Chronicles of a Newbie

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2012: Chronicles of a Newbie
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Kossor on Friday, September 14, 2012 - 12:31 am:

I thought some might find it amusing to hear about the challenges my new ’27 Touring has presented to me. I’d also like to give credit to those on the forum who’s posts really helped me resolve the issues.

Driving along the first week the engine died rather suddenly as if it were out of gas; it was. I just put in a couple of gallons and did not think I put anywhere near 10 miles on it; I didn’t. Came back with gas can and found a small puddle under the car. The gas line came out of the vaporizer carburetor while driving. Thankfully, no fire and only ¼ mile from home. Leaned about gas line felt packing and better alternatives.

Driving along 2 days later and the engine died again similarly. Gas line was fine! Car would not start; stopping rather suddenly while cranking. Figured it could be a timing issue so removed the New Day timer to check. Yep, the timer brush nut came loose and the brush was spinning freely on the CAM shaft. The alignment pin was sheered off but think that may have happened at some time in the past; no signs of any interference. Aligned the brush on the CAM by eye and tightened the nut to get it home. Drilled out the alignment pin; The CAM must be hardened because seemed to resist damage with my unsteady hand or perhaps my hand was steadier than I thought. Could only get half the pin drilled out though.

Out with the family for a pleasant Sunday drive to church. Started back firing occasionally on the way there; annoying. The frequency of back fires increased on the way home, especially when I slowed down; very annoying and embarrassing. I had recently installed an E-Timer so was pretty confident the problem was not electrical or timing related. Time to learn about vaporizer carburetors. Researched the Forum and ordered the Ford Carburetor manual from Lang’s along with parts to rebuild. Disassembled the vaporizer and sure enough, the heat plate was cracked allowing fuel mixture to get into the exhaust system; not a good situation and hence the back firing. Could not get the spray nozzle out, searched the forum and found thread by Jack Putnam and Bob Jablonski describing use of heat then quench in cold water; I would never have done that! Nozzle came out easily exactly as described, thanks Jack and Bob. Got it all back together and no more back firing, however, it ran poorly. Took it all apart to ensure no air leaks; still ran poorly. Learned about gas tank sediment bowl and internal mesh screen filter. The screen looked like a solid cylinder that restricted the flow of gas very well until I cleaned it with carburetor cleaner. The car now runs very well, and especially smooth with the E-Timer.

Generator was not charging. Removed the cut out and disassembled. It was a diode cut out with 40A stud diode that failed OPEN without any signs of catastrophic failure which is unusual. Fortunately, the generator was not damaged. Don’t understand why it would be damaged if no load and why shorting the output to ground protects it. Seems the it should work the other way around. Can anybody explain why; searched the forum but could not find a detailed explanation. Anyway, replaced the diode and the generator was charging; 20A at speed! Time to learn about generators and the third brush adjustment. Found thread contributed by Ron Patterson describing his time tested method of setting the brush plate to the neutral position then the 3rd brush to provide ~ 5A charge at speed. Ordered an “S” adjusting wrench from Lang’s which sure made the job a lot easier and the procedure worked exactly as described. Thanks Ron!

A friend pointed out some side to side play in the front wheels. Checked the bearing and one inner bearing was bad and the spindle mounts have excessive play in them. Learning about busing replacement. Parts on order.

I am very appreciative of the MTFCA forum and its participants. It’s a great resource and is making it a lot easier to get started in the hobby.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Harrison,Norco Ca on Friday, September 14, 2012 - 01:48 am:

Mike,wow you have done all that and I still haven't installed my etimer. (just to darn HOT right now)but the car does stop nice with the Texas T rear disk brakes.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Warwick Landy on Friday, September 14, 2012 - 06:37 am:

Mike-
Each time you drive your T it will most likely present you with something you have to maintaian or repair once you get home. Part of the joy of owning a century old design! Looks like you are learning faster than most. As you say, lucky you have thew expereince of the forum members to draw upon. A wondeful resource.
Warwick.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Kossor on Friday, September 14, 2012 - 10:46 pm:

George, Glad to hear you have your Texas T disk brakes installed. Looking forward to your performance report when you have a chance to install the E-Timer.


Warwick, Yes indeed, a good day out is one in which you don't need to order repair parts for tomorrow. Having an absolute blast with the car. My son and daughter both wanted me to pick them and their friends up from school today with the T which I did. Just thrilled how they all enjoy riding in the car. Little do they know I am subliminally poisoning their minds with subtle automotive history lessons every chance I get.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erich Bruckner, Vancouver, WA on Saturday, September 15, 2012 - 01:51 am:

Mike, super job. When asked if my T is done yet, I remind that person about the need for ongoing maintenance even when these cars were new. Glad you are learning so much and still having fun. Always more to learn.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Kossor on Saturday, September 15, 2012 - 11:16 pm:

Erich, Yes indeed; today I learned about engine knock and connecting rod shims. The knock gets worse after the engine warms up and driving along on flat road. The knock subsides considerably when the timing is retarded so I plan to drop the engine pan and inspect the connecting rod bearings. Hopefully just need to adjust the shims. Kind of exciting because you never know what maintenance adventure will be next :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Craig Anderson, central Wisconsin on Saturday, September 15, 2012 - 11:51 pm:

You can check for rod knocks by grounding spark plugs.
You'll instantly know where the trouble is....... :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gene Carrothers Huntington Beach on Sunday, September 16, 2012 - 05:51 pm:

Thanks Mike for the interesting comments about your new T.
What about that shorting out the plug to check which cylinder habit we all have? Not such a good idea with the etimer?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erich Bruckner, Vancouver, WA on Sunday, September 16, 2012 - 07:46 pm:

First time I dropped the inspection cover on mine, I could easily wobble the con rods by hand. Made a big improvement tightening those up. Later did the same with the mains. Surprising the wear a T will tolerate.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Kossor on Monday, September 17, 2012 - 10:21 am:

Thanks for the additional suggestions in troubleshooting the rod knock, I sure appreciate the help. Disabling a cylinder by shorting the spark plug to ground is stressful on the coil and the points (or in my case the E-Timer). The E-Timer will survive the shorted plug conditions but is not recommended. The preferred way to disable a cylinder with an E-Timer is to simply lift up the coil disconnecting it from coil box power. Holding open the points is ineffective because coil points (and condenser) are bypassed (shorted out) with fuse jumpers to eliminate those elements from affecting performance.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Norman T. Kling on Monday, September 17, 2012 - 11:36 am:

It's not true that shorting a spark plug to ground will damage the coil and points. The actual spark from the plug goes to ground across the gap. But if you remove the wire from the spark plug while the engine is running, you do run the risk of permanently damaging the coil or the coil box because the spark will find another path to ground and burn a carbon track.
Norm


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Norman T. Kling on Monday, September 17, 2012 - 11:45 am:

Does your knock get worse when the engine loafs along such as going along a flat road and slightly decreasing the acceleration, but the knock just about disappears when pulling hard or when slowing down on compression with the throttle all the way up? If so, it is very likely a rod knock.
Norm


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Kossor on Monday, September 17, 2012 - 12:12 pm:

Norman,

I did not say shorting a plug to ground will damage a coil, only that it is stressful on a coil and points. Doing so significantly reduces the effective inductance of the primary winding which permits the primary current to rise to double to triple the normal value very quickly before the points interrupt this abnormally high current. The voltage across the points may also rise significantly higher than normal which could pose risks to the condenser as well.

Regarding the knock, it functions very similar to what you described so suspected to be rod knock. Thanks for the additional information.


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