MTFCA Forum

Let me start by admitting I am a 'purist restorer' at heart, but sometimes stepping outside of your normal can make you feel giddy like a little kid. That was me working in the shop today.

The backstory is, last summer when I rebuilt the engine in my Depot Hack in prep for the Hamilton, OH tour, I decided to try one of the new 12v gear reduction starters and a new 12v alternator the vendors were selling. No real need for 12v upgrade (at that time) other than the novelty I had with this type of starter, ...and now the ability to supply high amperage draws of 12 volt power.

Fast forward to about a week ago when I decided I should probably upgrade the seats in the DH because the foam was getting old. Because of the seat foam's age, after an hour or so of driving the cushions would begin to be uncomfortable enough to make your 'hind-end' numb. SO, an online purchase from Amazon, a quick rummage thru my upholstery material stock, and then a couple hours of labor in the upholstery shop today allows me to have custom split front seat (much easier during gas refueling) with two cushions that I can plug into the wiring harness. Look at the pictures below .....and comment whether you are jealous, -or a hater!! Yeah, I admit it's not a kill switch , -and yes this is probably considered by most to be sacrilegious.

BRENT in 10-uh-C wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 19, 2023 4:20 pm

more pix...

An excellent idea for cool season cruising ... but I'd make sure that ALL power was off to the seat heaters or anything else electrical that is anywhere near the gas tank when filling it. Some materials can also generate "static" sparks in dry weather, and I'd be cautious in that regard when filling the tank.

A heating element over a vented gas tank. What could go wrong? Are you sure you werent building a wife ejector seat?
But seriously. Neat idea, especially if it gets the T exercised in the winter.

Brent

that's just wrong

I think you put yourself in the hot seat on this one Brent.
There are many ways to enjoy a T. Why not be comfortable. And it doesn't really show.
Rich

TXGOAT2 wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 19, 2023 4:33 pm

An excellent idea for cool season cruising ... but I'd make sure that ALL power was off to the seat heaters or anything else electrical that is anywhere near the gas tank when filling it. Some materials can also generate "static" sparks in dry weather, and I'd be cautious in that regard when filling the tank.

speedytinc wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 19, 2023 4:34 pm

A heating element over a vented gas tank. What could go wrong? Are you sure you werent building a wife ejector seat?
But seriously. Neat idea, especially if it gets the T exercised in the winter.

So let me get this straight, we are concerned about the possibility of an electrical spark when refueling ...but not about the hot exhaust pipe located directly under the tank inlet??


Maybe this will give some peace of mind for your concerns. My basic reasoning , -or design of this with the split bench is such that it allows me to only remove the half over the fuel tank inlet and then set the passenger side cushion on top of the driver's side cushion which effectively removes all of the wiring from the area of the gas filling taking place. I would do this only because I am lazy and would not feel like unplugging the connector or removing the entire seat cushion!

With regard to powering the seats, at present I am running a distributor on this engine however my plans have been to convert it back to coils since I have a good mag ring again. We were pinched for time getting 3 cars ready for Hamilton so it was easiest to just re-install the distributor. The reason I have not converted it back to coils since the Hamilton tour is much akin to the adage about the Cobbler's kid's shoes. Therefore it may, -or may not happen during 2023.

With the above said, the switches on this Dorman unit only have a Low-Off-Hi setting. There is not any timer or safety shut-off provision in the switch like my modern vehicles do. Therefore I have been debating whether I want to just install a main power relay that would be triggered by the BAT side of the ignition switch, ...Or whether I want to trigger the relay using the Headlight Switch. Using the Headlight Switch to trigger this relay would allow me to use the Ignition Switch on MAG and still have power to the seat warmers, ...however it would not be failsafe if I were to accidently leave the headlights switched to the On position during a stop. Using the Ignition Switch on BAT to trigger the relay would more likely make it failsafe to ensure the elements are off when refueling or parking. If I wired it that way, then I would just use the seat warmers when switched to BAT, and then only use the MAG after I have driven long enough to warm the seats??

Thoughts??

Do the heating units have a thermal limiter? If they do, you'd only need an on-off switch, unless you wanted to add low and high settings. I'd want to wire them such that they'd be OFF whenever the vehicle was not running.

An electric spark, whether from a low voltage electrical device or from a static discharge, can be much more effective at igniting gasoline vapor than a hot surface. Exhaust valves run pretty hot, but they do not ignite the fuel mixture, even under compression, under ordinary operating conditions. However, a puny electric spark under the same conditions will ignite the mixture.

James Bond would proud of you. 1 flip of the switch and up up and away goes the mother in law,nagging wife,etc

I have sat in Ohio State's "Old Sparky" electric chair. Comfort was the least thing on my mind. The chair has plank seat and a straight back.

Art Mirtes

Brent, When you come up with cooling seats for those of us in S.E. Texas please post back in….

MichaelPawelek wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 20, 2023 9:33 am

Brent, When you come up with cooling seats for those of us in S.E. Texas please post back in….

Michael, great to chat with you again. If you recall, I grew up about 60 miles from you on the other side of the Loop, ...but I will be quick to confess that for me being gone from S.E. Tejas for nearly 40 years has definitey whimped me out where I could not stand that humidity or heat index. Not sure how you guys do it!! With that said, the 'coolest' (pun intended) Model-T I ever rode in was Hal Schedler's Model-T Fordor one year when we were on the Great Race and had traveled from Boston to Sacramento. Hal was there to greet several of us as we finished the race with his Fordor and he was very kind in showing us exactly how to put A/C in one. If I had to live down your way again, I would definitely have an A/C unit hidden on my T, ...and even if it was a Touring or a Runabout!!