I have an all original 1913 that I recently purchased. It has the original engine in it which is in very good condition except for one thing. A valve head seat had been installed on the exhaust valve on cylinder no 3 and it has fallen out. I was wanting to know if I can put a new valve seat in with a new valve and what the best way to do it is. Any help would be appreciated. The bottom of the floor board in the front has fb co. stamped on it. I was also wanting to know if anyone knows what this means.
Jeff Black
Ankeny, Ia
515-779-8080
Jeff,
I have an unrestored 1913 Touring as well and it also has the F.B.Co. stamped on all three pieces of the floorboard. There was some discussion about this a few weeks back which you should be able to find using the search feature, but the short answer is no, no one is positive as to what it means. Many of us think that it might possible represent the Fisher Body Company, which was a supplier to Ford at that time, but no hard proof exists of that. Oddly enough, the body of mine was made by Wilson which seems strange for it to have floorboards from another supplier. I'd be curious to know what markings your car has on the front seat riser.
Deron
This isn't going to make you happy, but the safest way to install a new seat is to pull the engine. It can be done in the car too, but it's a messy job. I have a Fisher bodied 1913 Runabout, and it has F.B.Co. on the bottom floorboard only. The top two have no markings.
Jeff, its an easy fix with the engine in the car. Just get your ducks in a row. Contact several engine rebuilding companies close to you and when you get the right one, tow the car there with the head off of the engine and the valve out of the block. They should be able to do it in 30 minutes if they know you are coming and what size the seat is. NBFD