MTFCA Forum

This is just a little update about my TT Truck. Yesterday finalised my carburettor idle settings and air fuel mixture. It ran best with the needle 3 full turns off the seat. I also installed my newly sealed and lined gas tank and fuel lines and I was able to get it to run continuously for 15 minutes to get the temperature up a bit. I may also add that I fixed the leaky radiator hose and she runs pretty cool. After the 15 minutes of running, I could barely see the red line on my radiator cap. I also jacked up the rear 2 wheels and made sure I had every gear. She had every gear and shifted great. The 3 speed Warford really gives the old TT some speed. There really was only 1 issue. When I would try to turn it to magneto, it would die. This may not be an issue with the actual magneto itself. First of all, my ignition key way is a bit finicky when turning it fast. Secondly, I did break the magneto post and I just permatexed it back for the time being, so it is a possibility that the ground is not good. Lastly, the magnets my need a recharging. This is ok though because I have seen a video on YouTube where this guy recharges the magnet when they are in the car. Here is the video: https://youtu.be/n1S8ZO6Cj2k
I also posted a new video on my channel of it running with new carburettor settings.: https://youtu.be/Tvg6VeTYpcA

This just gets better and better...

congratulations!

Also, it does leak a little from the inspection plate because it is somehow warped but it has not lost much oil. It still drips out of the top Petcock. I will be posting an ad in the classified section to look for a 1919-1925 HH. After that, I only need to find someone in town you can redo my spokes for me because I’m not sure I have the expertise and I do not have the right tools at the moment. I also need to find a TT rear hub puller.

Jacob - Sounds like you're well on your way to getting the TT on the road; congrats!

Also, a quick note on your oil level; If it' "drips" out of the top petcock with the rear wheels jacked up, you may have it a bit overfilled. Most recommend maintaining the oil level between the petcocks when checking on level ground. When adding oil, I'll typically open the top petcock and add slowly until it starts to drip. When it stops, I close the petcock and know that I'm at the right level. Using this method, when checking the level (without a sight gauge), open the lower petcock. If it runs out, you're fine. If it only drips a little, or doesn't drip at all, you know you're low on oil.

Congrats Jacob! Post some good pics of the engine and details. These guys can give a lot of really good advice based on looking at pics.

The spokes on the rear are the worst and 100 percent need to be replaced. The front ones aren’t as bad but still need some love.
Front Driver side Front Passenger Rear Drivers Rear Passenger Sorry about the pictures not being super good. They are the only ones I have on hand right now.

Jacob, are the spokes loose? Can you grab a spoke and move it or twist it? If not you may get by with cleaning them and scraping them to get the paint off. Treat them with boiled linseed oil until they won’t take anymore. Now a word of caution about being maimed or worse. The rear wheels may be the lock ring style, if so you must be very careful if you are considering taking them off. The lock rings can fly off once you try and pry the lock ring off to remove the wheel. People that are familiar with this type rim & are experienced in working with suicide rims will wrap chains over the wheel and through the spokes as a safety precaution if that tells you anything. People that know what they are but don’t want to take the chance may go to a knowledgeable tire dealer or truck stop and have them removed. They are dangerous disassembling & assembling. That said if you’re extremely lucky you may have rare TT rear wheel split rims. I could not tell looking at the pictures but before you proceed take better pictures and get feed back from more seasoned TT folks. Not trying to scare you, just trying to prepare you before you do anything with the rear wheels. Best John

Those rear wheels are 32 x 4 & 1/2 not lock ring type.

Thanks Steve, my eyes are not that good anymore and I was worried our young swain might have the lock ring style. I’ll edit my previous post. Best Regards

Even if they are lockring type, that has no bearing on removing the wheel. The need for care comes when demounting the tyre, not the wheel.Or am I missing something?

Allan from down under.

The front ones are not that wobbly at all so I will probably be able to get by with the linseed method. It is a different story for the rear wheel’s though. The rear end has play about 5 inches both ways when I push and pull it. Also, one of the spokes on the driver rear wheel has separated completely from its tenon from its fellow in the rim.

Thank you guys for the caution and information,
Jacob Mangold

Jacob

once you find your hogs head, plan on rebuilding it before installing it. Do some searches on the forum to see what that entails or ask for help here.

Good luck...I think you should be able to find one near you...

