MY 1924 coupe and experiences as a new driver/owner

[WillyR]

For the Montana 500 car, be sure to read the latest rules and build accordingly.

IT looks like I may be building one from the ground up, (24 pickup) so I should be in full compliance... and the President of the 500 is in the club so I should get the best advice....

I may not be starting my build for another year and a half... but I hope to have it finished within a year of acquisition... only $$$$ stands in the way.....

[WillyR]

so the next big project is getting the ruckstell rebuilt and up to snuff....

I'll get the housing painted at home, but will likely rely heavily on our club to get the rear end assembled then get her up on the lift and installed.

while all that is getting planned, the club is getting that center door up and running and we will work on that this next week.

at home I think I'm due to regrease the front wheel bearings, since the rear will be handled with the ruckstell install...

not quite due for another oil change but I still need to work on my heat exchanger air cleaner idea... so this sunday for that and the front wheels along with chassis lube and low band adjustment.

maybe the rockies need an adjustment? maybe not? at least an inspection....

[WillyR]

Some experimentation yesterday.....

I had some past instances, when going up a long incline, 35 mph+ (high band) where I get some sputtering part way up.... the sputtering goes away and I finish that incline and may even experience another incline with no sputtering...

This seems to only happen at around 3 gallons left in the tank.. so I haven't let the tank go below 3 gallons in the last couple thousand miles.

Yesterday I was at 3 gallons before I left for work, and ran an errand at lunch... normally I would have filled the tank once I left work, but decided not to.

on a major short incline I got some sputtering and discovered if I lowered the throttle substantially could avoid the sputtering.

two more inclines to go

next incline was as major as the first, and longer...

got more sputtering and was able to pull off to allow the carb bowl to refill and finished that one just fine

last incline is as short as he first one , but not as severe, had to pull off to let the float bowl fill again and easy on the throttle still..

stumbled into the very short incline of my driveway and accordion to my dipstick I'm a touch over 1 gallon left in the tank.

so it seems to me it's more the lack of fuel pressure due to the low volume of gas left in the tank than anything else...

so now I know the limits of my fuel system.

I will continue to fill up at about 3 gallons.

none of these inclines are ruckstell worthy, and with enough gas volume can be traversed in high band, and I didn't need to drive in reverse to get home.

it's downhill to refill at the nearest gas station...

[TXGOAT2]

I suspect you still have a fuel delivery issue.

[WillyR]

I suspect you still have a fuel delivery issue.

I haven't looked at the pickup area inside the tank, but sediment bowls are clear, and no floaty crud in the tank, looks new inside.

I understand those fibre-optically camera things are super cheap now, I keep meaning to pick one up.

[speedytinc]

Have you checked the screen in the sediment bowl?

[TXGOAT2]

I wouldn't want to run a T on a near-empty tank unless it is unavoidable. If you must run the tank low, it's best to carry some extra gas with you. I try to keep at least 5 gallons in my tank. I've read that it's best not to run modern cars with in-tank electric fuel pumps very low on gas, since the fuel pump needs to be immersed in gasoline for cooling. No car will run without gasoline, so why push your luck running low? For accurate MPG logging, you need an accurate odometer and keep a log of fuel purchased over a period of time. After several hundred miles of driving, you can get a fair idea of what your MPG is under your normal driving conditions. Hard driving cuts MPG dramatically, and urban driving also cuts MPG dramatically.

[WillyR]

here is an update on my buell explosion whistle and the adapter...

300+ mile report....

so with the stock .75" reach champion X plug there is zero noticeable change in performance.

I'll still research and convert a champion x or 3-4 plugs for use with the whistle.


on the other front, I'll be working on my housing and shift lever for my "parts" rucktell..

I'll mostly be into labor and machining to get her back up to spec and running....

should be fun and an excellent learning experience.

I'm sooper lucky to have such a knowledgeable club to help me along....

this past weekend was spent getting the center door up and running.

I was chasing coolant leaks, and checking the rear end and wheel bearings and such, my son was adding missing cotter pins all around

others were working on the fuel system/seat gas tank installation and electrical, and adding the missing freeze plugs.

The tank had been taken home by a member, who discovered some weird epoxy sludge stuff that was maybe used to seal a tank that didn't need sealing...

we got to the point of needing to run the fuel line... after that she's close to starting... we volunteered my son to do the first test run....

[WillyR]

the club has a short run to a dealership anniversary this weekend, (think it's the fiat dealer) and I'm thinking I'll change my oil early on friday?

it will be maybe 50 miles round trip from my howse.... plus my mileage to work this week....

I'd still be early if I did after the weekend.... and I have to lube the chassis and timer prior anyway.....

couldn't hurt...

[WillyR]

My gps speedometer/odometer is rechargeable.

it has a tiny little battery indicator icon in the upper right and apparently I can' read it or it doesn't work..

but after 3 months the battery died on the way home yesterday,

but 3 months isn't bad for charging time, I turn it on when I start the car and don't turn it off when I park, as it has a timed auto turn off... not sure how long that is...


