MTFCA Forum

Erik Johnson

That's actually a 1970s ignition lock. It goes on the steering column and covers the ignition switch. It was covered in the July 1978 edition of Popular Mechanics - see "Thief-foiling cuff," which starts at the bottom of the second column. The second photo is patent info. For greatest enlargement, d...

Erik Johnson

Here is an example of Lake shock absorbers that I posted a while back which are a closer match to what you have: https://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/80257/111798.html?1256526518 When I took them apart, they were completely worn out. They had no bushings - just iron against iron. The non-Ford parts...

Erik Johnson

The video is easier to watch on YouTube instead of MSN.com:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88zv3b6JnOk

Related Ed Smith Model T Ford videos on the same YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@BarryTsGarage/ ... del%20t%22

Erik Johnson

The wire wheels are the best part.

If you can get it for a reasonable price, I would buy it just for the wheels and flip it with a different set of wheels or part it out.

Erik Johnson

I'm not an engineer or expert but I have read period automotive textbooks. Full combustion of the air-fuel mixture takes time. Therefore, to achieve maximum power and efficiency, spark and combustion needs to be initiated prior to top dead center in order for peak force to occur just after top dead ...

Erik Johnson

If you are a purist, below is a description of how your watch would have been mounted, from the June 1929 edition of "Automotive Review," Automotive Accessories pages. Unfortunately, there was no accompanying photo in the article.

Erik Johnson

Those sockets are also correct for the 1917 model year (the focus adjustment screw on the headlight bucket is at the 12 o'clock position, just like 1915 and 1916).

Erik Johnson

I wasn't aware that Peerless/Corcoran Manufacturing Co. made "bat wing" radiator shells as shown in the photos. The 1917/23 Peerless/Corcoran aftermarket shells I have seen in person, period photos and in their advertising have a gentle curve on the lower edge of the upper apron and a riveted Peerle...

Erik Johnson

David: The next time you are in the Twin Cities, go to Tandy Leather at 8901 Penn Ave in Bloomington. In addition to their regular leather stock, they also sell miscellaneous pieces of scrap leather in various sizes and thickness. https://tandyleather.com/pages/tandy-leather-minneapolis-129?srsltid=...

Erik Johnson

You can heat seal the edge of synthetic fabric so it doesn't fray by holding it taught and quickly running the edge along a candle flame. I watched my sister do this years ago when she was making a down vest with a nylon fabric shell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAXdNMT6jAE On Youtube, there are...

Erik Johnson

Actually, it should work if you read the trade journal articles or advertisements. Why? Because it came with a PAIR of hub drums and hooks. Therefore, you installed drums and cables/ropes on BOTH rear hubs. Note that the ad below contains an error - it says Hennepin Street. It should be Hennepin Ave...

Erik Johnson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOxeYTHc3j4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqzKI4SK9Ys

Erik Johnson

If you haven't already done so, the first thing to do is place a carpenter's square against the lower spindle bushings as described and shown in the service manual to verify if there is positive, zero or negative caster. If there is zero or negative caster, then flip the wishbone over as others have...

Erik Johnson

Link to article to which Pat referred - scroll down once is opens to see photos of heater in engine compartment and vent on the floorboard:

https://modeltfordfix.com/the-1923-model-t-ford/

Erik Johnson

Via Google books, look at old advertisements in trade journals to see how your particular brand of heater was set-up. The example below is from a 1922 edition of the Automobile Trade Journal. If you had all of the original components, the vent would be at an angle and flush with the upper floorboard...

Erik Johnson

Thinking outside of the box: It's a tool for ease of removing and reinstalling the hogshead using your choice of hoist, gantry, cherry picker, rope, chain, etc. There is an eyelet or hook that bolts to the top of it. The stub on the right is a handle. A stub is not required for the left side because...

