Dads old T runs again

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2012: Dads old T runs again
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Daryl Dannefer on Saturday, September 08, 2012 - 09:03 pm:

Hello I am new to this board. I am excited about getting dad's old T running again so I thought I would share the boring story of getting it going again.

Dad passed away in 08 and his T hadn't ran since probably around 06.

Last week I decided to try to get it running again. It has a home built seat over the gas tank & a sheet of plywood for a pickup bed. It also has 14" wheels and tires from a mid 60's Ford car.

I used to ask him why he didn't get a body for it and he said when he was a kid driving them they usually took the bodies off anyway and just sat on the gas tank because they were faster that way. I bought him some good wooden wheels for it, he just sold them. He said he liked the tires that were on it because it rode better however it did steer harder.

So last Saturday when I started working on it. I expected to have it running in about an hour. HA! Wishful thinking.

The entire fuel line had turned to thick varnish. Fuel bowl, fuel line and carb all needed cleaned. It was a very time consuming task getting them cleaned.

The wiring to coil box was corroded at the connections, so obviously the coils wouldn't buzz. It was a happy event just getting them buzzing again.

Finally got it running although fairly poorly after about 6 hrs of work. I was happy just to get it going so I decided to call it a day


Today I decided to start tinkering with it again. I disassembled the carb and cleaned it trying to get it running better only to find that the real reason for its poor performance was the coil box lid was shorting out the coils. Took that off and it is running like it should!

This was after about 2 or 3 hours of working on it today.

I really didn't think it would take near that long to get it going but I am just happy to have it running again.

It was great fun to get it running again!!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erich Bruckner, Vancouver, WA on Saturday, September 08, 2012 - 09:12 pm:

Daryl, congrats and welcome. Whatever project you have on the car, add time to any estimate of work hours required. It ends up being part of the fun for most of us. Any photos?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Daryl Dannefer on Saturday, September 08, 2012 - 09:21 pm:

I only have an OLD photo of dad & mom driving it. It is so primitive it looks like a rat rod before there was such a term.

This is a scan of an old Polaroid photo


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hap Tucker on Saturday, September 08, 2012 - 10:15 pm:

Daryl,

I’m glad you got it going again. Hopefully it brought back some good memories for you. Like many Model Ts it has a few modifications that were made to it over the years. Your Dad was correct – they will go faster (or perhaps “less slow?” with the body removed or reducing the weight in other ways such as removing fenders or in my case having the driver go on a diet. ) If you would like help in figuring out what is there (i.e. what parts are what years etc. – just let folks know and post some additional photos and folks will gladly help you ID the items. If you measure your windshield frames, you may be able to tell if they are from a C-cab truck or a regular roadster/touring. For the upper windshield glass the 1923-25 car upper glass is listed as G2B in the price list of parts and is 9 19/32 to 9 21/32 tall. The 1924-25 C-cab upper glass is listed as G-12 and is 11 7/8 to 11 15/16 tall. The spacing of the running board brackets makes me think Ton Truck frame but someone may have mounted the brackets that way on a car frame for some reason. But from the photo the rear axle does not look like the Ton Truck. You have a lot of options – from keep it the way it is and have fun with it to make it into a speedster (next lowest cost option) to tracking down a body. The cowl looks to me like a 1924-25 car or 1924-27 open cab Ton Truck. But Ford made so many of the parts interchangeable that there is almost always a mixture.

If you are not familiar with some of the known safety issues please see the following – if you are – feel free to skip them.

1. Some safety items (a Model T does NOT meet current OSHA standards).

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/29/13483.html

1.a. Do you know if your Dad replaced the rear axle babbitt thrust bearings/washers and if so with what were they replaced? That can cause the rear axle to longer work properly which means the car is not powered by the engine and the normal transmission brake no longer works (not good). See the thread titles Windshield glass help and hello! at:
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/257047/295678.html?1339633408 and it quickly turns into good information about failed babbitt thrust bearings/washers. Example of loss of brakes caused by drive shaft failure: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/29/47804.html -- note anything that causes the drive line to fail will also cause the main service brake to fail.

1.b. Safety Glass is nice: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/50893/72116.html

1.c. Use safety wire and not lock washers or cotter pins on the two studs holding the wishbone to the underside of the engine – the lock washers can prevent the nuts from backing of the studs but the studs have been known to back out and it causes the front end to become lose initially and if not corrected it gets worse and worse and can cause an accident. Types of safety wire: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/29/41859.html pick one to use if you need it.

