Looking forward to continued progress as I try to get this old touring car back on the road after a nearly 50 year slumber.

Here's the link to the 2017 thread if you want to go back to the beginning of my project.

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/708324/732050.html

I built a new barn on the back of my property to house the car and will soon be pulling the rear axle for a rebuild. After that, I'll pull the engine and give it a diagnosis and probably take it on a trip to see Ross Lilleker.

I've made a deal on a set of wheels that I'll pick up at Chickasha....so hopefully after that, we'll be getting close to a first drive.



(Message edited by rustyfords on January 02, 2018)

(Message edited by rustyfords on January 02, 2018)

Glad you continued this thread You have an exciting Summer lined up and look forward to your progress!

Ok now ... get to work! I bought my unrestored '23 runabout in November 2016. Had it apart by late December, rebuilt all the mechanicals, stabilized the sheet metal and had it inspected for the road by August 2017. And that was mostly in my unheated garage during the winter here in Rochester. You can do it in warm sunny Texas! :-)

Thanks guys!

I love your runabout Mark...everything about it is just perfect.

Thanks Don. Let me know if you need help, encouragement or parts. I might have extras.

Don - I need to do the rear at some point. Have not had the courage yet! Interested in how it goes!

I've dived into the rebuilding of the rear axle on my car. Here's a link to the thread where I'm documenting the rebuild.

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/822076/848839.html?1522193301

I continue to be delighted at the ancient farm repairs I find on the car. The forensic evidence points to most of the repairs being done sometime in the second world war. I like to imagine rural farmer in west Texas, with rationing and scarce resources...doing what he had to do to get by. I may be off the mark. I'll probably never know. But this is part of the joy of bringing something this primitive back to life.

Here's my latest find. A nail being used as a cotter pin on a rear axle nut.

I would say a perfect replacement looking at the bent portion.
As a 5 year old Grandpa kept me busy during visits by straightening nails salvvaged from farm buildings torn down. He would place me on a stool near his anvil, give me a small claw hammer and a bucket of mangled nail to straighten. After all nails were expensive!
Push Truck

I'm a naughty naughty boy...
As of last year, I was still using a nail or a piece of wire if I didn't have a correct key. :-/
I bought a pack of cotter keys since.
Push Truck, I've done that for me. Oof.
:-)

This weekend I cut down the original 1924 spare tire carrier to accept a 21" split rim.

I cut the main cross beam, made it fit the rim, then welded it together, then did the same for the bottom hoop.

I still need to use the heat wrench to make the bottom hoop fit the shape of the rim a little bit better. Then I'll clean up the welds, sand the whole thing down and put a coat of flat black on it.

While I'm saving up for parts for my rear axle rebuild, I'm tackling the floorboards.

I bought a beautiful set at Chickasha from Jon Anderson and am staining them and installing a set of metal trim pieces and a heat shield that I removed from an original set of floorboards that looked ok but were falling apart.

My only issue is that it looks like they're going to turn out way too nice and look to new for my weathered car. But I'm sure enough time and miles will give a more worn look.

Looks good. Better than Flintstoning it if the others fall apart.

Yeah Dallas, once I took the metal trim pieces off, the old floorboards fell apart.

Plus, they were too narrow for my car. Was there a narrower floorboard size for an older series Model T?

Don, I had a '65 Custom Cab Ford. I see you have a '66 F100 hauler behind your T....as a Native Texan I know how the old trucks down there survive compared to here in the East. Nice T!

I had a 65 ford pickup with a wood flat bed and holes in the floor your feet would fit through. It had barn door hinges on the hood as the hinge mounts were rusted away. That was 30 years ago. I paid a $100 for it. They dont last long around here either.

Don: Are those rivets holding on the draft deflector?

Yes Larry...they are rivets.

Gary and Dallas...this 66 is the most exceptional one I've owned.

It's a completely rust-free truck from Oklahoma, wearing original factory paint. It's been a long time since I've come across one this clean and unmolested.

This morning I installed a set of original pedal hole cover thingamabobs (don’t know what their real name is) and a baffle thingamabob on the set of Anderson floorboards I bought at Chickasha.

I stained them last week and they were dry enough to work with today.

They’re WAY too nice for my car but hey...you can’t always get what you want but if you try sometimes, you get what you need.

The only slotted screws I could find in my stash that were the right size, were brass.

So I’m proud to join the ranks of brass Model T owners.

I have the only known 24 T with brass floorboard screw known to exist.

Hehehe! I caught those quips. That Stones line is actually quite fitting. Kinda goes along with the "Just get 'er done" thread.
Those JV Anderson floor boards ARE nice! Don, does your 24 have the steel or wood risers for the front boards?
Maybe the narrow floor boards were from a different mfgr?
My tight front boards that came with my 18 are gonna stay out for a couple years until I can perhaps stand the body on end and fix my wood risers as they're splitting where the boards lay and there's ONE screw that's covered by the body so they can't come out for repair easily. Don't like 'em anyhow. Never had such niceties as full floor boards.
Get in and out of your car a few times to start the scratching (weathering) process. :-)

Hehe...glad you caught that Duey. 😁

My front risers are metal.

Yeah...the surefire way to “age” the floorboards is to use them. I’ve also been sort of carelessly sitting them down, etc while working on them and fitting them to the car.