Erik Johnson

I believe a wool rug, not cocoa mat, is correct for 1916. Within the past five or ten years, there were a number of photos posted on the forum of a complete, unrestored 1916 touring that had a wool rug that was the same as 1917 Rip Van Winkle touring's rug. If I can find the thread(s) of the 1916 Fo...

Erik Johnson

I'm pretty sure that is an IHC (International Harvester) side lamp bracket. It looks like the sidelight brackets on my father's 1910 IHC Model F Roadster below (click twice the photo for biggest enlargement). The same brackets were used on the IHC Auto Buggy and IHC Auto Wagon (high wheelers). On my...

Erik Johnson

For 1915 through at least the 1918 model year, there are two straps at the front of the side curtain to keep it snug at the windshield - one strap goes between the windshield and hinge and the other goes around the sidelamp.

Erik Johnson

Those are later, plain-jane lamps with no brass and were most likely on a truck as others have mentioned.

They aren't worth anywhere near the asking price.

If the brackets are from an early Cadillac, they are worth something but not the asking price.

Erik Johnson

From the 1915 through part of the 1917 model year, the hinges are such that the edge of the two glass panes line up when the windshield is folded.

Refer to the photo below.

Erik Johnson

The car in question has the later perches. Click on the link below see a photo of it. The, click on the photo for a larger view. https://www.mtfca.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=50197&p=378150#p378150 PS: Not all 1917 Fords are actually 1917 Fords. Right off the bat, I see things that indicate it is...

Erik Johnson

Darel's car is not from Nebraska. From the factory, it was originally delivered to the C. S. Adams Automobile dealership in Elgin, Ill. By the mid-1930s, it had made its way to Minneapolis and was owned by the Minneapolis Pure Oil Company. In September 1946, Darel purchased it from the Minneapolis P...

Erik Johnson

There were a number of aftermarket running board mounted and rear mounted spare tire carriers available to carry one or two spare tires. Just look at old automobile supply company catalogues and/or trade journals or publications such as Ford Owner and Dealer and you can see what was available time. ...

Erik Johnson

My father had a stack of NOS babbitt thrust bearings that he picked up from a Ford dealership in southern Minnesota around 1950.

Over time, they got scuzzy just sitting on the shelf in my grandparents' basement and, later, in my father's garage. He eventually tossed them.

Erik Johnson

Before taking it apart, try decreasing the tension by loosening the jamb nut and rotating the motor an eighth of a turn at a time. I believe rotating it counter-clockwise decreases the tension.

Erik Johnson

RE: Oil in the cylinders When I posted eight days ago that my father and Royce Peterson put oil in the cylinders, I assumed that folks would understand that meant just a couple squirts each with an oil can which is something you typically do when an antique car hasn't been run in a number of years (...

Erik Johnson

It's DC. Hook it up to a battery to see if it works.

Erik Johnson

Somewhere, I have instructions for Klaxons where the motor armature is offset 90 degrees from the bell like yours. However, I'd have to find them. I have a combination Klaxon. On my horn, the split male prongs 180 degrees from each other are the terminals. When new, there were corresponding female p...

Erik Johnson

If the timer has been set up properly and the lever is in the fully retarded position, it shouldn't fire until past dead center so, in my opinion, the suggestion that it isn't being cranked fast enough should never be the issue. Either the timer is out of adjustment or one of the wires or one of the...

Erik Johnson

I believe the Miller Chapman wheel locks use Corbin locks.

Erik Johnson

Early days of chasing down Model T Fords: In 1952, my father assisted the late Royce D. Peterson with flat-towing a 1917 roadster from Hastings, MN to Minneapolis, a distance of over 30 miles. (Royce D.'s son Royce N. still owns the roadster - he's posted photos of it in the past.) According to my f...

Erik Johnson

I suggest posting it on the AACA.org "What is it?" and HCCA general forums. You don't need to be a member to set up a profile: https://forums.aaca.org/forum/66-what-is-it/ https://forums.aaca.org/forum/24-hcca-general-discussion/ Article discussing various makes of windshields that appeared Volume 3...

