MTFCA Forum

Chris Barker

The above is all good. You might also check the magneto output. You need an AC voltmeter - analogue is better for this check. You should get about 5v at idle, rising to over 30v at high rpm. (a simpler check is to connect a turn or brake light 12v 21W bulb; it should get VERY bright or blow when you...

Chris Barker

A friend of mine here in England called to ask if I could tell him the correct taper angle for his NH carburettor needle. He has several old ones with wear grooves, and they have a fine taper. He bought a new one (which perhaps originates from Snyder's or Bob's) and that has a much 'blunter' taper. ...

Chris Barker

If all 4 coils buzzed in the 'good' location, they are adequate for now. Go to the timer and its wiring. It could be a roller, a brush or a flapper. It's obvious how it works. Clean it up and, if it's roller, oil it. If it's a flapper, grease it. If you want to remove the rotating part for cleaning,...

Chris Barker

The trouble with that fix is that it's at the wrong end of the engine. The aim is to keep the magneto gap small - but above zero!
The alternatives which shimmed the third or even second bearing would have been better......for a while.

Chris Barker

Hmmm.
Those spokes exceed 100mph airspeed at the top of their travel; I wonder whether there's a drag improvement?
Maybe you need them on the inside too.

Chris Barker

Where can I find some??

(Are they Montana 500 legal?)

Chris Barker

May I suggest you read the answers here?
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14533

Chris Barker

I don't think it will be safety, politics or 'greens' that end Model T motoring, it will be the market. As soon as a fuel cell that doesn't weigh 1500lb and does give a 500 mile range appears, the EVs will take over as quickly as the Model T replaced the horse 100 years ago, and the gas stations wil...

Chris Barker

No light, no air = no problem!

I'm more amazed by the other 3 staying up.
There is an old concours joke about NOS air

Chris Barker

Yes; very impressed. Arrived today in Somerset, England.

Chris Barker

I have always towed my '26 Coupe forwards on an open trailer. No bother. I usually stay at 60 but have occasionally gone faster. No bother. I cover the rad because I once got the timer etc all wet. The battery gets wet in heavy rain. I do attach elastic straps to the bonnet (hood) catches. I have wo...

Chris Barker

Have them rebuilt.
As long as you can measure between about 2500 and 3500 ohms between the two terminals on the side, they will almost certainly live again.

Chris Barker

I wouldn't rush into tearing it apart. Model Ts with much worse histories have been successfully resurrected. I would want to find out - carefully- what you've got. If it was running OK in 1959 it may well do so today as long as wildlife hasn't got into the mechanicals. It would be good to find a fr...

Chris Barker

Hmmmmm.
The sound and picture quality seems rather good for 1929.
Just 2 years after The Jazz Singer.

Chris Barker

I agree with Squirrel. The hot-wire flashers have to have a certain current to work. (By the way, I and others have discovered the hard way that modern solid-state flasher units that are not load dependent, and work with LEDs do NOT, repeat NOT, like the Model T environment. All is fine.....until yo...

Chris Barker

The usual marine transmission was a very clever adaptation of the car gearbox. The teeth were ground off the driven (sun) gear, and the low and brake drums were locked together. When the reverse drum was clamped, the output turned at 0.96 x engine speed in reverse, so the sailor had direct drive for...

Chris Barker

What is the MTFCFB please?

I even Googled it and got no answers

Chris Barker

It will get closer when the body rises relative to the axle - over a sharp rise for example.
I would jack the chassis until the front axle is off the ground. If it's still clear then it's OK.

Chris Barker

You might check the front mount. The cap bolts can be tight, but if the parts are worn it will vibrate. Shim (=tin can) will fix it. Also, grease it.

And check the big nut that connects the manifold to the exhaust pipe, and that the silencer doesn't have loose parts inside.

Chris Barker

Ours arrived (UK) last week in the same post as another American Model T magazine.

Chris Barker

I cloned my 1925 Coupe.......in one sixteenth scale for my first grandson, aged 15 months.
The radiator, spring axle and back of the headlamps is cut and filed from one piece of 5mm steel. It has to be robust!

Chris Barker

LEDs are to Halogens what Netflix is to Betamax!

Chris Barker

My '26 Coupe only has rubber down the sides and along the bottom. I don't get leaks along the top because of the hinge.

Chris Barker

I recall it being tricky.
Have you tried starting from inside the car with the shelf removed?

Chris Barker

I don't know how your Rock Maple compares with American maples, but according to this table, all American maples are greatly inferior to Shagbark Hickory.
https://www.woodworkweb.com/woodwork-to ... ngths.html

Chris Barker

I do like the feeler gauge method - I'll use it next time, though maybe a bit thinner than 0.010".

I just tapped and looked until they seemed like my others or until I could insert a feeler gauge alongside the rivet.
The hew ones are usually much too big (0.020"+) but I think 0.004 to 0.008 is fine.

Chris Barker

I have tapped many rivets to reduce the travel to c. 0.005" and I have never had trouble with the rivet swelling.

