New to the board and the Model T.

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2014: New to the board and the Model T.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Nathan Beyer on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 09:35 am:

I never thought that I would own a Model TT. I have always been more of a muscle car guy. However my uncle needed to make room in his shed so he made me an offer that I could not refuse. My grandpa bought this truck in pieces years ago and put it back together as best as he could. He was not really too concerned about originality. I would like to keep it as original as possible, but it does not have to be perfect.

I thought I would post some pictures to get some advise from people who know much more than I do. I was told that it was a 21 or 22. Please take a look and tell me what you think.













The windows open by picking up on them, tipping the bottom in and lowering them into the pocket below.
I believe that this was the original color of the cab.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gary Schreiber- Santa Isabel Ecuador on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 09:44 am:

I really can't add more, aside from what a nice TT!! Your aftermarket cab is a popular style and a lot of TT owners here have very similar cabs. Posting may be slow due to the Thanksgiving holiday but I'm sure you'll get plenty of replies. Also if you do a forum search there was a thread started a month or so back entitled "show us your TT's" or some such. TT pics came out of the woodwork :-) You should add yours to that thread as well


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gary Schreiber- Santa Isabel Ecuador on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 09:45 am:

And welcome to the world of T model Fords and the forum!!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 09:49 am:

A great truck to begin your Model T experience with. Enjoy.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By G.R.Cheshire on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 09:54 am:

tHAT LOOKS LIKE 1342706 FOR AN ENGINE SER # (above the water inlet) but I can't see it clearly the encyclopedia on the home page list the serial numbers and the years those engines were made, the great thing about a TT is they were usually sold as an engine hood and chassis meaning almost everything else could be after market or home made


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kenneth W DeLong on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 10:37 am:

Nice Truck!!!!!!!!!!! Bud.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 10:58 am:

As the old saying goes around here, welcome to the affliction. Beware. These things can become addictive and multiply.

It looks like the boss bearing the engine serial number is chipped off at the front end and a digit is missing. It could only be a 1, and the number dates your engine to Tuesday March 3, 1925, if the digit after 3 is 1 (it's a little hard to read). If that digit after 3 is a 4, the date would be Monday, March 9. If the engine is original to the truck, the rest if the chassis would be within a few days after that. After 90 to 100 years or more, many Model T's, maybe most, contain parts from several years. Sometimes that means just a few parts have been replaced, and sometimes it's a vehicle made up of lots of different year parts. As the nephew says in Tobacco Road, "It Don't hurt the runnin' of it none."

Your TT is the luxury version, with electric starter and generator. There should be a battery carrier just inboard of the driver's side running board. If it's not there it will be easily found or made. You have Hassler shocks, an aftermarket accessory, on the front axle. Some people swear by them and some people swear at them. I've never had them, so I can't say either way. The presence of a water pump, also an aftermarket addition, suggests the need for at least a thorough cooling system cleaning, and maybe a new radiator.

But before you get into stuff like that, first things first. Here's what I recommend first: http://dauntlessgeezer.com/DG80.html

If there's anything you don't find in the books, there's usually an answer here on the forum. Sometimes there are lots of different answers.
:-)

(Message edited by steve_jelf_parkerfield_ks on November 27, 2014)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Richard Eagle Ida Fls on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 11:16 am:

I wouldn't change a thing, but that's just me. Maybe I would put square nuts on the stake bed bolts and try to dull the zinc plating but that's an opinion and not too important.

It's fun to see it.

Rich


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dennis Plank on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 12:19 pm:

Nathan,

You have a great looking TT. Now that you have posted pics on the forum, you will be the recipient of all kinds of suggestions and comments on what is wrong with it. Get it running and don't change a single piece or part. It is the way your Grandpa built it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Nathan Beyer on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 12:25 pm:

Thanks for all of the responses. The battery carrier is the first thing I plan on replacing. Someone thought it would be a better idea to place the battery next to the gas tank under the seat. I had planned on changing out the nuts on the stake bed. When granpa got the truck it came with all the hardware for the stake bed. He cut all of the wood for it himself. If you look close some of the bolts do not line up with eachother. He had lost a good deal of his vision when he built this. He had more peripheral vision than forward vision and that is what he used to work on it. Those little things will stay that way.

I was wondering about the doors. Did they use thin plywood or was that replaced? My uncle does not remember how it was when grandpa bought it. The cab does not have any markings that I have found. The side windows are interesting. To lower them you lift up on them, the bottom will tip in and then you lower them into the pocket below. I believe that the green is the original color that the cab was painted. There are chips all over with green below. I scraped at a spot under the seat and did not find any other colors under the green. The first thing it needs is a carb rebuild. I had it running but it leaks so much fuel that I was afraid that a backfire would start it and my garage on fire.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Trent Boggess on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 12:30 pm:

Are there any builder's tags in the cab or on the body?

