MTFCA Forum

Kevin Pharis

Can’t tell how deep the combustion chamber is from the pic lookin straight at the valves. Any brand overhead with lower compression has a combustion chamber depth of about 1.25” (4:1). With the higher compression heads measuring about .875” deep (7:1)

Kevin Pharis

I have had a couple roadster trunks. The floor was attached to the trunk. As Henry notes, having both would create unnecessary interference issues. The P/U bed is a complete unit with its own battery access & cover. Plus the rear frame hump is built into the bed. The trunk floor was attached to the...

Kevin Pharis

Very interesting! A Frayer wheel… by Phelps. While having obviously similar interface designs, Frayer has a relatively conventional threaded wheel nut, while the Phelps has a bolt on cover plate to retain the wheel. Learned sumpin new today! Thanks fellas!

Kevin Pharis

I don’t recall ever seeing a Frayer brand wheel… but the hub does not appear to be Phelps to me (unless there were variations that I have not seen yet). Here is a Phelps hub for a T that I recreated years ago. The front hubs have no splines

Kevin Pharis

Most speedsters are never really finished, just waiting for the next accessory to come along. Mine just got an under the hood face lift since the pic posted at the beginning of this thread. Runnin great again and waiting for the next outing

Kevin Pharis

Here we go again… could we add this topic to the MMO, unleaded fuel, and non detergent oil taboo topics list?

Kevin Pharis

From one of the Sacramento stops. Kinda like riding in a Model T…

Kevin Pharis

I was able to dig up a flat belt pulley design formula to determine the amount of crown a little while ago. It showed that a 1-3/16” wide pulley was to have .018” of crown (radius dimension)

Kevin Pharis

Look again fellas… that’s a V8-60! Not exactly a performance improvement, even for a T

Kevin Pharis

May wanna double check your phone number as it looks to have an extra digit

Kevin Pharis

The calipers are used on many different 80’s-90’s era Honda (and probably others too) motorbike models. It seems like every model had a different mounting bracket so best to look at all your options at the wrecking yard. Rotors can be challenging too, these were mid 80’s Nighthawk with mag wheels (n...

Kevin Pharis

Here’s a look at the Honda Goldwing brakes on the rear of my speedster. More than strong enough to do the job, especially if you continue to drive your T like a T. Can’t really tell from this angle but the caliper occupies about 1” of the drums 1.25” width. EA38642B-C5D9-4A6C-BFEA-EB6070C6D69A.jpeg

Kevin Pharis

I’ve had my eye on the 5.25-21 for a while… not too crazy bout the 4.50-21 tread pattern. Have to believe they are just as good as the 30”x3-1/2” tires, really happy with em

Kevin Pharis

Thanks for posting! Not sure how long ago you saw it, but this car is currently at the Speedway museum in Lincoln Nebraska. Was parked near the Speedster Reunion registration area alongside Rob Heyen’s model K and B. All are beautiful cars, and was a pleasure to see up close

Kevin Pharis

The only HAL heads for a T that I know of are the earlier production “run in oil”, and the Akron-Hed. Definitely not either of these. These same pics surfaced a while back… and as I recall did not get identified. I was just cruising the Speedway museum a couple days ago, and did not see anything wit...

Kevin Pharis

Some more pics

Kevin Pharis

Some more pics

Kevin Pharis

Adding pics from check in day

Kevin Pharis

Michael, if you’re planning on going… I’ll load up the parts we discussed

Kevin Pharis

Here is what Speedway sent me We are planning a fun filled event to celebrate our 10th Speedsters Reunion. Schedule of Events: Registration Day, Wednesday 6/21 1 pm - 6 pm Registration Museum of American Speed 599 Oakcreek Drive Lincoln, NE 68528 Tech Inspections Museum Touring 6 pm - 8 pm Welcome...

