MTFCA Forum

Hey all. I’m new to the forum. My name is Pete. I’m from Canton Texas. I’ve been building cars most of my life and for the last 15 years building them professionally. Of all the old cars I’ve owned and built over the years a Model T has always been on the must have/must build list. I recently acquired this 1921 T chassis with complete drivetrain, grille and hood. It looks way worse than it is. I’m not afraid of a project of this size for sure. We tackle them all the time at the shop I’m working at.

The “car” was running not to long ago and parked in this spot about a year ago. The owner said it used to be an ambulance but I have no way of confirming that.

I’ve always wanted a bone stock Model T but I’ve also wanted to built a hopped up T as well. I’d never take a complete nice car and mess with it so this seems like a good candidate for a speedster or a hopped up T done with all Model T and era parts like a kid in the 1920’s or 1930’s would have done.



I have a ton of questions and a long way to go on this project.

I forgot to mention. I haven’t brought it home yet. The driver front wheel came apart when it was being taken off the trailer. Need to fugure out that part so I can get it home. Let the parts hunting begin.

If you cannot find a wheel, take double thickness of plywood and cut it round like the wheel. Bolt it on hubs where the bolts go through the spokes and you can roll it around till you can fix the wheel.
Oh and welcome to the forum! Sounds like a fun project.

Good start! Why not build a second hopped up one?

That's a forlorn looking old girl, listing to the side like that...out in the elements.

But if the mechanicals are decent, you're well on your way to a neat speedster.

Looking forward to following along and you breathe new life into it.

Good find! Looks like a solid start for a T project.
Take it home and strip it down to the bare chassis and go from there.
Many a T has been reborn this way. Pretty easy to do for a guy that has mechanical ability like you.
The forum, parts suppliers like Snyder’s, Lang’s and others have neat catalogs full of information and parts.
First thing you ought to do is to get a copy of the Model T Ford service manual. It’s a good reference for knowing what to do and what NOT to do when working on a T.
It can save you lots of time.
Good luck.

Dallas Landers wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 11, 2019 12:09 pm

If you cannot find a wheel, take double thickness of plywood and cut it round like the wheel. Bolt it on hubs where the bolts go through the spokes and you can roll it around till you can fix the wheel.
Oh and welcome to the forum! Sounds like a fun project.

Thanks!

Thabska good idea. Hadn’t thought of that. I’ve done that before but I’ve been busy with work and school and hadn’t really thought about it much yet.

RustyFords wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 11, 2019 1:02 pm

That's a forlorn looking old girl, listing to the side like that...out in the elements.

But if the mechanicals are decent, you're well on your way to a neat speedster.

Looking forward to following along and you breathe new life into it.

It’s leaning because of a wheel missing but over all it’s actually in pretty good shape. No real rust and it’s still wearing a lot of the original black paint on the chassis. It will need to all be completely rebuilt but that to be expected. I’m pretty sure I can get the motor to fire off and maybe run.

John kuehn wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 11, 2019 2:31 pm

Good find! Looks like a solid start for a T project.
Take it home and strip it down to the bare chassis and go from there.
Many a T has been reborn this way. Pretty easy to do for a guy that has mechanical ability like you.
The forum, parts suppliers like Snyder’s, Lang’s and others have neat catalogs full of information and parts.
First thing you ought to do is to get a copy of the Model T Ford service manual. It’s a good reference for knowing what to do and what NOT to do when working on a T.
It can save you lots of time.
Good luck.

Good to know. I think I have a Model A service manual. Need to look and see if I have a T version.

Considering the town of Canton has the largest permanent outdoor swap meet in a five state area you might find some Model T parts there!

Welcome from Ohio Pete !!
Not much info that you can't find here.
Looks like lots of potential

Looks like you are off to a good start. Word to the wise though... Model Ts are addictive, and they breed. You're been warned. Welcome aboard.

Steve Jelf wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 12, 2019 12:28 am

Speedsters range from plain Jane to eye-popping. Here are a few pages for inspiration: app.php/gallery/album/45?sk=n&sd=a

Thanks! There is some great eye candy in there!

ericmac wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 11, 2019 9:07 pm

Looks like you are off to a good start. Word to the wise though... Model Ts are addictive, and they breed. You're been warned. Welcome aboard.

