MTFCA Forum

Allan

With a RHD car, nothing is as simple as a direct rod connection from a foot throttle to an over ride adaptor on the carburetor. On your LHD cars a throttle cable should work just as well.

Allan from down under.

Allan

You may be able to see five register marks where the lugs engaged on the ledge on the inside diameter of the rims.
Allan from down under.

Allan

My son does as John suggests. He uses used brushes with fixed copper wire leads, and grinds them to shape to snugly fit in the New Day brush holder. The cooper wire is soldered to the brush holder body. Replacement springs come form ballpoint pens.

Allan from down under.

Allan

When looking at swap meet offerings, the area of most concern is at the split. The ends of the split can be reworked to tidy them up, but at the split many of the rims will be rusted where water gets in and hangs about. You need to watch that they are not rusted thin next to the side flange. It is n...

Allan

Keen price Rob.
Allan from down under.

Allan

Noel, is the .010" clearance to mention the backlash in the crown and pinion gears? What sort of mesh pattern did that give you on the gears?

Allan from down under.

Allan

For occasional use, I would go with the quartz bulbs. They will give you some control on how the light is projected, without looking completely out of place behind a plain lens like an LED does. Original glass reflectors have different radii on the front and back surfaces. Light from any source hitt...

Allan

My input was based on travels and talks I had in a T in southern California with Basque gentleman who used to tend sheep in summer camps in the mountains and then tend orange groves in winter. Emil used to make visits back to town to replenish supplies, mainly foodstuffs, and then drive back up to t...

Allan

The Canadian split rims used a clip similar to a T door hinge. The two halves on each side of the split wer held in check by a pin just like a hinge pin. Thes would be a relatively easy fix using a vouple of discarded hinges. Jut beware that the joint in the hinge pieces needs to be off set from the...

Allan

Ben, LED bulbs do not work with reflectors. Their light is directional. To reflect their output from a gas light reflector would require the bulb to be oriented so the output was to the rear. A better option in gas lights would be quartz halogen bulbs but these require more power. There are multiple...

Allan

Horses to pull the sheep camp, the T to haul camp supplies from town while shepherding in the hills.Quicker ans easier than riding back to town and pack saddling in supplies.

Allan from down under.

Allan

The key to any top job is the foundations, ie. the hood bows.If you can set them up yourself, you will save the top fitter a deal of time. The reverse of this is if he/she has to rework what you have done to be able to do a nice job. The top and the upholstery are the obvious finishing touches, so s...

Allan

Scott, the good thing about your work-around for poor quality tubes is it will still be of service when you get good tyres and tubes. It is shameful that you had a need for it in the first place.

Allan from down under.

Allan

John is spot on, again. I have great respect for those who do their utmost to save/use original parts, especially if they are from early cars. I have yet to buy a reproduction exhaust manifold for any of my 20"s T's because they are cast differently at the rear when compared to originals. Allan from...

Allan

By spinning, do you mean cranking over multiple compressions Pat? Single pulls over one compression are not a problem, unless the timing is incorrect.
How else can you hand crank start a T without the ignition turned on?

Allan from down under.

Allan

Jerry, they sound just the ticket! The spare block I have for my 1912 van was a low mileage motor which threw a rod, resulting in a hole in the skirt and a slot up the side of no. 1 cylinder. The specialist welder had me make two patch pieces from steel plate. These he bronze welded in place He had ...

Allan

All my srater equippef T's run on 6 volt standard systems. It helps that my son works in the solar power industry and he makes my battery leads, probably a bit on the overkill side. The biggest problem is purchasing 6 volt, 18 watt festoon bulbs for the indicator lamps I use! I think I now have anot...

Allan

Are Ryobi tools well regarded in USA? Here they are more of a budget line for handyman use. They seem to have s tool for all uses. I'm sfuck on Makita, my son on Milwaukie.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Thanks Steve. I couldn't make out the sells bit. Cataract surgery is booked!

Allan from down under.

Allan

I can't quite make out what is painted on the spare tyre carrier in no 1.

Allan from down under

Allan

Hello Anton. Your mention of the Chantrell owned Duncan and Fraser car caught my attention. The D and F car bodies were built in Adelaide, South Australia. They are correctly described as tourers. The Americans use of touring is short for touring car.

Allan from down under.