The brass slotted screws look nice, but Larry Smith told me that the floorboard trim and draft deflector were originally fastened with semi-hollow rivets:

https://www.modeltford.com/item/3631DDR.aspx

Mark, Don had posted that they were held by rivets. As in keeping with the theme, he used what he had on hand

Oops, my bad, thanks for the correction!

Yep...trying to fix the old girl with what would've been available pre-1945.

If it's already in my parts and fastener bins and has some nice weathering, even better. That's not always possible though.

I'm not a fan of faked patina. It always seem to be really visible and takes away from old cars rather than adding to them. So...sometimes I just have to apply a matte finish and let the item age naturally. And sometimes, depending on the item, I can speed up the aging process by placing an item on my P.A.S.T (Patina Acceleration Semi-Transmogrifcation) device....aka, the roof of my shed.

Finally have the $$$ to order the parts to finish my rear end rebuild.

I'd have it done by now but life gets in the way sometimes. My wife had two unexpected surgeries, had to buy new car for her as well (she's expensive). Throw in my daughter's college expenses and sheesh!

Aw well...I'm grateful to have the super family to spend the money on.

I'll place a couple parts orders this week, then shipping time, then I should have the rebuilt axle back under the 24. Then it's on the engine.

Hehehe! Ain't it amazing how expensive rear axles and families can be? :-)
Fun updates Don!

Last weekend I bought a 1925 chassis that a hotrodder was getting rid of when he pulled a coupe body off of it.

I paid very little for it ($300) but it supposedly has an engine that ran when it was taken apart. The plan is to get this new engine running and plant in my 24. The engine's serial number makes it a 1925 model. It has a 4 dip pan...which is kind of cool.

It's also sporting an accessory engine support (I've heard they're called "belly bands") that I'll be moving over to my 24.

I'll also do a really quick and dirty check up on the rear axle from the donor that will involve me cracking open the housing, replacing the thrust washers and sealing it back up with new seals and gaskets. Then I'll install that and the rear spring on my 24.

That will give me a running/driving car while I finish the more careful axle rebuild that I'm doing and will send my old engine out for a professional rebuild.

And...in case you're wondering...yes, I do plan to paint the engine (probably flat black) before I install it. I claim no responsibility for the hideous color choices or the gooping of RTV all over the gaskets. This is how it came. I know...it's ugly.

Oh goll, even the head gasket got the goop!
3 hundred bucks? :-p I wish there was a better way to stick my tongue out at you Don. Hehehe!
Good for you and hoping that 25 engine is quiet as a mouse. You deserve it. :-)

Thanks Duey. I have no illusions of it being quiet. I just want it to be something that’ll run for a year or so.

I pulled two of the four connecting rod caps from my 1925 temp engine and I think I'm in good shape....maybe some of yall with more experience can tell me if I'm correct in my assessment or not.

The caps both look like this one (from #3). It has a matte appearance and when I run my finger over it with my eyes closed, I can't discern any flaws.



There seems to be a fair amount of babbitt left in place and it was still using a shim.

Here's the crankshaft surface.



Nice and shiny...and again, nothing that my fingers can feel as a flaw.

So...my amateurish questions:

- Should I polish these caps a little bit?

- The caps were pretty loose. There was fore and aft play and also some vertical play. The shims seem to have about 4 or 5 layers left on them. Should I remove a layer?

I would pull shims to get the clearance tightened up and run it. From a couple used motors I have dealt with, that looks real good. Wish I had babbit in that condition on mine. Good score on that chassis.

Front to back movement on the rod journals not so much a big deal. Obviously the crankshaft you want a minimal amount of fore-aft movement. You need about .0015-.00175" clearance on the main / rod journals. Plastigauge is an easy way to check it.

Don,
That matte finish on the bearing is telling me one thing, it's more than likely lead based babbitt, not something you really wont. Lead babbitt is used for low speed aplications and will not give you a long life engine.

Frank...thanks for the input.

If that is the case (and I'm certainly not going to test the chemical composition), it'll be perfect for my application.

This engine is a stop-gap measure who's purpose is to get my T running again, mainly as a glorified golf cart around the neighborhood while the "real" engine is waiting its turn for a professional rebuild.

It need only last a year or two.

You watch though...the thing will probably be running fine ten years from now.

Expecting big rains in the Houston area over the next several days. So...the spare T chassis is up on jack stands.

It’ll also make it easier to disassemble.

Just put in an order with Langs for all the misc bits, bearings, seals, etc that I'll need to swap this engine and rear end into my car and hopefully make it a runner.

My wife and one kid are headed to her sisters for the 4th of July week and my older kids will be out of town as well. So, it'll just be me and the dogs for a few days and my goal is to swap engines then.

Here's the smaller of my two mutts with the T's shelter in the background.



Until then my T waits patiently in its temporary home on the back acre. (Note one of my "new" wheels at the bottom right of the photo...it'll be installed at the same time.)

I have made some minor progress on the T, but nothing noteworthy.

The spare T engine is taking a bit longer than expected and I'm now a month away from the big national convention for the 54 Ford Club of America. And since I'm the president of the club, it's starting to consume all of my spare time.

This means the 24 Touring will have to wait until I get back from Memphis in mid-September.

The nice thing is that I have A LOT of parts in the queue for the T, waiting patiently. I'll be pretty much over-saturated with all things 1954 Ford by then and will be happy to move my old-car efforts over to the happy, smiling little T. I can't wait to make it a runner, then start slowly making it more and more roadworthy.