Kevin Pharis

FYI, Hanks offer seems generous to me. I rarely make solid copper gaskets these days as the prices of materials and labor has gone up considerably in the last several years. My latest cost for a solid .040” copper gasket was $200! I suggest snatching these up if you need em…

Kevin Pharis

Thanks for the offer Steve! I haven’t even seen the car yet due to traveling for work the last several weeks, and will be on the road to Lincoln for 2 more. Will try to get the fella to mock up my old speedster alternator while I’m on the road to see if it fits. Then we can deal with the belts…

Kevin Pharis

Thanks for the input fellas! I’m hoping to NOT go overboard on this project…

. I have been eyeballing the head mounted option but having a hard time envisioning the belt routing. Steve, your pic of the dual belts gives me hope, is your crank pulley a modified aluminum repro?

Kevin Pharis

Asking for a friend… I swear!😉 He has a ‘15 touring (pre generator block) that apparently needs a water pump. The desire is to get away from magneto lights, and install a charging system and battery. Does anyone have any examples of an alternator and water pump on an early engine? Did you use 1 belt...

Kevin Pharis

See you there!

https://www.museumofamericanspeed.com/s ... union.html

Kevin Pharis

Thanks Andy! Wish I could have been there. Any idea how many cars are running this year?

Kevin Pharis

My dad ran a Volvo 4 speed for many years in his Fronty powered speedster. At first with the complete T trans, low pedal was dangerous as the additional gear reduction would strip the teeth off of any gear in the Volvo. The T trans was eventually stripped of all but the clutch, and the car began to ...

Kevin Pharis

The relatively common “pan ear replacement” and “belly band” era accessories along with the somewhat common arm failures found on the survivor parts suggest that pan arm failure was a fairly common thing back in the day. The improved hogshead and pan rail gussets made up for the weaker 4 dip pan, an...

Kevin Pharis

Always a great meet, see ya there!

Kevin Pharis

I have read about “burning” or cloudy finishes as a result of over voltage. Copper is supposed to perform best at 2-3 volts, and nickel at just a bit higher voltage… did you plate at 6 or 12 volts…?

Kevin Pharis

Lookin good Corey! This is my setup from a while back using the same vinegar based solution. I made up copper and nickel with hopes of plating carburetor parts… but turns out my 1A power source only has the oats to plate small coin sized parts. I’ll have to step up my power and try again… 113A323B-B...

Kevin Pharis

I may have access to a complete Dayton wheel for use as a pattern to figure the spoke hole angles. Also have plenty of 30x3-1/2” rims on hand and possibly spokes that will fit too. Send me an email

Kevin Pharis

Only in califunny would one need to liscence a car that drives UNDER the road…? Glad to know that the CA lunacy is not just a recent phenomenon…

Kevin Pharis

SteveD wrote: ↑
Sat May 20, 2023 6:49 pm
There was a lighted moto meter?

For those hot summer nights!

Kevin Pharis

There’s some common confusion about how the accelerator pump needle works too… screwing the needle down into its seat sets the pump at its highest setting. Backing it out about 3 turns will pretty much disable it. The diaphragm return springs are known to get assembled on the wrong side of the diaph...

Kevin Pharis

You are not alone in your metal spinning frustrations Rich. You may have seen my carburetor float project on another thread where I vent about having hired 2 professional metal spinners to spin .012”-.015” brass sheet. Both spinning efforts failed miserably with the material thickness being the excu...

Kevin Pharis

Nope! Only heat and hammer on this pan. The die gave sumpin like 1/8”-3/16” of clearance (it’s been a while), but the 12 point nuts are the real secret. If you use the stock hex nuts you have to make the dimple much larger.

Kevin Pharis

Here’s a pic of the die. Not sure where the hammer went tho…?

A few vice grips to hold it tight, a bit of heat, and a bunch of carefully placed hammer strikes formed the pan into the die

Kevin Pharis

I’ve freehanded the dimples before… but carved a die for the last motor I did. Worked out very well! I also made up a hammer as no other hammer I owned or could find seemed to fit the shape I wanted. It was basically a piece of 1/2” round stock welded to the face of a hammer B616DC86-7865-41DD-BD88-...

Kevin Pharis

At least they were made in the USA!