Allan

I would suggest taking the manifold to a respected specialist welding shop for their opinion. Perhaps they will recommend one of the fixes suggested here, but which one? You have points in your favour. The crack is not under stress and is in the relatively coolest part of the manifold. In my limited...

Allan

Mike makes perfect sense. There is no need for the "dog chasing tail" scenario of modification fix a previous modification and then having to repeat same over again. The stuff to do what has been done in the video is all available. There is no need to re-invent the wheel at every step. Allan from do...

Allan

Looks like a good candidate for a brass float from a Stewart vacuum tank.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Apart from the price, it is an unusual lamp. The round "diver's bell" reflector makes it a 1915 lamp, but the reflector seems to be rusty. All the round reflectors I have seen have been nickel plated on mill finished brass.

Allan from down under.

Allan

How was the 1/8" end play measured? If it was done by levering on the fan pulley and engine block, some of it could be due to a loose fan pulley. Whatever, 1/8" is excessive. If it is due to wear on the thrust face on the third main, I would suspect that the crankshaft flange is also worn. That rule...

Allan

Should the bushing go that deep into the bracket? If so, you may get a better fit on non worn section of the shaft closer to the pitman arm by fitting the bush flush with the end of the bracket. Either that or using a longer bush.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Harvey, it is a good idea to re-torque the axle nut after driving the car a bit. I always leave the hubcap off after pulling a wheel to reminds me to do the re-torque.

Allan from down under.

Allan

I hear you Rich. I gave up trying to get a perfectly matched pair.

Allan from down under.

Allan

A customer for whom I rebuilt a short motor installed a Z head himself, with washers as required., and stripped two bolts doing so. I supplied him with replacement bolts form a GM 6 cylinder Holden motor. These are over length, have rolled threads and necked down shanks which are handy in alloy head...

Allan

Cleaning up/sanding the pitted ares can only increase the problem of the block and head surface not being perfectly flat. It would mean making the brass shim of a mite thicker material to compensate for what you remove. Still do-able. You might fit the head dry without the gasket ans see what a feel...

Allan

Both threads Mike referred to are incomplete in their contribution. When a battery box lid is used The hold down clamps hold the cover down on the two flats either side of the lid. The battery can be free to float around in the box under the lid. This is especially true with the lower height batteri...

Allan

Roadkill is a good source. A mate of mine calls the lounge suites left on the kerb for anyone to collect roadkill. I have a mass of salvaged black leather from a 4 seater lounge suite in my stash, enough to do the upholstery in my 1/2 ton lorry if I ever get around to it.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Paul, traditional wet cell batteries do not take vibration/jumping about well, without seriously degrading their life of service. Even in a battery box they need restraint. I can't see why restraining Optima batteries would not also be of benefit in holding them tied down. To use the dealer supplied...

Allan

Option one for me, with a couple of tips. The copper 3-in-1 gaskets will only fit well if your exhaust manifold is straight. The individual copper crush rings Scott mentions may be the better option. Check that the block and head are faces are flat. Often they are somewhat eroded on the outer edges ...

Allan

Anti seize will make removing the wheel easier, but that's not the game. The taper is meant to be dry, neat fitting and reliant on nil movement between components. That is what a taper joint is all about. Your doubts and subsequent question will have served you well.

Allan from down under.

Allan

The right side of a LHD car is on the low side of the road camber. That means any excess oil leaking down the driveshaft and into the axle housing will gravitate to the right side housing. A weep hole lets that excess out before it gets all over the brake shoes and drum and then the wheel. it is not...

Allan

In Canada they would say the coilbox needs TO BE rebuilt, or needs rebuilding. I have used the plastic rebuild kits offered by the vendors on our Canadian sourced cars. The narrow slot cut in the bottom of the back board may need some attention. It can get hung up on the curve of the bottom fold in ...

Allan

Adding weight to the wheels and a wider footprint on the road will likely reveal any problems with the front axle assembly and the steering response, especially on loose surfaces. The wider the tyre the greater the steering effort required, even if you have the 5:1 gearing. Your choice. You can redu...

Allan

Different thicknesses may mean different curvature of the lens. This makes focusing the lights different. My E and J headlights have this problem. It just means one burner is set further in advance of the other in the adjustment slots in the base. When you look square on at them in day light, the da...

Allan

Larry, when I found a complete battery box lid and inspection cover, i also used same. The battery was clamped down using a couple of wooden spacers on the top at the ends, with the same original clamps that hold the lid down. Until i had an electrical problem. In the time it took to rip out the tou...

