MTFCA Forum

Allan

I believe the model 666 were all brass. They are what I have on my 1912 van. The smoke bonnets on the black and brass model 66"s show the number 66 offset somewhat, that being the result of omitting one of the 6's from the 666 bonnet.

Allan from down under.

Allan

When I visited the Rootlieb shop in 1994 I was afforded a tour of the place. At one stage a fellow was placing a plank along a splash panel, and then walking that plank. When the splash panels are rolled there is likely some variation in the curve induced. the plank walk takes some of the tension ou...

Allan

That is a real gem Kevin. I hope you intend to keep it in that condition rather than restore it. Let it reflect it's journey through time. I would not be in a hurry to replace the headlights. Those old electric ones are part of the car's story. They are likely more functional than the original gas l...

Allan

It would look even better hanging on a period speedster. Nice find!

Allan from down under.

Allan

Without knowing just what is required in thread length and length of plain shank, it may be better to turn off some of the under side of the bolt head, depending on requirements.

Allan from down under.

Allan

At $800 , I'd be asking myself how much work it would take to replicate this, and jump in quickly before someone else does.
Allan from down under.

Allan

Sometimes where the different parts came from is a more interesting story. My 1912 chocolate van was built up from an original photo. It came from everywhere! I started on it when I discovered the very rusty engine in a wrecking yard while I was there to retrieve a pair of front Hayes wire wheels fr...

Allan

I really like the imaginative adoption of a set of fenders from an improved car. A farm trailer with fenders is truly unusual.
Allan from down under.

Allan

Easier on the eyes? That depends on the eye of the beholder. Some of the people in Tom Rootlieb's photo posts are far easier on the eye than others!

Allan from down under.

Allan

The T tourer on the jetty with the motorcycle outfits is a late teens RHD car, likely to be a Duncan and Fraser built car. The windscreen and protruding door hinges are typical. The nickel plated radiator shell was a popular addition, usually accompanied by nickel plated headlight rims also. Records...

Allan

The beauty of the Layne transmission is the overdrive and underwrite they provide, on top of the easy shifting. If you like, it can be set up to drive your T in standard Ford gearing
Allan from down under.

Allan

I would think a wooden lid would be more supportive of the seat cushion. Our seat cushions tend to be heavier built than the standard T items, most having support bars under the spring assembly.
Allan from down under.

Allan

Worth that for just the lowest one in the photo. That's an early T one before they changed to the spring loaded type. The two with handles are similar but have parallel threads.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Many of our Colonial built bodies did not have a cover. It is a wonder Henry never cought on.
Allan from down under.

Allan

Likely it also has the wider crankshaft seal groove that will take the A model rope seal too. They are my first choice on early motors.

Allan from down under.

Allan

You can achieve an overdrive with a Ruckstell by fitting a taller rear axle gears etc like 3:1 but thiswill seriously compromise your braking. Sometimes woah is more important than go!
Allan from down under.

Allan

Food containers are tinned, not galvanised.There is a very good reason why zinc plating is not used in food containers, but I cannot recall same. I do know the local butter factory back in my childhood days employed a fellow to re-tin milk churns on the inside if they showed any signs of deteriorati...

Allan

Definitely not for T models, on two counts. Ford always used four lug rims. Secondly, the only split rims Ford did use were 21' rims on the 26-7 cars.

Allan from down under.

Allan

A new drum is only part of the story. The outer diameter of the driven plate forms part of the brake drum surface. Is a new driven plate available to match the new drums? If not, a new drum will mean a step down to the worn OD of the driven plate, not an ideal situation for the band lining. Before n...

Allan

The first photo of the Dairy van must be staged. There is no way those cans on the tailgate can be full.Check out the gauge of the chain and the angle at which it is set. lovely truck though.

Allan from down under.

Allan

"or which battery is best?" An Optima red top is my go to. More expensive initially, but I have two in intermittent service. One is 9 years old, the other, 7 yo. Amortised over that length of time they turn out to be the best bet economically.

Allan from down under.

Allan

At last weekend's Bendigo National Swap Meet, two fellows introduced themselves to me, both recognising me from the posts I make on this forum. To me it shows just how far the reach of the forum extends, and just how many folks interact with it in some way. It is bigger than many of us might suspect...

Allan

Did the factory build engines with shims? When Henrietta ran the rod bearing on number one when I returned her to the road after her 62 year slumber, I found no shims on the rods. Rather than disturb her crusty appearance, I replaced that rod through the bottom inspection plate in the pan. The used ...

Allan

I live in South Australia. Think southern California heat in summer. So hot an English visitor likened riding in summer in the back seat of my 1915 tourer to being in a fan forced oven! Have I ever needed to shield the exhaust pipe? Never. Perhaps the pedal slots over the exhaust pipe help. Good in ...

