MTFCA Forum

John Codman

I thought the original poster was seeking a way to restrain a from passenger falling out of the car. A seat belt will surely do this, regardless of the way it is mounted and all the other engineering stuff. Allan from down under. I agree with you, but whether the belts are installed for accident pr...

John Codman

I do pretty much the same as Norman Kling. He's right about the credit cards. Discover shut down my wife's credit card while we were in Russia, despite the fact that she had notified them about our European trip. As to wire transfers - that is about the only form of payment that the transfer agent w...

John Codman

Didja ever think how far ahead Henry was thinking? He was not using a distributor and had multiple spark coils - then the industry switched to a single coil and distributor. Now the distributor is gone and modern cars have multiple coils. The model T had tall wheels with high-pressure tires that had...

John Codman

dykker5502 wrote: ↑
Tue Nov 21, 2023 7:11 am
Nice update. Thx Dave.

X2!

John Codman

Thank you guys, as I stated, it is a 1912 towncar, all wood body, no foredoors available, no dashboard on those years to hang onto. The best suggestion, thank you, is to put seatbelts anchored to the seat wood frame with a 1/4 inch thick 2” x 2” angle iron under the seat frame, then bolted together...

John Codman

All Nash Metropolitans were assembled in England and were positive ground.

John Codman

Without seeing the actual body, it's hard to come up with suggestions, but I would agree with Norman.

John Codman

Of course Dan was kidding. Conventional theory says that electricity (Electrons) flow positive to negative, and that's the way we generally think about it. Electron theory says just the opposite - Electrons flow from negative to positive. Obviously we are talking DC current. An Electron can be defin...

John Codman

Hi Michael, as is often said: Welcome to the affliction. I don't mean to stir up the nest, but you can simplify things under the hood. A Model T with a properly functioning cooling system does not need a water pump (especially in Vermont). A water pump is usually added to band-Aid another problem. T...

John Codman

I brought my '26 Lower windshield to my glass guy. He removed the glass for me. I then took the frame home and cleaned it up, and painted it. I brought it back to him and I got a nice safety glass install for $175. I let the pro deal with the hazardous 97 yr old glass and I'm glad I did. [/size 202...

John Codman

What happened to our sense of humor? Jay made a joke! It didn't even mention politics.

John Codman

This does not sound good. My thoughts and best wishes for Steve.

John Codman

That is a fine looking T. Well back in the day the economy was doing well, lots of innovation, if you wanted a job you could get a job, wages were moving up, industry growing. People took chances if they failed they could try again. It appeared that things were improving for the average American & ...

John Codman

havnfun wrote: ↑
Tue Oct 31, 2023 10:02 pm
Great video, my first time seeing it, my favorite line, when Jay answered question: What Year? “1912, Only two payments left !”

Mine too.

John Codman

If he has had some or all of the Covid shots it should be a mild case.

John Codman

GM was still using lead in 1987. I watched them leading quarter panel to the C-pillar at the GM plant in Framingham, MA (now long gone).

John Codman

Glad that you are on the mend again, Steve.

John Codman

When I first got my T I had several failures of locomotion and wound up at the side of the road. I discovered that I had a contaminated fuel issue and the screen was plugging up. If you have ever pulled a cowl tank you will know why I had the recurring problem. Virtually every time that I pulled ove...

John Codman

I'd love to see the movie, but I don't have a 3 1/2 hour attention span. I'll wait until it is shown on cable and record it, then I can watch it in chunks.

John Codman

If you can possibly fix the leak without removing the tank - I suggest that you do so. Removing the cowl-mounted tank is not a fun project. It's not rocket science, but there is a fair amount of disassembly involved.

John Codman

Thanks for the update, George. Steve will be in my thoughts. I'm hoping for the best, as I am sure are all of you.

John Codman

The best news in a long time! It's great to have you back, Steve.

