MTFCA Forum

In the picture of Dallas' coupe on the yellow trailer, The cars engine is over the front axle of the trailer and the rest of the car's weight is forward of the axles. This probably towed nicely, and may have actually had a little too much tongue weight. It appears to be about a 20 foot trailer with ...

You're going to get a lot of opinions here for sure. Loading the car backwards moves the engine weight back on the trailer and lightens the tongue weight on the hitch. Depending on how long the trailer is, the weight could end up being behind the axle of the trailer making for a very poor towing and...

My '25 coupe with all-steel doors has a regulator that looks just like the ones for sale in the catalogs for 26-27 and Model A's except it is bigger in every dimension. It had a potmetal roller on the arm that was seized and had been for many years and there was a groove worn in it. I first purchase...

I've seen some pretty ugly cobbled together bracketry on many other auxiliary transmission installations too. Using an old Borg-Warner, Ford, Rambler, etc. overdrive also requires wiring, cables, shift levers, and home-made adaptations that are often complicated and ugly. I don't quite understand th...

A couple of thoughts here. I had a 70's era 18 foot boat on a single axle trailer with no brakes that weighed about 3600 lbs. Towing it behind my 1 ton pickup was never an issue, but when I hooked it to the back of the wife's Astro van (rated to tow 6000 lbs but with load leveling and brakes) it was...

As Squirrel said, you are probably not drawing enough amperage with the small front bulbs. A 535 is a thermal flasher meaning that it has a bi-metal spring that curls as it heats and pulls away from the contact. The interval between flashes is determined by the time it takes the spring to cool and s...

You are near Las Vegas, you should definitely seek out the Southern Nevada Model T Club. southernnevadamodeltclub.org You will find friendship, advice, and quite possibly a nice Model T.

I'm happy with them. I know that they are all made in the same factory out of the same rubber, but something must have changed in the last several years. My last tires were Universal T Drivers and they seemed to dry out and crack very within a short time after purchase, especially sidewall cracking....

Even Snap-On black handles will begin to "sweat" and shrink and finally craze and disintegrate. If they are in a drawer or toolbox the gasses given off will rust and corrode other tools nearby. I have had several nice tools ruined by disintegrating screwdriver handles of many different makes.

If the car is insured for a certain amount, or if it is an agreed value policy, and the repair estimate is near or exceeding that amount or value, then the insurance company will pay the agreed value and request the title. They are essentially buying the car from you for the agreed value. If you the...

Mike, I sent you a PM back in January with pictures of what I have. Check your PM folder and let me know if anything I have is useful to you.

I love the gas/oil/grease odor in an old garage or shop. However old stale rotten gasoline stinks and the smell will permeate your clothing. If you get some on your hands, they will stink for days and almost nothing will wash it off. If you have old rotten gas in a car and are able to start it, the ...

Many may not know that the '13 roadster pickup that Ralph often posted pictures of, was that same Great Race car with a different body but the same Frontenac engine and all. It was his daily driver and it wasn't babied at all. It was a 70MPH freeway flyer. Shortly after joining the Long Beach Model ...

In the video above there is lots of oil flowing over the brake drum. If you watch carefully you will see oil dripping from the spring onto the drum, it just appears that the drum is not getting oil because it is being swept into the band lining but you can see it running out of the lining, and when ...

The Long Beach Model T Club Vintage and Classic Parts Exchange has been cancelled. Although we had hoped that the current virus restrictions would be eased by mid July, we have been informed that the Long Beach City College campus, which includes the stadium parking lot where we hold our meet, will ...

A stethoscope won't do it. a piece of vacuum or fuel line will help. Put one end in your ear and hold the other near the carb, muffler outlet, oil filler, radiator filler, and other spark plug holes. With a piston on TDC compression, air out the carb is intake valve, out the exhaust is exhaust valve...

Don't use CHEAP JUNK cotter pins sold in CHEAP JUNK stores in plastic assortment boxes!!!! I have had some of these break when I bent them over, and almost all of them will break when you straighten them to remove them. A GOOD cotter pin will be able to be bent and straightened several times althoug...