Allan

Never needed anything here in Australia.
Allan from down under

Allan

Klaxon has become a Generic name for all motor driven horns. Many manufacturers made their own versions. I believe the A model Ford guys have identified nine different suppliers of A model horns. There are most likely many more makers

Allan from down under.

Allan

When making new wooden felloe halves the stock used should be a foot longer. The ends of the curves will never be bent in a circle, so they need your be trimmed off/back so the half piece is part of a true circle. This is not quite so important if making laminated felloes, as the thin lamunates will...

Allan

Just twirl the knob to wind it. Pull it down to set the time. I have one just like it.

Allan from down under.

Allan

I cheated. My engine machinist put them through his hot tank. No extra work, no extra cleaning materials, absolutely clean in all the nooks and crannies and ready for assembly. I learned this trick when assembling 1912 diff centre castings to the axle tubes and having to get them clean and dry for s...

Allan

Ben Ostergren discovered a large cache of glass negatives detailing the output of a commercial body builders in New Jersey. He had some sets of photos made from these negatives, and he very generously gave me a whole set. Most are of 20's vehicles, including many heavy trucks and buses. These are a ...

Allan

There are multiple examples of early signwriting on vehicles in a book titled "Delivery Trucks", one of the Crestline series, compiled by Donald F. Wood and published by MBI Publishing Company Osceola, WI. Unfortunately, it is printed in black and white.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Here's one, hand enamelled, showing original artwork. It took 3 weeks for the illustration mostly drying time between colours

Allan from down under.

Allan

That's a pig ugly none to old knock-off of what a TT should look like. Need to chuck the cabin away and start again, IMO'.

Allan from down under.

Allan

A work of even more beauty!

Allan from down under.

Allan

I believe it will damage the spoke trying to remove just one. It will need to be cocked so far you are also likely to damage the felloe as well. When removing hubs from wheels I have always worked on every spoke, displacing them a little at a time. The process is repeated over again until the hub is...

Allan

No doubt the V is a result of some help with heat. I wonder if anything has ever been done to re-temper/ re-rate those modifications?

Allan from down under.

Allan

If any of this is about the supply of Patterson speedo drive gears, I'm all ears/eyes.

Allan from down under.

Allan

I have just finished assembling 3 mufflers to take to next weekend's Bendigo Swap meet. The ends are metal spinning. The brackets and deflectors are laser cut duplicates of originals. The centre pipe is standard T exhaust pipe, but the first two inches is expanded so the original pipe will slide int...

Allan

I put together 3 rear end plates for some new Canadiam mufflers. I need some mufflers for next weekend's Bendigo Nationsl Swap Meet
These have riveted deflectors and mounting brackets. I add internal welds to keep the brackets fixed

Allan from down under.

Allan

That's a Canadian horn button and steering wheel nut. Nice one.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Sounds like a good plan. You might want to revisit your maths on the rear perches though. The 27 rear perches are straight, but they are also higher on the backing plate. The earlier perches do rise, but from a lower starting point. There may not be much difference in the end. A spring reset may sti...

Allan

There you go William. As soon as you get the description right, George finds one for you.
Allan from down under.

Allan

I think the slash through the shield means it was not made by the Salvation Army

Allan from down under.

Allan

Being available in multiple places is a sure sign they are new production. There was a fellow selling a green background A model sign at Bendigo swap meet once. As soon as it sold, he dug another out of his van! Some of the Indian made ones are really high quality reproductions, but they are still r...

Allan

A V8 model T Austin? What you have is TWO sets of four!

Nice find.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Spot on Bill. That little brass ground strap is unique to the 1915-16 models. The whole switch is very much the same as all the Canadian switches. The two tabs that are on this one are bent down on the Canadian ones, and the switch is held to a steering wheel nut that has two flats drilled and tappe...

Allan

There are modern wheel nuts which are a close approximation to the original T wire wheel nuts, but they will be chromed. Chaffin's look even better shaped, but are they chrome too? They are certainly 100% machined, like the flanged wheel nuts Lang's provide for loose lug demountables. All are perfec...

Allan

Because of the multiple bends in most of the rear spring leaves, you can only remove those on top that have.just the one bend. Taking out other leavs will upset the stack, and compromise how the spring works.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Those fan blades differ from our Canadian sourced parts. On ours, the outer end of the embossed ridge tapers out to almost nothing. Those are quite definitely sharply defined at each end, more like the deeper pressings on the very early blades. Interesting! Nice example.

Allan from down under.

Allan

See my previous post. It seems others have had similar problems when removing leaves. if you don't bend or modify the leaves, at least you can make things right again.

Allan from down under.

Allan

There would be even less confusion if you do as Ford did and refer to the part as right side.
Allan from down under.

