MTFCA Forum

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I also found one of these spacers in a motor I took apart.

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Never heard of or seen one. I suppose someone could have made it. If the magneto ring was attached without shims & still too close to the magnets, that shim plate/washer could have been the answer to get the proper clearance. I cant think of another reason for it.

My opinion would be that the majority of T engines wouldn’t need the shim in that location.

But there may have been some blocks that were off just a bit after the babbitt was poured and the overall end play was off but of course I’m guessing. Others probably know for sure. I’ve had several T engines apart but never saw a spacer in that location.

Could be something about the transmission or mag ring spacing too. If the spacing was off as it was put together at tha factory Ford would frown at not using it and get it right by using a shim to be used on the line. Guessing again of course.

With out the spacer, the magnets hit the field coils. Never figured why this happened.

Very interesting. Factory patch/fix makes sense. How thick is this spacer?

Anybody seen the shim in Ford parts books? I’ve seen the mag field coil / block 1 piece spacer on one of the engines I tore down and it’s a factory spacer I think. Seems like the vendors would sell them as I remember but not the crank/ transmission one.

John kuehn wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 16, 2022 4:50 pm

Anybody seen the shim in Ford parts books? I’ve seen the mag field coil / block 1 piece spacer on one of the engines I tore down and it’s a factory spacer I think. Seems like the vendors would sell them as I remember but not the crank/ transmission one.

Yes that 1 piece coil shim is quite common. Steel with 4 holes. The vendors dont sell them. They offer the single hole tabbed washer type.

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I have been working on fitting a starter flywheel to a 1914 motor. The poles on the double stack coilplate in the motor to the mounting face that goes to the block are 1/8" deeper than the standard single stack plate. It would need such a spacer to get the gap set between the plate and the magnets. We have decided on a single stack plate.

Allan from down under.

speedytinc wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 16, 2022 5:25 pm

John kuehn wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 16, 2022 4:50 pm

Anybody seen the shim in Ford parts books? I’ve seen the mag field coil / block 1 piece spacer on one of the engines I tore down and it’s a factory spacer I think. Seems like the vendors would sell them as I remember but not the crank/ transmission one.

Yes that 1 piece coil shim is quite common. Steel with 4 holes. The vendors dont sell them. They offer the single hole tabbed washer type.

They sure do in two thickness, .010 and .015 as I recall. If they are out, I know someone that made a run of them in .018 stainless steel.

This transmission I bought at Chickasha in 2019 had 2 spacers. It’s small drum but after they omitted the locking wire for the magnet cap screws.

I’ll bet those are Ford factory spacers you have pictured. But that’s a guess! Always something new to learn about Model T’s for sure. It would make since to use shims there also.
Interesting for sure. I can’t recall this being brought up on the forum before.

As most of us know the one piece coil ring spacer and the individual spacers are mentioned and shown in the transmission / mag ring instructions in the Ford service manual but no other spacers are mentioned.

Would be just a home mechanic type fix. Took a motor apart with similar spacer, but was made of thick piece of roofing felt. Trimmed in circle with holes to fit.

I agree with Dan - shade tree fix - I've removed both steel & paper !

John:
i have encountered spacers of this type ... were probably between .030" and .035" thick ... i believe these were die stamped and were precise in fit and appearance ... i don't know if they were from Ford or an aftermarket "fix" , but they were not amateur ... always an optimist ...Gene French

I agree too that the idea of a spacer for getting the right spacing for the transmission / mag ring is not a bad idea if it’s necessary. It’s not a ‘farm fix’ in my mind. In fact the same idea is used on modern engines today. A look at Summit Racings website on crankshaft, flex plates, clutch set ups on stock as well on racing engines shims of all sizes and thicknesses are available for use. There is some that have bolt holes in locations around the shim plate to fit most any crankshafts.

Using them in a slightly worn T engine to help in the spacing distance besides using the Ford factory 1 piece shim would only make for closer spacing. I think that if Ford didn’t use them in their dealerships they should have. And I’ll bet some did and didn’t say a lot about it for whatever reason. The independent auto shops would have.