Don. What kind of enclosure is Your T parked in looks cool.

Don, that smiling little T will be ready for you when you are. :-) Enjoy your 54 time! That's an order.
I get busy with 12 other things too. :-)

Jim...It's a 12x20 portable garage made by ShelterLogic. I bought mine at Tractor Supply and have been really happy with it. It's taken some pretty nasty storms with no problems.

Here's a link:

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/shelterlogic-landowner-series-garage-i n-a-box-roundtop-12-ft-x-20-ft-x-8-ft?cm_vc=-10005

Thanks Duey. I'm really ready to move my efforts to the T. I love my 54 tudor and have had it since high school (1986), but there's something captivating about the T. Even when I've had it parked in the driveway, the neighbors will stop and ask about it, and the neighborhood kids will want to sit in it. I've had that happen a couple times with my newer old cars, but nothing like the T.

Is anyone reproducing the 1925 draft deflector? This one is narrow compared to the '26. BTW, the original floorboards pictured above look good to me.

Larry....the original floorboards pictured above are ok. They fell apart when I removed the metal bits.

I still have all the pieces and I guess a guy could glue them back together.

I'll probably take them to Chickasha next year to find a home for them.

Happy to have the 54 Ford Club convention behind me. It was great but now the 54 gets put in the barn and the happy little T gets put into the garage to be made roadworthy.

I have some great parts in the queue that I've accumulated...a very nice original set of wheels and rims, a spare engine, enough top bows to make a complete set, a hood, leather hood straps, a gas tank, brake rods, a spare rear end, and more.

I'm also in the process of buying the big multi-piece rails that go around the backs of the seats as well as some other wood bracing.

I may take my spare engine to Ross Lilleker and have it just do enough to get it running (with or without a magneto)...just to get the little car running under its own power.

Anyway...I'll report it all here as I go along, stumbling in the dark as a Model T novice tends to do.

Thought yall might enjoy a photo of some of the cars at the 54 Ford Club convention in Memphis.

Don;

Memphis, TX, or did I miss out on seeing these cars in Memphis, TN?

Memphis, TN Bill.

We had a great time. In addition to seeing all the cars, we visited Sun Records, Graceland, Beale Street and all the cars attended a big car show at Central Church in Collierville.

(Message edited by rustyfords on September 20, 2018)

Finally...some T time this weekend!

I’m going to put my 54 Ford in the little shed and the T in the garage, so I needed to make the T mobile enough to tow.

The quickest way to do this was to put the rearend from my parts chassis under the car. That took the better part of a day due to a snag I hit in the process. But I got it done.

Once the T is in the garage, I’ll have a ton of things ready to do to it and plenty of parts that I’ve collected

Finally...some T time this weekend!

I’m going to put my 54 Ford in the little shed and the T in the garage, so I needed to make the T mobile enough to tow.

The quickest way to do this was to put the rearend from my parts chassis under the car. That took the better part of a day due to a snag I hit in the process. But I got it done.

Once the T is in the garage, I’ll have a ton of things ready to do to it and plenty of parts that I’ve collected

I managed to get the T and the 54 swapped out...which was a bigger project than it sounds. The gate to the back part of my property was wide enough to allow the T to pass through but not the 54 Ford. So...all day Saturday I tore down, then rebuilt that section of fence.

Today I swapped out the cars...in between the frequent rain storms.

Nothing in my way now of diving back into the T and making it a real car again.

Wha? The 54 relegated to the back shed? Holy XXXX! Insert your own personal adjective here. "Hats" Is a good one to use.
Yessss!
All kidding aside Don, that's just plain cool.

Thanks Duey. You have a way with words ;-)

I'm like a kid at Christmas now that I have the cars switched and have a pile of T parts ready to work with.

And, to make matters more exciting, the 4 month stretch of "non-summer" that we substitute for winter here in Houston, is just kicking in and that means it won't be 90 degrees with 100% humidity for while. And that makes for superb weather in which to work on an old car.

I really want to have the old girl running by the Spring. I'll document it here and will be asking loads of questions that continue to show how ill-informed I am on all things Model T.

The pickup is charming too. 65?

Thank you Richard.

The pickup is a 66 (nearly identical to a 65). If you scroll up in the thread a bit, there's a short description of it.

Thanks Don. I have a short memory. Also a '65.
Rich

A 65 and a whole slew of neat Model T's.

Too cool.

Don, Im looking forward to watching your progress on that T. Lots of photos would be great. You will be driving before you know it

Thanks Dallas. You've set an example for me with your sweet RPU.

Replacing the very cool but almost certainly unsafe wheels that came with my car, with a much more solid set.

Here’s a before and after of the right front wheel.

Here she is with “new” wheels front and back.

I’ll need to buy some decent tires before I try anything faster than a crawl.

I’ve placed an order for the rear/top/seat/belt wood...should have that relatively soon.

Making progress.

I’m so dern busy with work...I may just take my spare 25 engine over to Ross and have him do a cheap refresh on it...just to get it running.

Don, you better block the wheels. Looks like its trying to sneek out of the garage into the sunshine.

It did make it out into the sunshine today Dallas...if only for about an hour or so.

That's what I was limited to, time-wise, so I chose to tackle a couple minor projects.

First, I installed two items that I robbed from my parts chassis...a gas tank and a battery cable support bracket. My car came with a round gas tank that was in very good condition but is not correct for the car and didn't fit under the seat like it should. And, my car was missing the battery cable bracket.