Erik Johnson

I believe it's a Schurmeier Wagon Company decal. Part of "Schurmeier" and "Minneapolis" are discernable in the decal, at least to my eyes. Also, it is the right shape to be a Schurmeier decal. The decal in the photo below is on a Schurmeier horse-drawn wagon body that was married to a Model T Ford c...

Erik Johnson

At the factory, the rims were heated, the felloe and spoke assembly were placed in the heated rim and the rim would shrink onto the felloe. This is also what professional wheelwrights do. Period Ford Motor Company film covering Model T Ford wood wheel manufacturing process from start to finish: http...

Erik Johnson

My father has other antique cars and the seat cushions are more substantially built with wood frames, etc. akin to a box spring and, if you wanted to do so, you could set the cushions between two saw horses and sit on them, no problem. If you did that with the common 1913 or later Model T roadster o...

Erik Johnson

I believe the reason a wooden or stamped steel cover is needed is due to the design of the seat cushion which needs to be supported in the middle. My dad's July 1917 touring has a stamped metal cover for the front seat but doesn't have a stamped metal cover for the back seat. Instead there is a stam...

Erik Johnson

I wouldn't waste my time trying to partially re-spoke that wheel.

I would do one of the following:

- Find a better wheel locally

- Purchase a rebuilt wheel from the U.S.

Erik Johnson

It's 1/8" cotton sash cord. It's not hard to find.

Don't know if it is a still a common item at hardware stores but it's readily available online and most likely at your local window blind/drapery/curtain supply.

Erik Johnson

Minnesota 1912-13-14 license plate 27878 was registered to T. Roebske of Mankato, MN for a Ford.

Erik Johnson

You can utilize Google lens on your PC. Google lens is one of the features of Google Chrome browser.

Erik Johnson

Another set of what I presume are Goodyears Courtesy of Perry Kete in this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=50430

Erik Johnson

The diamond tread pattern on the Goodyears vs the Blockleys isn't the same. The Goodyear tread is as follows: 3 diamonds 2 diamonds 3 diamonds 2 diamonds etc. The Blockley tread is as follows: 2 diamonds triangle, diamond, triangle* 2 diamonds triangle, diamond, triangle etc. * or diamond with a 90 ...

Erik Johnson

You don't have to make clamp-on brackets if you rob them from a pantograph luggage rack.

Erik Johnson

Most likely because the raw bar stock was stamped every (insert number here) inches or feet before it was cut into the required lengths and then arched, etc.

Erik Johnson

If your car has been driven 35 years without tire flaps, why start now? When you replace your tires and find out that the inside of the rims need a little attention, wire brush them by hand or with a wire wheel on a drill or angle grinder and then brush on a coat of Rustoleum rusty metal primer. Als...

Erik Johnson

Any idea what this iron object is?

It was posted on NextDoor by a south Minneapolis resident. It's been in her garage for many years.

She didn't provide any measurements.

Erik Johnson

Photo courtesty of Dan Hatch. My father used this same procedure 60 years ago to stretch a set of metric Dunlop 875 x 105 clincher tires so they would fit the 27 inch wheels of his 1910 IHC. He said he let each tire sit on the modern tire over night. Note that this works only with clinchers because ...

Erik Johnson

I know that retailers such as Montgomery Wards didn't manufacture tires just as Sears didn't manufacture the 1950s Craftsman tablesaw or the 1980s Kenmore dryer in my basement which were manufactured by King Seeley and Whirpool, respectively. Just mentioning that my father always said that Wards Riv...

Erik Johnson

My father had a 1930s Wards Riverside 30 x 3.5 "blem" or "second" on his '17 touring for many years. It had a slight defect in the bead so the Wards Riverside name was ground off. According to my father, Wards Riverside tires were manufactured by U.S. Rubber/Uniroyal. I don't know if this is true or...

