MTFCA Forum

greenacres36

When I used to run a roller timer I would put a handful of red grease in it. Seemed to work really well. I had a timer that oil and metal powder shorted out one of the bottom contacts at one time. That’s a bear to diagnose. Now an itimer for me.

greenacres36

My pleasure. I tried to use Fords drawings. Most dimensions are fractional. So I did my best to understand what they considered critical. Let me know of any issues. I like happy customers.

Brian

greenacres36

As I understand, the rotor in those distributors has a resistor built into it that can sometimes fail. You would get spark at the points, but no spark between the rotor and the distributor cap.

greenacres36

I use a utility trailer breakaway batteries. Comes in its own little box so it’s convenient and looks good. Easy to hide.

greenacres36

I think it’s neat and different. I like the ingenuity.

greenacres36

At one time I considered making some TH 400 drums to sell. I just didn’t think that there was any demand. Besides a new jackrabbit clutch would probably be cheaper and probably last longer

greenacres36

I think both of my cars leak on the garage floor even when they have sat all winter without being started.

greenacres36

I’ve made a couple of them, but for the life of me, I cannot remember the bearing numbers. I know I used Timken bearings because I wanted something quality. I also bored the gear side in reference to the flange that the housing bolts to the rear end housing. Some people I think go from the end but I...

greenacres36

I have had a conversation from a tech person but for the life of me I cannot remember where. It was claimed the the LOGO LITES led head lights were rated up to 25 volts AC as well as DC voltage. I have no experience but that was the topic of the conversation. There are some 1157 leds that are rated ...

greenacres36

Advice taken. I’ll take the head off. In my experience I should know better because taking the apparent lazy way out always ends up costing me a bunch of more effort. I think that’s just the way it is.
I certainly appreciate the quick replies.

greenacres36

I know the best option is to remove the head to replace a connecting rod, but is it possible to remove a connecting rod from the bottom? I have plenty of shims in the rod, but the car has always had a knock. I’ve discovered that one of the connecting rods must be bent because the piston end is all t...

greenacres36

I had a valve cup fail on an engine that I just put together and when I took it apart there were multiple had cracks where the little pin goes through i’m almost every one. So I created a solution. I made a set out of billet stock. I wanted to make sure that never happened again because that’s a goo...

greenacres36

My 15 has the coil lid with the cut outs and they were not big enough. I had to put them on the mill and make them bigger. It was doing a similar thing when the vibration was right the coil would just happened to hit the shell but after, making them bigger I’ve had no problems.

greenacres36

I think Dave Nolting might do it.

greenacres36

A little over 400 miles for us but have heard its a great time. First time for us next year. Went to Cadillac this year and we are in love with northern Michigan. Coming from a buckeye.

greenacres36

Use JB Weld

greenacres36

I used a trailer break away battery. Compact and in its own box. I use only for coils starting. I use a small sealed battery for lights. If I leave the lights on I can still start the car.

greenacres36

Water transfers heat better than antifreeze. I usually run mine a little on the lean side. I used to have a John Deere model M that would run about 220° no matter what. I put pure water in it and it would barely raise the needle. I know it sounds odd because it boils at a lower temperature when the ...

greenacres36

Some from Friday

greenacres36

I have been a machinist for a few decades, and I can share some insight on this subject maybe. I am not a professional engine builder, but have worked in industrial repairs my entire career. This may not be a good excuse for charging anymore for an early block, but if I am involved in a project wher...

greenacres36

Are those Ford Y block pistons? I have them in my car and it looks like someone machined the top of them to make them clear the head.

greenacres36

I turned my rear main cap around with no effects. There was plenty of slop in the holes for the captain move around. Not the best situation in my mind, but it turned out just fine. In my opinion that’s what I would try first because if it works it eliminates a lot of other modifications, that may tu...

greenacres36

On its cover, this may seem like a stupid question, but here goes anyway. I put a new jackrabbit clutch in my 26 a couple years ago. I started having problems with the car wanting to creep when I come to a stoplight or stop sign. It actually pulled the engine down slightly. Upon further inspection, ...

greenacres36

Dave Nolting drums have the lugs for the shoes for the early cars if that’s what you’re asking.

greenacres36

I have had a fluorescent drop light flicker on when it’s not even plugged in if the engine is running. It makes me wonder if that’s why Henry didn’t put radios in the model T. The flywheel magneto would’ve made it impossible to get any reception. L O L.

greenacres36

Not to hijack this a little bit, but kind of reminds me of something funny that happened to me a few months ago. My 15 has never had a free start in a couple years. I was backing out of a parking spot one day and I stalled it in traffic. So I get out and push it back into a parking spot to let traff...