After that, I installed the beautiful floorboards I bought from JV Anderson at Chickasha. They needed some massaging/adjusting to fit right. I attribute this, not to the floorboards, but to my T...which has lived a hard life and probably doesn't have a straight panel or line in the whole car. Once I got them to fit however, they looked great. It's always nice to work with high quality parts.



The incremental progress continues. It's slow but I've restored enough old cars to know that success will eventually come to he who plods away slowly but surely.

Rich, you can't be a '65. I'm a year older than you? Impossible'. (think French)
Don, you are moving at a fine pace and you also say great things! Trundle on as we can to move to the end or at least toward "A" finish. Stuffed right here now with OT antique things. :-) Gotta get a lot of sxxt done before it freezes down up here for the year.
You Southerner's are tough!

I don't envy you folks in MN during the depths of winter. I was stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base, ND and wow was that rough on this "Tough Southerner"!

Winter was from August to the following August. Summer was the middle two weeks in August.

Snow constantly blowing sideways at 60mph....I was never so glad to get back to the Texas gulf coast.

Jon Anderson makes nice floorboards, but your originals look fine. A little wood glue and some clamps should make them as good as new. I guess no one makes the draft deflectors. I've had pretty good luck finding them at swap meets. I bought a NOS one from Bob Bergstadt recently.

They weren’t original to my Larry and they were way too narrow to even be close to fitting. So...I went with a new set.

I agree though...they are pretty solid. I’ll probably take them to Chickasha and find a new home for them.

The above should read....

“They weren’t original to my car...”

This having to make a living thing keeps getting in the way of my Model T fun.

This is the closest I've been to seeing my car all week.



Big plans for the next couple months though. I'm nearing that equilibrium point that I like with old cars...where one can easily see the path and steps needed to put one back on the road.

More of the same, minor-level messing around with small projects related to the T.

One of the projects was giving the cowl the same Penetrol treatment that the rest of the car received. I was delighted to see the degree to which the striations in the paint showed up. I believe this to be evidence of the factory flowed-on paint job and the attachment they used that looks like a garden-sprayer.

Back to working on the rearend.

Today I removed the sleeve from one axle half and gave the housing and various components a good cleaning.

Yesss! :-)

I'm slow, but I will get the job done eventually...kind of like a Model T.

Today I managed to get 4 new sleeves installed and tore down the torque tube/driveshaft assembly. It was a mess. The Hyatt bearing next to the pinion gear was all chewed up on one end and the driveshaft keyway was hogged out as well.

I'm going to tear down the rearend and torque tube out of my parts chassis and hopefully I'll be able to salvage those parts from there.

The fine folks at Classic Wood Products just let me know that my tack rails are on the UPS truck.

I can't wait to get them installed.

I've also made a deal for a nice, complete, perfectly aged top bow set and some equally aged seats.

Even at the glacial pace that my lack of free time dictates, I should have my axle rebuilt in December. All that will be left will be to tackle the minor refresh I'm doing on my spare engine, and I'll have a fairly complete running car.

One step at a time Don. Thats how I get it done. When time allows and when I take time to relax and work on it. I look forward to loosing myself in the work on the T's.

That's good advice Dallas.

I'm the same way. I enjoy what I do for a living, but it involves long hours, most of which are filled with technical details for customers with a lot to lose.

You put it perfectly...."losing myself in the work on the T's". That's exactly what I do. I think everyone needs a healthy escape like this.

My construction business is much the same. Deadlines, weather,customers ,subcontractors all make for high stress alot of the time. Dont get me wrong I love my job but going to the shop with no deadline or pressure is just plain fun. Its cooled off now so work is not so pressing and shop time is more enjoyable at the colder temps. Its 23 here now. I warm the shop to about 45 and its perfect.

Today I removed the rear end from my car. This is the rear end from the '25 parts chassis that I temporarily installed in my car just to roll it around. I couldn't find any tall jack stands so I improvised. The blocks were $1.19 apiece at Lowe's and yes...that rod is a Model T driveshaft. It wasn't usable due to the keyway and threads being all chewed up.



I swear, someone must've painted this rear end with a shovel. I've never seen so much paint caked all over. The housing bolts were completely submerged in paint. I had to chip it off with a chisel, just to see them.

On the bright side, the internals look really good. And someone has been in this axle and changed out the babbitt thrust washers for, what look like, steel thrust washers. As good as the internals are, I'm tempted to just clean everything back up and install it in my other housing that has the new Hyatt sleeves.

What I was really hoping for out of this rear end was a pair of good usable axles...and it does have them.

Amend that last post....

The thrust washers aren't steel. They're not magnetic. But they don't seem to be brass either.

Could original babbitt thrust washers be in this good condtion after 93 years? I don't plan on using them, but now I'm wondering what they are.

Probably babbitt, best to replace them with new bronze ones just to be sure.

That’s what I’m thinking Mark. However, I tried to snap them with a pair of pliers and they don’t give at all.

Try scratching one with a screwdriver. If it's fairly soft and shiny silver, it's babbitt.

Can't believe what I see in those latest photos,.....please tell me those are NOT some type of cement blocks being used in conjunction with those. jack stands!

If those are cement blocks, or cinder blocks of some type, they should NEVER, EVER be used in the manner shown. Very, very dangerous and I hope you are not offended that I mention this, but I can't help but point out that I had a friend killed because he was crushed under a vehicle that was supported in a similar manner shown by your photos!

