Another thread discussed the need, or not, to jack up a T when starting cold. Over the years we've driven our cars in cold weather, in some cases near zero. I've found that with good compression, our models K, N and T can be a bear to start.
Below is a quick "experiment" I did this morning. It was 26 degrees this morning, and the first pic shows the engine registering 34 degrees F (inside):
I rolled the K outside, and proceed to prime it several cranks. Notice how the car moves on the suspension during cranking. Then the switch is turned on, and several more attempts to crank start, without so much as a pop.
YouTube:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s8bzvv6JV-s&feature=em-upload_owner
After jacking up the car, I leave it in neutral. You can see the back wheel turn as I jack. It may not appear so, but it is many times easier to crank, and I'm able to get enough speed for the car to start.
Then, off to town for coffee:
Rob,I know it's not the safe way but my 14 often requires a spin.Cold start,adj carb,open throttle close to half,check spark full up,and pull lever out of high.Pull choke and pull crank 4 or 5 strokes,turn lose choke and turn switch to batt and spin.!77 cuin spins easy compared to 405 cuin I almost always check for the free start so what oil do i use 5-30 What oil do you use? Bud.
Rob,
Thanks for the video and info. Always very interesting.
We don't seem to have that problem here in San Diego (), but it still looks like you're doing some hefty cranking even with the wheel jacked up compared to what we do with our T's?
I'm with Kenneth, I want to know what wt. oil you're using?
Bud and Bob,
We use 10W30 in all our cars. I also use synthetic.
Many years ago, I had to Jack our 13 T up anytime it was in the twenties or less (F). After reading somewhere that synthetic oil might help, I tried it. As it turned out, it seemed I could turn the car over easier than with non synthetic, so I've stuck with it since.
Rob does the K have a compression release and/or priming cups? My 1908 Locomobile had that feature and starting was easy regardless of the temperature. My 40 h.p. Chalmers does not have compression release but it does have priming cups on each cylinder and I found that priming each cylinder and leaving them open a crack worked well for cold weather starting.
I would really like to use Rotella 15-40 like i use in so much other stuff i buy it 5 or 6 gallon at a time.I can't use it because of hard cranking! Bud.
I found that all I need to do to get my Model T to start with the least amount of cranking is to set the thermostat in the shop at 75 degrees for a few hours. Then when it's time to crank it I use the electric starter. This method seems to work quite well all the way down to -34 F.
At any rate, I enjoyed the video Rob.