Kevin Pharis

Dans 2nd paragraph in the quote above states that external thread hub nuts will be mounted reverse of the more typical design internal thread hub nuts. More clearly, left hand thread on left side of car (driver), and right hand thread on right side of car (passenger). Your first post states that you...

Kevin Pharis

Dan to the rescue! From a post a while back Dan McEachern Re: Left hand thread vs right hand thread on front hubs Report Quote Post Fri Feb 11, 2022 11:42 am Those are not common wire wheels, so my reply is of a general nature. Wire wheel hubcaps that have internal threads will have left-hand thread...

Kevin Pharis

Are the wheels on the correct sides, right threads on the drivers side, left threads on the passenger side? Kevin and Dan, your last posts are quite helpful. The wheels don’t care which side, but the hubs do. Your hubs are installed consistent with the Buffalo design, but I vaguely recall a discuss...

Kevin Pharis

Many of us wire wheel guys knew what you meant Dan… just wanted to clarify for those who are less experienced in this realm of accessories

Kevin Pharis

It seems these parts are not very common and there is little knowledge of their use. Perhaps they are worn out Another problem is the way the wheels actually fit on the mechanism, they are very difficult to tighten and I see no way to shim them These wheels are not relatively uncommon (for hens tee...

Kevin Pharis

Its good practice with any quick demountable wire wheel to check the hubcaps for tightness prior to an outing I somewhat agree with this statement… many believe this statement means that the hub nuts should be tightened an additional amount before every outing. NOT true! Hub nuts should be periodic...

Kevin Pharis

I can also see that the hub nut has been bored out and slit in several places thru the thread. Then a ring inserted and soldered into place to reinforce what was no doubt a collapsed hub nut with bad threads. Not to say that this repair was not sufficient, but very likely the hub has similar wear an...

Kevin Pharis

The best indicator of wear is to check for 250” max lift

Kevin Pharis

Yur not alone Andy. My speedster was re-bodied because of a freebie gas cap… 18 years ago! Nothings been free since…😩 The whole front end in sumpin else, beautiful radiator and 3 springer kit too. The wire wheels are a mystery tho… the caps look like the recently discussed Messenger wheels, but are ...

Kevin Pharis

Here is one of those missing pieces

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=36069&p=278899#p278899

Kevin Pharis

Check out this thread as I believe you have just stumbled upon a Nash drive gear

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=35980&p=278542#p278542

Kevin Pharis

Even tho the open cars have round windshield frames, the recessed inner channel profile is very similar. If fixing what you have is the best option, I would consider making 2 sheet metal profiles. One that would start at the inner portion of the frame and Z down into the channel floor. The other wou...

Kevin Pharis

Whatever that car is… it sure performs well without the right front tire…!?!

Kevin Pharis

How bout these…?

Kevin Pharis

Look like Universal Wire Wheels (inspiration for the McLaren Wire Wheel) to me. Note that the large domed hubcap with relatively small hex is the same diameter as the wheel center

Kevin Pharis

Got the alternator final assembled and bolted to the motor last weekend. Tonight’s project was making new oil lines DUN!

Kevin Pharis

It’s been a while but found another sideways Winfield installation over on the HAMB

Kevin Pharis

Here a quick look at what I made all those years ago… 81CE4829-1B2D-4855-AF8E-5E7F8554032C.jpeg E9404AC0-BD45-41D2-8D34-9A2B5D810516.jpeg C82DCF30-0784-458E-9617-95056E645724.jpeg Rough material dimension is 3.5” x 3.5” x 2.0”. Could probably take an inch off the length as the “snout” isn’t necessar...

Kevin Pharis

Just in case, here is a pic of the manifold Bruce is looking for…

Please disregard all the shiny stuff

Kevin Pharis

Wonderful pics!

I think that fella reclining in the speedster eventually turned it into a motorbike…

Kevin Pharis

I’ve set up for small scale copper and nickel using vinegar. This works for hardware sized parts, stronger acids are said to work better on larger parts…

Kevin Pharis

I just took mine off my speedster engine to install my alternator/oil pump drive… but my dad quickly claimed it for himself. I do suggest seeking out an iron Melling pump rather than the lower precision aluminum alternatives. The iron pump I removed had very little noticeable wear after 10+ years. I...

