MTFCA Forum

Look at the first two photos. It appears that there is an oil soaked pad on the back side of the piece. What would be the reason for this?

The third and fourth photos show a cloth piece. I wonder what is its purpose.

Part of the door dovetail assembly. It fits (dovetails) into this piece on the pillar/post.

Joe,

Those are door alignment/support tabs. They support the doors when closed as the doors are closed longer than they are open and the doors are subject to placing load on the hinges especially when driving. Thus, they reduce the loads on the hinges due to bumps in the road and align the door so the door latch operates properly.

Cheers

The oil soaked pad is intended to lubricate the latch assembly. I do not know if it's a a factory part of if someone added it. It's a very good idea, if you don't mind a little mess. I'd guess the pad consists of "cotton waste", a once common material around shops which was used for wiping machinery and general clean up. It was a mass of lint and cotton thread and was cheap and widely available. It was very absorbent and could be stuffed into small spaces and would usually stay put. People would dip gobs of it in crankcase oil and stuff them up into the underside of the crossmembers on each side of the springs to lubricate the spring leaves. The door hinges and latches and most all of the other moving parts of the Model T body and chassis need need frequent oiling to keep them moving freely and to prevent rapid wear and squeaks.

The door alignment thingie needs to be in good condition to prevent rattles and rapid wear of the door hinges and latch assembly.

I thbink the bottom two pics show the remains of beaded welting, which was placed between adjoining body parts to prevent squeaks, rattles and leakage.

I knew what the piece shown in the first two photos in my initial post was for. What I was curious about was the oil soaked pad behind it.

I am showing a photo of the other door. It shows the "opening" in the door frame behind the piece. I took another inside the door looking at the area where the piece is attached (but it won't attach here!!). It shows no "part" anywhere near it that would need lubrication.

The passenger door has the same "opening" but smaller.

Any more thoughts why the pad is there??

I will try to another photo inside the door when I am back at the garage.

I forgot the photo!!!!!!

The latch mechanism, dovetail, and hinges all need lubrication. So does the roll-up window mechanism, if present. These parts all get wear when the door is opened and shut and whenever the car is running. There used to be a product available called "Door-Eze" that was intended to lubricate door latches and dovetails amd other sliding parts. It was a heavy, waxlike substance that was alleged to stay put and not creep and stain upholstery. It worked very well on old model car doors, hood latches, trunk mechanisms, etc.

Look very closely at that first piece and clean it up. You will find that there is a small hole on both top and bottom sides. It is supposed to be oiled on occasion and the oil will weep out and keep the dovetail lubricated. I discovered these on my 25 coupe the same way you did! I was trying to figure out why my door was sticking and hard to open. I couldn't find a place where it was rubbing except the dovetail so I took it off to see if I could adjust it. When I took them off I dug out the felt pad, I thought it was dirt, and then I found the holes as I was cleaning everything up. I cleaned the pad and oiled it and now my door doesn't stick.

Jeff Hood, You are right the pad is to lubricate the dovetail. I cleaned up the dovetail and found the holes, one on the top and one on the bottom of it. I have attached two photos showing them.

I think this detail is a good idea, and it is another small example of the Model T's many good design features.

Jeff, You and I sort of stumbled onto this detail. I wonder if it is not widely understood.