1910 Ford racer - first start in two years

[Rob]

Our first start of a 1910 Ford Special racer. We haven't had this on the road since the Milwaukee mile in 2019. I overheated the motor and scored the cylinder walls and needed new aluminum pistons.

Hopefully we'll be ready for the Speedster Reunion in a week and a half. Click on the link to see the first start. I was surprised when it fired up after only a few feet pulling:


https://www.dropbox.com/s/pbulrz6amcn50 ... M.mov?dl=0

A few more driving around the lot:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nerdwrktdziy8 ... M.mov?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e4ibbmcpij1l4 ... M.mov?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tbxjfzpitaqme ... M.mov?dl=0

[Dollisdad]

Wow. That is really great.

[ModelT46]

very nice race about.. But would it not be beter to lable it say as a 1915 with a later engine? You have great cars, but I get converned that the public will think such vehicles are original. I wanted to build up such a speedster with rucksel, muncie, rajo and 1911 srteering collum, but have since sold many of the needed parts. At 88+++,. it is time to let others have the opportunity to have such fun. I do keep buying small items for my 1910 to make it "as original" as possible.

[perry kete]

Rob,

Great videos. They remind me of when my brothers and I were kids we built go karts and ran them like that. We even took soapbox derby cars and added lawnmower engines to them.
I'm hoping you will get your drone out and take travel pictures like you did with your model K. I really enjoyed them.

Denny

[Wayne Sheldon]

Darel L, Rob's car is a very special car! It has an original 1910 Ford special racing engine, of which only a very few were custom built by the Ford motor company for racing publicity. Everything else on it is era correct parts and reconstruction.
1910 is what it should be called.

Looking wonderful Rob! Glad to hear it is running again!

[John Page]

Here is a link to one of the Forum discussions that Rob instigated when the car was being prepared.

Great to see that this Ford history is being preserved instead of being hidden away in someones collection.

Best regards, John Page, Australia.

LINK : - https://mtfca.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php? ... 2b7b899bfc

[Rob]

Thanks guys. Darel, your Ford knowledge and experience is second to none.

There were two “Ford Special” cars that survived besides the largest 410 cu in racer at THF. One special was sold to a Ford dealer in 1912 and another sold to a group in Ohio by 1915. I suspect our motor was one of these two, as none is listed in the Ford de-accession sales of the 1980’s.

Measurements from our motor indicate it was the M-III motor in Ford drawings that remain of these special racing cars.

These articles give more detail if anyone is interested:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/o82q61ihwp7z6 ... 1.PDF?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/psrkq4h8v96bx ... 2.PDF?dl=0

[Aussie16]

Hi Rob, Great to see the racer up and about again. You are very fortunate to have such a unique piece of early Ford racing history.
It is fantastic that you have the engine in a chassis and are able to demonstrate and drive it as it was back in the day. From the pictures it is difficult to tell what year/s the chassis components are sourced from. Given that it is named a 1910 racer, would it have generally had steering and front axle components from the 09/10 production cars or as with the other racers had some of the more updated components from from the 1911 Model years? Small details like the one piece spindles, a notched hood former and 1910 headlight forks would make it more representative of the 1910 model year if that was when the motor first appeared. Hopefully when I can travel to the USA again, I will seek you out and get a ride in in the racer and the K! thanks for researching and sharing all that great early ford racing history.

[CudaMan]

Thanks for the videos! You made the tow start look easy, I may have to try it when I finally get my 1912 Flanders back on the road.

[Rob]

Warwick,
A few things I know, things I think I know, and many more I don't know.......

The first Special racer appearance I know of occurred in February of 1910. Sometime prior to that, Henry Ford told designer Joe Galamb (Remberances) he wanted a racer built to beat the "Blitzen Benz." The big Benz came on the scene in 1909, setting world records in 1909 (England, 126 mph?), then in the U.S. at Ormond Beach in 1910 (Barney Oldfield driving) and again in 1911 (Robert Burman).

Reports indicate the first racer had a 201 cubic inch motor (racing report specs from 1910). In February 1911, two new racers raced at New Orleans at the Carnival of Speed. They had 228 cu. in. 300 cu. in. motors, and both were very successful.

This photo appeared in newspapers, beginning in early June, 1911, of the 300 cubic inch motor racer, with Frank Kulick at the wheel. I don't know if the photo was taken in the spring of 1911, or in 1910. It appears the vegetation along the track is pretty mature, so my guess is it's a late summer/early fall 1910 photo (taken at the Michigan State Fairgrounds track), but that's just a guess:

Below is a photo taken at the 1911 Algonquin Hill Climb, with a closeup of the 389 c.i. racer differential. The racer was using a 1 1/2 : 1 ratio rearend, explaining the large pumpkin. This racer, unlike the 300 c.i. above, also has external brakes, only seen in the last two 389 and 410 c.i. racers:

I know our motor matches Ford drawings labeled "M-III." There are also drawings for M (389 c.i.), M-1 (410 c.i.) M-II, M-IV and a few for M-V. There are also drawings for a "3 13/16ths engine," which I believe is the special racer sent to France in 1911.