I agree with Allen and Frank! Parts should not be able to move in the box! I just received some parts today that were rattling around in the box and a sharp edge had poked through the box. Heavy parts, especially those with sharp edges and corners need extra protection. Choose a box large enough to ...

: Late afternoon in the California Desert near Goffs, CA. October 2015

Also note that the little bead on the wheel rim pulls up tight to the edge of the felloe, but the lug does not always contact the edge of the felloe. There may be a small space between them. Yours is tightened so far that the lug has been pulled to an angle and pulled loose from the rim. Notice how ...

"You only live once, but if you live right, once is enough." "Be what you is, 'cause if you be what you ain't, you ain't what you is." My Great Grandmother had what looked like a page from a book (appears to be a page number in the corner) in a frame. I think it is part of a poem, but there is no au...

One of my cars has bonded linings. I don't have any idea when they were installed, but the car was built in the mid 1950's and was driven extensively and I have driven it thousands of miles in the nearly 15 years I have owned it. I hardly ever have to make any adjustments.They do chatter some, but s...

Antique T Motorsports sells the brake lever extensions through their ebay store.

I suspect that you either have the wrong bulb or a bad socket. A standard 6V or 12V bulb grounds the filaments through the base. A magneto bulb is not grounded through the base, the filament is connected to the two contacts only. Old sockets often have had the little springs between the thimble cont...

I agree with Rich on the rocks. That dump box is only five or six feet long, and with the depth of the forms in the pictures, each load probably only makes five or six feet of progress.

Check everything in the engine! One of our club members had a cracked drum with Kevlar and in addition to the fuzz there was a sandy/gritty substance everywhere, in all the bearings, and even in the rings. Had to completely disassemble and clean the engine.

Tony, before you pull the engine, I think you need to figure out what is causing the bind. It sounds like the u-joint/driveshaft is pushing everything forward causing a bind in the transmission or maybe even pushing everything forward binding the crankshaft against the thrust bearing. With everythin...

Welcome Jim! You've come to the right place, Great Story! The best thing you can do for yourself and the truck is to find a local club and get active. You are much more likely to drive it and enjoy it with a group of like minded hobbyists and an active club that tours. It's fun to see, and be, in a ...

It won't turn the starter if that's what you're asking, but it will power the coils for crank starting, then switch to mag. You could probably do a full days touring with it running on battery even. The coils don't draw that much.

There is a little hole in the frame above those felt pads, but it is usually plugged with dirt and rust.

Seems like adding the floor would collect dirt and water leading to rust.

I have been running a converted starter for many years and am quite happy with it. I bought a car that had been changed to 12V with an early 60's Ford Falcon generator and regulator and also had some 12V accessories. Rather than change everything back to 6V, I rewired the starter to slow it down and...

Most likely some sort of a road draft tube that hung below the engine in the stream of air under the vehicle to create a slight vacuum and keep the crankcase fumes out of the car.

E-mail sent

Both cones should be oriented in the same direction. The bearing gets greased and you can see that the grease has gone all the way through. You don't have to take it apart to see the bearing. Also uses less grease.

Frank, that's my point! 12V is not required. What is required is good current flow, ie no resistance. You can't get good current flow through 90 year old wires and rusty ground connections. Even the 21cp bulbs will be much improved if they are getting a full 6+V with good grounds. LEDs aren't necess...

My 1923 Fordor has nice bright 6V lights. I get asked all the time how I have such good lights on 6V. Most can't believe that it really is a 6V system. Here is what I did: (1)Rebuilt generator and installed Fun Projects 6V voltage regulator -this is a real voltage regulator, not a cutout. (2)Cleaned...

I'm afraid that the drill may still turn too fast. Even if it is slow enough, I would not use it to start the engine. I think you should leave the spark plugs out and use the drill to "run it in" until it turns easy enough to hand crank it. You definitely do not want to have it start and not properl...