1.d. Lots of safety items http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/50893/69429.html

1.e. Over center steering – shouldn’t happen on later Ts – but if someone replaced items with the wrong parts etc it can happen see: Different length drag links and steering going over center – By Royce
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/257047/300409.html also: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/80257/86345.html

1.f. Top T tips – many of them are safety related also: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/80257/85208.html

1.g. Tour safety check list: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/29/44331.html

1.h. And if you have a gas hot water heater in the garage – be very very careful. The float in a Model T Carb will sometimes stick (or trash in the valve) and the carb will leak gasoline. Not too bad if there are no sparks – several homes, garages and cars have been lost when a gas hot water heater was near by and someone started the dishwasher other item that caused it to turn on the burner at the wrong time. Note gas fumes tend to be heavier than regular air …. so they tend to hug the floor. If you adjust your garage door to let the mice in and the air out – that is a temp work around. But replacing the gas fired hot water heater with an electric heater or having the gas one relocated away from the garage is the best thing.

1.i. Do NOT back up quickly – the T is very unstable backing up. One of those safety threads above gives an example of that. But it is similar to backing up the grocery cart. The front wheels on the cart have a caster and when you back up the spin around. Except in the case of the T they can only go hard over left or hard over right as you back up. That can give you a really really tight turn – but normally that is not what you are looking for. You mentioned this is your fist T. With the T not running grab one of the front tires about halfway up from the ground (level with the hub cap) and pull on it. See how easy the front wheel can be turned by a small force? Now go to any car made after 1928 and pull on the front wheel. If you find one that turns that easily – please let me know and I change the directions to any Ford produced after 1928. The T has squirrely steering compared to more modern cars. When properly maintained it is safe – but it is not for high speeds and not forgiving when adjusted improperly.

Your T will serve you well but if you mishandle it, it can bite you. With a little precaution (not years of but a little time learning about your car and checking to make sure it and you are both up to speed) you can have years of enjoyment. Recommend you check out the local clubs near you see: http://mtfca.com/clubpages/chapters.htm and http://www.modelt.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5&Itemid=15 Again congratulations on getting the T going again.

Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Daryl Dannefer on Saturday, September 08, 2012 - 10:45 pm:

Thanks for the info. There is a wealth of knowledge there.

I found a list of things dad had done to the car on a piece of scrap paper in one of his Model T books. Things like new trans bands, a rebuilt timer and new king pins. I can't remember the rest off the top of my head.

The car doesn't have a mag in it so I need to run it off a battery.

My brother and I bought dad this T as a project for him to tinker with as he recovered from a broken back. I think it was in the early 1980's.

It was only a chassis with a non running engine at the time. He added the running boards and the windshield from items he bought at local swap meets. I wouldn't have any idea what they are from.

I remember he said the engine was a 24.

I'm pretty sure the differential is not a TT unit.

I'm not sure what to do as far as fixing it up body wise. I have thought of just leaving it the way he had it set up. I know that could be making people on this board cringe. I don't know how much of purists the members are.

I do know it is pretty underwhelming to look at as it is. Like I said earlier it reminds me of a Rat Rod but he built it before the term was popularized.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mack Cole ---- Earth on Saturday, September 08, 2012 - 10:50 pm:

I am not cringing,I am glad to see someone place a value on their fathers project and try to make something of it other than scrape,sell or forget about.
The steering will be rough with those wide tires.That would be about the only thing I would be concerned about more so because of the steering mechinism may not be sturdy enough long term for the strain those wide wheels will put on it.the rear,I dont know if there is reason for concern.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Daryl Dannefer on Saturday, September 08, 2012 - 11:12 pm:

I agree about the wheels, I wanted him to change them to orig style wheels and tires. I even bought him a set of nice wood wheels but he sold them.

I have been looking for a set of wooden wheels the last few days on the internet but they seem a lot more pricey these days than when I bought the set for him.

Plus they don't look NEARLY as good as the set I bought him. (of course that was 15 or 20 years ago)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Gruber- Spanaway, Wash. on Saturday, September 08, 2012 - 11:25 pm:

The people are pretty open minded here.
Nobody will cringe at your family heirloom...they'll just answer your questions.
Welcome.
You're among friends.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Sunday, September 09, 2012 - 12:32 am:

Welcome to the affliction! Before you know it, you may have a few Ts. And, with a little luck, this one will still be your favorite. No matter what you decide to do with it.
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2


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