Respectfully Submitted,

Trent Boggess


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Norman T. Kling on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 12:33 pm:

It looks pretty good. If it runs, just leave as is. Good for parades or hauling heavy loads for short distances. Not too good on the highway because of slow speed, but a fun vehicle to own.
Good luck and welcome.
Norm


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kenneth W DeLong on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 12:51 pm:

Nathan,When you change nut's/bolt's on your flatbed and stakes the carage bolts are smooth heads in as to not tear your grain sack's!!!!!!!!!!! Bud.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 12:54 pm:

I know some people like to put the battery next to the gas tank, but I find the idea cringe-inducing. The notion of combining gasoline fumes and hydrogen in a confined space with a device with the potential for making a spark just strikes me as not the way to go.

The picture of the carb isn't a close-up, but it appears you have a Holley NH. All the parts for a rebuild are readily available, and the MTFCA carburetor book tells you all about it. A Google search of this forum will bring up lots of handy hints. If the spray needle is grooved, you probably don't need to replace it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTiStUTU9IE&list=UUFVx528ORtpDgCPJXbFCA6w


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Keith Townsend ; ^ ) Gresham, Orygun on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 01:02 pm:

Nathan-

Welcome!

Looks great. Have fun.

Make some templates out of cardboard and cut yourself some floorboards.

: ^ )

Keith


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Wells on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 01:30 pm:

Those black TT stake trucks look like they are just brimming with history. I wouldn't change anything except the waterpump as long as the rad is good. Great looking TT. Wish it was mine. Enjoy.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Royce in Georgetown TX on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 01:30 pm:

Good looking TT!
Happy Thanksgiving!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Pat Kelly on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 02:07 pm:

Nice old TT! I really like driving mine around. You won't believe how many thumbs up you get. Bikers show the most interest and kids love it. PK


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Wells on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 02:54 pm:

I've noticed that too Pat. Bikers really do get it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ryan Glowacki on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 03:24 pm:

Nathan, our trucks are very similar. I got mine less than a year ago. Be careful. They become an obsession. Have fun with it. I LOVE my truck. There should be a picture of it if you click on my name.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Keith Gumbinger, Kenosha, WI on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 04:25 pm:

Nathan - Welcome to the affliction and to the Forum.

I also have a TT, a '25 C Cab with Express bed. Mine has factory bodies that Ford introduced in early '24. Before then Ford only sold TT's as a chassis and the buyer had the cab and bed built by him self or bought from an aftermarket supplier.

I see you live in Chilton, WI. Our Dairyland Tin Lizzies club of the MTFCA has several members in your area, and we cover the SE corner of WI. I invite you to check out our web site: Dairylandtinlizzies.com for complete information. Also, our club hosts "Model T University" sessions to help learn about maintenance and restoration of our T's. These are usually put on by our members who are knowledgable on various topics. The next one is on January 24, 2015. It is free and you are invited to come.

We have several TT's in our club and you can see them on the "Cars" section of our web site. Our members TT's range from unrestored, like yours, to to a prize winning restoration of a '26 Closed Cab with stake body owned by Jack Leonhardt from Sheboygan. My TT is picture is there also.

Best wishes,

Keith


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mark Strange on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 04:57 pm:

Great truck, Nathan!

That engine serial number has me baffled. An engine with serial number 1342706 would have been assembled on July 12, 1916, and so would not have come with a starter or generator.

According to the Encyclopedia, engine numbers for fiscal year 1920 (August 1, 1919 to July 31, 1920) run from 3,277,852 to 4,233,351 .

Also according to the Encyclopedia, engine numbers for fiscal year 1921 (August 1, 1920 to July 31, 1921) run from 4,233,352 to 5,377,545 .

Maybe your engine is a later, replacement engine that at some time in its life was installed in an earlier car and was stamped with a 1916 serial number at that time.

If the VIN on the title for the truck matches the 1342706 engine number, I would go ahead and register the truck with that number and leave it alone.

Anybody else have a better theory? :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Derek Kiefer - Mantorville, MN on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 05:05 pm:

First number in the serial number is a 4.

4342705 is September 1920, which is consistent with the casting date to the right of the serial number.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mark Strange on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 05:07 pm:

You're right, Derek, it's faint in the picture, but it is a 4, my mistake! :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hal Davis-SE Georgia on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 06:06 pm:

Nathan,

Nice truck. As for your doors, I bet those panels were originally metal. At least mine are. Mine is not exactly like yours, but similar. My doors slide rather than hinge. Click my name for a picture of it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Eric Hylen- Central Minnesota on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 06:20 pm:

The cab looks very much like the Field body on my brother in law's '23 TT. His has the suicide doors and the widows that you describe. I think his windshield is a little different though.

Keep in mind, that Ford didn't sell the TTs with bodies until '24, so there were a bunch of different manufacturers of bodies.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ryan Glowacki on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 07:15 pm:

The panels in my doors are metal as well.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Keith Gumbinger, Kenosha, WI on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 07:38 pm:

Nathan - I forgot to mention that the detailed information for our Model T University is on our Dairyland Tin Lizzies web site under Events, 2015.

If you have any questions on this event or about our club, please feel free to contact me.

Keith


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Nathan Beyer on Thursday, November 27, 2014 - 07:57 pm:

I would like to thank everyone for the information and encouragement. I can't wait to get going on the truck.


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