Below is a drawing of the flywheel used on all the motors (other motor numbers listed at the bottom, cut off on this photo):

This drawing for the M-III three dip pan matches our pan measurements, as do the other M-III drawings. The last and largest M-1 motor (410 c.i.) had a four dip pan and the front wishbone was attached under the axle. This racer first raced in September, 1911, beating the Blitzen Benz in a one mile match race for time. That was Ford's last track race with the special racers. The next year the big racer went 109 mile an hour on ice, and won Algonquin Hill Climb, setting new records in doing so, beating several of the best racers in the world, including Mercer, National and others.

[ModelT46]

I appreciate the information on the origin of the engine. What thru me off is the chassis has a 1912 front and rear end and a post 1910 radiator. Would not it be better to call this racer a 1912?

[ModelT46]

I guess one can call a vintage auto just about anything. What is true is the "The item speaks for itself" Call something, a name, does not change what the item is.

[Rob]

Darel,
This has been a project that appears to have surfaced in about the mid 50’s. The only original thing (and most important, in my opinion) is the motor, which is very unique and one of two to survive. The motor (and whatever chassis and/or special parts were originally used by FMC) last races in September 1911. I guess I might be more accurate to call it a “1911” and it is possible by Sept 1911 there may have been 12 chassis parts on the original racer.

What I do know is the motor has tremendous torque and the auxiliary exhaust ports, when open, give the racer an even faster and stronger throttle response (and also make a heck of a mess, with gas and oil droplets spread all over the car and occupants).

This is a colorized Ford Times photo of Frank Kulick and the other (228 ci) racers Ford sent to New Orleans in February 1911. My guess is our motor was in a similar chassis at that time.

[ModelT46]

Thank you for your comments

[Rob]

Darel,
Thank you for the information you bring to this forum. I should have mentioned this earlier on this thread. You, or someone may recall the late Buck Boudeman. This was his project some years ago. A friend recalls seeing it at his shop or garage many years ago. I wish I could learn more about its history after leaving Ford, but have had no luck yet. Buck rebuilt and cloned other early racers including the Golden Submarine and a 1906 Stanley racer.

[Model T Mark]

My dad was pretty good friends with Bucky and I have seen that car in person several times in his shop at Gull Lake Michigan. Bucky’s friend was Winship Howard they were always together and Win worked as an engineer at Kellogg’s which is where my dad worked. I haven’t seen Win in a few years but I know he is still around playing steam cars. I would start by contacting him. He may point you in the correct direction as far as info on that Miler race car.

[Rob]

Thank you Mark. I sent a PM.

[Bill Dizer]

Rob, Just curious, you said the cylinders had scoring. Did you have to bore them or sleeve them? Did the lower ports contribute to the overheating by running hot exhaust down and out the bottom of the cylinders instead of out the valves where there is presumably more cooling? It would seem to me that having that much heat low in the cylinders would likely contribute to the piston damage and scoring. Since there didn't seem to be much information about the low ports when we corresponded by email several years ago, is it possible that they were for very limited use time wise, like a burst of power to pass? Modern engines use oil spray on the underside of the piston to help cool it. I realize these are a lot of questions, probably some with no answers! Great to see it running again!

[perry kete]

Rob,

I feel like sh*t after rereading my earlier post when I stated it reminded me of the go karts my brothers and I ran. I am in no way referring that your beautiful 1910 racer is a go kart. I just saw a frame and motor and that triggered a youthful flashback. I enjoyed the videos and I hope you post additional ones.

Denny

[Rob]

Perry, of course, no offense taken. Always good to read your posts.

Bill, the scoring was worse the higher one went on the walls and pistons. We were concerned that the clearances were too close, and then I ran it on part of the tour at the Speedster Reunion two years ago. I started late, and it was a hot day with high crosswind. I think it was a perfect (and stupid on my part) storm. Not completely broken in, too hot, crosswind and poor cooling, and aluminum pistons with too little clearance.

When running the motor with the slide open, the car runs much "easier" and faster rpm (and requires instant richer mixture), so I suspect the motor might actually run cooler when the slide is open. It's so much more noticeable I crank start the motor with the slide open, then slowly close it to a point where it doesn't smoke much, but still runs better than with the slide/ports closed.

We honed the cylinder walls, and bought new pistons and rings. This time, I hope to do a better job breaking it in, and hopefully have the right pistons in the holes. One of few existing FMC drawings show this motor with a 5 blade fan, and I suspect the Model T fan I'm using may not move enough air. Also, I wonder if there should be more rows of radiator tubes, as this is a 300 cu. in. motor and we are using a Model T radiator.

Time will tell.............
Thanks,
Rob

[Bud Delong]

Good on ya Rob!!!! Bud.

[Kaiser]

Great to see it running again, good job Rob !

[Quickm007]

Awesome Rob! Thank you sharing the video. I'm close to finish my 1914 Ford racer either. Maybe this week-end he will fire for the second time. Just need to fix the rear axle to the engine.

Here picture before and after.