MTFCA Forum

There was one that looked exactly like this for sale at the big Conroe, TX swap meet a few years ago. It had the same headlights and the same trunk.

The guy was putting around in it to drum up interest.

Looking for used armrest endcaps for my 24 Touring.

Pieces showing wear are fine...even preferable.

Text Two81-787-eight418 or email rustyfordsATgmailDOTcom

Neat idea using old couch upholstery! Are you going to install any buttons? If you have enough material on the sides, you can put in some pleats to more closely match the factory look. The attached picture is my first attempt using a Cartouche kit that came with my 1924 cut-off touring when I bough...

More upholstery work on the T....using the old leather couch that I scrounged, for the material. I ripped the factory couch seams in a place that I thought would sort of match the contours of the front seat bucket and then draped it over the area. It's just loosely laying there and there's a lot of ...

They're both pretty cars.

Those big, more upscale cars from that era always draw such a stark contrast to the T's. They must've been impressive beasts to someone from the country who was used to seeing Model T's and the like.

I’ve daily driven old cars with no AC, here in the Houston area. And the summer heat here is as bad as anywhere I’ve ever lived and I lived in some of the world’s hottest and most humid places. It’s ok under the circumstances you’re describing where the drive is short and you don’t have to stop a lo...

Now, I am sure that many of you MTFCA users have seen T's in many movies old and new, even in Laurel & Hardy shorts and Mack Sennett comedies (though I am sure some of you will cringe at the sight of abused and destroyed Ts). This in itself is just a neat thing to see. And, one evening, I was doing...

George House wrote: ↑
Fri Jul 24, 2020 6:33 am
What’s an anime ?

It’s a specific type of animation. I think it originated in Japan, but it’s common now. I have teenagers in the house still and I’ve watched a couple of anime films with them. Artsy stuff...not my style, but I can see the appeal of it.

My tried and true vacuum leak detection method is to spray something flammable around the possible vacuum leak areas. If you have a leak, it'll suck in the spray and make the engine rev up. Spraying flammable things on a hot engine is probably not the safest thing in the world so use caution and don...

Neat....another thing I'm adding to my "must see" list.

Thanks Joshua and George.

I'm formulating a plan based on what yall have shown and described. This is all going to be covered up, so I'm thinking a hybrid approach might be best.

Some folks use grease cups with Zerks inside so they can use a grease gun. I haven't done that with the small cups because using them as designed is no problem for me. The giant u-joint cup is another story. Arthur Itis told me to put a Zerk in that one. :D I did the same thing. All of my grease cu...

Every time I see one of these Model T saws, I immediately think of a blade sharpening business my dad used to patronize when I was a kid. The man who owned it was missing his legs and sat in a wheelchair. Behind the counter, he had a giant circular blade (more than 6' in diameter) mounted horizontal...

Welcome to the forum!

Please make yourelf at home. There's lots of knowledge here. I've spent the last few years reviving a T and there's no way I'd be as far along as I am without the good folks here helping me.

I took the even lazier man's route and bought the modern version with the sealed bearing.

The new/clean aluminum look didn't really seem at home with my weathered car so I painted the exposed parts flat black.

Kevin Pharis wrote: ↑
Tue Jul 21, 2020 1:59 am
If you saw em off just behind the gear (band saw... not hack saw!), the axle stubs pushes right out. And this way there’s none of that “shoot outa there” paranoia

This is what I did in order to salvage some nice gears that were mated to bad axles.

Don, The '23 touring I bought last year that was in pieces has that piece, I will go out in the barn & look in a little bit, do you have samples of the 4 armrest segments for the front & rear? I have the 4 metal end caps. The wood I have for this car is near perfect, I would like to get it duplicat...

Truly an example of what owning a Model T or TT does to your mind and sense of humor. What a wonderful time. Rich So true. Owning and driving my T has been one of the best things I've ever done. I've always had interactions with folks in my newer old cars, but the T illicits more geniune smiles and...

Awesome!

The only thing missing from that story is me riding along and laughing until my belly hurt.

I'm wrapping up replacing the rotten and/or missing wood in my 24 Touring and I've come to the vertical wood slats at the back of the rear "tub". These are the ones that the rear backrest seat spring will lay against. My question: how are they secured at the top and bottom? I see four holes down low...

I LOVE this thread.

Thanks for sharing Hank. No doubt about it...you’re changing their lives.

The driver's side rear fender on the 24 was sitting at a skewed angle...almost certainly a consequence of multiple things and people using it as a shelf or step back in the day. You can see the degree to which it was out of whack by how the fender mounting rod was sitting in the hole in the rear tub...

I waited thirty years to buy my first T. Taking my time and enjoy the journey on the rear end rebuild. Three years ago, I did not know the difference between a muffler and carburetor. I had to keep reminding myself that clockwise was tighten and counter-clockwise loosen. It took me a long time to s...