Kevin Pharis

Hey there Bruce, If you had asked me last year, I probably would have sold mine. Bout that time I even offered to loan it to the Speedway Museum I have since decided to use mine, but did make up some header flanges that I am willing to part with. They are 1/2” thick stainless steel 46BF19E8-BCAC-4AE...

Kevin Pharis

Waaaaay better!

Kevin Pharis

A little cutting, grinding, some heat, and a bit of silicon bronze TIG brazing rod…

Kevin Pharis

Layden Butler was seen on this forum 3 weeks ago… it was Lloyd Butler that passed a couple months ago

Kevin Pharis

I like to think he would have been proud🥲

Kevin Pharis

Thanks for the input fellas, I am far from a pump design engineer and based the impeller off the impeller that was included with the pump. The cooling system will remain basically stock, and intend to throttle back the pump if needed. Increasing the pulley diameter and cutting the impeller down are ...

Kevin Pharis

Of all the possible complications… the water pump inlet is more than 1/2” lower than the radiator neck! There is enough slop in the mounting bolts to get it within 1/4”… but the shaft becomes waaaay out of parallel with the crank pulley, and I fear never ending belt problems. So am considering eithe...

Kevin Pharis

Finally getting to install my Fronty water manifold! I made a drill jig out of 5/8” thick aluminum bar, clamped it to the block, and ran a drill bit thru to the water jacket. Turns out the iron is pretty tough! A few of my tapped holes look like they were drilled by hand, the rest look pretty good. ...

Kevin Pharis

My dads ‘27 model 24 roadster was reaaally anemic even after freshening up the engine… it struggled to maintain 40mph on level ground. It now runs waaaaay stronger with the Winfield carb and turbocharger!

Kevin Pharis

From my angle… it looks like the glass is too big

Kevin Pharis

I agree it’s annoying… but the pixel size restrictions favor landscape pics. Simply rotate rod pics and they should load… or reduce the resolution in your settings

Kevin Pharis

Just signed up today! I procrastinated as long as I could

I’ll bring whatever isn’t bolted down, and my dad will probably throw some goodies in there too…

Kevin Pharis

Brass wasn’t phased out till the ‘17 model… but there were many that got painted black from those that didn’t like the green look, and also aftermarket replacement hoods and radiators to update the styling of the brass cars

Kevin Pharis

Got the head off tonite and it looks pretty good in there… except for those giant scuff marks and a little water damage in the bores! Clearly I have put a few miles on the ol girl, but it’s goin to have to work for a bit longer

Kevin Pharis

There certainly is! Looks like a 16 port copy of the somewhat successful Fronty “Stagger valve”. The Stagger valve never actually a major success on the track, but made the awesome list by having both intake and exhaust manifolds on both sides of the head. Supposedly this was to combat the tradition...

Kevin Pharis

And so it begins…! DB1CE5AE-A838-46E0-8410-BC9430A47B3A.jpeg Started the tear down today to begin the Akron-Hed swap. The motor is stripped down and getting cleaned up. Then will pull the head and start pulling out the valves. I found the starter housing screws are loose, and the timing gear is loos...

Kevin Pharis

Any heating required, before or after welding ? I follow typical chromoly welding practices. Preheat to above 300F and TIG weld with er70s-2 filler rod. I post heat when welding the 2 rod pieces together as the part chills pretty fast. But when welding the boxing plates, the whole part is near dull...

Kevin Pharis

With the center web removed, the boxed and welded rod now weighs within a few grams of what the original donor components weighed

Kevin Pharis

Made some progress today; With all the rods shortened and webs removed, I V grooved the inside of the weld joint and welded from the inside. Also did a rough balancing job which required some grinding, and some adding of weight; A44C7B6D-48DE-47F5-AE56-C423000D026B.jpeg Next was cutting the boxing p...