John Codman

Overall it appears to be in good shape. As it has a distributor, it either has a bad magneto or a previous owner thought that it did. You need to be sure that the base timing is retarded before attempting to start it by handcranking it.

John Codman

When I bought my T nine years ago, the first thing (second thing, actually) that I did was to order a complete wiring harness from Lang's. The original harness was in bad shape, and I have seen several collector cars burn due to bad wiring. Lang's harness fit perfectly and all of the color codes wer...

John Codman

Steve Jelf is going to need a frame or parts of one.

John Codman

Allan wrote: ↑
Fri Oct 13, 2023 6:28 pm
Is the assertion that wire wheels are stronger than wood wheels opinion or fact? Either are certainly up to the job on a speedster.

Allan from down under.

I'm taking it as fact. There was an article a while back in Vintage Ford (I think) about just that subject.

John Codman

Chicago/Cook County, and others... Historically you are correct about Cook County, but the last election there that likely had significant voter fraud was about 60 years ago. I did some checking, and found that about 6% of all cars and trucks registered in the USA are 25 or more years old. My perso...

John Codman

For a speedster I would use the wires. The wire wheels are stronger then wood, and although the speedster is likely lighter then a full-bodied T, I think that it might be driven a bit harder. I much prefer wood wheels on a "normal" T, but this time I think that wires are safer.

John Codman

Kevin - I agree that closing the choke isn't priming. It also isn't doing anything unless the engine is turning over.

John Codman

A free starts occurs when you turn the ignition key to BAT and the engine starts and runs. (If it occurs at all) Always set the parking brake before trying to start the car by any method. A T will not free start on MAG. A free start does not involve any activity other than setting the parking brake...

John Codman

John, First paragraph, second sentence: “3 primer, 1/4 turn. Turn the key on and it starts 70% of the time”. By “primer” he wasn’t speaking of any kind of paint or fuel pump. Model T people would read this as pulling on the looped wire leading to the carburetor choke butterfly while cranking the en...

John Codman

In the original post I don't see where he said that he hand cranked the engine before the free start. I also don't see any "primer" on my NH-equipped '27. It has a mixture knob and rod; the same rod can be pulled to close the choke, but I cannot find anything that could be called a primer. On a T a ...

John Codman

Chad - When I lived in Massachusetts we had the best voter ID ever. The same poll workers (somehow, that feels kinda dirty) worked the tables at every election. They knew every registered voter in the town. There was no way that an imposter could have voted. Here in Florida I vote by mail. In order ...

John Codman

1925 Touring wrote: ↑
Sun Oct 08, 2023 8:15 am
Any updates on Steve Jelf????
We don't all have Facebook...

X2!

John Codman

Norman - we have had that for decades.

John Codman

I agree with txgoat's posts on this subject. We already do have the ability to change the direction of our country when necessary - it's called the election. If people would vote wisely, instead of happily supporting whoever tells us what we want to hear, we will be fine. Whether that will ever happ...

John Codman

Global warming is always a dangerous subject because so many of us are locked into our beliefs (Don't bother me with facts, I've made up my mind). The Earth is getting warmer; it seems reasonable that people have something to do with climate change, but is this change real and permanent or is it par...

John Codman

How is wire from a 6V jumper cable going to drop voltage? It would be bigger then 12V cable.

John Codman

I finally got Steve on the phone tonight. He sounded good and very alert. Still some confusion about what happened. Not uncommon at all. He is still in Indiana and wanting to get out of here. I guess they are waiting on the insurance company to approve the abulance ride. Go figure. I sent his compu...

John Codman

I agree with those who feel that your coils should be checked out, but I doubt that coils are your major issue. The maximum voltage input to the coils on BAT is about 6V. On MAG it should be much higher, plus the electrical load to operate the oscillators (buzzers) is gone. If you can establish that...

John Codman

Didja notice the spelling of Gasoline on the pump?

John Codman

I'm curious as well.

