MTFCA Forum

Is there anywhere in the OLD , ORIGINAL Ford literature any information regarding the tolerance of the weight that the factory accepted when installing the piston/ rod assembly , when the model T was assembled at the factory in the teens and twenties?
I work on a 1919 engine and will use the lightweight cast iron pistons and rods that Ford introduced in 1924 resp. 1920.

I'd have to say that never come across factory spec on weights, the Ford service book only stipulates that when replacing, that pistons are approximately the same weight.
I'm sure that would apply for a rod as well.

It has been written that a well charged magneto magnet should be able to lift a Ford piston, or about 3 pounds.

I believe that Ford T engine assemblers made some effort to select and match piston weights. To what tolerance, I don't know. In the Model A era, considerable attention was given to selecting pistons and rods for weight matching.

This is a authoritative source, of the process for balancing pistons in 1914, would assume later methods got pistons closer in weight allowed.

"The finished weights of Ford pistons vary maximum , about six ounces . Each piston is weighed and marked on the head by a center - punch used without a hammer , with one , two , three , or four center marks , dividing the pistons into ... (page 145)"

Model T Ford: The Car that Changed the World - Page 145
Bruce W. McCalley · 1994