Hi Jacob
When looking for a transmission cover try to find one that’s complete if possible. It will save time and give you a good idea of what needs replacing as it will need some new parts here and there.
LOOK CLOSELY AT THE CORNER EARS as they get stripped out or broken off. Also the two that are on the rear of the cover can be damaged or stripped so look closely at those. Starting out with a good cover will save you time and headaches in the long run. Hope this helps

Hey Allen I get what you’re saying and now we know that the caution is moot because of the rear wheels are not the lock ring style however if you reread my post you’ll see that I specifically talk about the lock ring. The assumption being if he was going to rebuild the wheel he’d probably want to remove the tyre though it may be done differently on your side of the world ha!

John, removing the wheel and demounting a tyre from a rim are two separate operations. There is no need to demount a tyre from the rim to remove the wheel from the vehicle.

I get the caution. However, it needs to be kept in perspective. Demounting a deflated tyre is not dangerous. The danger comes when inflating a newly mounted tyre, should the lockring not be properly seated. Your advice to use a professional fitter is really sound advice. They will have the equipment to do the job safely.

Allan from down under.

Well ok my mistake, the OP stated the spokes on the rear wheels needed replacing 100% (paraphrased). I guess I didn’t realize the lock ring style rim would come off the wheel without removing the lock ring but it just must be to just lock the tire onto the rim. never seen a lock ring style wheel respoked but I’m always eager to learn. Again it’s a moot point since he doesn’t have that type of assembly but Allen thanks for the information.

Hub puller for sale in the classified right now.

Well, I just found something out that makes everything make sense. I don’t have a 1924 TT, I have a 1926 TT. So somewhere along the line, the engine must have blown and was replaced with a 1923 block. This explains why I have a 4 dip pan and 26-27 HH. This is not a bad thing though because it means I most likely have good Babbitt and that my mag is probably good. This truck only gets more interesting every day.

Figured this out when I was on langs and I was looking for ignition plate screws and I say a 26-27 ignition plate and it looked like mine. I then did more digging and figured it out.

Jacob

your engine most certainly was rebuilt at some time since you have modern valves and very clean looking oversize aluminum pistons.

now that you believe you have a later truck, you should be able to find the original serial number stamped into the top of the frame, just rearward of the right hand rear engine mount...if you find a serial number on the frame, that will date the truck (and would have also been the original engine number, too)

I know where it is but I need to hit is with a wire brush to get the paint out of it. I will post updates.

I rebuilt the carburetor completely with 100% new gaskets. When I run it next, I’ll try it again and see where it runs best.

Jacob

I recall that you mentioned that the car ran when the needle was unscrewed 3 turns. That is far too much and indicates other troubles. Without going into a "how to" tutorial for a rebuild, let me suggest that you review this video by a fellow Forum Member: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTiStUTU9IE and see if your needle doesn't have some form of wear or distortion on the tip. If it does, then follow Steve's advice and rework it, reinstall it and see if you can't get the truck to run/idle a little better with a lot less unscrewing of the adjustment.

Well that was the issue.

And now you know what you need to do!

use care to put a perfectly STRAIGHT taper back on the needle, and also use care to ensure that your jig will impart the EXACT same fine taper or at least a close facimile of it...if you must err, err to the side of a finer taper but never a stubbier one.

A proper taper that is perfectly straight and not barrel-shaped will give you a pretty good range of adjustment. If the taper is too short/quick, you will go from rich, to lean and back to rich with the mere's "tweek" of the needle and you don't want that.

Does anyone know the approximate angle I should make the jig. It looks anywhere from 15-20 degrees.

I didn't measure the angle. I just laid a ruler on the block, aligned it with the needle point, and marked a line. I think I may have used a 2 x 4 long enough for me to clamp it on a bench while I cut the block, but that was eleven years ago and I have trouble remembering what I did yesterday.

Be warned: Do not remove too much material.
The needle can be over cut or re shaped too much(to short) to where the needle will feel seated,
but has actually bottomed out the threads in the jam nut.
This can cause a very rich situation & loss of hair until you figure it out.
Recent diagnostic result from a newly rebuilt carb that wouldnt run a members T.

How did I do? I did it using a bench grinder and now it only takes about 1 & 1/8 of a turn of the seat where it runs best.

Looks pretty close to me. Here is a pic from Lang’s and yours is almost identical.