John Codman

Thanks Dallas. Has the insurance scoundrels "settled up" yet as far as his car goes? And of course I suspect no matter which insurance does the payout, it'll all be predicated on what he claimed as the ACV of his car I would imagine. It is my understanding that Steve has Hagerty. Hagerty normally w...

John Codman

To comment on another's previous post: The Earth's magnetic field has declined in strength by about 9 to 10% in the last 200 years. The magnetic poles have always been moving; aviation charts have both magnetic variation and magnetic deviation on them. I presume that maritime charts are the same. Th...

John Codman

Let's keep things happy here. Most of us are not right-wing conservatives or left-wing radicals. We need to steer clear of blasting Presidents and potential Presidents. They have no control of California emissions and do not set California law.

John Codman

When most packaging labels read “known to cause cancer by the state of California” and every emission law in other states are based on California emissions standards I would say yes we might worry about what there up to. Bryant I am not sure that I understand what you are saying. If you are saying ...

John Codman

I'm pretty much repeating what was said earlier, but to keep it simple: Disconnect the wire from the magneto coil and check the voltage with the engine running. There's no reason why you can't use a digital meter, but be sure that it's set on AC. As was said earlier you should get at least 20 V with...

John Codman

Great news!

John Codman

I like where you are going with the speedster. I'm taking you at your word that the parts are there so you can get a feel for where things belong. The only significant change that I would make is to find a slightly smaller oval gas tank - but that's JMO. It's your car and you should do whatever you ...

John Codman

I can't help you with what they are for, but I have seen keys like those before.

John Codman

My mother used to say "90% of what you worry about never happens". I would like to think that even California will not try to slay that Ant with a piledriver. That sort of thing ain't happenin' in Florida. I am not planning to move to California, so as far as I am concerned they can do whatever they...

John Codman

Makes me glad I know have a green car, all you unlucky guys with your black T's Screenshot_20230928-073359~2.png My '27 Touring car T is also green. Dan, I would expect that a T would emit little or no NOX, but the CO and HC would to a certain extent, be up to the driver who controls the mixture. I...

John Codman

Update: I pulled the plugs and cranked the engine with the starter. It cranks at about the speed that I would expect with the plugs in. I am going to carefully go through the starting circuit looking for voltage drop. If that doesn't yield results I guess that I will try to find someone who will go ...

John Codman

I'm not quite sure what the purpose of that chart is. Graphing a total percentage of a base year would make sense; Finland emits only a small fraction of the CO2 that the United States does. Showing that they have only reduced their CO2 emissions a tiny bit when compared to the USA is meaningless.

John Codman

Those 'boards were obviously in good shape. Maybe those same 'boards are on a member's T today!

John Codman

To Norm Kling - The problem existed long before I moved to Florida.

To John K - Dang! I shooda thought to electric crank it with the plugs out! I guess that I'll be pulling the plugs again.

To Robert - I agree and that's the way that I hand crank a T (or any other car that needs to be hand-cranked).

John Codman

One thing to consider is that the United States gets 60% of it's electrical power by the burning of fossil fuels. Electric cars tend to be heavier then the ICE cars that they replace. It simply has to consume more energy to move the heavier car then it would to move an equivalent ICE car the same di...

John Codman

For clarification purposes only: The car has had this issue since the first time i saw it. I use 10W30 oil. Jacking up either or both rear wheels make no difference in the slow cranking. In Neutral the car has less of a tendency to creep forward then some other Ts that I have driven. The pistons app...

John Codman

I consider myself to be an environmentalist. Having said that, I also consider myself to be a sensible person. Certainly the required pollution controls on modern cars have gone a long way towards cleaning up the air, but let's not get silly about it. My neighbor across the street burns grass clippi...

John Codman

With what sounds like good compression, which would mean good suction, unless it has vacuum leaks between the carb and block; couple of good pulls to prime you should only need to pull over top dead center to fire off and start esp. if you are running coils. ;) The engine is as Ford built it. The p...