Wood blocks are by far the safest blocking to use in conjunction with jack stands!

Thanks for the input Harold but you're wrong about this situation.

The wood under the jack stand is distributing the weight to four of the blocks. It's fine. The back of this T weighs almost nothing compared to a "normal" car.



(Message edited by rustyfords on December 03, 2018)

Don - The last thing I ever want to do is to offend anybody by comments I might make on the forum,.....it's just that when you have a friend who was crushed to death under a vehicle due to the sudden collapse of concrete blocks, you tend to have strong feelings about the subject of blocking and bracing of vehicles that people work on from underneath.

I'll just say that it's hard for me to understand why anyone would use any type of blocking in conjunction with jack stands that require careful placement to distribute the weight so as to somewhat lessen the possibility of the blocking crumbling, when blocks of wood are cheap, so much safer, and much more reliable as well as very readily available.

I guess my other thought is that pictures that show such use of concrete blocks could be suggestive to others that such blocking is a good idea,....which,.....to my way of thinking, and I'll never change my mind on this,....is a very bad idea.

Not trying to be obstinate or argumentative Don,....it's just that I spent a lifetime on a job which had a lot to do with safety and accordingly, I've seen bad things that can and do happen,.....harold

I appreciate your concern Harold.

We'll just have to agree to disagree about this particular situation.

The wood I ordered from Classic Wood Products arrived today, and even though my son and I have to head out to Boy Scouts here in a minute, I simply HAD TO go do a quick trial fit in the garage.

Here's the back set, just loosely and roughly installed. Even so, it's apparent that the fit and finish is excellent. It will require some sanding and tweaking, but I can tell that the installation will be a pleasure.

The wood I ordered from Classic Wood Products arrived today, and even though my son and I have to head out to Boy Scouts here in a minute, I simply HAD TO go do a quick trial fit in the garage.

Here's the back set, just loosely and roughly installed. Even so, it's apparent that the fit and finish is excellent. It will require some sanding and tweaking, but I can tell that the installation will be a pleasure.

Looking good Don. Keep it up.

As soon as I saw the concrete blocks I said to my self "Ohh God, here we go with the comments". I got the same "lesson" too by others here. And I agree with you on this one.

Anyhow, carry on.....

The picture doesn't show it closeup, but that does look like an original thrust washer. Yes, I've found a few that were intact and looking good after 90+ years. But, of course they should be replaced with bronze no matter how good they may look.

Steve...you piqued my curiosity, so I went out and looked at the thrust washers. Yep...they had the Ford logo like the ones in your photo.

They're getting replaced with bronze, but they really are in remarkable condition.

(Message edited by rustyfords on December 03, 2018)

Carrying on Chad. This project is starting to get exciting.

I can smell the finish line...and it smells like the grease that came out of that reareand (kind of a mix of oil and an Egyptian tomb.)

Looking forward to a big weekend with the T.

My rearend project is well under way and I plan on making some major progress in that arena and my tack rail wood is here and I plan on working on the fitment of it. I also just ordered a modern pinion bearing kit from Fun Projects. That should be here in a week or so.

My goal is to have the driveshaft/torque-tube/rear axle assemblies all rebuild and re-installed by Christmas as well as the tack rail wood.

Then I'll spend my time doing whatever's necessary to mildly refresh my spare '25 engine and get it installed. I have seats and a top bows being delivered to me at Chickasha and that should be all I need to have a fairly complete, running car.

After that, I'll start perfecting the front axle, steering, and other components necessary to make it something I can confidently run down the county roads at around 30 mph. Until then, it'll be relegated to running slowly around my neighborhood.

I'm working on the tack rails and decided to clean out the small mountain of dirt in the rear bottom corners of the body. Fortunately, it's west Texas dirt and has remained completely dry all these years.

I found these three little guys mixed in with all sorts of debris. They cleaned right up. There's a '23, a '25 and a '36.



They definitely need to stay with the car. I'll have to find a place to keep them once the car is on the road.

.

A Ford and 3 Mercury,s. Pretty cool Don.

Ha! Hadn't thought of it that way Dallas.

What is cool is that they add to the forensic case that points to this car being used up to and possibly through World War II. If the car was parked in the 20's or 30's, dimes from the 20's and 30's wouldn't be so thoroughly worn. It seems logical that this kind of wear would need at least a decade to be present on a coin.

Serious progress today.

I made a rear axle housing support/holder out of a piece of wood and the little home-made bench that I use for all my dirty tasks. I just cut out a roughly appropriate shape then bolted it down on the other end. It worked really well.

Then I started in on assembly of the rearend components.





I got the axles/ring gear/spider gears/thrust washers, etc all loaded in the left housing. Tomorrow, if I can find some free time, I'll join the two housings, then install the inner seals, outer Hyatt bearing sleeves, Hyatt bearings, and outer seals.

Finished the rearend today.

My Fun Projects pinion bearing set should arrive early this week and that will allow me to finish the entire rearend/torque tube/driveshaft assembly and get it installed.

I'm starting to see the finish line.

Getting it titled and registered today helps.

The excitement keeps coming.

The Fun Projects pinion kit showed up today. Looks like an easy installation....hopefully this Saturday.

Don I used FP pinion. Very straight forward. Cant wait to see the finished product. Its worth the effort!

If you ever care to replace your brass screws with the correct semi-tubular rivets, Lang's sells them.