NEXT... on the way to work I'm noticing my autometer is starting to angle away from me.... then it angled the other way...

I pulled over and it had worked loose, so I tightened it up without regard to proper orientation, and continued on my way... I'll fix it when I get home...

[TXGOAT2]

In my opinion, you can't beat a Garmin's "Garmin Drive 52 EX". They sell for about $100, and they have everything you need and more. 3X5 screen, day or night, portable from car to car, accurate and reliable. I gave about $43.00 for mine at WalMart. About a year later, they offered a "Garmin Drivesmart 66 EX" for about $64. The 66 EX normally sells for about 200.00.
It's a newer version of the 52 EX,I think, but very similar. I did not go shopping for these things. I just happened upon them, so I'm thinking that they are probably sold at a discount pretty often, or perhaps older stock is discounted. I believe they are a good buy at list price. The internal battery isn't of much use, but the device will operate indefinitely on a tiny no-spill 12 volt battery that sells for about 35.

[WillyR]

In my opinion, you can't beat a Garmin's "Garmin Drive 52 EX". They sell for about $100, and they have everything you need and more. 3X5 screen, day or night, portable from car to car, accurate and reliable. I gave about $43.00 for mine at WalMart. About a year later, they offered a "Garmin Drivesmart 66 EX" for about $64. The 66 EX normally sells for about 200.00.
It's a newer version of the 52 EX,I think, but very similar. I did not go shopping for these things. I just happened upon them, so I'm thinking that they are probably sold at a discount pretty often, or perhaps older stock is discounted. I believe they are a good buy at list price. The internal battery isn't of much use, but the device will operate indefinitely on a tiny no-spill 12 volt battery that sells for about 35.

I have plenty good navigation on my cell phone if I need it, the itty bitty $30 bicycle odometer/speedometer is there mostly to track mileage for gas and maintenance, and to beat my prior top speed.....

I had a bad experience with garmin in the years prior to smart phones so I'm reluctant to give them my munny ever again.

I have a 50,000mah battery pack and various charging cables, and it lasts months on a charge.

I was going to add a charging port, but I prefer not to tax the charging system if I don't have to.

[WillyR]

Not a big journey tomorrow but I went and changed the oil and lubed her up and washed her.

I did a decent paste wax job last wash so this wash didn’t take a lot of effort.

I have a little of this spray on wax stuff that seems to be ok too but I’m low on it and I’m not sure if it was good enough to make another purchase. Maybe give it another try.

[Mark Wing - NM]

It is with great sadness that I report that WillyR, known to our club (Tin Lizzies of Albuquerque) as Angel Pena, passed away suddenly on Saturday, August 23rd. Angel and his 12-year-old son were planning to participate in an annual Model T show at the Ford dealership in Edgewood, NM, approx. 30 miles from their home. Their 1924 coupe was already out of the garage and ready to go. When his son went upstairs to look for his father, he found him on the bedroom floor unresponsive. His wife and emergency medical personnel were unable to revive him and is cause of death is unknown at this time. We had 11 Model Ts at the car show and were surprised when Angel and his son didn't make it to the event. We found out only yesterday of this terrible news.

This unexpected passing was a great shock to his family and our club as Angel appeared to be in good health and was in his early 50's, making him and his son, the youngest active members in our club. In the brief time he was with us, Angel embraced the Model T hobby with passion and gusto. On some occasions, his was the only Model T driven to some activities such as our monthly breakfasts. In less than a year on the MTFCA Forum he had posted 359 times and had over 45,000 views! As you've probably gleaned from his posts, Angel loved maintaining, customizing, and driving his coupe. He and his son also attended our club meetings and workdays at Dr. Larry Azevedo's garage where they enthusiastically helped other members work on their cars. Although they had only been members of our club a short time, Angel's love and total commitment to the Model t hobby was inspirational.

Angel worked as a medical technician at the local VA Hospital and was a military veteran. Sadly too, he had been looking forward to an early retirement. The preliminary information is that he will be laid to rest at the Santa Fe National Cemetery in Santa Fe, NM. Angel's 12-year-old son has let us know that he'd like to continue participating in our club activities and we'll do what we can to make that a reality.

I and the other members of the Tin Lizzies of Albuquerque will miss Angel very much. Our deepest condolences and prayers go out to his family.

Mark Wing
2025 President
Tin Lizzies of Albuquerque

[Mark Nunn]

Oh No. This is horrible news and a gut punch to those of us who did not know him but understood his passion. I'm sorry for your and his family's loss. Mark

[Tadpole]

Rest well “Willy”, was always happy to see his update posts, could feel the energy in them. Lost a good, hardworking man here.

[TXGOAT2]

That is very sad news.