greenacres36

Free starts are a matter of luck for the starter. It just happens to be wherever the engine stops. I had a car that used to do it almost 50% of the time and after I rebuilt the engine it doesn’t do it anymore. It’s how sometimes especially the older cars used to get the teeth worn off of the flywhee...

greenacres36

I agree usually cast-iron is cut dry. But sometimes I would use something like WD-40 or PB blaster.

greenacres36

To the best of my knowledge, you cannot go on visibility between the two. I may be wrong on that. But I’ve seen forgings of different design and some early and some late both with six holes around the perimeter. I think most of them had one hole on the perimeter for the late hubs, but I’m not sure o...

greenacres36

Depends on which clutch drive hub you have. Early vs late have different dimension from set screw to thrust face by about .015”

greenacres36

I spoke to one of the vendors a couple of years ago about this very thing. The reply was that in theory the fancy bulbs that do not require focusing may, I stress may work. The bulbs were rated for 6-25 volts ac or dc. Expensive experiment for sure.

greenacres36

Snyder’s led lights. The way to go

greenacres36

The distance from the set screw to the thrust face is the difference.

Early with top hat bronze bushing uses a clutch drum with a .515 distance. 33/64”

Later is .531 or 17/32”

Why the odd numbers? Seem to be a Henry’s favorite thing. LOL

greenacres36

I’ve used the Flitz tarnish remover, and I was pretty happy with the results. I really love their polish. It is an excellent product. Be a little pricey.

greenacres36

You should be able to step on the brake pedal after you start the engine to put it in gear I would think.

greenacres36

If you like nostalgia or are really cheap, you could use a nickel.

I actually have one car with a nickel for a core plug. Perfect size. I guess it would be OK in a pinch. My nickel doesn’t leak so it stays in.

greenacres36

Are you sure those are road smoothers? I have a set for the rear that are like pneumatic cylinders with a spring inside. Of course, they are plum wore out. rebuildable for sure. They were already on a roadster that I have when I bought it. They did make it ride smoother, but I didn’t see that they w...

greenacres36

Backlash is not a one to one ratio with the expansion . As the gear expands due to heat, the backlash is affected by a less amount depending on the pressure angle of the tooth profile. I do not know what the pressure angle of model T timing gears is though. Possibly someone else can chime in on that...

greenacres36

What type of wire was used to run from the switch to the headlights themselves originally on a 1915? I would like to keep my old car as original as possible's but i’m not sure what type of wire they would have used at the time for this. I’m thinking it might have been individual cotton covered wirin...

greenacres36

I am manufacturing these parts. They are made from billet 1045 steel. Easy to balance, and come much better balanced than the originals. More durable than the original material is.

$200 plus shipping.

greenacres36

Can anybody identify this distributor? The nameplate is missing off of it. I know that somebody will say it makes a good wheel chock. lol

greenacres36

I’ve been messing around in my shop and finally got my project where I want it. I was bothered during the build of my last car when I discovered I needed another hub due to mine was worn out only to discover no one made these new. So I aimed to solve that problem. I use 1045 bar stock that is harder...

greenacres36

Gene’s boring set up is awesome. I cut the bearings in my 15 on the first attempt and did such a fine job. I didn’t have to even lap them in. It was easy to get size and did a great job. He has a great product. I even done them with a cordless drill. The way he makes the cutters gives you an awesome...

greenacres36

I sent a pm to you Joe

greenacres36

I am in the process of making a couple new clutch drums. The only dimension I am missing is from the face the washers right against to the set screw hole. Obviously that is critical. I know there were two different numbers for early cars and late cars. At least that is what I understand. Does anybod...

greenacres36

1915 Runabout “Josie”

greenacres36

Absolutely not overkill. I like it.

greenacres36

I used an old inner tube piece to cover the gap in the split rims. Has worked for many miles.

greenacres36

I would like to add what I did wrong. I had the rods too long and they caused the equalizer to bottom out of against the oil pan. It took me a second to figure out why I could not get them to work. So that is definitely something to make sure of when, adjusting the rod length in my opinion.

greenacres36

Thank you Scott for showing that post. I thought I remembered it but you know how things go as you get older. L O L my thought also was to include a Delco style regulator but I didn’t want to spend the money upfront and what I’ve done is satisfactory for me now. If someone actually has done or does ...

greenacres36

I just finished a mod to my generator to give a high and low charge rate. It was very simple and fairly discreet. I put an insulated screw on the band cover and moved the ground lead from the field coil off of the grounded brush to the insulated screw. I suppose you could use a voltage regulator the...

greenacres36

I don’t know if it amounts to anything but I have put water wetter in my cars. Does it work? Maybe.