Put me on the list if there are any left. Thanks, Jeff

As Alan Long pointed out, modern wheels are dynamically balanced which means that weights are placed on both the inside and outside edges of the rim, sometimes in different locations. This is important with todays wide tires, however on a narrow "T" tire where the weight will be placed on the flat o...

Loose bearing method with stick-on weights, use tape to put weights on felloe at the top, opposite the heavy spot. Keep adding weights until the wheel stays put no matter where you stop it. Sometimes you may need to move the weight a little one way or the other, but you should never need to put weig...

Mike, P.M. sent. Jeff

This one is on my '25 coupe dash. 95 years later the car is still in Long Beach.

Cleaning up a differential casting and found block letters instead of usual Ford script. Has anyone seen this or is this a "spurious" part?

Saw this on the local Craigslist. Guy only wants 80 bucks for it

Pictures of your cab and doors would help. Model T bodies and frames are very flexible. Is your cab mounted on a frame now? Make sure the frame is level, flat, and square and the cab mounts are level and square. If it is not on a frame now, you still need to have the mounting pads or brackets level,...

Some more pics

These wood rails and corners were in a bunch of stuff I aquired. It was a mix of parts from Model T, Model A, and ?? Does anybody recognize them?

I mistakenly had this posted as a Kelsey rim, but it is the one identified as Hayes in the chart on another thread on the forum. 30 X 3 1/2 Hayes rim with two broken lugs. This is the rim that fits the notched felloe. Got this rim with a bunch of parts, it had a rock hard petrified tire on it and I ...

CORRECTION. This is a Hayes rim that fits the notched felloe. I'm going to repost it.

Those hubcaps look like accessory ones that came with hub covers that covered the hub and bolts like these. http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/59 ... 1460498107

This is a Kelsey rim that fits the notched fellows.

30 X 3 1/2 Kelsey rim with two broken lugs. Got this rim with a bunch of parts, it had a rock hard petrified tire on it and I thought it was probably junk. I cut the tire off and found it's not too bad at all. The bead edges are thick and not at all sharp, and though there is some rust it's not bad....

I use one of those cheap plastic ones that hook over the edge of a car door. It's easily removed and hidden although I rarely remember to do it. A swiveling or gimbal mount one for a boat would be better and some are removable leaving only a small bracket. I believe I read somewhere that Ford was th...

Saw Pit Mercantile is still there but building looks completely different now. Here is a link, click on the history tab and see the same picture as posted above plus a neat story.
http://sawpitmercantile.com/

Ford felt that his car provided everything that anyone would ever need. It was simple, reliable, economic transportation that anyone could afford. He said that he would "build a car for the masses" and he did, and he sold 15 million of them. He also said that as long as a Ford car was on the road, a...

As far as the car not having a drivers door, it was probably considered unnecessary due to the brake lever, pedals, and steering wheel interference. There was drivers side access on earlier cars without doors, and there was a left rear door on later touring bodies too. Also as mentioned, if driving ...

Couple of thoughts: A tube properly inside a tire generally doesn't fail unless pinched, cut, or punctured. The tire and rim contain the tube and allow the high PSI. An unconfined tube just continues to expand until it is stretched so thin that it fails. Depending on how heavy the rubber is, it may ...

Hap, if you look at the first link in your post (General Hillclimb Info) and scroll way down toward the bottom where I posted more info, there are two pictures (1971) of the car when it was orange and had the huge megaphone exhaust. Just below that is a picture of it in orange with the megaphone, an...

It looks like a demountable conversion. Spare tire is already mounted and filled with air. I would guess that there would be a hub on the car with six holes that the pins locate in, and a single center nut holds it on, like a modern "Knockoff" hub.

It's called a Boston Starter. The cast-in number B S 1 identifies it. Check Jay's post at this link with information on it.
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/50 ... 1439219302
The pictures at the bottom of the post are of my Boston Starter.