John Codman

On another thread (not mine) I commented that my '27 is so hard to crank that I can't. Even the starter cranks slowly. The battery is of sufficient capacity and is in excellent condition. In the thread that I mentioned, there were numerous suggestions about horrible things that could be wrong. Then ...

John Codman

Only “T” folk can relate !! I wonder how many of our members have actually patched tubes roadside ? My first T, I rolled on ancient rubber for over a year and probably only got 10 to 20 miles between flats. (if that). That all went away with a set of new Riversides, and it’s a good thing too !! The...

John Codman

To add a bit to Wayne Sheldon's history, when Winnebago motorhomes was starting up, neither GM or Ford would make custom chassis for Winnebago in the (by Detroit standards) low volume that Winnebago needed. They finally went to Dodge which said "sure". Winnebago has had a special loyalty to Chrysler...

John Codman

I have the originals on my 27 which were replaced with a set from Snyder's. Since they are out of the car, measuring was no problem. The throttle rod is 48 1/2 inches from the top of the 90 degree bend at the top of the rod. The spark rod is 51 1/2 " from the bend to the bottom. My T is a touring car.

John Codman

If your father had the same issue, I suspect that the rods are incorrect for the car.

John Codman

We are 120 years into the aviation age and airliners still have not one but two pilots. The technology to allow an unpiloted (by Humans) airplane has been around for decades. Does that tell you something?

John Codman

Road runners will hang around cars and interact with their reflections in glass, paint or chrome. Smashed bugs are probably also attractive to them. They hate snakes, and have been known to kill rattlesnakes. When I lived in Massachusetts there was a Robin who repeatedly would attack that "other" R...

John Codman

I'm really glad he's on the mend. Don't be discouraged if once in a while he has a not-so-great day. His body took a hell of a beating, and it will take time for it to totally heal.

John Codman

If the car was sitting for 10 years, I would expect fuel system issues unless it was started on a more-or-less regular basis. If it was started regularly and gassed up with fresh fuel regularly then you are probably OK there. Why was the car converted to 12V and distributor?

John Codman

Fantastic!

John Codman

I go along with Norman Kling. If ,the rods lined up perfectly with the originals something has to be misaligned or installed incorrectly.

John Codman

Yup, 1886.

John Codman

About 30 years ago, I read a story in one of the club magazines about a long tour. Every morning, the writer would drain about a half cup of gas out of the carburetor drain to eliminate any water that might have settled out of the gas during the night, as the gas often had some water, perhaps from ...

John Codman

The march of the world has led me to put visible flasher lights on my Ts. Not original? Better to be seen than not, but even that is no guarantee (Steve had flashers on his car). I have two bright magnetic flashing lights that I put on the rear of my T before I drive it on the street. So far, so go...

John Codman

Although I left Massachusetts seven years ago, I do go back for the occasional visit. I have not noticed that Massachusetts drivers are any worse then the national average. Florida however, is.

John Codman

Austin correctly stated that you can be killed in a '50s or 60's car too. However, a 60 Desoto Adventurer (for example) is still a heck of a lot more crashworthy then a Model T. Let's face it - if you want your kids to be as safe as possible behind the wheel, there is only one solution. Buy them a n...

John Codman

When I logged in I used to be directed directly to the Discussion forum - now I am directed to the classifieds. What happened? How do I put it back?

John Codman

I would not want my young offspring driving a Model T or any car of that vintage as their primary transportation. I think that I would insist that the car be new enough to have a tandem braking system. That leaves '64 and up for AMC and Cadillac, and '67 and up for anything else.

John Codman

I have the same setup on my '27 and have no complaints with it. I confess that the conversion was done before I met the car.

John Codman

Steve's food looks good to me, but I'd trade the Peanuts for Pistachios.

John Codman

I also live in Massachusetts and I’m a public transit bus driver. It’s not just you or your imagination it’s real and a problem!! Ever since people are allowed to smoke dope………🤦🏻‍♂️ good thing is I live in the Berkshires and can easily enjoy the back roads and mostly see no one, and drive into Verm...