greenacres36

Simple……..you meet the nicest people with a T. Good friends and if you break down some passer by usually stops and asks if you need help.

greenacres36

That’s not a Kingston L4. The screw is on the wrong side of it to be for the flapper. Doesn’t look like the Kingstons that I have.

greenacres36

I bored my 15 .020 over last year. I have about 1000 miles on it and I set them up at .0045-.005” clearance . I just kind of took it easy for the first few miles and it came out great. China pistons. I certainly would not run what is printed on the box. Too tight.

greenacres36

I don’t know what some will say but I have used Lucas hub oil. My 26 has it in it I think.

greenacres36

I love it!

greenacres36

Now that is neat! Even though it’s A little crude some real thought went into that. But if that happened to be on a tractor conversion I wonder how well it worked if mud got into it?

greenacres36

You’re absolutely right I jumped the gun on that. It is still nice to have those drawings for the one-man top. Thank you so much for posting those drawings for the older cars. That’s the one I need.

greenacres36

That is great! It looks like it’s probably the right one unless somebody out there has different information. I’ve looked everywhere for that thank you.

greenacres36

I’m in the process of putting new sockets and bows from John’s on my car. I have a new top also. I have done a few searches and I am not able to figure out how long the sockets with the bows are supposed to be. I think I could figure out the upright one and the front but I don’t know how long to mak...

greenacres36

I just received mine from John for my 15 a month or so ago. Unbelievable quality I am so happy.

greenacres36

It always kills me how people judge about other peoples cars. That’s the problem with the world today everybody sticks their nose in everybody else’s business. I just like old cars for what they are. I never understood where the line is drawn about what new is acceptable and what is not. The gear dr...

greenacres36

I will second that opinion on Snyder’s’s. I just bought a set for my 15. Excellent quality. I guess they make them in the house.

greenacres36

I bought a Brassworks round tube for my 15 runabout last year. No cooing problems at all even during break in. Heck it even survived falling off of the turtle deck. I hadn’t even put it on the car yet. Of cars on the way down it fell out of the box and landed face first on a floor jack. My heart dro...

greenacres36

My block is dated 4/14/15 and the car assembled on 4/24/15. So engine blocks must not have aged a whole lot before machining. It probably would’ve taken a warehouse a square mile in size if they aged very long before machining.

greenacres36

I don’t know if this is a solution or not but it is something I had to do. I had to go onto the Hastings website and search around for rings that was the right thickness and diameter. The difference is I have Ford Y block pistons. Then I ordered from Summit Racing. I have no idea if this is a soluti...

greenacres36

A little more compression wouldn’t hurt. I think I’m correct to say the octane is pretty high in LP gas

greenacres36

It appears by the tooling marks and the inconsistency among the teeth I believe they were not hobbed. It appears they may have been indeed cut with a form cutter. That sounds crude and inefficient but that is what I am seeing on the low speed gear that I have. Typically what I have seen in the past ...

greenacres36

Not being ornery but I just checked the unused portion of a low speed gear that I have. The teeth were not cut on a hob machine. Meaning they are not generated they are single indexed which is a less accurate method of cutting gears. The cord length over several teeth varied by about .008”. I’m actu...

greenacres36

I wonder how Ford did it in the factory? Anyone know? besides quickly. New assemblies should he made quite concentric. Literally, if the bushings were made correctly you should be able to indicate the face of the drum hub that is machined and the outside diameter of the drum then check the bore to b...

greenacres36

I think the idea of the reaming fixture is to ensure the bore is concentric (indexed) with the pitch circle of the gear teeth and parallel to the gear axis. Neat idea plus it holds the drum assembly secure while reaming. Although quality machining will achieve this and all surfaces will run true and...

greenacres36

I need a whole new top for my 15 runabout. Currently there is nothing on the car. I have a vendor in mind for the top material I just cannot figure out who makes a decent set of irons (metal structure). Any suggestions?

Brian

greenacres36

Case hardened in that area? I doubt it but that would be a little aggravating.

greenacres36

Thank you so much Dan! That was exactly the information that I needed. I’m just going to go ahead and put in new gears and I’m sure I need to go with an oversize shaft. I work in the machine shop so I’ll just take it in and bore the cover to fit the new shaft.

greenacres36

I apologize I probably wasn’t as clear as I could have been. I have replaced everything that had any wear at all in the steering system and I am down to the last part which is rebuilding the steering box assembly. I replaced the following, the king pins, tie rod end bushings, Pitman arm, and the bus...

greenacres36

Everything is new and tight but it appears that the teeth in the box itself has enough wear that standard gears will not eliminate the slop.

