MTFCA Forum

My 1927 engine will not use the magneto but bosch front plate distributor any reason not to remove the magnets and lighten the flywheel the crank has dunn counterbalances.

On the clutch which is better the watts clutch or the gm turbo discs. The transmission will have a floating trans shaft.

The mag gives momentum and helps prevent stalling.

A lot of T owners who either don't want to fool with getting a mag set right, or want more speed from a lighter flywheel, eliminate the magnets, but use the scoops that are available from vendors to splash the oil around. If magnets are not left, or scoops are not used, the ring gear will no catch enough oil to be thrown around to lubricate the trans, or send down internal and/or external oil lines to the front of the engine. On the clutch, I recently asked the same question and the majority of replies favored eith the Watts or jack Rabbit clutches over the Turbo 400.

It depends on the weight of the car.
Speedster, yes.
Open car, I did.
Sedan, no way.

On my speedster, I left out the mag ring and magnets but kept the spools on the flywheel to help fling the oil. Not sure about long term but it's worked for me since '94.

On a stock T I would keep the mag ring and magnets. The momentum from the flywheel is good for the heavier car and you or the next owner may want to go back to coils some day.

I've driven my Speedster without magnets or any kind of slinger without any problems since 1976. That's over 10,000 miles. It's never lacked for oiling. It does take more RPM's from a dead start without that weight. It feels like it is harder on low band but that may be an illusion. Everything else is delightful and it has better acceleration. The lack of body weight may be much of that.
I do enjoy the momentum of magnets in the other T's. Even cast iron pistons seem to have more inertia.
Rich

ModelTWoods wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 02, 2020 12:14 pm

A lot of T owners who either don't want to fool with getting a mag set right, or want more speed from a lighter flywheel, eliminate the magnets, but use the scoops that are available from vendors to splash the oil around. If magnets are not left, or scoops are not used, the ring gear will no catch enough oil to be thrown around to lubricate the trans, or send down internal and/or external oil lines to the front of the engine. On the clutch, I recently asked the same question and the majority of replies favored eith the Watts or jack Rabbit clutches over the Turbo 400.

I have the scoops and the crank is counter-weighted, Thanks for the reply.

walber wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 02, 2020 1:28 pm

On my speedster, I left out the mag ring and magnets but kept the spools on the flywheel to help fling the oil. Not sure about long term but it's worked for me since '94.

On a stock T I would keep the mag ring and magnets. The momentum from the flywheel is good for the heavier car and you or the next owner may want to go back to coils some day.

Like this? I feel like the splash from a single stack would miss the mag post oiler and maybe even the funnel. There's enough parts to do 8 stacks.

R/ Roger.

I used a single stack all the way around but while the internal funnel is installed I also run pressurize oil to the mains which gets plenty of oil up front. The spools are there mainly to ensure enough oil gets splashed around for the transmission. Doubled spools might well be better if using a splash system augmented by a mag post oil fitting.

I have no magnets and probably no spools. Speedster runs great with no problems. Been that way over 20 years.

For what purpose are you going to use the car? You might get a bit more speed and higher revs without the magnets, but you do need slingers to get the oil where you want it unless you use an after market oil pump. If you are making a speedster, maybe that is the way to go, but with a good magneto and good coils, the car runs fine the way Henry designed it. It is also a good conversation piece to show lookers how it works.
As far as the clutch goes, it might be a bit smoother with a modern type clutch, but the original type disk clutch works very well when the car is used and driven as intended. The modern type clutch disks will also wear out if you try to slip or ease the car as you might with a modern stick shift.
Everyone must decide what to do with the car. Some like it the way Henry designed it and others like to "improve" on it. It has been my experience when on tours that the majority of breakdowns involve modifications to the car, and unfortunately, most of the other drivers don't carry along parts which will fit your car. The way Henry designed the car, it will run on both battery and magneto, and if the magneto stops working you can switch to battery and go on with the tour. Also if your generator stops charging on a car, you can crank start it and drive on magneto without running down the battery. If you have a problem with a coil, you can plug in another and go on. If you don't have a spare, someone will loan you one. But if your distributor has a problem you will need to carry spare parts which fit the actual type you have on your car, and there are many. If you go to NAPA or Auto Zone, you might, if you are lucky, find distributor parts, but maybe not.

Anyway, it is your car. You can do what you want with it.
Norm