MTFCA Forum

Any opinions on the value of 2 early transmission covers?
#1 Aluminum 1911-1913 according to MacCaffey's data.
#2. Aluminum, but later than #1. has the cast ridge reinforcements on each side of the base, so 1913-and on.

I want to list them on E-Bay, but not sure what the starting bid should be, as I am no expert. I am only looking for a reasonable price, based on their value. (Not planning to make big money, selling 2 trans covers, then retire to the Bahamas with a bevy of Supermodels.)
( More like getting some cash to spend on my Model T, to make it outperform all lesser cars, run more smoothly than any of those "BIG cars" gain an unbelievable increase in gas mileage, stop tire wobble, end pesky invasions of small insects, avoid the perils of vibrator malfunction, increase my headlight brightness, bring my car up-to-date in the most modern manner, end the inconvenience of deadly license plate rattle, eliminate slow tire leaks forever, add big horsepower. stop brake squeal, gain the ability to make easy adjustments with only a single screwdriver, eliminate the dreaded "water pulley sway" so common to cars with inferior accessories, cut the effort involved in raising and lowering my top BY MORE THAN HALF!, stop the hazards of skidding, and drive through snow with nary a care, rather than use poor-quality chains that are "next to criminal", compared to genuine, patented Husky tire chains, with the built in "gravity groove")

If I find good ones without pedals at swap meets for around $50 I’ll pick them up. If you know what to look for and look them over carefully, you generally find cracks or defects in about 3/4 of them. The aluminum is old and porous and welds poorly so it’s real hard to repair them. Not being negative, but an “in person” sale is what you want on one of these, not online or eBay. You want the buyer to see it in person, look it over good, and be completely satisfied before they buy it.

If the low pedal is in, it is an oversize package to ship. On eBay, it could sell for $50 and $50 shipping and if it gets damaged in shipping or dropped...

Why not offer it on these boards, to forum members, rather than “flea bay” ?

Thanks very much to all of you for the excellent advice!
I will take plenty of pictures.
I don't see any cracks at all.
I know aluminum castings do have porosity issues. My 1926 Franklin has a cast aluminum crankcase, and cast aluminum transmission. Both of those were sprayed internally with glyptol resin, to stop pinhole oil leaks. If I was putting these T covers on a car, I would do the same for the T covers as well. I am surprised that Ford did not put some kind of coating in them. It would have only taken 15 seconds after they came off the machining tools, before they were sent to have pedals and internals installed. (But I suppose if they spent 50 cents on each cover, including both time and materials, then over the life of Model T production, that would have been a savings of $7.5 million dollars, if they had just skipped it.
I wonder what the savings were, in going to a cast iron cover? If they saved $1 on each cover, then that alone would be $15 million saved.) (Or whatever number of cars they produced with the cast iron trans covers.)
I also saw a large Mercedes engine under restoration in California, and it too was an aluminum block, with the glyptol coating on the interior surfaces.
I will probably check into shipping via Fastenal, since they haul stuff all over, and see if they are cheaper than UPS or the USPS.
If someone wants a backup opinion on them before purchase, any local T owner would be welcome to come over and examine them, and report back to the potential buyer. If I do see any problems with them, I will certainly mention them.
Thanks again, everyone!