MTFCA Forum

SteveK

Personally, I always start with the basics. The issue is either fuel, air or spark. Air is a given on a T so its either fuel or spark. Get some starting fluid (ether) and spray it in the carb throat and see if it fires. If it does its a fuel issue, if it doesn't you have a spark issue.

Steve

SteveK

My truck has a compression fitting with ferrule so no pack nut.

Steve

SteveK

Steve, thanks for the tip on lifting and pressing. The 1/4" fitting was too small for the Snyder valve so I needed the adapter. I was surprised because that fitting did look original and fit the 90 degree elbow that also looked original. I believe my truck was restored (maybe even built) by someone ...

SteveK

I used the shut off valve from Snyder's and a fitting from the local hardware store. Works great!

SteveK

Allan, thanks for the suggestion. It was actually a small bend where it obviously was hit by something, but not enough to kink the tube. I took a chance and used my spring compressor where the bend was and carefully (slowly) pulled it in. All's well that ends well and it worked without breaking the ...

SteveK

I'm another MAACO fan. In 2008 I did a frame off on a 52 truck. Talked with our local MAACO in Texas and they said if I primed it myself and wet sanded (which I did do in my driveway), they would finish paint it for $800. They actually talked me out of their $1200 paint job and said their cheaper on...

SteveK

Personally I would never do that. Used oil will eventually cause at least some the paint to degrade and destroy lubrication.

Steve

SteveK

Received my parts and rebuilt both sides of the tie rod ends and removed the anti shimming springs that were cutting into the fittings. Thanks all for the suggestions. I also find that my tie rod has about a 1/2” bend so I’m debating with myself if it’s worth messing with? The bend is opposite the f...

SteveK

Thanks for posting; really fun to watch!

Steve

SteveK

Very really gutsy; I would never go near my wife's washer or dryer :lol: The mass of the football is 1000 times more than the mass of the marbles so there's no way they can react. The next time your wife is out of the house you may just try it with the marbles to see if they distribute themselves ar...

SteveK

When I first read about the beads yesterday I thought the concept was hokie, but after thinking about it, it started to make some sense. The key is the beads are ceramic which would make them very smooth and able to roll around. Vibration and Centrifugal force would make them spread around as evenly...

SteveK

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I do feel I need to fix it since its steering and if it ever decided to bind, things could get ugly! I'll order a new set of rebuilding kits today. I did try a cheater the other day on the castle nut and it felt like the bolt was starting to torque so I sto...

SteveK

I was wondering what that noise was in my tires when I spun them around

Now i know!!!!

Steve

SteveK

My truck came with virtually no cotter pins on the castle nuts so I've been going through adding them everywhere they belong. My steering works fine with no binding but the bolt through the castle nut on the tie rod end will not budge. I've soaked it for 2 weeks with PB Blaster and even used an impa...

SteveK

I would bet that the ones complaining about your excellent restoration pay people to do every inch of "perfect" work on their cars!

Steve

SteveK

Will, thanks for showing the picture!

Steve

SteveK

Great drive and good info. I've been monitoring my truck for temperature with a thermal gun and its running around 210 in and 145 out with the outside temp in the low 80's. So where did you install your temperature sensor for the digital?

Thanks

Steve

SteveK

Maybe pedal extensions for vertically challenged drivers? (my wife is short so I now have to refer to her as vertically challenged:-))

Steve

SteveK

Wow, 1" is small. The fender steps I've seen were on Model A's leading up to the rumble seat and were typically about 3" overall?

Steve

SteveK

They look like fender steps to me

Steve

SteveK

A few other options you might try prior to tackling your red paint job; the real easy one would be to try some of the new ceramic sprays on the paint to see if that works for you (a one year or so fix) and the next option would be to spray it with some rattle can clearcoat which would last for a num...

SteveK

Great pics! In the first picture I wonder where they were all heading out to all duded up like that? A fox hunt? Shotgun start on the golf course?

SteveK

I was just keying off the "a little bit shinier" comment. Nothing other than a professional paint job could come close to what JIm has suggested with the Appliance Epoxy. I also use a lot of Meguiar's products and their all great.

SteveK

I've cleaned up a number of old cars and before I take any sandpaper to it, I would try some compounding material on a fender to see how it looks. Not a lot of work and very satisfying if it works for you. I have found that 3M Compounding is the best and you can buy it on Amazon for about $35 a bott...

SteveK

It was suppose to come home on a flatbed but 5 minutes before they had agreed to show up I got a "can't make it" phone call. So I called other local towers and with no flatbeds available I took a regular tow with a dolly. (clutch was stuck). The truck was in the back of a warehouse in Honolulu and m...