Can anyone find the pig on the mercury dime . My dad showed me the pig when I was a kid .

Thanks Larry, but the focus of this car is not for it to be a "correct" restoration. I've had correct antique cars in the past and realized, after completing a couple of them, that I'd become a slave to the rulebooks and correctness. I didn't like several things about that way of relating to old cars.

Instead, on this car, I'm focusing on roughly the Great Depression era when it saw farm use in Texas. So...anything that was available to repair the car up to, and through WW2, is fair game. It's a very liberating and fun way to build a car.

The exception to this will be some mechanical upgrades (like the Fun Projects pinion) that will be completely hidden.

(Message edited by rustyfords on December 14, 2018)

Do tell Perry....I can't spot it.

Look on the back side of the dime .Position the column horizontally . You will see the pig at the end of the post . It is a full side view of the pig . the blade is the pig .

Good to see this thread. Don I got something similar, a discarded chassis from a hotrod project that had been a "running" car. Unfortunately my seller decided to keep the frame substituting 2X4's instead. Mine cost $900 but is a '27 with wire wheels. He even left the battery, ignition switch, and headlight plugs attached. I don't know what he is expecting of the T frame for his project though. The past year has been in limbo for the most part as I have been rebuilding after the hurricane. I've opted to go the speedster route with mine and used an old frame I had cutting a Z in it and just got the front lowered resulting in a chassis I can move around. I also tore the rear end out finding a bad axle and when reassembling added an aluminum warford.

When I first got it I had to take it off the 2x4 frame to get it thru the trailer door as it failed to clear by inches.



Where I am at now

Nice save Chadwick. It's sad to see one butchered after having survived for so long, but it's good to save the bits and give them life again.

Yours looks like a decent pile of parts. My parts chassis has yielded some of the exact pieces that my car was missing, so I consider it a total win. I took a good look at the T coupe body that the hotrodder pulled off of it...it was a 20 footer for sure. Up close, it was pretty badly beat up and full of bad body work.

You did good for $900. Just those wire wheels go for pretty close to that.

That's neat Perry. A pig standing on a log!

My original plan when I got it was like yours and to use it as a rolling chassis for my early car but then I got to thinking about how much work it would be to replace everything with the correct early parts etc as I restored them. I also started thinking about how close it was to a speedster already. So now the final result will be 2 model T's instead of just one and leftover parts. After all a decent flathead speedster isn't "that" hard. So I hit ebay and found a whippet radiator, Sherman head, good carb, aluminum intake, auburn drum lights, good steering wheel. Thanks to the classifieds here I came up with a couple aluminum case warfords, and unique early dist (I may not use it). Off facebook that I now have left I found a cut down drive shaft. I still need steering, camshaft (will probably go with an A), some aluminum body work (friends have a shop), time and space which seem to be the hardest to find. I figure tear down the engine. Then pull out the mag stab in the cam (slotted on the back) to mate with a plate and vw pump where the mag was to pressurize the mains. Braze a damn into the pan and run dips on the rods. Run a pressure relief to the front timing/dist gears. While apart check tolerances and balance. Reassemble with a new intake, head, and headers and it should be a decent little speedster motor. Coupled with the warford OD will allow one to drive on todays roads.



I saw the body that was on the chassis and probably would put it more at a 60 footer at least.

The speedster is actually starting to come together



P.S. If you note the front of the car is supported on cinder blocks at this point. The jack stands are for the exhaust.

That's gonna be a sweet little car Chadwick. I REALLY want to run something at The Race of Gentlemen races when they come to Galveston and something like this would be ideal.

But, the last thing I need right now is another old car. I don't have room for the three I already have!

And yeah...hee hee...I got a small chuckle out of your cinder blocks ;-)

I see your Summit Racing box on the side. I swear, I kept them in business when I was building my 54 Ford with a modern 302/AOD.

I do work for others and often the cost might just need that little "bump" to get the free shipping. Multiple orders later for this car I got all the exhaust pipe from summit as well as my "replacement" wishbone. While it may not be for the purist it would take a purist to complain and I am sure a purist would be able to find plenty other bits to pick apart on the car. I also picked up a roll of aluminum tubing that I may or may not use for fuel/oil lines. Considering its a "27" Im going more aluminum and nickel/chrome and not brass.



The one bracket goes over the axle making a "C" where the perch is removed from. An early rear perch is cut down and mounted into this plate. The other bracket is bolted or riveted to the frame. Two rods per side each with a right and left thread allow you to completely "tweak" the front axle. In my opinion it is one of the cleanest front drops you can do, although not the easiest.

Don - Conroe, TX - Yeah,....I "got a small chuckle" out of the cinder blocks too! I bet you expected me to "chime in" here in regard to the use of cinder blocks, right? Well, I will!

You know, it's really kinda' dumb to use those big, heavy cumbersome and hard to handle cinder blocks in place of sensible jack stands. Seems like a guy could use blocks of styrofoam which would work just as well and be a lot lighter and easier to handle, right?

Jus' jerkn' yer chain a bit Don,.....harold (:^) (:^)

Touche' Harold!

:-)

Here's wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas.

That's some pretty work Chadwick. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Whippet shell. How cool.

Just to make you drool, it's more than just a shell.



As far as the blocks go I needed a solid base that I could place the spring on where it could move to adjust the height of the car. Stands are too high and don't provide a solid base something can move on. You will note that I have them on the side so there is all brick and no void under the wood.