Erik Johnson

YouTuber Hand Tool Rescue recently reproduced that style of wrench:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZspDqxx2MFY

Erik Johnson

I'm not in the market for Blockley tires or tubes but I think it's baffling that there isn't at least one Blockley dealer in the U.S. so tires could be shipped in bulk directly from the factory in Vietnam and the tariff calcuated on the wholesale, not retail price. When my father bought English-made...

Erik Johnson

The same wrench is used for loosening demountable rim nuts. Maybe the revision to box-end may have something to do with the above? PS: Has anyone ever seen a nickel-plated T-2335 wrench? I go to a lot of estate sales in the Twin Cities and saw one but passed on it because the open-end was spread out...

Erik Johnson

AndyClary wrote: ↑
Fri Oct 03, 2025 1:09 pm
Since half the time forum members can’t agree on torque specs it’s probably not a big deal.

Andy

Torque spec aside, wouldn't a simple solution be to use the extension when tightening ALL of the headbolts, not just the headbolts near the firewall? Wouldn't that guarantee uniformity?

Erik Johnson

I wouldn't hesitate calling anyone with the name James McNeal in the Los Angeles area. That will be quicker and more effective than social media and crossing your fingers. James H. McNeal, Jr. and James H. McNeal, III, aka "Jimmy McNeal", are members of the family that owned Schaefer Ambulance in Lo...

Erik Johnson

Is there a reason you can't make a phone call?

That's quicker and more effient that social media.

Erik Johnson

Same video on YouTube - don't have to wait so long for it to load: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdTSwvT7I4g I remember the same Bill Williamson appearing on the TV show Real People in the 1970s. He's been discussed on the MTFCA forum in the past. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLaHfAYbmFU Here's...

Erik Johnson

- Suitcase tank

- Dog house tank

- Lunch box tank

- Triangle tank

- Pyramid tank

- European racing tank

- British racing tank

No. 3 Racer tank, pre Caractacus Potts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL4Gf2ydq2U

Erik Johnson

I presume that is the December 1905 issue of "Country Life."

Erik Johnson

Since he is 85, it may be simpler to find an enthusiastic neighborhood kid/young adult willing to do the cranking and be a driving companion. If he were 65 and was just tired of cranking but planning on driving for the next 25-30 years, then I would go through all the monkey business of adding a sta...

Erik Johnson

The correct front and rear straps for 1917 are cotton webbing, not leather. The hooks and buckles shown in your photos won't work with the cotton webbing. The correct hooks and buckles are serrated. You can use the hardware/buckles you have with your two-man top if you make new leather straps. Other...

Erik Johnson

If you make a tool yourself, it doesn't have to be as complicated/fancy as the Hassler factory issue tool.

As I posted above, a length of all-thread, two nuts, a washer and a flat piece of steel with a hole drilled in it will suffice to compress the spring in the bracket.

Erik Johnson

Hasslers came with a dedicated tool to compress the spring. However, you can compress the spring with it in the bracket with a homemade version using a piece of threaded rod, two nuts, a washer and a flat piece of steel with a hole drilled in it as I described here: https://www.mtfca.com/discus/mess...

Erik Johnson

Utilizing Ritchie Bros. to conduct an antique car and parts/automobilia auction is a very odd choice, in my opinion. I also noticed that every car that I clicked on indicated the terms were bill of sale/no title. That also seems extremely odd. It's hard to believe that a majority of the cars don't h...

Erik Johnson

All the references I found on Google books date from 1946 to 1949. Therefore, I say postwar. Click on this long link for self edification: https://www.google.com/search?q=embree+aqualator&sca_esv=0d75eb938edb70a5&udm=36&ei=_W-8aI_yPLadptQP9oSQ2Qk&ved=0ahUKEwjP5PWe1cSPAxW2jokEHXYCJJsQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&o...

