MTFCA Forum

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Hello Fellow Model Ters,

I am restoring my 1911 Touring Car that has a 1926/7 drivetrain. Today, while priming a bunch of its parts I discovered that the steering bracket has been shortened. A past owner has sawed off 3/8 inch from the leading end. I remember the car steering fine with this modification back when I drove it before taking it apart.

So, my questions are;

(1), why would someone remove 3/8” from the front end of a steering bracket?

And (2), Will this modification cause me problems on the road?

Photographs show two normal unmodified steering brackets, (one in a 1913 Roadster and a second spare) and my shortened one with fresh paint.
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The 26/7 bracket is shorter. Perhaps someone in the past shortened an earlier one to try and match the late bracket.

Andy

Taking into account the shorter bracket of the improved model and the use of balloon tires creating more steering effort as compared to your hi pressure tires, I would expect NO issue using the trimmed bracket.

could have been running a non-T ignition/timing that required the spark advance control rod to be positioned such that the end of the bracket interfered with the advance? Just a guess.

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Examples of 1909-1927 Model T steering brackets.
Credit: The Model T Ford Club International Inc. Judging Guidelines, Seventh Edition.
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Just get a replacement bracket. The end is where the load is applied to the shaft from the pitman arm.

Possibly miss matched parts, short steering shaft or badly worn parts causing the pitman arm to pull on too far causing binding?

Steven, The Ford script tells me the bracket is 1919 or later, so not a 1911 part.
It probably does not make any difference that it has been modified, but if an unmodified one was handy, I'd use it. I don't know enough about the chassis of the improved model to know if there us a specific one for your application
: ^ )
K EI th