Putting another T back on the road after a 35 year sleep

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mgarrett
Posts: 88
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 8:30 am
First Name: Mike
Last Name: Garrett
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1926 Speedster, 1924 Touring
Location: Palmer, Texas

Putting another T back on the road after a 35 year sleep

Post by mgarrett » Sun May 17, 2020 10:55 pm

My sister bought this '24 Touring and a survivor '31 Model A Slant Windshield sedan as a package deal in 2016 from an older gentleman in our community. She said she would give me the Model A if I would put the Model T together and get it running for her. The catch to the agreement was that this T was COMPLETELY DISASSEMBLED! The previous owner took the car apart roughly 35 years ago and and was scattered around his barn and that was the last time it was touched. It was so meticulously disassembled that everything down to every tack, nail, bolt, nut, washer, screw, etc. was removed and put in baby food jars and various containers. I had never attempted to tackle a project to that depth before and we weren't absolutely sure we had all the parts, but fortunately, we discovered we had everything including a few nice bonus items...the engine had been completely rebuilt and waiting to be installed, 4 brand new Firestone 30 x 3.5 tires that had never been mounted, along with various new and nice used parts along with a brand new Berg's round tube radiator still in the factory crate! We also have the complete original top with all the bows and wood, although it still needs to be re-covered.

It's been a long 4 years, but...today was its first time to see the light of day as a complete car in over 35 years, and my sister was all smiles as she drove her Model T for the very first time!!

My sister wanted RED so she got RED! (We still have a lot of driving tutorials ahead to make sure she's competent to drive it, but she's very heads-up and I'm sure she'll do fine)

I'll have to admit, it's very satisfying to put another T back on the road, especially a car that laid dismantled and forsaken in an obscure barn for all those years. I learned a lot from the experience too.
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24 Model T Touring.JPG


Scott_Conger
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Re: Putting another T back on the road after a 35 year sleep

Post by Scott_Conger » Sun May 17, 2020 10:58 pm

Mike

that looks very nice. You did a great job.
Scott Conger

Tyranny under the guise of law is still Tyranny

NH Full Flow Float Valves
Obsolete carburetor parts manufactured


Allan
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* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1912 van, 1917 shooting brake, 1929 roadster buckboard, 1924 tourer, 1925 barn find buckboard, 1925 D &F wide body roadster, 1927LHD Tudor sedan.
Location: Gawler, Australia

Re: Putting another T back on the road after a 35 year sleep

Post by Allan » Mon May 18, 2020 1:06 am

Mike, red cars go faster! My 1920 Buckboard is red too. You have done a wonderful job.

Allan from down under.


B. Callfas
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* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1915 Touring 1915 Runabout 1920 Touring
Location: Sherwood Park AB
MTFCA Number: 50203

Re: Putting another T back on the road after a 35 year sleep

Post by B. Callfas » Mon May 18, 2020 1:09 am

Well done. There is no such thing as having too many T's on the road.

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Duey_C
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Re: Putting another T back on the road after a 35 year sleep

Post by Duey_C » Mon May 18, 2020 11:18 pm

Yesss! Neat car and a great story!
And you get a slant-windshield A in the process!
Since I lost my mind mind, I feel more liberated


Topic author
mgarrett
Posts: 88
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 8:30 am
First Name: Mike
Last Name: Garrett
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1926 Speedster, 1924 Touring
Location: Palmer, Texas

Re: Putting another T back on the road after a 35 year sleep

Post by mgarrett » Tue May 19, 2020 10:00 am

Appreciate all the compliments! It was a fun experience, sometimes frustrating, but very rewarding. And as Duane said, I got a pretty cool '31 Model A Slant in the deal!

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Quickm007
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Re: Putting another T back on the road after a 35 year sleep

Post by Quickm007 » Tue May 19, 2020 10:22 am

Congrat's Mike, nice job! Always cool putting another T back on the road. It is fun you posted here, because I'm thinking about you yesterday. I just finished a 1911 Touring after 8 years of restoration and I face up the same problem than you in October 2014 in your post "Overheating - not sure what's wrong". My Engine was rebuilt by a professional man who pass away 2 years ago. My engine over heating after 15 minutes. I have a brand new radiator, I know retarded spark and or, too lean a gas mixture & fan blades could cause over heat but it is not the cause here. How did you solve the problem in your car? I read your post but I didn't see the end of story. If you have any input could help let me know.


