A New Phase of a very old project

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2014: A New Phase of a very old project
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tim Spofford on Friday, June 13, 2014 - 01:10 am:

This is my first posting to this forum. I am in the beginning phases of renewing a project that was started by my dad in 1954. I expect that over the coming year I will be posting lots questions and drawing on the expertise of the members of this forum.

In 1954 my Dad purchased a 1920 Model T that originally started its life as a touring car. My dad purchased it for $20. At the time purchased it, the car had been converted to a mini-flatbed but the price was $40 with the flatbed and $20 without. Since he only had $20 he purchased it without the bed. He did a shade tree restoration after removing the truck bed and added a turtle deck and making it into a quasi-roadster. His plan was always to add a “pie wagon” and make a delivery car out of it. He purchased a pie wagon body in the early 60s from a farmer in Eastern Idaho for $5, but the pie wagon was left outside and all that remains today are bits and pieces. I will include some pictures later.

The car on the other hand was driven fairly regularly in the early 60s and was parked about 45 years ago in my Dad’s garage in Boise, Idaho. When he parked it, he put it up on 4 model T jacks and drained the fuel. Over the past 45 years, he has periodically spun the wheels and turned the crank.

This past weekend we began a new phase in this car’s life. My son and my daughter’s boyfriend flew with me to Boise, rented a truck, loaded the T with my Mom and Dad’s assistance and drove back to my home in Vancouver, Washington.

Our plan for the car has a couple of independent phases. First, we plan to get it running and have my Dad drive it in a Fourth of July parade this year in Ridgefield, Wa. We have already inspected all the fuel components and the crank, pistons, etc. the best we can from pan and inspection plates and all seems to be in order. We have the engine soaking in ATF currently and are moving on to checking coils and ignition system. We hope to start it up in the next couple of weeks. I have purchased new tires and tubes to install. The current tires are probably close to 80 years old. 3 held air for the loading but only one had air in it when we got back to Vancouver. I have also purchased new gaskets for the carb and the inspection plates/pan we removed. A new battery will be purchased so we can use the starter for the initial start. I will keep the forum posted on our success with the first phase. I have included a couple of pictures of the car in my Dad’s garage and now in mine. I have more pictures but I am currently in China on a business trip and I can’t access those photos. My son and my daughter’s boyfriend are both avid photographers, so we will have solid documentation of the process.

The second phase is to do a full tear down and rebuild of the car turning it into the delivery wagon that my Dad had visions of. With the help of a body from Currier Farms, we hope to have the completed car on the road in about a year. After the parade on the 4th, we will start the tear down. My Dad, his two brothers which are both avid Model A restorers, my brother, his kids, and my kids will all come together at our home over the 4th of July weekend to start the tear down. We will also document this process with photos over the next year or so.

I know I have high expectations and I am probably a bit naïve about what it will take to make all this happen, but with the support of my family of experts and the expertise of others like you, I hope to pull it off. I already have a few questions but I will post them under different threads if I can’t find the answers through research on the forum.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tim Spofford on Friday, June 13, 2014 - 01:11 am:

I can't seem to get the photos uploaded. I will try again later this evening.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dale Peterson on Friday, June 13, 2014 - 01:28 am:

You will need to resize the pictures to smaller size to get them to upload, 194 MP?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Justin in South Africa on Friday, June 13, 2014 - 04:12 am:

Hi Tim,

Try tagging all the pictures you want to upload, and Right click. look for Send to, then Mail recipient.

It will bring up a box asking you about size. The forum allows less than 194kb each picture. So, if you have 5 pictures, they must be less than 970k and so on...

When you pic the size, it automatically puts all these small pictures into an outlook email for you. I then just grab these small pictures, and save them to the folder of my choice.

Now, using the forum, look for the picture, upload, repeat till they are all uploaded.

The forum allows you to preview your post so you can see how it all looks.

Sure the others can give you a shorter method, this is just how I do it.

Cheers on getting another t on the road again!
Justin


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tim Spofford on Friday, June 13, 2014 - 05:16 am:


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tim Spofford on Friday, June 13, 2014 - 05:17 am:

The new temporary resting place


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen on Friday, June 13, 2014 - 05:35 am:

Tim,

Great story and project. Many on this forum will give you great advice, and possibly someone in your area may be able to give some support. This sounds like a great story for one of our T magazines......