Allan

Even the pillows you lay your head on have expiry dates these days. Go figure. Things that don't have an expiry date often have best by... dates. Translated, that means best buy some more.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Somewhere in that timeline the brackets were made integral with the lamps. If your lamps need brackets they would be for an earlier car of that period, if that matters to you.
Allan from down under.

Allan

I have never seen 3/16" plate glass in original windscreens in Australian bodied T's. My 1915 Canadian sourced tourer had 1/4" glass and the brass channel. Other spare frames I have found and traded were all to take 1/4" glass. Is this a Canadian thing? If 3/16" glass was mounted in our components w...

Allan

Wood wheel hubs are a curse, or at least that fine thread on the skimpy hubcap is.If Henry had made a thicker hubcap with a decent depth of thread there would not be the problem.Rather than lend my hub tools, i volunteer to do the job myself, using my tools. This is especially true if they have dama...

Allan

If you buy a Flagworld handwaver, all the sealed edges will be taken care of for you. Buy 4 0r 5 t0 amortise the postage costs.

Allan from down under.

Allan

So, using a ready made wedge will dictate where the column ends up sitting. That seams a little backwards to me. My Duncan and Fraser built wide body roadster came with a lowered steering column which was also displaced outwards, from the factory where it was built. Having done a few, no doubt they ...

Allan

Darn it Dan! Now I have another thing to address on a rebuild, the transmission shaft flange.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Maybe the 3/16" laminated glass is for flat side windows in modern cars, anything to reduce weight and cost. As indicated, for windscreens, 1/4" is the rule. Most of our colonial built T bodies have steel channel frames and the glass bedding is thin fabric like hide-em welting.When I have windscreen...

Allan

Are there places in the USA where antifreeze is not necessary, like southern California.
I use clean water and a cup of soluble oil to limit corrosion.
The green stuff does the same, but will also find the tiniest leak anywhere in the cooling system.

Allan from down under.

Allan

I wonder if the Factory fitment of the cast iron bush was align reamed after fitting. The photo of such a tool in the wanted ad indicates it may have been. I do as john does. Bore the new bronze bush to fit the shaft and press it home. Rarely does it need any further attention, that can be done with...

Allan

It is worth your while to have the glass shop do the fitting. On some of our cars there is a clip on the corner to hold he glass in place. Get that clip under some load and the laminated glass can crack at a pressure point. Let the shop wear it. Old plate glass and later tempered glass did not suffe...

Allan

I never use original aluminium spools. They look to be cast, and I have found more than a few to be cracked. A new set of machined aluminium ones will be of consistent height and not subject to cracking. If you have a low keeper among the lot, the spool can be shimmed to bring it up. To get a perfec...

Allan

Speedsters are, in the most, custom builds. As such, the best fit may be a custom made item. It is not hard to make an aluminium wedge to suit your particular application.There is nothing quite like having a go at it.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Our laminated safety glass is 6mm, a little shy of 1/4", so it is easy to fit in place of 1/4" plate glass.

Allan from down under.

Allan

My hold down is also wood. I started with a thicker piece, marked the under side, and cut a rebate to accommodate the battery. It hols down. as well as in place. My Auto elec son suggests that the battery strap that hooks on the terminals is not a good idea,especially on heavy batteries. They have s...

Allan

Flagworld in Australia has handwaver flags on wooden sticks for around US$ 5.00 These are made from knitted polyester. They have no edges requiring hems, which invariably let go, leading to fabric fraying quickly. I have flown a South Australian state flag on the radiator cap of my chocolate van for...

Allan

With the firewall and rear mounting frame in place, use stiff cardboard to make a pattern that fits the two components. That will give you the shape you need to cut in the steel sheet. Custom made for a custom fitment. No need to follow a "plan".

Allan from down under.

Allan

I agree 100% with Pat. Also I leave a loop of plastic packaging tie tied around the battery to haul on.

Allan from down under.

Allan

That's the dream one to fit, on the car with no cutting the tube in pieces.

Allan from down under.

Allan

A nice original ppamphlet with photos and fitting instructions. $12 including postage to your door.

Allan from down under.

Allan

The fellow who spins the muffler ends for the mufflers i make does one-offs and small runs all the time. The only extra expense is the former he uses in his turning lathe. The former is welded to an off-the-shelf nut that screws directly onto the lathe headstock spindle. The former I was given to co...