Erik Johnson

1910s/20s BASCO (Briggs & Stratton Co.) combination ignition and light switch with two keys. Tumbler and keys are stamped "37." A number of different auto manufacturers used BASCO switches. Not sure what make this is from but possibly a Dodge. $40 plus postage. Personal check, cash or money order.

Erik Johnson

That San Juan dealer badge doesn't date to 1916 - it's much later.

Erik Johnson

In Minnesota, Menards carries denatured alcohol but Home Depot does not and it's getting harder to find at hardware stores. You should be able to buy it at a paint store like Sherwin Williams or even a woodworking supply because it's the solvent in shellac. I go to a lot of estate sales and buy dena...

Erik Johnson

If the pinion skips on the ring gear you will definitely know it because that produces a loud, ratchet/banging noise and it will sound like it's coming from under the floor boards. I would not describe it as growling. If the rear end is growling when accelerating, decelerating or going around corner...

Erik Johnson

This thread reminded me of Model T arbitrage: Does anybody remember the unsophisticated fellow who, years ago, would occasionally post ads with photos in the classified section for Model Ts that he didn't actually own but were listed for sale elsewhere (ex. Craigslist) at a lower price by their righ...

Erik Johnson

I believe the factory issued top boot for 1916 is the same as 1917 - no Murphy fasteners:

Refer to this thread:

https://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/5 ... 1455820509

Erik Johnson

See my posts and photos in this thread:

viewtopic.php?t=32994

Erik Johnson

Brass trimmed kerosene lamps are correct for the 1915 model year but incorrect for the 1916 model year. For 1916, the doors/rims and chimney caps should be black painted steel. Same goes for the headlamp rims - not brass but black painted steel.

Erik Johnson

That looks like a natural gas/manufactured gas pilot light valve. The 1953 Rheem furnace that was original to my house had a "B" handle valve for the pilot light, but the inlet and outlet were in straight line, not 90 degrees like yours. It was a tapered valve, not a ball valve, with a tension sprin...

Erik Johnson

I would skip installing rubber pads or shims.

Erik Johnson

When your 1916 touring originally came from the factory, there were no pads between the body brackets and the chassis.

If there were pads when you removed the body from the frame, those would have been added by someone at a later date.

Erik Johnson

Similar to the Safe-T-Man dummy that was marketed circa late 1980s/early 1990s. The original idea was women who drove alone could put it in the passenger seat of their car. An employee of the company where I worked was ticketed when he was caught driving in the carpool lane with a Safe-T-Man in the ...

Erik Johnson

Those are anti-rattlers. They are a band-aid for worn steering components (bushings, tie-rod bolts, kingpins, etc.) but don't actually cure anything other than reducing noise. They are one of the worst things you can install on the front end of a Model T Ford. They create wear marks on steering syst...

Erik Johnson

Water might be getting between the firewall and the body. From the factory, I believe there originally was a rubber gasket, similar to a flat piece of inner tube, along the top of the wooden firewall between the firewall and the body. When my dad replaced the original factory firewall on his 1917 to...

Erik Johnson

For heavily tarnished brass, use Bar Keepers Friend and then follow-up with your favorite polish. It works extremely fast, even if the brass is brown. Wear nitrile or rubber gloves when using it. It's inexpensive and available in powder or liquid and you can find it a Walmart and, if you are in the ...

Erik Johnson

I'm surprised that the rear axle nut "Z" wrench is open-end.

My father has a TT rear axle nut Z wrench and it is box-end. It also has a round handle which is easier on the hands.

Erik Johnson

From the factory, for 1915 through 1922 U.S. roadsters and tourings, there SHOULD NOT be a pair of webbed straps from the front to the rear bow. I believe the same holds true for the 1913 and 1914 model years. It is the top pads tacked to the bows that keeps them separated. If you copy the top pads ...

Erik Johnson

It's fastened to socket two and three with large upholstery nails - one per socket.

