Part #3928 Radiator pad (1909-1919): anybody have measurements or a drawing with specs?
Steve;
It's just a piece of leather or something with 3 holes. One for the stud and 2 for the 2 rivet heads holding the frame and the front crossmember together.
Is that what you are talking about?
Yep, that's it. I just want to make mine as close to the original as I can.
It's about 3/16" thick leather.
Can't help you on a pic. but a picture in Lang's. part no. 3928.
Buy a correct pair from John Regan and be done with it !
Steve T. -- "Mr. Thrifty" would never spend $10 + shipping for a couple of small rectangles of leather with 3 holes in them.
Steve J. -- The obstacle you'll likely encounter is finding some scrap leather that's thick enough. I was thinking they're about 1/4" thick; Royce says 3/16", so he probably measured one. At any rate, those old boots you've had re-soled umpteen times aren't thick enough. And they need to be that thick for things like the hood to line up correctly. I reckon you could double up some thinner material, or maybe use a piece of an old tire sidewall instead of leather. That would work, and you can't see them under the brass radiator's "ears" anyway.
My picture shows one of John Regan's perfect reproductions after 5 years and 10,000 miles.
Royce to the rescue. Those pictures will do the job.
Mike is correct.
Plans?
I plan to make a set for my car.
Thank you Steve and Royce!
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2
I'm not saying that I am cheap but I found a nice old belt at a thrift shop for $2.00 and so far I have made three sets of pads from it.
Steve,
I just redid the 15. Not saying mine is typical, but I needed 1/4" to start with to have it all line up right once it was cinched using the proper 15 mounting set hardware
Val
I'm with you. I usually go to goodwill and buy a leather belt for a few bucks. Usually the right width and usually have to double and use two to get the right thickness.
The leather comes in handy for many other projects too. Just used some to make oar holders for the boat.
When I go to Dearborn to research at the Henry Ford Museum I stay at the Red Roof Inn in Dearborn. It is the least expensive motel in the area. The room rate paid was over $100 per night. The distance to Dearborn makes it a 6 hour ride from St. Charles, IL. You can figure out the gas costs of a round trip. I bought the drawings and then researched the leather to find a grade and thickness exactly per the drawings. I paid a USA based company, that is over 100 years old, for the setup and tooling to make the part correctly and they make them perfectly. Before that the repro parts were way too thin and the pattern made them not cover the end of the frame thus resulting in the hood not fitting correctly and the brass radiator getting dimpled by the rivet heads poking up from on top of the frame. I do all that and pay Angela to help me. She packages them up in pairs and fills your order quickly. I pay for a web site to bring things to you. I give you tech support when you ask me any question on anything that I can help you with without regard for any purchase.
Then someone posts a picture showing how they should be made and because I have done a good job you now know exactly how they should be made. I charge $6.85 for a pair of them. Clearly I am "cleaning up" on the suckers that pay that.
The best way is to use the original like pad, as Fun Projects makes. It's to the Ford print and won't sacrifice your brass radiator as a mis-match pad of rubber or some other incorrect material.
Original 1915 picture close up showing the Ford factory pad, note the overhang and how the pad has the depression of the radiator support.
Buy the proper new one from Fun Projects, its USA and made to fit... And you support this hobby too with great vendors who provide us with wonderful replacements parts.
I support these folks that provide excellent service and products such as John R. & Don L. to name just a couple. I don't blow my own horn being in the Model T Service, Repair & Parts Business for over 10 years now but I DO have a following of dedicated local T owners that I provide a service to and they all know I'm not in it for the $$$'sss !!!!!!!
I absolutely agree that the best thing is to buy the right pieces manufactured by people like John Regan and a couple dozen others. The six dollars they charge for these things is peanuts for the amount of information their research adds to the available knowledge for the hobby, and the cars we care about.
For some of us, it is a difficult choice. Life has not treated us well. Money is very tight. It is not the six dollars that prevents us from buying John's product. It is the ten other things we also need right now. Plus it is the postage, packaging and handling which at some sellers can be $20 added to a small order of several items. Some of those parts I need, I cannot make easily (I can make almost anything with enough time and effort). I have to chose which items I buy and which items I will make when I am ready for them to keep my next order affordable. For me, six dollars is a little of the gasoline I need to be able to attend a local tour, or just go out for a nice drive on my own.
If money isn't really tight, buying a quality product such as John Regan makes is the smart thing to do. You or I cannot make a fresh high quality part for that much less if you count your time and gas to do so. After years of scrounging, I have a box full of good scrap leather that I have saved from the dumpster at work. What I make will take me less than ten minutes and cost a nickel's worth of electricity to run the drill. They won't be near as nice or correct as John Regan's product. But they will look and work fine once assembled.
I am preparing my next order for Chaffin's Garage, another quality parts provider. Maybe I will reconsider making those radiator pads.
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2
Try Tandy Leather Company, they give scraps away for free. Of course you'll have to buy the hole punch unless you own one already, lol.
I can certainly attest to John's passion for the hobby, concern to help others, at no cost, his credibility and sensibility. He's helped me on a number of occasions. We need to support business folks like him as much as possible. They're the ones that really help keep these lizzies on the road.
John is absolutely right to be annoyed about somebody making a part like his to save a couple of bucks, especially when it's based on his work and expense. But Wayne is also right. For some of us parsimony isn't just a trait, but a necessity. In this particular instance, I'd order John's pads if shipping didn't more than double the price. If this was February or March, and not July, I'd order them to pick up at Chickasha. But if it's any consolation, I tell everybody who will listen that the Fun Projects pinion bearing kit is the only way to go. I used it in my touring, and I intend to use nothing else whenever I rebuild a rear axle.
I don't like ordering just a single small item from a vendor if I can help it. Like Steve said, the shipping is more than the product. If I was already placing an order, an additional $6 item would be a no brainer.