Same to "you & yours" Don! And thanks for saying "Merry Christmas! For what it's worth, I've been saying,......"Merry Christmas, with a capitol "C", as I think it's a shame how the real meaning of Christmas seems to be fading away nowadays,......harold

Amen Harold! Merry Christmas!

Oh now you’re just showin’ off Chadwick! How cool is that! That is gonna be stunning.

It was an expensive morning.

I was cautiously optimistic about being able to use the driveshaft that came with my parts chassis after I removed it from the torque tube.



The keyway looked acceptable and although the shaft was somewhat scored, I figured I could make it work. Then I noticed this:



Uh oh. So I pryed a little bit on the edges of the keyway with a flat screwdriver and this happened:



In addition to a new driveshaft, it looks like my u-joint bearing gaps are too big to use. Those two pieces will run a couple hundred dollars. Oh well...it's the looks of the car that I want to be weathered, not the mechanicals.

Bummer Don but you are going at it with reliability and safety in mind. You wont regret it.

If you thought that keyway was acceptable, then consider yourself lucky the side fell off. In my opinion, the axle shafts and driveshafts available through our supply houses are truly a real bargain. I know it’s painful now but you will get many lifetimes out of a new one.

Dallas and Tim....you're both right.

I'm better off not trying to re-use questionable parts in the drivetrain.

The torque tube/driveshaft project will be on hold until the new driveshaft and u-joint arrive. Not to be deterred, I'm starting in on the two tack rails.

They'll take some grinding, sanding and trimming to fit perfectly but it'll happen. I made some preliminary progress today.

I got to spend the better part of a glorious day working on the T today. With temps in the high 60's and clear blue skies here north of Houston, it doesn't seem very Christmasy but wow is it pretty.

My rearend rebuild project is on hold while I wait for the driveshaft I bought from Hank in TN but there's plenty of other things to do.

Today I made more progress on the rear tack rail. I stained it a couple days ago and the warm, low-humidity weather made for a quick dry time.



One thing that has amused me to no end about this Model T (and I suspect ALL Model T's) is how wonky and flimsy they are with the wood removed and then how much stiffer and substantial they are once good solid wood is put back in place. This being the first time I've replaced wood in a car this old, I did have a learning curve but I got it installed and I'm really very pleased with how it turned out.



I then started in on the front tack rail. This one looks like it'll give me a bit more trouble than the rear. Even so, it's great fun shaping the wood, fitting it, removing it and reshaping it then staining it. I'll hate to see this part of the project end. Fortunately I have two doors that need new wood.



I closed out the day with a cursory examination of the magneto coils that came in the engine out of the parts chassis I bought earlier this year. I have some questions about it but I'll post those separately.

Looking good Don, I like to see your progress. It is great when we get a day to spend in the shop. I to was in the shop most of the day but it was only about 30 degrees here.

Don, great deal on the T frame. Wish I could find that deal in Ga. I have had 2 restored 66 ford trucks but I really like the original better. Very cool.

Looks great Don. I am in the middle of rewooding a body that I have, however I bought plans, using old pieces as templates as much as possible, bought a bunch of 8/4 Ash and hoping for the best. It has been an interesting ride so far. And yes, they become REAL flimsy with no structure in them.

Merry Christmas

Thanks Dallas. I think it would've been nice to have 30 degree temps on Christmas instead of the 60's that we had. But it is nice to be able to work on the T in shorts instead of getting bundled up.

Tim...I was fortunate to have found the chassis at that price. I'll end up getting rear axle parts, a torque tube, pinion bearing, belly band, a decent engine and transmission with removable-ear bands, gas tank, brake lever, factory muffler ends, spare tire carrier, battery cable bracket, brake rods and a few other pieces off of it. There's absolutely no way I could've even come close to buying those pieces separately for $300 total.

Chad...I can't imagine rewooding a whole body. It sounds intimidating. I'm enjoying my limited exposure to this and I think I'll enjoy the two doors I need to take care of, but that's nothing like starting from scratch. I bet that T metal just turns to mush once it has no support at all.

Don, cutting the curved pieces which go between the armrest timbers and the backpanel piece, will mean there is a crossgrain in the curve, which makes it rather weak and prone to cracking. You have the ideal situation to make those curves using strips of plywood and laminating them together. The strips can be glued and clamped to the metalwork, using it as the former. Start with just two. When the glue is dry. they will already hold their shape. You can then a as many layers as required. This laminated curve will be far stronger.

P.S. If you need room, I could take your F truck off your hands. It would be nice to load it up at Chickasha and send it and the load back to OZ.

Hope this helps, on both counts.
Allan from down under.

Great advice Allan...thanks. I have the complete set of curved pieces from Classic Wood Products and will be using those. However, if the need ever arises, I'll replace them with what you're describing.

I'm not going to tell my 66 F100 that he has the option to go live in Oz. He'd definitely find that more appealing than Houston. And...I want him to stick around here. ;-)

Change of plans...

The rear seat tack rail pieces all fit together nicely. I'm pleased with them. The front pieces, on the other hand, did not...specifically the two curved pieces. The straight piece across the back fits nicely as do the two "arm rest" pieces, but the four curved pieces are needing way too much modification to come close to fitting.

So, I decided to take Allan's advice and started fabricating one long curved piece for each side that will replace the two on each side.

I started by tracing the shape I needed on a piece of heavy paper.





