New club member introduction

[Jagclock]

My name is Mike, and sometime in my misspent youth, probably in the '70's, I was walking around Hershey and noticed an unrestored Model T for sale. Now, maybe it was because I have a picture of my grandmother at age 12 driving a Model T around her parents' farm in Indiana, before drivers licenses existed. Maybe it was because that same grandmother, when I was a child, rented her garage to a neighbor who stored two Model T's in it, and I enjoyed playing in them, pushing the pedals and moving the levers. Maybe it was because it was a historically significant car, that put America on wheels, that virtually no one today would have any idea how to drive. Whatever the reason, I put a low-ball bid on it, not expecting any result. After the show I received a phone call, and the '23 Model T Touring was mine.

I drove it a few times, but since I lived on top of a mountain (or what passes for a mountain in northern New Jersey), the brakes were not quite adequate for me to feel comfortable descending the hill, so I stayed mostly on the level within a mile of my house. Once when I was descending a small hill a bronze thrust washer in the rear end broke, which allowed the wheel and axle to disengage from the differential, which means I had no control of the car to either stop or go. Luckily I was in my driveway at the time, so no real harm was done. After I repaired that, life seemed to get in the way of driving the "T", so it languished in a barn for the next few decades.

I recently semi-retired and built myself a new house in south Jersey, which is a coastal plain and so the brakes may be adequate. The new house has a two post lift and space for 9 cars, so I thought it would be a good time to attend to a lot of projects that had been put off until I had some spare time. A restored village near my new house holds a car show every year, so I decided that the "T" should be the first one on my new lift. The car has a few interesting features, and I will have a lot of questions as time goes by. For now, I will start with a simple one that none of my books seem to address: How much oil does it hold, and what type and weight should I use? The oil that is in it is probably the same oil that was in it when I bought it, so it's probably time for a change.

[Dallas Landers]

Just under 4 qts. Opinions on oil are many and they will tell you why. I use 10w-30. We like photos here, so when you can post some we will look. Welcome to the forum. Any questions you have can be answered here from many knowledgable members.

[Jeff5015]

Welcome Mike,

I use 30w oil. No multi viscosity for me, I live in the south where it is almost never under 50 degrees. I think any old 30 weight will do because it's better than what was generally available 100 years ago. I also use marvel mystery oil. You'll find a big discussion about that. My '16 It takes just a wee bit over 4 quarts if I tipped it up while draining it. I also have a sight glass and start checking after 3 qts.

Have fun, post some pictures and stay safe.

Jeff in Florida

[George Mills]

Welcome to the affliction. South Jersey is hard to come by T guys, I never understood why because 40 years ago, a local show would have more T’s than the rows at Hershey! Guys pass on, cars disappear never to surface. Anyway...

The book says to fill it to the top petcock. Then open the lower and catch the runoff...then pour half back in. My cars have sight glasses with breathers so I know where halfway is and yes, it’s somewhere around 3-1/2 quarts maybe a tad heavier. Whatever oil is on sale works, I use straight 30...others choose different. Last time I had the 15 open, the tranny looked good as new so cheap oil works. I change it once a year...seems close enough.

As far as local help, I’m only there some parts of the year and more than happy to help when I’m there. My oldest son has acerage along Delsea Drive over by Newfield which should be close and he’s a T guy too (26 Coupe and “my” (ahem) spare 25 chassis. Send me your contact info thru the site..I’ll have him give you a call sometime to exchange info

[John Dow]

Welcome Mike. I'm excited for you. I'm an old guy but over the years I've had many muscle cars, Corvettes and Bimmers but none of them are half as fun as my 23. My suggestion is to get her running reliably, make it safe, learn to drive it well and have a blast. This forum is an invaluable resource for any question or issue you may have. There are countless "experts" monitoring here with thousands of years of experience. Ask any question and you will receive countless, sometimes conflicting answers. The most difficult thing for you to do is to sort thru it all. My wife says "When you are driving it, it's a parade. When you stop it's a car show".

[Oldav8tor]

Welcome! You'll enjoy your car and meet some great people.

4 quarts is correct. Maintain the oil level between the two petcocks. There are various sight gauges, dipsticks and etc., available that make it a little easier.

Model T's were built in the time of single grade mineral oil so any modern oil is going to be better. I've been using 10W30 which seems to work well. Since there is no inline oil filter it is important to change oil frequently so the cheaper stuff is fine. DO check oil level frequently. If you install a transmission oil screen, keep it clean.

For most of your questions you can just put the question into google. It will scan the present and earlier website as well as other resources. There are very few questions that haven't been discussed at length.

Great advice is to join a Model T Club. Here are some:
MTFCA
North Jersey Tinker T's
c/o North Jersey Tinker Ts
10 Union Ave.
Bloomingale, NJ 07403

T-Crank-Yankers of Central New Jersey
c/o James Mitchell
1071 Lakehurst Ave.
Jackson, NJ 08527
732-323-3293

MTFCI
Rollin' T's
John Jonas
301 Whittaker Street
Riverside, NJ 08075
(609) 461-5955
rolints@modelt.org

[DanTreace]

Welcome to Model T ownership, you'll enjoy the quirkinesses of the Ford.

Plus you'll assemble some special tools for servicing, and of course acquire the publications, like Owner's Manual, and Ford Service technical info on repair and maintenance.

As others posted, a good medium light weight oil, 30w or multiple like 10w or 20w30's are fine. Change every 750-1000 miles.


Here is some info from an early Owner's book, and a period data sheet from Gulf oil, on what oils to use.