John Codman

Alligator clips are what are pictured in the photos. Crocodile clips have all of the teeth across a flat front, and a visible true coil spring to keep them
closed. The Jaws cross each other before you get to the teeth.

John Codman

My guess is that it is part of a governor. Those look like flyweights, and I'm thinking that it is driven by the gear, and the weights control the speed of the shaft with the double disks. Somebody will probably come up with an obvious better answer and I'll have to beat myself with a wet towel.

John Codman

I also don't have TikTok but could watch it. I'm assuming that the car is front-wheel drive. I don't see how it could work with a Hotchkiss-type driveline.

John Codman

The way I was taught, an (American) Alligator clip and a Crocodile clip are two different things.

John Codman

tdump wrote: ↑
Fri Sep 15, 2023 2:19 pm
Everything takes time with a head injury.
I would have thought the insurance company would already have looked the car over by now,gosh it's been plenty long enough.

Someone has to notify Hagerty of the loss before they will assess the damage.

John Codman

WayneJ wrote: ↑
Fri Sep 15, 2023 6:15 am
I really believe that you need to wait until Steve is able to make his wishes known.

I agree with the above.

John Codman

Norman Kling wrote: ↑
Mon Sep 11, 2023 10:54 am
What is the difference between a 27 Canadian body and a 27 U.S. body? Both have doors on both sides. And both have steering wheels on left side unless manufactured for sale in a country which drives on the opposite side of the road.
Norm

You are correct, but the body in question is a 1915.

John Codman

TWrenn wrote: ↑
Fri Sep 08, 2023 9:29 am
Noise cancelling ear muffs!!

Ya beat me to it!

John Codman

Texas driver's handbooks had hand signals as late as the mid-1960s. They were available at DMV, which used to be staffed, and were used in Driver's Ed programs. Is there such as thing as Driver's Ed anymore? So much that is practical and useful has been purged from public education. Massachusetts w...

John Codman

On another forum someone asked what kind of car hit Steve, and who was driving and were they injured? Can anyone shine some light on this?

John Codman

I posted this on another car forum with the hope that perhaps other carguys might donate something to the Go fund me page. Another member posted the first photo with the link to Go fund me.

John Codman

Not the news that I wanted to hear. I hope that Steve has as speedy a recovery as possible. I have never met Steve, but through this forum I consider him to be a friend.

John Codman

Lang's lists the water outlet and the keys in my 2021 catalog (that's my newest one). Snyder's probably has them as well.

John Codman

I agree that your T (or any stock T) should run better on MAG then BAT. Your coils are transformers. Transformers don't work with Direct Current, thus when on BAT, the mechanical oscillators (the buzzers) on the top of the coils are converting your car's DC into AC. It does take some energy to opera...

John Codman

Seems reasonable to me.

John Codman

It has been my experience that with the symptoms that you describe, the cause is most often fuel. If you had a skip, I would suggest electrical, but your symptoms point to something that affects the entire engine, not just one cylinder. I would check any filters and sediment bowls, then if necessary...

John Codman

Hi Steve, welcome aboard. You will want to find the mixture/choke rod setup before you try to do very much driving. Another suggestion is that you find an aesthetic way to plug up the holes in the firewall where the original coils were removed (or you can revert to the original coil configuration). ...

John Codman

Been wanting a T for 20 years. Have an A but wanted a T. Bought on local, 1927 Tudor, “Dad drove it in the barn, I watched him”. Yep it likely did on about 1960. Seems the 10 year old boy didn’t know or hear the rod knock that made them park it. Didn’t hear it when I cranked it by hand before buyin...

John Codman

Loose or worn parts anywhere in the steering system can cause shimmy, wobble, tramp, and wander, as well as steeting wheel kick, excess noise, and rapid tire wear. Bent or out of round or out of balance wheels/tires can also cause assorted problems. Even if everything is tight, poor alignment or ou...

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