Allan

There were such devices which could be fitted to TT's to turn them into 2TT's. I do not know if Smith form-a-trucks made these. The 2TT I worked on had eliptical springs on the rear axle, an auxiliary transmission and a jack shaft to make the connection to the worm drive torque tube. Allan from down...

Allan

There are heaps of reproduction porcelain signs coming to Australia that have been made in India. Some are fanciful. Others are well made copies of originals. Some even have induced damage! I too, would place this one in the fanciful category, based on the message and the somewhat lighter blue colou...

Allan

Looking closely at your photos, your wheels look to have the outer edge of the felloe rolled inwards, which is most common. Those wheels should accept any lugged rim, other than Hayes rims with the foot on the lug, as Tim points out. Hayes felloes do need a relief in the outer edge of the felloe to ...

Allan

I could not blow up the original photos enough to reveal characteristics shown in these later shots. I suspect the coloured thread at the sides is there to bind thinner layers of tightly woven material together This can be seen on the cut ends of the linings. Such dense construction may be more dura...

Allan

I have never seen band linings like those in the photo. The outer surface does look tightly woven, tighter than usual. To weave like that through a band as thick as Ford trans bands I can't get my head a round. The multi colour edges are unique in my experience. Is that a cut edge? Are the bands lay...

Allan

There's a wealth of experience, expertise, knowledge, education opportunities, opinions, parts sources etc on the forum. Why would you ever want to limit these?

Allan from down under

Allan

If the wheels are original there will be a pair of holes on both sides of the rims at the split another Canadian difference.
Allan from down under.

Allan

Thanks Jerry. it takes a little more time but it is well worth it. I have had to rebuild the rear axle on my 1912 chocolate van twice. A pinion gear tooth broke off an original Ford gear at one time. Strangely enough, the car still drove, only becoming noisy under brakes. The second time another ori...

Allan

The front fenders on number two certainly aren't going anywhere soon.

Allan from down under.

Allan

There is no need to drill any holes in the running boards. Simply make a wooden base board for the toolbox to sit on. remove the two running board bolts and the two nearest fender bolts, either at the front or rear, and use longer bolts to fix the base board in place, It will sit on top of the dimpl...

Allan

Richard, the "posting on a model T internet forum" entitled Battery cost inflation seeks an explanation for that inflation. There are many factors that contribute to inflation. The imposition of tariffs on imports is just one factor among many. That tariffs add to inflation is not a political propos...

Allan

i would expect a market the size of the USA would have battery manufacturers. However, Many US companies have goods manufactured overseas. Mexico may not be overseas, but they do make Optima batteries, and their production is a target of the beautiful tariffs. The origin of manufactured goods is oft...

Allan

Some of the increase will undoubtedly be due to US firms passing on the beautiful tariffs on imported batteries. These vary depending on the country of origin. I believe the minimum increase is at least 10%. There will also be business costs of implementing control/payment mechanisms for the impost....

Allan

Austin, the ring gear is under rotational stress being driven by the pinion gear. A shim doubles the interfaces between the two components, just as it does on the rear axle wheel interface when a shim is used. These are working combinations of components relying on absolute fit to make a solid joint...

Allan

Frank, I had a chuckle over your Malapropism. Perhaps it was spell check at work. I am sure there are some venerable fellows on this forum, just as there are some who are vulnerable. :D :D :D Sometimes Malapropisms can be quite inappropriate. A good friend of mine is prone to them. She once reported...

Allan

I took two leaves out of the back spring on my speedster, the ones with just the one bend at the top so there was no problems with the nesting of the rest. I replaced them both, because the car rode like a sloppy jalopy, flopping around like crazy. I would rather re-arch the front spring than remove...

Allan

Those damn Ruckstells can be a real pain at times, gong down hill. I well remember tailing a T down a long grade in New Zealand. He was in Rickstell, just coming down on compress I n I was in a borrowed car constantly, on and off the brakes to keep from running into him. Way too slow to go into bott...

Allan

If you have a roller bearing at the front of the
driveshaft how is the thrust taken into account? Is there an adjustable bearing assembly at the diff end? Just another thing to consider if making changes.
Allan from down under.

Allan

Vern, check that the stud over which the clamp fits is not bent. That will miss align the clamp ends on the bosses and leave one end of the boss at a different level. The fact that it was registering on the side of the exhaust manifold makes me think the stud is displaced to one side. If you have an...

Allan

Just bend them into parallel to make them engage on the other two bosses on the U joint cross piece. They have to be spread like that to get them over the cross, before bending the back into parallel.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Years ago I bought a used round shank screwdriver that had been used often as a paint stirer. The shank does not go through the handle like an A model one. It did have a nice wooden handle, so I bought it to go in a T tool roll, even though it was not "correct". Imagine my surprise when wire buffing...