Lol. I know the feeling.

MichaelPawelek wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 11, 2019 5:07 pm

Considering the town of Canton has the largest permanent outdoor swap meet in a five state area you might find some Model T parts there!

Every once in a while I wander down there. Not much for car parts but there are a lot of dedicated auto swaps around these parts for sure. I’m also not terribly far from the Chickashea pre war swap meet and the Pate swap so those are always good options.

Welcome to the affliction. That looks like a great candidate for a speedster.

For the record...I think you belong in the Hall of Fame.

PetefromTexas wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 13, 2019 7:34 am

I’m also not terribly far from the Chickashea pre war swap meet and the Pate swap so those are always good options.

Chickasha will have its final meet in 2020.

RustyFords wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 13, 2019 3:26 pm

PetefromTexas wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 13, 2019 7:34 am

I’m also not terribly far from the Chickashea pre war swap meet and the Pate swap so those are always good options.

Chickasha will have its final meet in 2020.

I saw that. Guess I have a little less than a year to save my pennies and make the trip.

Found a wheel for $20. It’s not correct but it will get the old girl rolling so I can move her around. Wire wheels are the goal.

download/file.php?mode=view&id=13144
This one took about 10 years in my spare time. At the time I bought it I was "retired" and thought it would take about a year, but next week I went back to work and worked another 15 years! I could arrange to do some work each evening or on weekends but the biggest thing was to sandblast and paint the body. I did this on a 3 day weekend. I sandblasted one day and then put on the primer sealer the next. After that, I could paint one or more fenders or doors in one day so could schedule those smaller parts for shorter time periods. I wanted to get the primer on before it rusted, so did the whole body in 3 days. I had the machine work on the engine done by others but I assembled it and all the other parts. Started with the chassis. I made horses to set the body on while painting. They fit on each side with a removable 2x4 on top. They were spread apart enough that I could paint the underside and alshttps://www.modeltfordclubofamerica.com/phpBB3/ ... &id=13145o could roll the chassis under and then lower the body.

UPDATE: I was able to get the “new” wheel on and drag the T out of the hole it was sitting in and got it home. I can’t wait to get moving on it.

Here's a simple one that I made from parts that I had laying around. I used a bunch of plywood.

download/file.php?mode=view&id=16743

Im working on a simple speedster right now. I built my first one up with my grandfathers help back in the 90's. Regardless of the direction you go there was a nice head for sale on the classifieds. viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4009 The common seats for a T available from rootlieb are a poor design imo. However, the speedster seats for an A look much better. If you go the speedster route regardless of the power you generate rpm's can be your limiting factor so don't forget about gearing. A lot of speedsters are thrown together, if you have an end goal and know what want as well as the period it will help tie everything together.

My current project started as rough sketch and has been progressing.

babychadwick wrote: ↑

Mon May 27, 2019 5:47 pm

Im working on a simple speedster right now. I built my first one up with my grandfathers help back in the 90's. Regardless of the direction you go there was a nice head for sale on the classifieds. viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4009 The common seats for a T available from rootlieb are a poor design imo. However, the speedster seats for an A look much better. If you go the speedster route regardless of the power you generate rpm's can be your limiting factor so don't forget about gearing. A lot of speedsters are thrown together, if you have an end goal and know what want as well as the period it will help tie everything together.

I’m wanting to keep everything 1927 and older. I’m sure I’ll have to improvise but if I can keep it all in that era I’d be pretty happy. I’m still in the beginnings of the planning stage. I probably won’t get on it hard for another few months or maybe more.

Very good idea to keep everything 27 and older. On this speedster I'm building it as a '27 so everything is geared around 1927 on the car with the exception of the finned head. I suppose it bugs me when somebody decides its a good idea to put T wire wheels on a brass speedster etc. I can give you some engine tune up ideas.

That last "I may be limping along but I'm gonna make that finish line" pic is pretty cool Pete!
Your T has his sign up. "Just a little help please."
He's a cool lookin' ol' dude.