Then I transferred the shape onto a piece of high quality plywood. I soaked it very briefly in scalding hot water to make it more flexible then mounted it. Then I glued another layer to it. That's as far as I got today. I plan on adding two or three layers to it.

With just two layers, it's already very stiff. As Allan mentioned above, it promises to be a very strong piece, especially once a few more layers are added.

I'm making it a bit oversized so I'll have room to cut it down some once I have all the pieces laminated together.

Way to go Don. That's how I did all four corners on my 15 tourer. With the tack strips on that, it meant a pair of curves at each corner, 8 in all. The really good fit and the strength made it well worth the effort.

Allan from down under.

hi don if you made a book on your job I would like to buy one I think you are doing a great job bernie

Wow Bernie, that may be the nicest thing anyone’s said to me on this forum. Thank you.

I’ve stumbled through most of this Model T project and most of what I’ve done correctly has been the result of excellent advice I’ve received here...the finest old car forum there is.

I’m having such a good time with this project, I can already see that I’ll be sad when it’s complete. Fortunately that day won’t come for a long time.

There's no need to be sad, Don. You can just start another one.

Ugh Steve....I know. You’re right.

It’s a truth that is starting to become apparent to me.

These %}!* cars have sucked me into their pernicious web.

A day off that would ideal for working on the T if it weren’t for the steady rain and temps in the low 40’s. Yuck.

With the T and the 66 sharing the same small garage, I have to push one out to work on the other. This 66 has the nicest factory original paint I’ve seen on an old car in a long time and I just won’t let it sit out in the rain all day.

So...I sit here at my work bench and fiddle with non-car honey-dos, mentally willing the rain to stop.

Been keeping up with your progress. It has been a while since we met at the gas station a while back. You've made a lot of progress. Hope to come over soon to see what all you've done with the car. Might drive a '15 over there--what are we---5 miles apart?

I know it’s not far John.

It’d make my day for you to drive your new 15 over to check out what I’ve done to the old heap you drug out of that barn a couple years ago. Just give me a heads up so I can make sure I’m home.

While the plywood was drying, I started in on the rear leaf springs. I have the set that came with the car and the set that came with my parts chassis. The set that came with my car had one cracked spring but was otherwise in very good condition. I decided to disassemble both sets, clean them up, then choose the best of the springs to make a complete set.

The set on top is part of what came with my car



Before hitting a leaf with the wire wheel.



And after.



I was pleased with how well they cleaned up. The Ford logo is even present on the leaves I've cleaned up so far. I'm always amused at how Henry put his name on practically every last little part on these cars.

I've read that you should coat the contact surfaces with graphite paint. Does that sound correct?

Yes, it's called "slip paint".

Thanks Mark.

I have a Tractor Supply gift card from Christmas to burn and they have a product called EZ-Slide graphite paint. I think I give that a try.

Yep, Don while you have the springs apart bevel the under side of each end a bit. The square ends on the bottom of each spring leaf may dig into the other spring. You may see evidence of that where they have done just that over the years. May make them flex a little better. It’s what I’ve done on the squared springs. Seems to work for me but that’s just my opinion. Best John

Thanks for the tip John. I’ll bevel them before I reassemble them.

The spring cleanup continues. A sandblasting rig would be nice but I don’t have one. So, I’m doing it the slow way with a wire wheel. I also removed two worn out bushings.

Donn, mix and match does not always work with rear springs. They rarely follow each curve without there being some discrepancy and gaps. It is best to stay with all the leaves in one spring. the top one or two having just the one curve, may sit well.

Hope this helps.
Allan from down under.

Thanks Alan. That’s good to know.

The cracked spring was the second smallest and it’s the only one I’m using from my parts chassis. The rest are from the original spring set.

My car came out of the barn with two nearly perfect brake drums. All they needed was a good cleaning and some flat black paint.

They’ll look super on my solid old black wood wheels.



(Message edited by Rustyfords on January 02, 2019)

When I get my T I will be referencing this thread! Thanks for posting your progress..can't wait for the day you drive her out of the garage!

Glad I can be of some sort of help William. There’s been a steep learning curve with this T but I’m finding that the more I dig into it, the less intimidating it becomes. For instance, the rear end rebuild scared me before I did it, but now I’d do another one without hesitation. It was actually kind of fun.

What kind of T are you looking for?

The driveshaft I bought from Hank (in the land of my ancestors) arrived in the mail today.

Wow

It’s gorgeous...looks almost new. Hank’s an asset to the hobby.

I finished the first “Allan Bennett” plywood laminate tack rail compound curve and I’m just tickled pink with how well it turned out. It’s extremely strong and fits the body metal so well that I can’t even fit a fingernail between the metal and wood.

It’s 5 layers thick at its thickest and two layers thick at its thinnest. This one superbly fitting piece replaced two ill-fitting pieces.

Now to create a similar piece for the other side then stain it and install it. That will wrap up my tack rail project.

You are moving right along Don. Looks great and will give it another lease on life. Nice therapy session! Work is keeping me from my sessions so I will enjoy yours.

Thanks Dallas. I had a challenging week at work as well and needed to mess around with the T when I got home this evening...even if I only had a hour or so.

Tomorrow is looking superb, weather-wise and I plan to take advantage of it.

I'm on the lookout for a '26-'27 TT...in decent shape mechanically...but maybe one that I can paint the way I want...within period correct colors. But the price has to be right.