MTFCA Forum

The brass roller is supposed to rotate. They do on my Centerdoor.

Had a pickup near me get into a bad accident. Tore the cab off the frame and jettisoned the motor from the chassis. Of course, the vehicle that caused the crash was doing 100 mph

Birdhaven’s catalog, which I have, does not tell you which products come from the sources they bought out. No identifying catalog marker to designate the original company.

I have looked for specific items from those original companies and cannot find them in the Birdhaven catalog.

Ok. Some folks on here are aware I am rebuilding a Centerdoor from a complete body I got from another hobbyist. Said body needed some parts redone wood wise, and those pieces have been completed. The front pillars align with the cowl, so all good there. (No final assembly yet). Mocking up the hinge ...

Does anyone have a 60 inch speedometer cable housing with the cable they would trade for my 50 inch cable housing and cable.

I need 60 inches for my Centerdoor Stewart 160

Thanks.

John Mays owned it. I think he acquired “Otis” in 2014.

“Otis” was at one time a touring car. I think he’s probably happier as a truck.

Already own it thru a previous owner. But it’s not made like the original

I have all of that plus several hundred photos of other cars in various states of repair.

Nothing but a giant jigsaw puzzle with no instructions on the box.

Work is going slow as I am taking my time and test fitting to get the best fit I can get.

Maybe in another year I’ll have the windshield installed.

Thanks much!

My Speedometer will be mounted directly in front of of the passenger fold down seat

Does anyone know the length of the speedometer cable for a 22 sedan. I have one that’s 50 inches and suspect thats not long enough.

The last number has indeed been removed

There is or was a 1909/10 touring for sale in Connecticut for $29,000 on Facebook Marketplace. Mostly original condition. Needing restoration Its engine number is 1513 which puts the engine build somewhere in February 1909. I don’t know how accurate that is because supposedly the first approximately...

Did he use PayPal "Goods and Services" or "Friends & Family"?

If he used Friends and Family, he is SOL. If he used Goods and Services, Paypal will give him his money back by sucking it out of the seller's bank account.

I went to one in Lakeland, FL. The cars on display did not have engines or interiors

Amazingly, your friend brought you pictures that were used on that eBay auction but didn’t show you all of them which would have given you all the answers.

Just some ideas… If you don’t know anyone with a lathe to make the dimple die that you need, you might be able to use something like this to (carefully!) achieve a similar result: https://www.amazon.com/Leather-Fastener-Setter-Setting-Install/dp/B09Q12F6M6 Or same thing with better views of the pun...

Hi William, Vernon is right on the with a little skill! getting them centered is a chore & one off center will stick out like a sore thumb. A lathe ( or at least a friend with a lathe) to make a self centering dimple die will result in a well finished job. Trimming can be done with a good pair of s...

John kuehn wrote: ↑
Wed May 28, 2025 6:21 pm
How about using some raised washers. On the original sill plates that’s the effect that was being used less the seam around the screw hole. They come in all sizes and finishes. They would look pretty close but of corse not perfect.

That’s an interesting idea.

No die making capabilities here. The originals are gouged.

Take a look at the original door sill plates and compare to the reproduction ones.

The originals have a raised shoulder that the screw head sits in. The repros do not.

How would I go about forming them? Also, the new sill plates are too wide, so they will need to be trimmed

This video is not Model T related but is Ford related, and does have a connection to the Model T. Tom Cotter visits a racing garage in Alabama. Outside the shop, sits a 1950 Ford, one of two in the 1997 Peking to Paris race. The navigator of the car was none other than Vic Zannis, who passed away in...

I am here to tell you from experience to buy a running/drivable car. I wanted a T since I was 11 or 12, and bought a basket case when I was 29. I raised that hulk from the dead over a 13 year period and got it to run and drive with help from a couple of friends in 2009. The car is complete and resto...

I’ve bought boxes of the cotton linings that are out of production. Both at Hershey and Luray. Between $30 and $50 a box.

According to Tony Cimorelli’s literature archive, 1913 is the top picture and 1914 and later is the bottom. I think there were color variations thru the years

My 22 Centerdoor has a wooden firewall and my friend’s 23 Centerdoor has a metal firewall. The 23 metal firewall came out around March/April of 23. Centerdoors were made until at least June or July of 23. As far as I have observed, other than the possibility of a metal firewall, there is no differen...

The 15 Centerdoor was there both days. I saw it at Hershey back in October

More cars.

Some cars

spedur wrote: ↑
Sat May 03, 2025 12:55 am
his email no longer connects. any phone number ?

There’s an 800 number in that link

My 22 Centerdoor Sedan progress.

Like a Phoenix, a Centerdoor is in the process of being reborn. Mind you, this is just the floor.

They used irregular shapes of wood put together with sliding dovetail and tongue and groove joints. That’s what a dovetail glue jointing machine does: takes various sizes of lumber and joints them together to make bigger, more user friendly pieces. The machines came in different sizes to accommodat...