Chris Barker

Cork was intended to provide castings for all Ford Europe, especially the Trafford Park plant to avoid import duties on US-made parts. Building began in 1918. However, by the time it was in full production, Eire was a separate country. Nevertheless, Cork's foundry, said in the 1920s to be the most m...

Chris Barker

It depends on which browser you use. Google 'Unblock Flash Player' and you will find advice. For Chrome, when you got to a website that needs Flash, a tiny puzzle piece appears top right. Click on that, then 'manage'. Click on the switch and you should get the 'ask first' option. Reload the site and...

Chris Barker

I doubt that 30A is enough. When I have done this job (successfully) with 3 x 12v batteries there was a big spark when I connected.

Chris Barker

Do you have a spare starter ring gear?

I found that if you lay this on top of the magnet plates you can check that the ring gear is parallel to the flywheel face with a vernier depth gauge and you can identify the high and low spots very easily.

Chris Barker

I think you already know the answer. It's not right. The brush must have been pushed in as far as its spring or housing will allow, and that's still not enough. The timer casing perimeter must rest hard against the timing cover, and the brush must then not be hard in. I would not run it as you descr...

Chris Barker

I'm trying to figure out how it worked, and what ratios it provided. I guess from the text that it gave a 50% reduction. That would make it similar to some other devices, and would be consistent with using differential-style gearing. It's also consistent with the recommendation to use 'speed' gears ...

Chris Barker

I also have fabric covering - a kit dating from around 1990, I believe.

Chris Barker

18 years and about 35000 miles on a Vap -

Mine will always cold start if I do the following.

Pull out the choke, richen by 1/4 turn, give it some throttle and press the starter for 4 compressions.
Push in the choke, turn on the ignition and press the starter.

And it will never start if I don't!

Chris Barker

Sorry, I misunderstood.
I thought he was trying to get 0.47 from two 0.22s!

Chris Barker

Shouldn't that be in parallel??

Chris Barker

My '26 Coupe has a steel frame in two parts, a wide 'U' and a closing piece. Held together by some small screws at two of the corners. These all came out and then I was able to separate the frame parts and gently pull the frame from the glass. I bought some thin rubber strip (about 0.050" thick?) to...

Chris Barker

My '26 Coupe's pre-made brown carpet got a hole under my left heel.
I found carpet of a much better colour and had it edged by an upholsterer after I cut it to shape.
Floor, side panels and seat plinth.

Chris Barker

I noticed increasing areas of erosion on the contacts of my TW timer - at the start and finish of each segment. I removed it and carefully set it up in my 4-jaw lathe chuck and made very fine cuts across the track. Then polished it. I was surprised to find that it required removal of almost 0.015" t...

Chris Barker

I follow the logic about ttf at 6v and 12v, but should there be a check at 30v (or more) to represent the real magneto environment?

Chris Barker

2.7 kohms is just within the range I have measured. Probably OK.

What made you think it is 'bad' - either in the HCCT or FACT?

I would be tempted to try to 'mend' (re-set) it using either the HCCT or the FACT, then, if successful, try it in the other tool.

Chris Barker

The figures Matt quoted are the same as I have encountered when rebuilding coils - as measured by Strobospark. Lots of people run cars with a mixture of original and modern caps - few have ever thought about the effect on timing and hardly anyone had a means of measuring it. The majority of old Ford...

Chris Barker

Luke,
to be clear, are you saying that the coil takes LONGER to fire with higher applied volts?

As Ron told me, the T coil has traps for the logical mind!

Chris Barker

It is desirable that coils have similar characteristics of TTF vs applied voltage because our magnetos go from less than 10v at idle to 30v+ at high rpm. When I got my car, I found it had no magneto, and running on 6v required ALL the available advance! Reading of others' experiences, it seems that ...

Chris Barker

While I'm enjoying, if not altogether following this discussion on current and meter readings, let's not forget what we are trying to do (other than escape Christmas 'festivities'). When we drive our Model Ts - remember them? - we want our ignition system to reliably and consistently deliver sparks ...

Chris Barker

Following all this - and seeing that nothing is ever quite as simple as we hope - should make us appreciate the effort and achievement of Mike Kossor with his thing that we can't mention.

(I have no connection with MK!)

Mike,
I'll p.m. my bank details

Chris Barker

Great Post Mr Jeff - or may I call you Admin?

We could have a poll here to find out how many other people have carefully created solid state blinker modules that worked perfectly......until they started the engine!

Merry Christmas from The Olde Country

Chris Barker

Mike, I'm trying to understand your 'scope images. Why do the steeper 20v ramps appear to start later than the slower 5v ramps? Have you adjusted (offset) the x axis for each voltage? If not, does the time-to-fire variation correlate with current - so higher rpm giving more mag output will advance t...

Chris Barker

Mike, a somewhat less contentious question - Does it really say a 1" spark on your result pictures? I have always understood that asking a coil to jump more than about 10mm risks an internal arc. Thanks for your contributions - and of course Luke's. I am following them avidly here in the UK and if -...

Chris Barker

What colour was, or is, that engine? It's obviously much paler than the others one the line - presumably green?