SteveK

Very impressive how long they could supply the lights. Not sure why but I always assumed early lights were fueled by kerosene.
Acetylene would definitely burn brighter! Learn something every day

SteveK

Wayne, thanks for the detailed tank explanation! I wonder if they ever blew up!

SteveK

Just curious; in a number of the pics there's a stainless canister on the running board. Some vertical, some horizontal. What are they ?

SteveK

Just made it my official farm truck:-)

SteveK

Maybe this is sacrilegious but when I'm stumped the first thing I try is a squirt of starting fluid. It will tell you very quickly if its spark or fuel.

Steve

SteveK

A fun discussion!!! As an engineer who designed thermosypons in my early years, I would tell you that thermosyphon systems are very sensitive to pressure losses. A straight steel pipe produces significantly less pressure loss than a rubber hose. All of the other comments are correct, the steel pipe ...

SteveK

When I got my T a few months ago I was told the clutch was stuck. I looked through the forum at what to do and decided the easiest thing was to put the rear end of the car on jack stands so I could get the engine sorted out first. I ran the engine many times with the wheels spinning and magically th...

SteveK

Thanks everyone for all of the comments, they are very helpful! Tried to send a reply about an hour ago but I guess it got lost in cyberspace😲. I just tried to loosen some bolts; the first 2 had no issues but the next 2 would not budge and i didn’t want to force them. So I torqued the 2 i pulled bac...

SteveK

I’ve been tinkering with my T for a few months now and have the engine running well. A few days ago I noticed a small water leak from the head gasket on the front of the motor to the right of the water outlet. There is no water in my oil and no bubbles in my radiator so I’m pretty sure it’s a gasket...

SteveK

Your probably a couple of hours away but the Sarasota Classic Car Museum use to have a bunch of them. Better call before you go however since I know they were having financial issues earlier this year.

SteveK

I buy ZDDP in small bottles from Amazon. Not cheap but it does work. But never use it in cars with catalytic converters as it will destroy them.

SteveK

10W30 sounds reasonable to me for most applications but whats the verdict for adding ZDDP? I had a camshaft erode on a classic Mercedes I have and was told by the Mercedes Classic Center they felt it was because I used a modern synthetic oil which does not have ZDDP. I put in a new camshaft and have...

SteveK

CatGuy, I'm a retired mechanical engineer and the early part of my career was designing heat transfer equipment for the oil and gas industry. Your water pump (if functioning properly) can only help the heat transfer rate. The faster the coolant flows the better as long as its not so fast that it cho...

SteveK

Redid my JB Weld radiator outlet nozzle by adding a billet connection.

Steve

SteveK

Really great picture!!! I wonder how often he changed the oil

SteveK

Thanks all for the great comments and history. I did clean it with some electrical contact cleaner last week. I’ll go back now with some wd40 and a quick wipe and then check it occasionally to see how it looks.

Steve

SteveK

Hilarious that the tow truck is two mules

SteveK

I’ve been having a blast tinkering with my T. Even have it running well enough to take it around the farm while I work out the bugs. (mostly me figuring out how to safely drive it!). But I have a commutator question; everything I’ve read says oil your commutator but my New Day cover says no oiling🤔....

SteveK

A two things I forgot to mention! I accidentally got too close to a spark plug wire and caught the shock. Now thats a mistake I will not make again :D I have the truck on jack stands so this was not an issue but I did have it start on me when I touched the hot wire to the coil box. I've read on othe...

SteveK

I did find a nozzle that was cut from an old radiator on ebay and have that on the way to me now. I've been told by 2 of the parts houses that Brassworks has not produced any outlet nozzles for resale for at least the last year and a half. I'm hoping the ebay one will work but if it won't I'm prepar...

SteveK

The JB Weld outlet nozzle repair worked better than I could have ever expected. Thanks again Dan for the suggestion and i'm confident it will hold until I get the permanent fix in place. I'm just using it to work out the bugs and won't take it on the road until I have the permanent fix in place. Ran...

SteveK

Shaun, I'm new to "T's" but I've been working on one for a week now. Best if you get this corroborated---The spark needs to be firing around the engines compression stroke. Did you set the timer in relation to top dead center of cylinder !? If not, just google Timer setting and theres lots of instru...

SteveK

Thanks everyone for all of the info and the great suggestions. Now I have lots of fun work to do! I do have a clear title for the truck but registration in Hawaii is not very conducive for classics. My plan is no fancy restoration; I just want to get it running well and safe and then I'll put an ora...

SteveK

Hi all, I'm new to the forum. Have worked on cars all of my life and have a number of classics (50's and 60's) but never owned a real T before. This one showed up on my facebook marketplace and I was shocked it was in Honolulu, just a few miles from where I live. Its been stored in a Coconut syrup f...

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