MTFCA Forum

Filled tires to 34psi.
Changed the oil.
Cleaned the lower drain cock connections and put blue thread locker on the threads to cure a leak.
Achieved speeds over 20mph for 1st time.

A '25 coupe ought to do 35 to 40 MPH on level ground with no trouble. (Or more)
That assumes all 4 cylinders are operating on a good fuel/air mix, that timing is correct for the situation of the moment, and that brakes and bands are not dragging. If you have "balloon tires", 28 PSI is plenty.

Too much oil in the crankcase will sap power. 1 gallon is usually too much on a refill. For a refill, 3 to 31/2 quarts ought to get the oil level up to the upper cock with the car sitting on level ground. According to Ford, "best results will be obtained with the oil level halfway between the upper and lower cock".

Took advantage of the summer like weather here in northern Michigan to sandblast and paint 26-27 Ford accessory rear bumper brackets.

Lowered the tire pressure.
Drove 5 miles.
Watched it boil either from timing, lean carb or our poverty radiator or all three.
Learned several ways how to stop the thing. Have not tried the parking brake yet to stop it.
Tried driving with windshield open.
Choke wire came loose from rod. Fixed it.
Cronked horn at waving people.

I suggest NOT using the parking brake to stop unless in an emergency. bobt

I finished rebuilding my rear axle, now to stuff it back under the car before Hallows

Kids (and some grownups too) like to sit inside with "Mr. Boneypants" and let either their parents or friends take their picture.

Did the fall oil change on my '24. Soon I'll be removing my warm weather air filter and installing the factory hot air duct to the carb.

I hear you Bob, but are you also suggesting that I not even test (for some unknown reason to me) it to see if it will stop the car?

I had replaced the starting crank bushing on my 1915 a few years ago, but it creeps forward and has to be tapped back into place.

I pulled it most of the way out and added a Dutch knurl to it. I'll mix up a little JB weld to the outside of the bushing before pulling it back in.
: ^ )

Keith

I tried to start my 22 Runabout. It didn't start. I choked it and choked it and should had gas dripping out of the carburetor, but none. Then I checked the fuel level. The stick went all the way to the bottom of the tank. No gas at all. I only open that garage about once a month when I drive one of the cars to the museum for a couple hours. Last time I was out any longer was July 4 when I went to a parade. So didn't smell any gas or see any on the floor. So now I need to put some gas in it and check for leaks. I have 2 T's that run, and took the other one last time I had one out. The reason I tried to start it today, is that I sold one of my 3 T's and wanted to get it out so it could go to it's new home.The garage is detached from the house. So at least if It caught on fire, the house would not burn, but I would lose all my T's.
Norm

Fixed a leaking radiator.
Replaced the hand crank bushing. I made a puller to get it out.
Replaced a leaking gasoline sediment bowl and replaced all the gas line.

Next up - remove rear axle and rebuild it.

Re-adjusted the shape of the carb throttle rod (pull rod) to get full quadrant and carb throttle range. Wasn't getting the carb throttle more than 3/4 of WOT before and was completely closed with about 5°left on the quadrant. I am sure it will be picking up at least 1/2 HP from the adjustment...I better hold on!

Sorry all it has a dizzy.....for now. Checked the condition of the cap, rotor and points, re-adjusted the points to 0.017". I do have the original timer setup and seven coils in questionable condition. So am considering converting it back once I have gone through all the running gear to make it a good driver.

This winters plan is all about running gear, (replaced the front wheel bearings already and checked wear on front end parts). My plan is to go through (rebuild) the rear axle, drive shaft and add Rocky Mountain brakes. Basically make it safe, reliable and drivable so I can drive it more, just as my Grandfather would want me too.

Cheers from NH.

Welcome to the club Steve!

Got my first free start on Saturday. I leave it parked in high gear and glad I put it in neutral first, before switching to Battery.
In process of replacing gasket on sediment bowl.
Opened it up on an empty highway but don't know if it made 40 or not.

Installed the rear bumpers on my 26 coupe. The Ford bumpers are a real quality product, the bumper bracket holes lined right up with the preexisting holes in the frame. I thought the bumpers sticking so far out would block access to the trunk but there is plenty of room to stand between the bumpers and the body. It is a well thought out design. If I ever do it again though I will be sure to clean the soot off the right rear axle first.

Humbled, l love that color green on your coupe. If you don’t mind could you tell me what color or formula it is in case l ever get around to painting my 26 coupe. Thanks Tim

Humblej stupid spellcheck.

Finally starting the restoration of the “aftermarket” brake system on my ‘27 runabout.
the front brakes aren’t very visible.

“early” metropolitan nash backing plate welded to the spindle.

matching 8” metropolitan nash drum welded to the wire wheel T hub.

new brake shoes and wheel cylinders.

wheel back on with new steel jumper line connecting the wheel cylinders.


more pics to come as I work my way back through the system to the 11” GM rear brakes (early ‘60s).

Keep crankin’
Eric

Tim,
I painted my coupe Kewanee Green IM-519. It is a Model A Ford color. It is what Les Henry listed as the correct color in the 1965 "Model T Ford Restoration Handbook" for "Channel Green".

Thanks Jeff, what l can see of your car is beautiful. Tim

Installed battery cut off switch, installed solenoid on starter circuit,and reworked starter cables and installed dual ground cables.
Starter still turns slow so next starter comes off. With the floorboards out the bbendix will be a lot easier to get at. Next I will take it apart and check it over and look for one of the starters I have stored and have not seen in several years. It is always so handy to have parts stored here,there and everywhere but at least I Have some parts.