Kind regards,
Super Mario Bross ;)

1911 Touring
1914 Speedster


Norman Kling
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Re: Putting another T back on the road after a 35 year sleep

Post by Norman Kling » Tue May 19, 2020 10:25 am

If it runs as good as it looks, you have a good T. Hope we will all be able to tour again very soon.
Norm

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RichardG
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Re: Putting another T back on the road after a 35 year sleep

Post by RichardG » Tue May 19, 2020 10:47 am

great job Mike, you earned that slant ford, now you know a model t inside and out, what a good brother, wishing many happy miles to your sister, question on the tires, were they hard ,and did they mount up fairly easy, were they 35 year old,

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RustyFords
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Re: Putting another T back on the road after a 35 year sleep

Post by RustyFords » Tue May 19, 2020 11:10 am

Nice work!

Mine 24 Touring was also stored, long-term. I can fully understand the feeling of satisfaction that comes with returning a T to use like this. It almost seems like the car has life to it and is grateful to be made whole again.
1924 Touring


Topic author
mgarrett
Posts: 88
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 8:30 am
First Name: Mike
Last Name: Garrett
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1926 Speedster, 1924 Touring
Location: Palmer, Texas

Re: Putting another T back on the road after a 35 year sleep

Post by mgarrett » Tue May 19, 2020 2:11 pm

Richard G,
Regarding your comment on the tires...boy, was that experience an eye opener for me! To your question, the tires weren't hard since they were stored inside out of the harmful rays of the sun, but they were in a hot metal barn for all those years and what I hadn't expected, but the tires had actually shrunken in diameter. Fortunately I had a Harbor Freight tire mounting contraption bolted to the floor which gave me a stable mounting platform. 3 of the 4 tires had shrunk so much, I had to resort to employ three 4 foot long pry bars to get them over the hoops. They were still very flexible, and didn't want to mount up without a fight. A liberal application of tire mounting compound also came in handy.


Allan
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Location: Gawler, Australia

Re: Putting another T back on the road after a 35 year sleep

Post by Allan » Wed May 20, 2020 8:50 am

Richard, if your tyres are 35 years old, there is a good chance they are of far superior quality than those readily available today. You are blessed. Rather than fight them and risk damaging the beads with heavy leverage, a trick now commonly used is to fit the tyres over a deflated modern wheel/rim combination and then inflate the tyre to stretch the T tyre beads. Hot sun is a help too.

Hope this helps next time.
Allan from down under.

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Quickm007
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Re: Putting another T back on the road after a 35 year sleep

Post by Quickm007 » Wed May 20, 2020 9:57 am

Hey Mike, Any update how you manage the over heating finally?
Super Mario Bross ;)

1911 Touring
1914 Speedster


Topic author
mgarrett
Posts: 88
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 8:30 am
First Name: Mike
Last Name: Garrett
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1926 Speedster, 1924 Touring
Location: Palmer, Texas

Re: Putting another T back on the road after a 35 year sleep

Post by mgarrett » Wed May 20, 2020 7:31 pm

Quickm007;
Not sure what caused my overheating issue, except maybe since it was a new engine I might not have had the mixture set just right. I also took it up to a speed she wasn't ready to handle just yet? :D I'm taking it easy on her for a while to let things loosen up.

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Quickm007
Posts: 1198
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 10:58 am
First Name: Mario
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MTFCA Number: 30981
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Re: Putting another T back on the road after a 35 year sleep

Post by Quickm007 » Thu May 21, 2020 8:56 am

Thank you Mike,

My Engine is pretty new rebuilt. Less than 20 miles on it. I probably need to be more patient with her and starting to use her every day with small run like 4-5 miles and increased miles over time. Thank's for your answer. Wish you a nice summer.

Regards,
Super Mario Bross ;)

1911 Touring
1914 Speedster

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