Kevin Pharis

I’m with Andy on the wheel covers. Solid disk wheels must have shape to have strength, these are flat. While lookin to see if I could see wood spokes on the inside of the far rear wheel… it sure appears like this car has Laurel style rear lowering

Kevin Pharis

Will keep posting pics as I make progress. These rods aren’t mine so they need to get done and gone! Hoping to make some noticeable progress this weekend

Kevin Pharis

Definitely TIG! No other (regularly available) welding process can produce the same level of weld quality. Of course it’s not just about the welding machine… it’s up to the welder to ensure proper cleanliness, weld penetration, joint design, filler materials, and shielding gas. The rods are essentia...

Kevin Pharis

Only got in an hour tonite. Just enough time to fit 2 more rods and weld up the edges. Occasional adjustment is required to align the edges of the rods, so cut down the middle of the web, and spread when hot. I’m also filling the oil holes as the original holes would have broke into the now boxed se...

Kevin Pharis

My dad pressed a set of rods a while back… after a complete rebuild, we found that the block deck was about .090” shorter than it should have been, causing the top ring to peek out of the block at TDC. A simple angle iron jig, some localized heat, and a hydraulic press yielded a set of needed length...

Kevin Pharis

Kevin, I like your method of removing the section between the beams and then adding a continuous piece to make a solid beam. The center web is removed to lighten the rod. Next I will cut 2 16ga steel “boxing” plates that will be welded to each side of the rod, creating a rectangular tube section wh...

Kevin Pharis

Not too sure bout the timeline… but this should be a fairly quick project. My dad should be cutting the other 3 rods while I’m at work tomorrow, and I may be able to get all 4 to this stage over the next couple of days. Once all are to this point, I will rough balance, then start on the boxing plates

Kevin Pharis

Here is a couple pics of todays progress. Apparently my old rod fixture was lost in dads recent move… so made a new fixture this morning, and started putting pieces together

Kevin Pharis

I’ve always been creeped out by the idea of bolting slugs to the top of my pistons. Sumpin about potential failure points coming loose in the combustion chamber and destroying the piston/head/block. Have to admit that I’ve never done it before… so maybe just paranoia holding me back. But as I unders...

Kevin Pharis

I hear the deck height is about right and 3-3/4” bore too… but I’ve never seen a chebby piston with a dome. Compression ratio may suffer…

Kevin Pharis

Is he back…?!

Kevin Pharis

My dad just so happens to be pushing me to make up a set of T/A rods right now. I’ll try to add some pics of the process to this thread as I go…

Kevin Pharis

Hey there Les, If you recall I took you for a spin in my speedster while on the national tour in Whitefish, MT bout 10 years ago. This motor has shortened A rods with center web removed and boxed. I have done a couple sets, and my dad has done a couple hybrid T/A sets. It’s a ton of work… but not su...

Kevin Pharis

I imagine the chebby bronze shells would get too big fast. The minimum spacing between the T main bolts is 1.750”. Might work out for the front main, but the center and rear main bearing shells are waaaay too big to fit between the bolts. I’ve heard about folks notching the main bolts tho…

Kevin Pharis

Modified Model A cranks are fairly common in T engines. 1-5/8” mains diameter and 1-1/2” rods. At this main diameter the babbit is extended right up to the main bolts, and so might be wise to bring the chebby crank to 1-5/8” mains at the largest. The stock Model A rods are a tight fit as well inside...

Kevin Pharis

Rims with small brake drums…? Is it safe to assume that you are looking for Hayes demountable wire wheels? Best to specify also if you are looking for 23” clincher or 21” rim diameter.

If you find some, take a close look at the keyways in the hubs as they are known to wallow out

Kevin Pharis

You had it right the first time. Rod from pedal to equalizer pushes, equalizer rocks, and brake rods pull

Kevin Pharis

The drums are held to the hubs by the swedging of the studs. Swedging the studs also holds the D shaped head of the stud against the stamped key in the drum preventing the stud from turning. The traditional manner of removing a swedged stud is to use a hole saw type tool to cut away the swedged mate...

Kevin Pharis

The wood wheels are all the same, 6 bolts equally spaced on 5” circle. The wire wheels are the only difference as they have 5 bolts equally spaced on 5” circle.

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