I have located most of the parts to convert a LHD chassis to RHD for my next project. One fellow told me that the lower steering bracket came in two different sizes, one for non-starter cars and a narrower one to clear the generator on starter-type cars. Is this correct? And if so, does anyone have a narrower one I could buy? Thanks for any help.

Mike, I too have a RHD project, I will look at my parts and see if I can see a problem before I get too serious on the project. If I spot a problem, I will try to let you know.
Willie

Mike,

That is basically correct, except you could use the earlier style 1909-1921ish RHD steering bracket in a couple of other combinations. First if you placed the generator on the other side of the engine which is what Ford of Canada elected to do and drove the generator with a flat belt. See: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/118802/150437.html?1278900795

A modern version of that is offered by Langs and probably other venders see: Lang’s for their belt driven alternator. http://www.modeltford.com/item/5119ALTL.aspx And of course for many of our old Fords – we don’t drive them enough in traffic to really need a generator. Just charging the batter up Once a week will work for many of us – especially if we do not do night driving.

Second from memory (not as good as it used to be) I’m 90% sure I read of one of the Ford plants that used the earlier style RHD bracket with a smaller diameter generator where it needed to clear the steering bracket/steering column. If someone could confirm if that was just my imagination or if there were such generators produced. Also if they were from the factory and if so which one and approximately the time frame.

Below are two photos posted by Peter Kable on the same posting listed above for the belt driven generator. They show the Canadian 1909-1921 RHD steering bracket that will not fit with a standard generator and the 1921-1927 RHD bracke that will fit with a a standard generator.



Note the part number for both remained part number 3539RB. Indicating the later part would work on the earlier cars (typical Ford -- make it backward compatiable). The Factory Number was 1881 -- but that may have been for the bracket with the bushings. In which case the factory number fot he casting without the bushing -- which is probably the number on the casting if there is one -- would be something else. Does anyone know if there is a number cast into the RHD brackets and if so what that number is? The LHD brackets often have a number cast into them but I do not know if the RHD do or do not have such a number.

Does anyone know if the UK RHD bracket for the generator was the same as the Canadian or if it was slightly different and if so how was it different? Note the UK Ford plant switched form RHD to only supplying LHD vehicles – starting Oct 1919 to Jan 1923. So a replica of a UK car using a chassis from that time frame would have been LHD.

Don’t forget that the Ton Truck RHD lower steering bracket is also different from the cars and apparently it too had one factory number for before gear driven generators and after gear driven generators. And of course the improved cars most likely had yet another part number and factory number for the Fordor and then the other 1926-27 improved cars (Ton Truck -- continued in the 1925 style so I believe it would have used the 1921-1927 style TT part).

Mike and Willie good luck to both of you on your projects – we are looking forward to seeing how they come out.

Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off

Here are two more, the one in red primer is the same as the one on my '27 and has a number that is not readable due to the paint, but the other black one has the number T-1524-C and does not fit the '27 so must be one of the earlier ones. It looks the same as the one numbered 3539DM in the parts book. As these are in Australia it is fair to guess they are Canadian parts.
Hope this helps,
Chris Martin

Chris,

Thanks so much for posting. Your red primer part appears to be the same or very similar to the 3539-M shown in the illustration above. Do you have the price list of parts that shows those parts? And do you know if those are the part number or the factory number? And are they the factory number for the casting or the factory number for the casting after the bushings are installed? If you could post and/or e-mail me a copy of that page along with what year and what country the price list of parts are.

Note many of the UK Drop Frame chassis parts are the same number as the normal parts with a DF added at the end. My 1925 Canadian Price List of Parts does not have any of those numbers shown (well lots of 3539 but not a DM, DR or M version).

Thank you for your help.

Respectfully submitted,

Hap

Sorry, I have no further info on those parts. The number I mentioned is what is stamped on the black one, the remains of a faint number on the red one are not readable. The parts illustration I copied from when someone sent me that a long time ago when I was asking similar questions and I do not have the parts catalogue it came from, but I believe it to be from a fairly late Canadian/Australian parts list as it shows the same one I have on my RHD '27.
Chris M.

Chris,

Thanks so much. Hopefully we will be able to track down a few more numbers that are cast into the parts and some photos showing the parts with a ruler or something similar so folks can judge the size.

Always the optimist -- I hope someday that in addition to Bruce's already excellent "Price List of Parts" information on his CD -- we will be able to add photos with common measurements for many of the parts.

Again thank you so much for your help.

Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off

The vehicle I'm going to build will be a '19 with a wooden dash (firewall). So I'm assuming that I need the DM part pictured above? Does anyone have one to sell? Chris? Anyone?

Mike, I sent you a note about my extra bracket.
Terry

OK -- So Terry has the one like the red primered one in Chris' pics above, which apparently is the later one. I'm not too hung up on "official correctness" here, so does anyone know whether the later one will work with the wooden firewall configuration? I think the LHD '26-'27 lower steering brackets put the steering column at a different angle than the earlier ones. Is this the case with these?

Mike,

While I'm not sure exactly which part number (factory number) goes with which year frame etc. I am confident you can adapt Terry's part to work well. You may have to shim the steering post flange to the wooden firewall or shim the steering post so it lines up well with the fire wall or a little of both -- but it should be "do able."

If you could find the 1919-1925 style -- it should be a direct bolt up without any shimming required. See: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/29/24786.html for an example of putting a LHD 1926 bracket on a 1925 and earlier chassis. Also: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/29/27949.html

Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off

That one Terry has shown looks to me like the later type, same as my '27 and the bolt holes are different and will not match an earlier frame, also it does place the steering column at a different angle so you may run into problems fitting that. The other one I have is certainly for an earlier type, but until someone comes up with the correct parts list I can not be sure that is correct for a '19 either, but from what I have seen it should be the same. If you want that one, we could probably work something out but I am not sure how much it costs to mail a lump of metal from Australia. Also, I should mention the grease fitting would need replacing and the broken one seems seized in the thread, but you should be able to use force to get it out! Let me know if you can't find one closer to home.
Chris M.

Hi Mike, I have the opposite problem as I'm building a LHD Touring in a RHD country and I’m also having trouble finding LHD steering parts. I had a look through my parts and this is the only RHD lower steering bracket that I have. I think that it is the earlier non generator part that is wider than the later one. It has the part number 1624-B. If you are still having trouble finding HD parts, send me a message off line and I will see what I can locate here in New Zealand. Small parts like this should be cheap to post.

Chris and Andrew -- Thanks for your input. You have mail.

Mike and Hap.

I was running a stock generator with the narrow bracket. It was a tight fit, very tight. But it worked! I wanted more electrical power but the aftermarket T alternator won't fit a RHD even with the narrow bracket. So I opted for one of the left side alternator kits. Works like a dream. No regrets!