Did I do the bands, clutch, brake adjustment right

[bmklawt]

Did I do this right,

Clutch spring adjustment
Hand brake lever forward until adjusting bolt just drops off the cam
Adjust clutch fingers to a clearance of 13/16”

Clutch band adjustment
Leave new bands adjusted as loosely as possible, and take them up a little at a time as they seat.
Low pedal (left most pedal) fully clamps the low band with the pedal about 1.5 inches above the floorboard.

Adjust Hand lever
Push hand lever forward and adjust bolt on clutch pedal to just come into contact with hand lever cam with floorboard on.

Emergency Brake
Read a bunch on how this should be done, tried that, didn’t work, so I did this.
Didn’t pay any attention to where the brake lever cams were, hand lever straight up, brake rods disconnected, both wheels off the ground. Felt how easy it was to turn the back wheels, hooked up break rods and adjusted so when hand lever is straight up, felt same as with rods disconnected.
Hand lever will go forward until just before resistance is felt from brake rods, there is a tiny bit of pressure on the adjusting bolt to cam.
Hand lever back about 5” and the wheels lock up enough that if I jump up and down on the spokes of the wheel, I can budge it.

[bmklawt]

Took the car out for its first drive, didn't go well, mind you I've only driven a model T around a few blocks before I had the motor rebuilt.
Seems to do low gear okay, I would have no idea of knowing if the band is slipping or correct, when I put it in high gear it just bogs right down, the motor fights to stay running and never seems to get up to speed, I also have to hold the hand brake forward, I can feel the brake rods pushing against the hand lever.
I'm a Newbie and could use some advice on where to go from here.

[Scott_Conger]

Something is very wrong with adjustment with what you've described and at a minimum, your brake rods are adjusted too long

Do I see an auxiliary brake brake pedal? So much is unknown and missing from this story that the advice you'll likely get will range from "pull the head!" to "rebuild the rear end!".

I'd suspect that you're 15 minutes worth of adjustments away from having a fine-running car if someone was there to help you (who has experience) but you're also a full restoration away from having a fine-running car by relying on the forum for your solution. Finding local help is highly recommended. Now is not the time to damage a transmission or new engine.

Finally, after the car is running, get lessons on driving from a mentor. If you do not, you will quickly develop bad habits which you will never break. Honestly, depending on the skill level of the mentor, you may be taught some bad habits but they will pale in comparison to the ones you'll develop on your own of left to your own devices.

Best of luck and best wishes for a speedy solution to your troubles

[Craig Leach]

Hi Bruce,
Doesn't look like you are having fun. I hate it for you. Lets try to make this as simple as we can, get someone to help you. If they have T experience
all the better. Set the bands @ 1/2 of the cam travel check this by jacking up one wheel so you can turn the trans. there will be some drag on a
cold engine. With the hand brake straight up the rear wheels should turn (jack up the other wheel.) rear wheels should not turn @ 3/4 lever.
lever all the way forward you should be able to giggle the clutch link. have the helper move the throttle to make sure it will turn 90* & check to
see that at a fast idle you can retard the timing to slow the engine & advance it enough to make it miss fire at a fast idle make sure you can ajust
the fuel lean to stall the engine & richen it to make it blubber. Then set to just alittle rich from best smooth running. Most of the people that purechased model T's didn't have much better than a third grade education ( slightly better than a high school education now ) and little or know mechanical skills & they drove them for decades. Don't over think it. They are a lot like a anval you have to work real hard to screw one up. Oil,
water & patiance is the is the key. Hope things get better for you.
Craig.

[CudaMan]

If you have to hold the brake arm forward to stay in high gear, it sounds like your brake rods are too long.

Here's how I adjusted mine:

I disconnected the brake rods from the cross shaft, then put the brake arm fully forward and held it there with a wood block stuffed into the floorboard slot.

Then I moved each brake rod forward and back until I could feel that the brake cam inside the wheel drum was horizontal, i.e. no tendency for the brake rods to move forward or back. It's even better if you can remove the rear wheels and visually confirm that the cams are horizontal.

Without disturbing the horizontal position of the brake cams, adjust the length of each brake rod so that the hole in the clevis lines up with the cross shaft arm and you can slip in the pin.

Remove the block from the floorboard slot and confirm that the brake rods don't try to pull the brake handle back. If all is well, install the cotter pins onto the clevis pins.

[1923Touring]

Have you installed new parking/emergency brake shoes? When I restored my car a few years ago the shoes were made extra thick by the cam to make up for a worn brake cam. (I did verify this information with the vendor). I think I ground off nearly 1/16 before the assembly worked properly. Just another possibility in addition to what others have said.
As Scott mentioned, you may want someone who has driven a T in good condition to help check the "feel" of you car. If you don't have anyone in the Holland area, send me an email and I would be glad to try and help.

-Joshua