greenacres36

What is the solution for a steering gearbox that the teeth are a little worn? I hate to buy a rebuild set of gears not knowing if that is what it takes to cure the teeth being worn in the box itself. My car is a 1926 Tudor. It’s not that the shaft or the cover is worn too bad it’s actually the teeth...

greenacres36

Who hasn’t had that happen?. I’m more curious about what that road looked like in the spring. It’s a pretty nice dirt road now but this must be in the fall.

greenacres36

You didn’t mention what type of timer you had. It really doesn’t matter except if you have an I-timer. No matter what it will not start on magneto with one of those.

greenacres36

My opinion, end play is over rated. I had more than .040 on my 15 and still rated good with an ECCT. If magnets are strong it should be ok to run. 15 volts certainly is. Heck I just put an engine back together after doing a quickie overhaul and not all of the poles were exactly what the book said it...

greenacres36

I have had excellent luck putting them in the freezer and working the side off if possible. It doesn’t take long in the freezer for that stuff to become brittle as glass. I think it makes it easier to save all the little pieces so you can melt them back down and put it back in again.

greenacres36

I bought some brand new wood box coils from a vendor about a year ago. I cannot remember which one. They never worked quite right when I opened them up I found they had puny little capacitors in them. I can’t remember the value but I replaced the capacitors and three out of the four coils pass the E...

greenacres36

I have that same combo. Prus head, Scat crank but Chafin 280 cam and I timer. Great combo for sure. Good power, starts very well. I only have one issue. I rebuilt the coils using an ECCT and the magneto he’s putting out about 30 volts, but it runs way better on battery. It seems like you cannot get ...

greenacres36

I think it’s called dramatization. As if model Ts are boring in their natural form. Just like country people say “city folk” and I’m sure the reverse is true also. Lol

greenacres36

This is all reassuring news. I do have a couple of pieces of wood to replace. Tack rail on back for sure.

greenacres36

I’ve done an upholstery job on a classic Ford truck without any problems using a kit. I need to do my 15 Runabout now. Is this project a lot more difficult than the job I did on my truck? It looks way more complicated. If so can I get a rating of difficulty? 1 to 10. 10 being very difficult. I want ...

greenacres36

I had ok luck with a Turner 2 in 1. Kind of like a New Day.

greenacres36

Thanks for that information. They are on the rear of a roadster of mine. I’m really thinking about removing them but I was just curious how they fit together. Sort of like to take them apart and see how they function. They look to be a sturdy design but I would never run them on the front. As with a...

greenacres36

Never mind. I’ll figure it out.

greenacres36

Are they able to be disassembled? I have a set on the back of my car currently and would like to know if the spring cover/cylinder can be removed. I thought maybe it was screwed on but I don’t want to destroy them. I’d rather remove them and put them on the shelf then destroy them.

Thanks

Brian

greenacres36

Well, I whipped one out real quick on my lathe out of 4140 preheat treated material. We’ll see how it goes.

greenacres36

Oh praise the Lord! It was between the internal oil line in the cylinder wall. It fell straight down the hole and landed there and could not proceed. I moved that pipe just a little bit with my fingertips and it fell straight down. I feel so much better now.

greenacres36

Not much I can do about the pins but I am almost considering making some retainers. I’ve been a machinist for 33 years so I have the facilities. I don’t know if what I would make would hold up. I would probably use 4140 preheat treated material. I’m afraid by making them from bar stock they might be...

greenacres36

I did with a magnet. It’s gone. Not really a panic, more like a crap! I really don’t understand why the retainer failed to begin with. I just rebuilt this engine about 250 miles ago or so. Not because I am cheap but I don’t like throwing away good parts, I reused the retainers and pins that were alr...

greenacres36

I was out and about in my 26 tudoor today. It seem like it was running so well then it happened. Started popping and missing like crazy in traffic. I managed to get into a parking lot and called my son to bring the trailer. While I waited I pulled off the valve cover because I had a suspicion. My su...

greenacres36

Touring I get around 25 mpg in my newly rebuilt 1915 runabout. 280 Chaffin cam, Prus head, Holly G, I timer and Scat crankshaft. Pretty well balanced.

greenacres36

Well……may be good for upper cylinder lube in an older engine. Lol

greenacres36

Rumor has it synthetic flows a little better in a cold engine. That would be a huge benefit in a splash lubricated engine I think. I use it.

greenacres36

I suppose it’s like anything else you buy from various vendors where the quality is all over the place. I bought some earlier this year from a vendor and the adjustment bolts were so tight I thought I was going to twist them off. But they didn’t. So I was delighted with them. I’ve worked on a few ol...

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