Model T's have rolled over and people have died whether they were strapped in or thrown out. Others have survived whether they were strapped in or thrown out. In a crash at 70 mph a 200 pound object (body) can generate over 10,000 pounds of force against the restraints. This can easily tear out most...

You will not regret having the pedal extender. It makes reversing so much easier. Additionally, when backing up, I always pull the handbrake lever to neutral and use the left foot for reverse and keep the right foot on the brake. You can quickly apply the brake if necessary without the delay of movi...

I see maybe three different things going on here. 1) That ring gear shows obvious signs of skipping over pinion gear teeth. It is beyond any further use. This is the cause of the terrible noise in the original post -SKIPPING TEETH. The noise sounds and even feels like it is right under the floorboar...

How do you rotate them when they post sideways? They were upright on the computer, but posted sideways.

A lot of guys seem to think that they need to really jerk the crank and generate some speed, this isn't the case! I learned watching a 90+ year old who made a couple of priming pulls, and then turned on the key and gently pulled 7 to 11 two times and his T started right up. I have been at shows wher...

: Late afternoon in the California Desert

Late afternoon in the California Desert
I can't figure out how to rotate these, but if you click on them they will turn upright.

Yes, a slower ratio will be easier to turn (less effort) but take more movement of the steering wheel. Modern cars with "quick ratio" power steering are probably in the 12:1 or 13:1 range which gives about 2 to 2 1/2 turns lock-to-lock, but just try to steer one without power! Old manual steering ca...

I got tired of trying to stop seepage and leaks. I didn't have another bulb, and no glass bowl either, but I had a bunch of other stuff, so I used a close nipple in the tank into the end of a tee with a 2" nipple and a bell reducer with a petcock drain out the bottom for water and sediment. Out the ...

I believe you are calculating wrong unless you are going to install it upside down. 6:1 is slower and would actually probably make for a nicer driver, but you definitely don't want to be quicker than stock 4:1. These units are used on race cars to quicken a stock steering for less lock-to-lock turns...

We used to put a drop of Tabasco on a copper penny and it would shine like new. I always used Nevr-Dull on aluminum and liked the results and ease of use. It's supposed to also work on brass but I have never tried it.

Take it off the car and put it face down on a rubber mat such as a mudflap. Now you can use your full body weight to push the bucket into the rim and turn it with the leverage of the mounting arm.

Where I worked, we bought mostly Fords. The original Motorcraft batteries usually lasted up to 7 years in our fleet vehicles that were started and stopped dozens of times a day while on very short runs. We could not get a replacement battery of any make, including a Motorcraft bought from the dealer...

No telling how that nut got in there, but I suspect as has been suggested that it got picked up by the magnets on the workbench when everything was being assembled. Good thing you found it! However I don't think that is the source of your noise. I don't see where you describe the noise other than be...

Looks like there is a name plate riveted to the cover. Maybe some careful cleaning will reveal a name and some numbers.

As far as a caliper keeping the wheel in place, it also depends where the caliper is mounted. Where I worked, I got a call one afternoon that one of our police spec Crown Victorias was stuck on the bridge with a bad transmission. The car wouldn't move forward or reverse, so I sent a tow truck to ret...

Hey, it's a neat little street rod and at least it represents a Model T. There aren't too many T street rods except for the "Kookie" T bucket variety. It just may strike an interest in a REAL T for someone! There were several of these built in the early '70's and according to the magazine article, t...

They crank slow, RRRrrr........RRRrrr........RRRrrr........RRRrrr. After a few revolutions they pick up a little, especially if it fires once or twice.

Yes, get the books! The differential side gears are pressed onto the ends of the axles and retained with a "C" clip. You have to take the differential apart and take the axles out from the inside.

The pinion bearing spool and torque tube are mounted to the housing with studs on earlier models and bolts on later 22-27 cars. As Dan said, they are an unusual size and thread that is NOT in use today (I can't remember the size right now.) They are special, but available from vendors or swap meets,...