Good luck and keep us updated,

Rob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Fred Wicker on Friday, June 13, 2014 - 06:24 am:

I love it! I understand your plans for the T and it will be a fun project for all.
It's also a piece of history just the way it is.
Take plenty of pictures,or film all the events and post them on Youtube....like the First Start!
That's what I did to my little touring car with no back end,also came with a turtle deck.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Cascisa - Poulsbo, Washington on Friday, June 13, 2014 - 09:06 am:

Hi Tim,

Great story. You seem to have the right idea - get it running and have some fun now and restore it later. There are a lot of T's in the Portland Vancouver area. Hook up with the Rose City Model T Club.

Plan on going to the Chehalis Swap Meet in September and the Portland Swap Meet in October and April. Let me know if I can be of any assistance - I don't live that far away and I go to PDX every once in a while.

First and Foremost - Have Fun.

Be_Zero_Be


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kenneth W DeLong on Friday, June 13, 2014 - 09:52 am:

Tim,The faster you get those new tube's out of their boxes and a little air in them the better! If you save any of your old tires for a spare that is a great place to store your tubes.Bud.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By brass car guy on Friday, June 13, 2014 - 10:05 am:

Contact Bob Streiter in Battleground Wa. He is the most knowledgeable model t guy I have ever known. He really enjoys helping new folks with their T's.

He the grandfatherly type with tons of knowledge and expertise. He's forgot more about t's than most guys know. He has a spectacular 1911 touring and has toured it extensively for some 2o years.

pm me for his phone number.

just sayin'

brasscarguy


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By A. Gustaf Bryngelson on Friday, June 13, 2014 - 11:02 am:

Hey Tim,
This is the place to get information, you do not really need to ask questions, most have already been asked. A search of the past forums will usually answer most questions. A service manual is a great thing to have, they are cheap and available from most vendors. The only bad thing about you getting your Dad's T is it is one out of Idaho, but I guess that evens us up as mine came from Washington.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tim Spofford on Saturday, June 14, 2014 - 12:24 am:

Thank you all for the great information and the encouragement.

Justin, thanks for the help with the pictures. I had re-sized them but the China Great Firewall was blocking the post. As soon as I accessed the forum through a VPN I was able to post the pictures.

Brasscarguy, I will PM for Bob's phone number.

Gustaf, This car will return to Idaho as soon as it is finished. Some day it will be my car but for now it is still my Dad's. I just decided to invest in the restoration now so he could enjoy it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mark Gregush Portland Oregon on Saturday, June 14, 2014 - 12:33 am:

If I haven't posted it for you this is a good read for the new T owner;
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/29/8538.html


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tim Spofford on Saturday, June 14, 2014 - 09:41 pm:

Mark, this is great information, thanks


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tim Spofford on Saturday, June 14, 2014 - 09:43 pm:

Mark, this is great information, thanks


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By A. Gustaf Bryngelson on Saturday, June 14, 2014 - 10:35 pm:

Good for you Tim, it is a great thing to do for your Father.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Corey Langner on Sunday, June 15, 2014 - 08:46 pm:

Great Story. I am also in China for business and wish I were home with my kids and my father or spending time with a model T.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tim Spofford on Monday, June 23, 2014 - 10:45 pm:

We got it on the road this weekend. Still have work to do to make it "parade ready" but it runs and drives... I have posted a link to a video of our 6 minute tire mounting and a link to the video of the first drive in 45 years.

https://vimeo.com/98985129
https://vimeo.com/98992289


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jerome Hoffman, Hays KS on Wednesday, June 25, 2014 - 02:20 pm:

Tim, I am looking at some sort of dolly for the wheels on my T. How are yours working for you? I know there are less expensive one out there and have yet to make a decision on what i will use but had thought of the same type as you have in the picture. J


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erich Bruckner, Vancouver, WA on Wednesday, June 25, 2014 - 06:05 pm:

Hilarious tire video. Great to see the excitement on the faces with that T driving. Glad you have so much enthusiastic help.


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