Put antifreeze in the T and ran it for the first time in about 2 months. Big house project going on so it's on the back burner for a while. Had put the VW carb back on along with the Boach distributor, rev'ing it actually rocked the car! The radiator I found on eBay with the newer core, no drips that I can see! Don't have any current photos but this will do for now.

Bit the bullet and converted the Roadster to 12V:

step 1- Replaced the bulbs with 12V
step 2- Installed modified starter for 12V
step 3- Made my own diode cutout *yes very basic diode only to mimic the original cutout.
step 4- swapped in a 12V battery

Done.

Starter cranks with much more energy and coils buzz brightly!

That was easy!

This past week I was able to get the proper battery cables and new battery installed. This afternoon I tried starting it, but now the starter is acting up. I was able to crank start it and let it run some. Might be driving it soon! It’s been over two years since it was running.

Replaced the New Day timer brush and cleaned the contacts in the cap to solve intermittent mild rough running. Both the cap and old brush have nearly 6000 miles since new.

Don't run it on 2 year old gasoline!

TXGOAT2 wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 21, 2025 12:09 pm

Don't run it on 2 year old gasoline!

I didn't. I drained the tank and added a gallon of new gas just to try things out.

One gallon added to a dry tank may not give a very reliable fuel feed, especially with an under seat tank. I'd put in 3 gallons or so to assure fuel flow and to dilute any residual gum that may be in the fuel system. Gas here is available at $2.47 a gallon at WalMart. That's dirt cheap in 1970 dollars!

Gas was $1.54 /gallon in NWA when Trump left office last time.
Why cant he bring that back? Pfffft!

I still want .25 cents/gallon price!

Im working on the body of my Torpedo preparing for paint! I’ll post pics in the other topic soon.

Gas tax at the pump (Only a fraction of the total tax) is higher today than the total price per gallon was years ago. Gas today is around $4.60 per gallon in California.

Checked the oil and water, filled the tank, and took my '20 Roadster on a 54 mile each way trip to join the local "Streetmasters" car club on a drive to Murdo, SD. Ate lunch then toured Pioneer Auto Museum for a few hours. They have old cars, tractors, pickups, and motorcycles, including a 1902 Oldsmobile, several T's, and cars through the 70's. The 15-20 mph prairie headwind ate my gas mileage going there but pushed me home at the end of the day. Now I need to put the '20's attired skeletons back in the T for Halloween.

I dropped an aluminum cotter pin the the transmission while adjusting my clutch. I changed the oil in the removal process. I fashioned a new throttle linkage out of thick gauge solid core copper wire and it works flawlessly. Also my T doesn't seem to hate me as much this month, maybe its grudges on humans is lifting after I continually fix the neglect related issues of past ownership. Dare I say my care and attention I give it is finally paying off?

This month saw its ups and downs but we have progress none the less.

Got it up to 32 on battery, up to 38-39 on magneto, Friday and then had to have it towed but will start a new thread someday on that.

Continuing tear down of Daisy, removed radiator, pans, firewall, fenders/running boards/splash, and will be pulling the engine this week.
Setting up strap hangers from rafters to lift the body off the frame. Will check/clean up/paint the frame (fenders & such winter project, top paint is good, but undersides are riddled with tiny rust pocks). The body paint is good enough for me to leave as is.
Debating whether to leave the firewall as is, or sand it lightly & restain...but since I'm pretty much keeping it as found, only restoring driveline or addressing areas of concern (such as minor rust), I may just leave it as is.

I changed the oil in my 26 touring and cleaned the screen on top of the hogs head. Drove it to town for display at our History museum yesterday. We had around 30, maybe more visitors including the skeleton of the original owner who was driving the car.LOL. We also have a buggy which I helped to restore a number of y ears ago and a few Model T parts which were dug up from our main street They had been buried under the road surface which had been dug up for installation of underground electric lines a number of years ago as well as some antique farm machinery which had been designed to be pulled by horses or oxen. Also the houses of a couple of early pioneers in our area.
Norm

I took Henrietta on the Bay to Birdwood run and won the preservation class for the 1950 and older cars. This last weekend It was on the stand with some new Ford Ranger pickups at the big four wheel drive expo in the city. To show the development of Ford utes there was an A model with pick-up bed, a 1950's Ford Prefect cope utility before they got to the new Ford Ranger PHEV dual cab, you know the sort, sides so high you can't reach the floor of the tray to pick up stuff.

Allan from down under.

Took both for a short drive and did my annual fall picture in front of the sugar maples.

Moved it to the other side of the barn. Will have to wait for next year and "warm" weather (no heat in shop)!

Yesterday I made and installed a new spark rod from steering collum to timer. clean and gap spark plugs, set timing and clean timer. Replaced all 4 coils, (Thanks, Ron Patterson) I thought it ran well before, wow does it run great now. Took it out for a couple hour ride. Amazing what a little maintenance can do

Out with the New.In with the Old. Installed the repaired and refurbished original exhaust pipe with Cooper cut out and modified to fit repo muffler.Installed the Chicago 3 speed aux transmission. New bearings and races, made the gaskets, had to replace the main shaft and one gear. Set up bearing preload based on own Theory as I couldn’t find any information on specs. Shifts smoothly, spins nice, fingers crossed.
I know it’s November but this was done in October
Bryant