Gorgeous stuff Adrian.

I'm in awe of those who can make wood do things like this.

I went to those early pasture Pate swap meets. Around 30+ years ago at the very least. Me too John. Those were great meets. Used to walk half of it one day, then sleep in the bed of my pickup in the parking field across the highway and walk the second half the second day. As for the screened-in TT....

When I read other's questions, I tend to ask myself, "What would I do if this were mine?" In this case, if the condition of the rear end was unknown and I planned on driving it, it would get torn down to check the bearnings and thrust washers. With this approach, the condition of the current lubrica...

It took me a while to figure out mine. When Ross Lilleker freshened up my transmission, he installed modern clutches and I've heard they can take some getting used to. I found (through trial and error and the advice I got here) that matching the engine and transmission speeds is an important factor ...

I know yours is a preservation car. They're often harder to fix than one you could simply repair and repaint.

It almost looks like a previous repair that's coming apart again.

Good stuff Ryan....you should start a Build Thread for this project.

I couldn't get mine to completely seal without a bit of silicone. The silicone, in its wet/non-dried state also acted as a bit of a lubricant to help the hoses slide into place a bit easier. As for the silicone making removal more difficult, I'll happily cut off the old hoses and buy another set. No...

Thanks for the update....I was wondering how you were getting along.

Looks like the T is in good hands and on its way to recovery.

Looking good Ignacio!

You seem to be slightly ahead of me on the Model T infection. If so, it won't be long until I start in on my second one.

.....Me, I have racing in my blood and like to go fast. I have other things to go fast in, so I tend to baby my T’s. We're birds of a feather. My dad's main hobby was drag racing, which he did from the late 50's through the early 80's. I came along in '69 and tagged along and got that high octane i...

Your sentiments are right on track. I've lost track of the great people (there's been so many) I've dealt with through this forum and the MTFCA in general. I've spoken with you on the phone, through email and on this forum and you've always been a pleasure to speak to. Looking forward to one day mee...

Good folks...good times.

I'm always amazed at how visually different the early T's are from the later black cars.

What a beautiful car. Thanks for sharing the photos and info.

Gotta be super careful with all concentrated acids. They each have their bugaboos.I always keep a water hose nearby when working with them and will sheepishly admit that I’ve had to use it a couple times to thoroughly rinse my skin. Back in my hazmat days, I used to keep boxes of Arm & Hammer in my...

I'm with Don and Scott. I'd rather pull the engine and do the job out of the car. Anthonie's suggestion of a hoist is especially good with a cast iron hogshead. Agreed - as we get a bit older, it's easier on the "old bod" to just remove the engine and you get a much better job at sealing up the tra...

This week’s main focus will be woodwork. The budget won’t allow me to order wood kits for the two doors that need it so I’ll have to make it myself. Woodworking is not my strong suit, a fact made worse by my lack of a table saw. The door wood has some interesting curves that having me scratching my ...

(p-s-s-s-t... Lead acid batteries are sulfuric, not hydrochloric... HCL is used to adjust pH in water among other uses.) True. Thanks for the correction. Hydrochloric is used in battery production, but sulfuric is the stuff you find in them. Gotta be super careful with all concentrated acids. They ...

Several of you who've followed this thread have commented on this 66 F100 shortbox that's been in the background in several photos. This rust-free, original paint, Texas truck is for sale. $17,500. It's truly exceptional. I'm not sure you could find another one like this without a lot of effort. The...

I’ll probably get a lot of disagreement about this but...I’ll never pull and reinstall another hogshead while the engine is in the car.

That was the single most unpleasant automotive task I’ve ever done.

I’ll happily pull the engine to do it should the need ever arise again.

Low to mid 90's Don with 65- 75% humidity in the midwest. The T's dont overheat but if sitting still very long I do. I have flat recored in both the TT and pickup. I'm jealous. As soon as I retire and sell my interest in my company, I'll be moving away from the Houston area. I love it for it's abil...

Here on the Texas Gulf Coast lately, the actual temps have been at or near 100 degrees and the heat index has been around 110-115, with high humidity. Brutal to say the least. I took a break from working at home yesterday and had the Berg's radiator equipped 24 Touring out during the peak of heat. M...

The cut-off Tourings are certainly cool. They represent a specific window into the past when T’s were just used cars that were repurposed. My dad once bought a similarly repurposed Model A coupe that had a homemade pickup box inserted in place of the rumble seat. He immediately put a rumble seat bac...

I wonder how many countless Touring back-halves laid around fields over the years.

It looks like someone had the forethought to place this one on a pallet.

The worn out, original perches on my 24 Touring were such a bear that I gave up on them and took them to Ross Lilleker.