Where are the later outdoor shots with the Quadricycle?

Thanks

Chris Barker

Can anyone tell me where this cutaway image came from, or who created it please?

Chris Barker

I have a Giant Power Head. Before fitting it I measured it and calculated 5.1:1 compression ratio. It does have the 'squish' areas above the pistons. It makes a significant improvement to performance. On most of those hills where in High with the stock '26 head you gradually slow down from 30 to abo...

Chris Barker

It's apparently almost the same content but a different box. Mine is also a 443, but maybe a 443B The write up in the ad doesn't mention the drill holder but it's on the picture in the lid, as is the small tommy bar. The 'rivet' isn't shown. I wonder what's in the top left corner of the lid? Also, $...

Chris Barker

So; no-one knows! But I have now discovered, by more cunning and persistent application of Google's services that the pointed item is a drill bit holder. There is a tapered square hole inside the square shaft. If you hold the knurled bit and turn the square, it winds out, presumable following the dr...

Chris Barker

I am fortunate to have been given a complete period Starrett socket set (the ratchet is soaking to lubricate the mechanism) Can anyone tell me the functions of the three items in front of the box please? The tiny bar has a taper and will fit in the hole at the base of the square section in the point...

Chris Barker

Well, I've scanned through all these replies.

Wouldn't a simple NO have sufficed?

Chris Barker

Hmmm. Interesting answer - probably what the questioner wanted, but I was thinking 'What's half the stroke? Ah yes, 2"'

Chris Barker

Can anyone think of any reason at all why narrowing plug gaps from .03 to .025 should make things better in a HC engine - or any engine - if was starting OK at .03?

Chris Barker

Many thanks to all on behalf of my fellow enthusiast here in England.
He is Terry Leach, and this is his 'normal' T

Chris Barker

I'm told:
"Its definitely a Wheeler Schebler model t carburetor with Ford A on the float lid. Other Mark's are FAX8 and FA stamped on the float bowl."

and I have this pic

Chris Barker

A question from a UK Model T owner: "I have recently purchased a Model T after market carburettor manufactured by Wheeler and Schebler Indianapolis.I am in the process of reconditioning it and wondered if you might hold any information relating to the carburettor and in particular the operating and ...

Chris Barker

May I ask the obvious?
Is the axle tilted backwards as is should be?

Chris Barker

Following the thoughts above, Have your coils been properly and reasonably recently checked and adjusted? You can easily 'set up' coils to give a spark and make the engine run, but the 'time-to-spark' may differ between the coils if the correct test gear isn't used (HCCT, Strobo-Spark or ECCT), and ...

Chris Barker

One word of warning. I have the 6v system but the 18W bulbs took a lot of current (6A) So I converted to LED and bought a flasher suitable for LEDs (the old style 'hot wire' type needs the current of a filament bulb. It all worked fine.....until I started the engine. Then either the RF from the coil...

Chris Barker

It seems to be a Universal Law that, at some time in its life, every old car's wiring will fall into the clutches of someone who really should not be allowed out without his mother.

Chris Barker

My reply is the same as Scott Conger's on the 19th. I understand the points made in favour of setting by time-to-spark, but surely the power in the spark matters too? And that must relate to current. I would want to have both the same for all coils. One other point. I usually agree with Steve Jelf, ...

Chris Barker

Here in the UK we get some US car programmes. Some are good; others not so. I quite like Sin City Motors - nice people who are skilled in what they do -but I have to ask if what they produce is legal to drive on public roads? Those blown diesels which belch black smoke out of vertical stacks, spikes...

Chris Barker

I have a '27. I can't see how you can leave the headlamp bar in place - unless you lift off the whole body! However, I don't see why the paint should suffer. The heads have square shafts beneath, so they should not turn. The nuts can be removed under the fenders, and then the bolts lift out. I sugge...

Chris Barker

I measured and calculated a CR of either 5.3:1 or 5.6:1 - I can't recall exactly.

Chris Barker

You will like it.
A noticeable and very useful improvement at low and mid revs, but not too much.
Some sources say 30% extra power - 6HP!

Any idea what colour they were originally?

I painted mine black with silver letters - it's worth having just for these!

Chris Barker

Gaps around panels and doors

Chris Barker

Hmm. The shut lines aren't too good

Chris Barker

Not IF but WHEN. It will happen. Someone fairly soon will invent an affordable battery which will give a range of 500 miles. It may be purely electrical; it may be a fuel cell, but it will come. And when it does, that will be the end of petrol and diesel cars, and then trucks. The revolution will be...

Chris Barker

It is one of the mysteries of the universe that when Ford added the 6v starter and generator they did not eliminate the magneto and trembler coils and just fit a distributor and coil.
Just consider the cost saving for about 40 million trembler coils.

Chris Barker

I wondered what made you think they are radials but they are on the site as 'Bias Look Radials' despite the inch width sizing

Radials are almost always marked with width in mm, so tI would have expected 115 x 21

Chris Barker

Never seen a DIY Vaporizer plate before!

Buy 2 - they only last 2-3 years. Not expensive.

Nice truck

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