Allan

Thanks for the confirmation re parts swapping Russ. i suspected it was the case. I guess then that the only difference of consequence is the threaded lower half and the lock nut on the later housings rather than the plain pin with the pressed on collar. Your spare gear sets will undoubtedly keep man...

Allan

Re adjustable lifters, I have used both types. The lock nuts on the three spanner type are marginal. They are so thin that it is easy to strip them. I have had to resort to thinning down a proper nut to replace at least two of them. Since then I have uased the self locking type, with no problems. Ha...

Allan

I have two of each, exactly like the ones you show. The two spear point ones are original worm nickel plated brass. The two t shaped ones are freshly re-nickeled. I had 6 done for my 1925 wide body roadster and only used four.

Allan from down under.

Allan

A questions for Russ. The Stewart potmetal swivel housings are the weak link in the Stewart swivels I have found. Can components from LH swivels be swapped into RH swivel housings? Are swivels housings for different ratios interchangeable for other ratio components. This may/may not enable a good sw...

Allan

Thank you John. I could not see why it could not be done, but needed reassurance beforehand. This is for a car for another owner, so I hoped to save some time. I knew the cam could be removed, and it has to be done so i get to the lifters. They and the valve stems are so worn the lift on the valves ...

Allan

I am working on returning another barn fresh car to active duty but have struck a hurdle. No 1 cylinder was way down on compression. A bore scope revealed a set of original two piece valves, with well worn stems/guides, so off came the head. The valves were actually quite reasonable so the plan is t...

Allan

No 2 also looks to have 30 x 3.5" tyres all round.

Allan from down under.

Allan

On our RHD cars, the swivel is often mounted on the other side to the LHD cars.Same ratio as the pn 1913 but opposite rotation. If you can't find a decent 1913 swivwl, and your cable and housing is long enough, the swivel can be mounted on the opposite side of the car. Without getting into my spares...

Allan

Mark's precision made tools kit is what we would call "The duck's guts", slang for about as good as you can get If you plan on doing a number of transmission rebuilds the cost can be amortised over a number of jobs. I made aluminium drivers for the other trans bushes, but ally is too soft for the sm...

Allan

The small shoulder is the real problem. I have used a die grinder and burr to make a groove in the bushing, enough to collapse it . Works well.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Austin's comment about using galvanised sheetmetal for repairs on his T bodywork raised my interest. Flat galvanised steel is certainly available here in Australia, but its use is restricted to specific end uses. What most consider is galvanised steel sheet is actually zinc-alum sheet. The coating i...

Allan

I wonder if the lack of a manufacturing date on clinchers is an indication that they are not considered suitable for road use, and so are not subjected to DOT certification. If so, anything goes. I have no T's early enough to warrant fitting white tyres, so quality old stock Olympics and now Blockle...

Allan

I beg to differ. Sheetmetal fitted under tension will be stressed. Twisting/wracking of the frame in use will futher stress, leading o cracking in the panels at the mounting points. Using a podger bar to align holes in a static situation like a water tank or building frame is not the same as doing s...

Allan

It should not be necessary to turn down the bushings. However variations in spindle bores may mean some bushings are tighter than others. When pressing them home, stop a little from fully set and blow out any swarf under the head created in the process. Then press fully home. I tight bush may need m...

Allan

With a pilot on the end of the adjustable reamer, the reamer is held in line with the bushing not being reamed, so the reamed bushing is in line with the lower bushing. Then the reamer and pilot are swapped end to end to ream the second bush. The pilot is the answer to align reaming the two bushings...

Allan

If I was going to make those I think i would have gone for Food. Less stuff to change.

Allan from down under.

Allan

On our RHD cars, it is the first gear pedal that is internally adjusted. Rebuilding the ramps on the pedal requires removal of the pedal shaft prior to welding up the worn ramp. With a new notch in hand to act as a reference, the welds can be ground/filed back to make the fit. Bearing blue will tell...

Allan

Fixed reamers do have one desirable advantage. The two bushes are align reamed. A hone and/or an adjustable reamer without a pilot,will not necessarily result in bushing bores in alignment

Allan from down under.

Allan

The felt seals provided in the gasket kits today is not up to snuff. It is way too loosely felted. Fit one to a timing cover and fit the cover to the block. Then see just how much you can punch the felt tighter on each side of the crankshaft. Just another repop part not fit for servise. No such prob...