He was able to remove them, but even he said that they were some of the most stuck ones he'd ever seen. The replacements were somewhere between a press fit and slip fit.

If you add all the aftermarket things made to increase HP for a T over the years, you can easily get 50 to 60 HP from your T. :D I got 2 HP just bolting on my APCO explosion proof muffler with a built in cutout! :lol: I fish also. "Lies, damn lies, and Model T HP claims." Mark Twain (sort of) ;)

One of the things I love about my T is that is shows so much evidence of its days as a workhorse.

Neat!

I’m a charter member of what is probably the only car club in the world for one make and year model....the ‘54 Ford Club of America. I joined when I was 17 years old in 1986

Interesting stuff. I’m running my X’s at .025.

Now I’m wanting to try them at .030. I estimate that I’ve put in excess of 500 miles on the car since I returned it to the road. So, it’s a good time to pull the plugs and clean/gap them.

Congrats!

Pretty car, pretty girl. All a guy needs.

Itchin' for more Scott. Ya, these T's can be a bit snug for us taller guys. So true. My future son-in-law was here the other day. He's 5' 7" and skinny. My daughter is 5' 2" and also thin. They wanted to take the T around the block a few times. Both of them hopped up in the T easy as pie....they fi...

Summit Racing has the 21" tires for around $100 apiece with free shipping.

Dallas Landers wrote: ↑
Tue Jun 30, 2020 2:28 pm
Why? To have fun and poison the minds of others that cant believe that it runs and its drivable anywhere.

Dallas Landers wrote: ↑
Tue Jun 30, 2020 2:11 pm
Better to ask forgiveness than permission Don!

True. She is a very forgiving sort.....have to be to put up with the absent-minded professor all these years.

Although I'm asking myself why I'd need another slow-moving, 100 year old vehicle.

Nice photo.

Ross is the T-Whisperer.

Nice! Great looking family you got there.

Looking good Scott.

You and Dallas make me want a TT....and I know where there's a brilliant one with a gorgeous bed on it. My wife would kill me if another old car followed me home though.

Wow....your "goofing around" projects are nicer than almost everything I put together.

Totally smooth now. Really makes a difference. I took it to church this morning and it was perfect. Ross built up the worn pedal faces so that they fit the new cams better. The pedal travel is tight. Also I suspected and Ross confirmed that the machine shop had re-drilled the pedal shaft in the wro...

D Stroud wrote: ↑
Sat Jun 27, 2020 4:58 am
To me, getting a start by cranking and choking with the ignition off and then turning it on, isn't a "free" start', it's just a "cheap" start.

That’s a perfect name for it

My worry with StopLeak type stuff is not whether or not it fixes radiator leaks, but what it's doing to the coolant passages inside the engine. Seems like it's designed to work as a clotting agent of sorts. If so, why wouldn't it bunch up in places where you wouldn't want it to? I bit the bullet wit...

I love stuff like that. Sooooo cool.

My grandfather was an amateur blacksmith and his dad was as well. I have some of their creations and they're among my favorite possessions.

Something I've observed with my 24 Touring now that I've been driving it for 6 months... When I pull the choke out and press the starter button (with the ignition off) and let the engine roll over only two or three times...if I then switch on the ignition and move the the spark lever until it catche...

Very nice!

Thanks for sharing the video.

Yesss! What the Sam Hill happened to the door? Don, what's in the box? Looking fantastic. The door is getting new wood...soon to return. The box currently only has oil in it. But I’m looking for an appropriate container for gas that’ll fit in the box. John Mays gave it to me and I love the look of ...

My newly finished rear seat cushion.

Unusual things in unusual places. 30 years ago a 100 year old home was torn down here in Excelsior.. In side the walls were several 100 year old, empty wisky bottles. When they remodeled A. Lincoln's home 20 year ago, inside and under a stairwell they found a variety of items including several lett...

Maybe a kid broke it and was in a rush to hide it from dad.

Neato Ignacio!

I may have some bits and pieces that you can use, from my parts chassis.

My practice for many years has been to keep almost no money in the PayPal account or the bank account that it is tied to. With online banking, it's super easy to move money right before/after transactions. Then...the account goes down to just a dollar or two. I also use this technique with the debit...

I’ve been following along and appreciate the updates.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Ignacio....I may have one.

John kuehn wrote: ↑
Wed Jun 10, 2020 7:13 pm

Rootliebs has a nice operation going by their website presentation. They look to be a upfront and quality business.

Rootlieb made the new oval gas tank in my 24...very nice quality.

John kuehn wrote: ↑
Wed Jun 10, 2020 7:22 pm
I’m not for sure but I think Howells makes the T panels in Houston along with other sheet metal items. Or at least they use to.

Howell’s is out toward Beaumont...about an hour or so east of Houston.