Click on these threads and see my posts and photos:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=34940&p=270542&hili ... ls#p270542

viewtopic.php?t=32994

Erik Johnson

Now I wonder if there were two styles of Hammerblow timer - one with the apron and one without (late version vs early version or vice versa) or if the one shown in the ad that Mark posted was just for illustration purposes.

Erik Johnson

Click on link and read the description - does not use rollers, brush, fibre or raceway. A quickly read some of the material I posted above and it did have a cam as I assumed. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Motor_Age/e45MAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22herz+timer%22+ford&pg=RA2-PA14&printsec=frontc...

Erik Johnson

I searched "Herz Timer" on Google books. They were manufacturing timers early on, long before Model Ts arrived on the scene. Around 1920, they introduced the Herz Hammerblow Timer for Fords. If you search "Hammerblow timer" on Google Books, it yields some good information (two web pages worth of res...

Erik Johnson

If you search Gidleyford in Google books, you will find some articles on Gidleyford and Doryford boats including an extensive article by Murray Fahnestock in "Fordowner and Dealer" magazine. Fahnestock article https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ford_Owner_and_Dealer/4Jo3AwDh9csC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%2...

Erik Johnson

My father has owned and detailed a few nickel over brass National Cash Registers over the years - he still has one of them. The inner workings of those machines are the same as your slightly later 720. I go to a lot of estate sales and I've also examined a number of the them over the years. Remove t...

Erik Johnson

The original owner of my 1917 roadster drove it until 1947 when he sold it. He was a Swedish bachelor farmer in Cokato, MN and raised ginseng. My father was born in 1931 and is a lifelong Minneapolis resident. He said that he would see the occasional Model T used for regular transportation well into...

Erik Johnson

Walmart Supertech SAE HD-30 conventional motor is readily available, at least where I live. However, it's typically not in the automotive department but in the area where they sell lawnmowers or lawnmower sundries/yard and garden. They also sell SAE 30 non-detergent for air compressors but it is not...

Erik Johnson

You might want to obtain a better swivel. Yours is pretty worn and it might not be good situation if the ball pops out.

Erik Johnson

In corset making that type of metal cap is called a boning tip. Quarter inch and half inch metal caps are readily available - for example. Not sure about 5/8" caps. 1/4" tips http://corsetmaking.com/boning-tips/CMS-SSB-BT4DZ.html 1/4" tips http://www.voguefabricsstore.com/Spiral-Bone-Tips-1-4-6mm-pr...

Erik Johnson

That's the water pump - not a starter.

Erik Johnson

An acquaintence of mine here in the Twin Cities restored a 1909 REO that was very complete and in comparable condition to yours. (It also had the original canvas belly pan/diaper like your REO.) Alhough it was a victim of poor storage, it was actually a low mileage car and mechanically there was ver...

Erik Johnson

To elaborate on what Keith posted, efer to the upper left of ad below.

Erik Johnson

My father and I were invited to Darel's birthday ice cream social but, unfortunately, we couldn't make it. Darel and my father attended Minneapolis Washburn High School. They were in the same homeroom - the "Sound Crew" - which served as both the A/V and stage crew. Darel and my dad are standing nex...

Erik Johnson

On my roadster, I also replaced the original factory springs with lighter springs.

Erik Johnson

Valley Forge brand small 4x6 inch US stick flags are made of a polyester cotton blend. I would try running the edges over a candle flame to melt and seal them to keep them from fraying. (Years ago my sister, an avid sewer, made her own down vest. I watched her pass the nylon edges of all the various...

Erik Johnson

Minnesota 1912-13-14 license plate 22736 was registered in 1912 to a Hupmobile owned by C.F. Dahl of Essig, Minnesota. The registration was published in the June 10, 1912 edition of "Finance and Commerce of the Twin Cities" newspaper. Essig is approximately half-way between Sleepy Eye and New Ulm. (...

Erik Johnson

The most widely possessed but never read books are the Holy Bible and car owner's manuals.

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