My point being….there are people out there that will deny this to their dying breath. Firewalls were made this way, door pillars were made this way, seat boxes, seat bottoms, door innards. Just about any wooden body parts. Not a myth, or wives’ tale, or something speculated upon. Just good old fashi...

Well, here’s the answer. They were made with a dovetail glue jointing machine. One picture is the original rear seat heel panel from my 22 sedan. It’s made of two pieces jointed together. The other is the piece that the rear seat cushion sits on. It is made of three pieces jointed together with one ...

Nothing ever fits the first time. Fitting the floorboards and back seat area. Battery access lid. The lid is 12 1/2 inches wide. The area it needs to fit is 12 1/4 inches wide. When I got the body in pieces from a friend of mine, there was no battery access lid. I found one in his shop that was the ...

Lineville, IOWA looks worse today than it did 100 years ago.

Here’s what I’m up to

tdump wrote: ↑
Sun Mar 30, 2025 8:58 am
i must be having a brain malfunction, or is this the first time it has been on a weekend>?
if i am able to come i am in the market for a set of fender skirts, any condition, for a 1947 Pontiac Streamliner. if they cast a shadow,they will be good enough for me.

It’s always a Friday and Saturday.

Rebuilding a Centerdoor sedan. Using drawings that I created, and the one last surviving piece of original body sill, I am attempting trial fitment on the frame. The frame is level and my remade sills sit at 2 3/4 inches from the outside of the frame as they should. Whoever made these sills didn’t d...

Do yourself a favor and get the large print service manual. The pictures are better quality.

The steering column is connected to the drag link by a pitman arm. APCO made an accessory linkage that could be adjusted to take up the slop. I have one on each of my cars. It’s a ball cap that has a slotted set screw that’s kept in place by a cotter pin. You can buy them from reputable parts suppli...

Just processed my renewal. Hopefully I won’t miss anything.

I knew as early as 11 or 12 I liked Ts. I seriously considered building one entirely out of wood in the eighth grade. Got my first when I was 29. Was given my second one in 2019-2020. I’ve driven cars from a 1909 Huppmobile to a 1978 highway patrol car. Buicks, Model As, Lincoln’s, Ford V8s, studeba...

A little here and a little there. It takes time but well worth it. Pretty soon you’ll have the chassis together. How is the babbitt in the block. Sometimes but not often blocks show up with pretty good babbitt. Use to find those years ago but not real often these days. I haven’t checked yet but tha...

Here’s the oil pan that goes with the 22 dated engine I bought at Luray. I bought the block with pistons, crank, cam and head plus this pan for $100 I used an inspection cover I redid from Hershey, and replaced one pet cock and the wishbone studs from my stash of parts. The cover is really shiny fro...

Replaced a worn out brake cam on my current Centerdoor project.

I also replaced the rear bearing sleeves, found usable bearings, repacked them and put brakes on my chassis.

I have 2 Kingston L 4s and neither one has this.

I have a friend who owns a 27 coupe who might be interested in these as her car doesn’t have them.

Unfortunately, she’s not a forum member so she cannot contact you

Pulled my roller bearing sleeves today for my Centerdoor

I have the physical printed catalog in my hands.

The original poster seems to have vanished. The catalog lists everything they make or did make, and has more stuff than their eBay store.

The only way to know if they have them is to call them. Their catalog, which I have, does not identify products that were formerly made by others

RajoRacer wrote: ↑
Thu Nov 07, 2024 5:40 pm
Send me your address & I'll toss a few in the mail - housing bolts, correct - not the differential case ?

I sent you an email.

So I’m replacing the parking brake arms and one radius rod on the Centerdoor. The original rod was bent so this replacement from Luray will take its place. (It, too, was slightly warped, but that was fixed in the fork of a tree). I tried to punch out the brake cam pins after grinding, but gave up an...

I found the catalog. What part number are you looking for?

Refurbished an original muffler and ordered some needed parts.

I think I have a catalog from them from years ago. Might not be of any help unless I can find it.

I ordered the wrong part.

I need one bolt and nut for a mid 20s Model T differential housing. My Centerdoor diffy pumpkin is missing one of each.

Can any one help me?

Thanks!

My son and I moved my 22 Centerdoor chassis into my workspace without a steering wheel, uphill.

My touring is currently stored in a friend’s garage.

Here’s a thread showing mine

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/11 ... 1284406326

What I found with my Classic Wood Products kit is that the measurements matched Miller’s drawings.

Although my touring is registered as a 25, it is actually a 24. I had the metal pillar piece to make it a 25 but I had trapezoidal door henges, so the body became a 24 which actually was much easier.

Probably not relevant, but I bought my wood kit from Bob’s Antique Auto Parts whose supplier was Classic Wood Products from Greensboro, NC.

