loose radiator hose clamp, topped off the antifreeze, checked the oil, and re-learned the “cold” start procedure. A good time was had by all!