Is there a place to get a blueprint/drawing of the wooden top frame for a 26 tudor ? My youngest son and I are restoring our recently acquired project and have pretty good woodworking skills , but not with out a print . Thanks .
There's a good pic on this thread: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/411944/494765.html?1416232233
Thank you ken , good picture .
I made a new roof frame work for my 1926 TuDor last summer. I didn't have a print and I don't think you'll find one. I used the remains of the old top wood as patterns and profiles. I made two prototype tops out of 2x4's and 2x6's to get the fit right before I made the user from some 5/4 white ash. There isn't a straight piece of lumber in the frame and I had to steam bend the front cross board. You don't have to do that, but it eliminates a lot of stress on the front of the car when you bolt the top on. I posted a bunch of pictures on the forum, do a search. I'm sure that if you can make saw dust you can make this top. I asked a lot of questions during the construction and there is a lot of help on the forum. You need to be patient and you'll get a good finished product. These pictures are of the 2x4 and 2x6 prototypes that I made. Ask questions and good luck. Mike
Great , thanks a lot , the car We picked up had been off the road since 1952 according to the plate and I found it 15yrs ago but could not locate an owner till about a month ago , drove by it on a whim and decided to stop , the owner (super nice guy ) was actually leaning on the car watching his dog play in the yard . Was sitting outside with a tarp over it behind his chicken coop! Will post pics as soon as I can figure out how . But my nights have been with my youngest son (8) and I messing around with it . Got it running with battery and actually had it on mag for about an hour last night !! I ( we ) have the bug . Funny thing is we've been working on a 26 roadster pick-up and was out getting a soda blast estimate with the roadster body in the bed of my truck when I stopped wife is super happy to have 2 1926 T's in the garage
Since you have a '26 TuDor like mine, I can send you a lot of pictures that I toke and didn't post. In fact I'm writing an article for our club's newsletter which I could share also.
Really, your wife is 'Super Happy' to have 2 Model T's? I'd like to met her.
LOL , super interested in as many pics as you want to send , wife wasn't too mad really , although a bit confused as to why I needed "another" project , perplexed I guess , not confused , once we had it running she wanted to go for a ride , but our local frosty the snowman put a hold on that for now I told her we'd name the car after her , that eased it a bit for now , shows her the 26 touring on craigslist in Iowa ....got "the look"...probably better not...yet.
Here are a couple good threads about this subject:
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/331880/356138.html?1380406044
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/411944/433096.html?1396143530
Mike Zahorik:
Please consider submitting your article to Vintage Ford. There are likely a number of us who are interested in this topic.
Respectfully, jb
Trying to post pic
Finally , picked this up in Fairview Pa a few weeks ago , 1952 plate , got it running with a bit of work , runs on mag also , still not brave enough to try a crank start
More pics
Trailering
Running
Tudor
Travis
Looks like you've got enough remains for a top pattern, and you should be able to see how the headliner was put in too.
That windshield visor can be tough to find, and the repros aren't made the same, great find!!
BTW, change out the differential thrust washers before you drive that puppy around much!
Purple lenses, coool!!!
I didn't know lenses got purple from Pennsylvania sun? Never seen any purple lenses that spent their years out in the sun over here, though..
Haven't driven it at all yet , thrust washers ? Check , odom shows 11,000 miles , I too thought the purple lenses were a plus . Thanks guys.
Yeah, differential thrust washers were babbit and very prone to break down into globs on the inside of the housings over the years. This would cause your pinion gear to jump teeth over the ring gear and really screw things up. Nowadays they're replaced with bronze thrust washers available from the many good suppliers. Take your differential housings apart and check/replace them before going on a tour.
Will do , not really planning a resto right now , just wanted to hear her run , makes me happy and will do it After I get back to my roadster pick up and complete it . Will be changing the washers on both now , Thanks for the info on them as I'm new and never heard of that , take care .
When I was rebuilding my '16 touring, I thought I'd save a few bucks and went through a collection of rear axles to find the best looking thrust washers, and put my car together with them. Still haven't finished the car, but now I'm going to have to take apart my carefully rebuilt rear axle and put in the bronze ones--too many horror stories out here!!
Did all of the T's use Babbitt thrust washers. ? Or where the later years bronze ? Nice one you have btw , before I took the tarps off of the one I just bought the guy said it was a 1916 , was really interested then. , but was a 26 obviously , still really excited !! Can't believe how solid the body is for a pay outside car .
Early cars 09-15 were supposed to have bronze thrusts, all the rest bad babbitt though after numerous owners and repairs over the years noone knows the conditions inside for sure until they have had a look.
Thank you , my 8yr old son and I changed out front fender and splash apron on passengers side , located and purchased another rear end , going to rebuild it and replace thrust washers and whatever else is needed , then swap out with the one in the car and rebuild that one for the roadster pick up . ( the one I was originally working on before this one followed me home. ) You can't have just one I guess
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