Since you've got it out of the car, take the driveshaft assembly off. The whole tube, driveshaft, and pinion gear come off as one assembly. Then get a big screwdriver or prybar and see if the differential and ring gear move back and forth. You may as well fix it now while it is out of the car.

Pocket calculators

Even a well set-up car doesn't push around easily. There is a lot of drag in the system. When you pull the hand brake lever back to the upright position, you should see the clutch pedal lower to the halfway down position. This is "so-called" neutral where the direct clutch pack is released and the l...

Since you have the car on stands, release the handbrake and grab each rear wheel and try to move it in and out. There should be very very little movement, like none. There are babbit thrust washers in the rear end that crumble and fall out of place allowing the in-out movement. If you have excessive...

July 20, 2019 – 65th Annual Long Beach Model T Club Vintage and Classic Parts Exchange Saturday July 20, 2019 from 7:00Am until it’s over. One of the oldest and best old Ford and old car swap meets in the west. Open to all makes and models, automotive and hobby related items only. Long Beach City Co...

July 20, 2019 – 65th Annual Long Beach Model T Club Vintage and Classic Parts Exchange Saturday July 20, 2019 from 7:00Am until it’s over. One of the oldest and best old Ford and old car swap meets in the west. Open to all makes and models, automotive and hobby related items only. Long Beach City Co...

Balance the tires on a 35-40 mph vehicle? Why? I spent a lot of years balancing tires. An out of balance tire will really show at a speed of about 25 - 35 mph, and then smooth out some at higher speeds, and then come back at about double the speed, around 65 - 70 mph. Often the worst shaking is at ...

On hard acceleration the torque of the engine twists the frame and lifts weight from one wheel while planting weight on the other. The wheel with the lighter load spins leading to the belief that it is the driving wheel since all of the power is being sent to it. The differential will deliver equal ...

Like Norm says, shift into low before going down the hill. The shift into low while moving needs to be done while power and load are on, throttle down and climbing the hill. That's hard to achieve when you decide that you are going too fast down the hill already. Shifting down at that point could po...

Any reinforcement you add to the ramp door also adds weight that you will have to lift to close or support as you open it. You can tighten the balance spring to help, but then you get to a point where you have to pull too hard to open the door and it will snap shut when it gets to a certain point. I...

My old trailer has a narrow door and I only have about an inch clearance on each side. I put guide rails on the floor to keep me straight going in and out, and it also keeps the car from moving around as you fear.

In my 1926 Dyke's manual there is a section on repairing "Orphan Cars" with a list of cars that were no longer made by 1926, and a list of places to source parts for them. I seem to recall counting well over 200 cars on that list.

Any oil you can get today is WAY better than any oil available in Model T times.

Like Keith said, take your time. That tool works fine if you are slow and careful and the threads are just messed up, but it can't make new threads where there aren't any old ones left.

Jim, if you are clicking your "back button" it will not change color, but if you click on "return to 2019 discussion forum" at the end of the post the color of the icon changes.

Dallas, you should know by now that anything old and rusty came from a Model T Ford.

The important thing is that there is a number that matches the paperwork! Over the years I have ended up with three cars that, due to engine changes at some point, had a number on the paperwork that did not match any number on the car. Only the license plate matched. One 25 coupe is shown as a 23 on...

In California, nearly everything you buy has a proposition 65 warning label that states that the product contains chemicals known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive harm. So any oil, chemical, fuel, plastic, rubber, paint, or practically anything else, could qualify for your sign.

Sadly, for every Model T that is brought back to life, there is another one slowly rotting away in someone's garage or shed. You know, it was grand dad's pride and joy, he restored it back in the 50's, 60's, or 70's. It has 4 flat tires, and hasn't seen the light of day in 40 years and is piled high...

Many years ago I was a Foreman in a busy truck repair shop. The owner hired a new "lube man" who had supposedly worked in the motorpool in the Army. His first job was to do an oil change on a Kenworth with a big Detroit Diesel 8V92. They hold about 10 gallons of oil. I showed him where the oil drums...

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