Allan

John, your measurements reflect a problem I once had with new best quality spindle bolts. I use an adjustable reamer and pilot to fit pins to the new spindle bolts. Works brilliantly, until I mixed the bolts and spindles come fitting time. No problems once I switched the bolts from one spindle to th...

Allan

The important thing is the adjustment bolt on the clutch fork shaft is in alignment with the cam on the cross shaft. Over the years frames sag, get bent, cross shaft pillows wear, the cam arm gets bent, so there are things to check to see if the shaft can move laterally. I well remember on T I found...

Allan

Good, dense felt can be an effective grease seal. Think front wheel hub seals and LH rear axle seals. It is not so effective as an oil seal. Think timer seal, land in which T crank seal fits and RH axle seal, often diluted with engine oil. Modern lip seals require an accurately machined land into wh...

Allan

A new bolt in pedal ramp is only half a repair. The pedal ramp itself will also be worn, and that wear is manifest in the free play you have in the pedal. You can bend the pedal back, with heat, to compensate for the travel so that it does not bottom out on the floorboard slot. The pedal ramp can be...

Allan

William's are roadster clamps for three bows. Whether your car has t.he mounting bracket for them is the next question. Whether to height of the bracket on the car will be acceptable is the next question. His are good in one aspect. The mountings are off-set, so they can be swapped from one side to ...

Allan

I always use the white rope seal used in A models. The two halves are longer than needed. I fit the seal to the pan, forming it into round with a socket of appropriate size, and trimming off the ends, leading them a little long. Same s=fitting in the timing cover. The pan gasket is cut around the pr...

Allan

A torpedo roadster will require clamps with just three curved sections to support the bows. The more common type for tourers have four. The other variable is the height of the mounting point for the clamp. Most have that point cast in place, so it cannor be varied to make a better fit, or height of ...

Allan

110 degrees predicted here today, higher tomorrow! I'm going nowhere. The RHD car is a Duncan and Fraser built car. Typical features are the crowned mudguards, curved cowl and brass cowl vents, one piece frameless windscreen and cast brass windscreen pillars Side lights put it at 1913-14. Allan from...

Allan

If you have one, a lost wax casting may be the answer.

Allan from down under.

Allan

Forget the short straight edge. A taut string line will give a better over-all indication of any sag in the frame. Takes only a few minutes to do, and can be quite revealing! There is no better time to make corrections than when the frame is bare.

Allan from down under.

Allan

T frame rails are tough old biddies.To get a sag out of the rails I have had to press them until the lower edge is almost straight before they would hold the desired shape. Pressing that far means there is a risk to the rails bellying sideways. I have two short lengths of hardwood cut to fit inside ...

Allan

The first incarnation of demountable T rims were held on the wheels with loose U shaped lugs. These rims were designed to wedge on the outer rolled in edge of the. Tim's photo shows this type of felloe on the left. There should be a punched in land on the inner diameter of the felloe, which serves a...

Allan

Big old engines like that were often fitted with a decompression device. When it is engaged, cranking is easy, like turning over a T without spark plugs.The moment the engine fires, the decompression device closes or is closed manually and away she goes.

Allan from down under.

Allan

It is not good practice to install a new bearing race on a used cup. Replace both.

Allan from down under.

Allan

I have a 3 point lift. The two chains at the rear have captive welded in 3/8" pan bolts They go in two holes from which the pan bolts are removed. The front chain attaches to one of the water outlet bolts when the outlet is removed.The three chains are linked to a D shackle which, once set, i never ...

Allan

It should not be beyond a reliable and competent T model owner to verify if the axle and perches are correctly assembled and fitted to the car in the correct manner. if that is found to be true, but the caster is still off, then the radius rod is at fault. If it is disconnected at the pan and lowere...

Allan

The dogleg at the back end of the hood shelf indicates that it is a high cowl body. There is no dogleg on a low cowl car.

Allan from down under.

Allan

As compromise, a standard rear axle can be fitted with a 39 tooth ring gear and a 12 tooth pinion, giving a 3.25 to 1 ratio. This is a fair compromise for a lighter car, without the serious compromise to the braking efficiency of the original Ford transmission brake.

Allan from down under.

Allan

If it is the correct axle beam for a 1909, with the relief notches in the spindle yokes, the axle should not be turned end for end. The perches may need swapping. There goes the nice paintwork, but it can always be remedied. To get things right sometimes means undoing previous work and re finishing ...

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