I drove to the shop back in the mid 90’s to pick up a 26/27 turtle deck for a hotrod I was building.

The old man was still running the place and was super nice and even gave me a tour.

The phone was ringing practically the whole time I was there and he never answered it.

Susanne wrote: ↑
Tue Jun 09, 2020 7:35 pm
The only think I see wrong with that radiator... is that it's not belching steam and coolant. Then again, all I have by comparison is my ancient and clogged radiator...

Yeah...I tried the belching steam and coolant version.

Quaint, but not practical.

My goodness, isn't that WAY lower than Normal Operating Temperature (NOT) for a Model T? Or am I wrong? 'Splain me, Lucy. 100 degrees is roughly the Normal Operating Temp for planet Earth near Houston, Texas in the summertime. Dunno what the temp of the Model T coolant was. I didn’t measure it, Ric...

dmdeaton wrote: ↑
Tue Jun 09, 2020 4:03 pm
Good looking T
I like it

Thanks Danny!

How cool. Such a nice thing to see in today's world.

And I see that you're a member of the "Fathers of Beautiful Daughters" club. I've been a proud member for 24 years.

When I got my engine back from Ross Lilleker, it smelled like Kerosene or some other similar hydrocarbon...just glorious. That went away fairly quickly, but I was running it initially with no radiator for very brief intervals and when I did, the radiator hose neck attached to the head would let out ...

Original Smith wrote: ↑
Tue Jun 09, 2020 1:53 pm
That is what a good radiator should do! However, appearance wise, they look nothing like the originals.

That's the beauty and fun of stepping away from perfect restorations, like I've done with this car. I'm not attached to anyone's rule book.

I have to brag on Berg's Radiators for a minute. I installed the new flat-tube Berg's radiator in my T last year, just as the hot weather was ending in Texas. The highest temp it saw before things cooled down was just under 90 degrees. Hot, mind you, but nowhere near what the Houston area can dole o...

My parts chassis came with a homemade belly sling. The chassis was last used as a car in 1961 and the by the looks of it, the belly band was in place for a very long time before then. It's pretty crude looking visually but very solidly engineered and easy to install. And, since my aim has been to re...

I like the shop smell but my wife doesn’t. And since my shop is my garage and attached to my house, I try to minimize the shop smell by completely emptying it out twice a year (of everything except the workbenches and cabinets) and giving it a thorough cleaning.

"Cool" seems inadequate, as do "Neat" and "Impressive".

Brent rebuilt my coils as well. Not too long ago, the car started running roughly (like it was running on three cylinders) so I limped it home, located the dead cylinder then swapped coils which helped verify that it was a malfunctioning coil. Upon inspection, I found that one of the mounting posts ...

My car runs a lot smoother on mag, so I'd encourage you to keep the magneto function. When I freshened up my engine, I removed every magnet for inspection and replaced all the retaining screws. Then when Ross Lilleker did the final part of the rebuild and inspected all my work, he inspected the magn...

I’m not superstitious per se, but I do believe there are mystical forces at work in the constitution of all operational Model Ts that defy logical analysis. I've been around old cars for most of my 51 years and have owned everything from stock Model A's to muscle cars and have never seen a car more...

I've discovered that I can set up my car for a free start by turning it off with the throttle advanced. If I do so, I can come back to it, even a day later, and turn the key to BAT and move the timing lever until it catches a coil buzz and it'll try to free start. It seems to work about 50% of the t...

If you decide you want vinyl upholstery, you might consider asking Classtique to make a custom kit for you using "distressed" vinyl to go with the patina on the rest of the car. :) Mark...they sent me a swatch of the distressed vinyl and it does look good and that may be what I end up going with in...

Duey_C wrote: ↑
Sat Jun 06, 2020 1:06 pm
Yeehaw! That's looks really cool!

Thanks Duane!

My goal is to have it mostly completed by the Texas T Party.

Latest photo of the 24.

The plan for the weekend is to make more progress with the upholstery.

Whatever you do I am glad you found it and the owner didn’t leave it apart out in a field somewhere in the 60’s. That would have been the end of it for sure! Boy aint that the truth. When I was teaching high school chemistry in Tomball, TX....25 years ago, a student asked me if I wanted to come to ...

Never saw that comfortable man live. Lucky you Don! :) Looks like a little bantom A compared to the Touring! My Papaw was active in the RGV Livestock Show and ran the stage lights as a volunteer when the music acts would perform. I have an early memory of him picking me up in his arms to say hi to ...

Mine is original paint and will stay that way. There are fewer and fewer of them left. This one will get a little wooden box in the back where the trunk lid is gone and the panel is bent. 2019 11 27 thanksgiving ranch model t resized.jpg I think John should do the same with the Center Door. It is a...

Gotta love George.

I first saw him at the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show and Rodeo in the early 80's when he was a young man.

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