The sill notches were already cut.

My 22 does not have a dome light

Thread closed. THANKS!

Dan

I sent you a Private Message

Got these plus a couple of non essential items.

I paid $20 for the oil pan cover, $30 for the Scandinavia bands and $5 for the nurse tank. The tank appears to be made from a maple syrup can.

I’m looking for the piece that has the copper contacts in a horn button. The one I have is broken. For a 1922

Anybody?

I saw a complete set of white no skids at Hershey on Wednesday

I need the copper contacts for a horn button. Mine is broken in half.

I have a friend in the market for a roadster trunk lid, preferably with handles and hinges, for a project he’s working on

He only needs the lid with hardware. Nothing else.

Anyone got anything? I will pass the info on to him.

Thanks !

I went to Hershey today. Saw a lot of yard sale stuff: Toys, beds, bubble gum machines, a washing machine, push button telephones, lots of things not on the official selling list. I guess it’s too large to police and they don’t want to risk peeing people off and have the event get smaller. A LOT of ...

One of my friends and I have been going to Hershey together for about 4 years. I come on the forum and look to see where T guys will be set up. I make that list and a list of what I need. And those are the areas we hit. If we see something interesting between: bonus! I’ve ventured over the walkway t...

The cowl is riveted in that area but I don’t recall how. I know it’s riveted to a metal bracket that is attached to the top drivers side false door wood. I cannot remember on the passenger side.

Another moral: You see something you want, buy it. It won’t be there when you look tomorrow.

According to Phil’s website, it’s a 1911 with fore doors that were retrofitted, rather crudely, to the the car. However, the car was built in November of 1911, so by Ford's records, it's a 1912.

Hap, There are two blogs. army30th.wixsite.com/centerdoor army30th.wixiste.com/centerdoor-ii My body is not indented at the bottom front quarter and neither is my friend’s car. Other measurements have come from cars that have the indent but those measurements are for body attachment locations and wi...

Hap, Yes, I reviewed the Fellin series. I only use it to see what he did. There’s a few things in it that I do not agree with. I’m attempting to do my wood as close to exact as the body builder did, since a majority of the wood still exists. I’ve been in contact with several owners and have gotten m...

Some more pictures

More information can be found on my blog:

army30th.wixsite.com/centerdoor-ii

Gents and ladies, it has been a while. Progress has slowed down. But not stopped. My biggest issue right now is the body sills. I’m attempting to reuse the ones a previous owner made. I do have wood to make new ones but that new wood is 1 and 3/8ths inches thick, which leaves me only 1/16th of an in...

So I’ve perused the catalog and the only definitive Fun Projects part I’ve found is the polymer plastic coil box rebuild kit and possibly a voltage regulator and brass magneto post. Catalog says all are in stock. The brake light kit is not mentioned. The parts are not identified as to who originally...

The clutch cam on the handbrake on a TT is four inches tall.

That one is mine. Just got it yesterday. Most of the listings are parts you can get from most other suppliers. Rebuilt KW coils are listed available as well as the polymer plastic coil box rebuild kits The voltage regulators with modern innards are listed as available. But I haven’t studied it thoro...

I painted this car with a foam roller. But..,that’s the look I was going for.

Another new blog post

https://army30th.wixsite.com/centerdoor ... ationships

Just added another.

https://army30th.wixsite.com/centerdoor ... door-sedan

A new blog on my Centerdoor project. Check it out.

https://army30th.wixsite.com/centerdoor ... ll-madness

Your products are outstanding. Just wish I could afford them.

Went to a pre-war show local in NJ. Drove home with the top down.

I’ll check my hole saw stash and see if I have one that size. The floor should be painted a dull black anyway.

OR I could get a hardwood dowel the approximate diameter and do it that way.

If you might recall (or maybe not, depending on if you’ve followed my build blog on wixsite), when I bolted the body sills of my sedan to the frame along with the cowl and firewall, there was a space of about 1 inch between the firewall and cowl that I couldn’t account for. The picture below shows a...

Making sure the sill edge is angled at 11 degrees. The number was taken from the remains of my originals.

For my 22 sedan.

I’ve got one of these in my stash

They should go under the rear quarter belt rail where the window assembly goes. The original felt window channel sits in them.

Ok I’ll break out the BFH!

Please check your part stashes. Back to top

Well done William. Now all you need is a castor on each corner. Allan from down under. Whether "castored" or stationary, make sure it's high enuf off the floor to get your engine crane legs underneath it. Nice looking cradle, if you get time, maybe you could post dimensions of the various pieces pa...

Improved. LOL. I forgot two pieces.

Not “exactly” to plan but close enough

Mark Gregush wrote: ↑
Tue May 28, 2024 4:02 pm
Pretty darn sure that is a forging not casting so could be done cold.

I’ve tried that and my vise isn’t man enough. Even though it’s bolted to a table.

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