Allan

Our RHD cars were Canadian sourced. 1915 models with the dash/hood as shown were commonly fitted with electric lights on forks previously used on gas lamps. Keith, I bought a pair of previously worn Oshkosh bibs on ebay once. USA made. I managed to wear them out. Now Oshkosh make designer kids cloth...

Allan

I am one of Scott's " old hands" who are not club members for one reason or another." I am a 1964 foundation member of the MTFCA though, the Model T Ford Club of Australia. The MTFC of America forum is part of a much larger group than MTFCA members. This world reach is vital to the interests of us a...

Allan

I took Henrietta on the Bay to Birdwood run and won the preservation class for the 1950 and older cars. This last weekend It was on the stand with some new Ford Ranger pickups at the big four wheel drive expo in the city. To show the development of Ford utes there was an A model with pick-up bed, a ...

Allan

It may be that there was a gap between the square shank and the round shank, filled by the screwdriver tip ground onto one of the pliers handles during T production. I believe the round shank came with the A model screwdriver. it too went right through the wooden handle just as the T one did. US pro...

Allan

Henry, that reminds me of a saying my Dad often used. "Figures don't lie, but liars can figure!"

Allan from down under.

Allan

I took the brown one of my 27 Tudor with Ford wire wheels, and it fitted well on the 23" Hayes wheels on my Roadster, so either size is likely to fit. May broaden your market.

Allan from down under

Allan

Way to go Rob. That is the most common style, so you should have more luck.

Allan from down under.

Allan

The earlier brass units with out the hex at the top to wrench them tight certainly have a different taper to the later brass ones.

Allan from down under.

Allan

A big advantage with the aluminium moulding is its maleability. Bending a moulding in one plane like that on the back of the speedster pictured is easy. Bending it in a semi circle 10' wide in the third dimension around a side window is altogether different.

Allan from down under.

Allan

I was given a pair of NOS rear fender mounting brackets by a friend in Spokane, to mount the Rootlieb fenders on my shooting brake. The fenders were 1/2" narrower than the brackets! I had to cut !/2" out of the centre of my new brackets, weld them up, and re-drill the eye bolt hole. You might have t...

Allan

DO NOT PULL ON THE CENTRE OF THE AXLE! One participant on our recent national rally used the winch cable around the centre of the axle as the only tie down in his enclosed trailer. Then drove the 700km trip to the venue. The result was a car so squirrely to drive that his guest driver would not use ...

Allan

My thoughts also Eric. Thwe rollers were likely made with the Ford imprint, and each time the roller completed a turn, a logo was left to fill the roller imprint.

Allan from down under.

Allan

I must be out of this world! Who'd have thunk it?

Allan from down under.

Allan

5 large ones spoken for. 4 left

Allan

Those look like 21" Ford wire wheels for 26-7 Ts to me. Nice set.
Allan from down under.

Allan

Nice photo of an original cross section Dan. I note that even with the wide bead foot on that original tyre, there was no need to notch the beads to accommodate the valve stem. I once bought two excellent rims with two as new, but extremely hard Good Year tyres that even had the blue and yellow flag...

Allan

You might like to find some longer bolts, clean out the threaded holes and custom cut them to length to get maximum thread engagement.
Allan from down under.

Allan

Spoken for.

Allan

Four large ones spoken for.

Allan

I wish there was a way to have that erroneous drawing of a tube/flap assembly gone forever. It clearly shows the flap sandwiched between the tube and the bridge washer, making it an assembly. This is just plain wrong! The valve stem, bridge washer and nut have the task of jamming the tube and the fl...

Allan

Flaps go on split rims on 21" wooden wheels. they are to protect the tube from irregulariites at the rim joint. Ford never used flaps or rim liners on clincher wheels. With varying degrees of decay on used rims today, it is a good idea to protect the tubes from any nicks, rust flakes etc. Rather tha...

Allan

Sorry Bill email is better for me.
Allan from down under.

Allan

Two sizes. 9 to suit larger size stems 13 to suit smaller T sized stems. All thread nicely on original stems. All have the steel backing piece. Langs price for a one piece reproduction $6.95 These for $2.50 each plus postage. I will advise this when you tell me how many you want. First in gets best ...

Allan

This is the last complete set I have. One dust cover is chromed. All are the larger size complete with original bridge washers. $125 the lot including tracked postage to your door.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Tom Rootlieb had one of those on his shopping list.
Alan from down under.

Allan

Shipping is a bit crazy since the beautiful tariffs were introduced. I understand that Auspost will now accept parcels for posting if sent as a gift and of less than $800 value. The only drawback may be the 20kg weight limit. I can weigh a cover to work that out. That will allow me to get a postage ...

Allan

First pic. is OK. They are not meant to be tightened right up. No point is having a spring loaded cap if the springs are already compressed tight.

Allan from down under.

Allan

I have already offered you original Schraeder items on previous post. What gives?
Allan from down under.

Search found 6607 matches