Jacob it appears just barely a bit short, but the form and finish look darn good and at this point, that's more important than the exact degree angle. Remember, the blunter it is, the more mixture change will occur per degree of rotation of the needle. A taper about 2X diameter of the rod is about perfect.

https://cdn.modeltford.com/i/c/475991l.jpg

Just a little update. She’s very close to being able to drive on the roads. I recently acquired a complete ruckstell rear end with good tires and good wheels. I also received a 19-25 HH as well. I would like to thank Mr. John Warren for giving me the parts for a great price. Now the only thing left to do is adjust the handbrake and put the correct Hogshead back on the car but I will probably take a drive around my neighborhood before I do that because I am impatient when it comes to things like this. It should not hurt anything except my oil levels because it kind of leaks everywhere. I can count 5 different points of leakage including a small drip at the timing cover, the 2 corners of the transmission, the inspection plate, and the mag post. As for the Ruckstell, I plan to open it up to inspect everything and replace parts I need and then I will prime and paint it then toss it on my truck. This will give my TT a total of 12 different gears.

Jacob - good for you!

John - great that you worked out a deal with this young man!!

Jacob you may want to consider looking for some auxiliary brakes for your TT. With an auxiliary transmission & Ruckstell you have a real potential to be caught in neutral and no way to stop. Just thinking of your safety. Best John

John, I am looking out for a set that is decently priced. I don’t care if they are ac brakes or Rocky Mountain. As long as it stops the truck. I won’t shift on the fly until I get aux brakes. I will probably keep it in od since it’s a TT and if I need to go any lower, I will either pull over or find a long, empty road.

Ok Steve. It will probably be a while until I put it on because It is going to be a project after I get most of the other things squared away. I will probably crack it open in the late summer or early fall. I would be glad to share what type of performance I get from it when I install it.

I Finally got her to move after 25+ years of sitting around. I adjusted the handbrake a bit and now she goes into gear beautifully. The Warford sounds great when it’s under load. It’s a lot quieter than I had expected but then again, I did not drive it fully. I just drove around my backyard to repark it. Unfortunately I didn’t film the main part where I moved it but my grandma filmed when she told me to move it further away from the trailer. It was a great feeling when I stepped on the low pedal and she started creeping forward. I will drive it on the road next week. I will make sure to film when I first take it on the road.
Here’s the video:https://youtube.com/shorts/EZWXlvhG0Es?feature=share
Thanks to everyone who has helped me along the way,
Jacob Mangold

Looks like I’ll have to find some period correct looking clothes!

https://www.round-house.com/collections ... b-overalls

I have a pair of navy blue carthartt bibs that I use when I work on the truck but I will definitely look into getting a pair of those. I like the #45 Oklahoma tuxedo. Not a bad price at
all.

Finally took her out today. Only pushed it to about 15 mph because I virtually had no brakes. I need to adjust it. It had no problems except that it stalled when I put it into over. I don’t think I gave it enough gas but otherwise it was a nice short drive.

Today I took off the rear wheels to tighten the spokes and adjust my parking brake so that can at least stop me now. I also sanded, stained, and, sealed the bed. I really like the grain and weathering that the final product had. It exceeded my expectations how good it came out looking. Just a little update. Thanks, Jacob Mangold

Here is a little update.
I’ve been getting a lot of things done on the truck because I signed up for my first car show with my T club at the beginning of October.

Anyways, I shipped my bands off to Mr. Guinn to get his wood lining put on my bands. I did my research and came to the conclusion that wood linings would be the best option for me. I took off the Hogshead to take my bands off so I could also clean out the oil line and also cleaned out all of the accumulated lint from my first drive. The transmission looks really good and the magneto looks like it should work. Hopefully when I reinstate everything, the mag will work.
I also sealed the toolbox and bolted it down to my bed. Now I just have to make new sides for it.
I also was able to save my spokes with a bit of 30 year old boiled linseed oil and some black wood stain. The wheels are nice and tight now and look amazing too.
I also got bored and decided to look at my crank and rods and was greeted with some very nice surprises. To start, I found dippers connected to the ends of my rods. I also found no unusual signs of wear or anything getting hot. Also, all my bearings, rods, and caps look to have been rebabitted. The rods also had absolutely no up and down play, either. The oil line was very straight and looked to be replaced at some point. The camshaft also seemed to be a regrind, as well. Nothing but good news came from looking in my pan. When I install the new bands, I will also be putting on the correct Hogshead but that is all I’ve got for now.

Thanks, Jacob Mangold

Pictures

Did a band change yesterday as well as put the correct Hogshead on the early transmission. Decided to go with wood bands from Jim Guinn. Sent them in and he got them perfectly round and put his wood linings on. So far, I’ve only driven it in my backyard but it feels real good. There doesn’t seem to be much chatter at all. I also think I did a better job at sealing the gaskets with ultra black because it doesn’t puke oil like before. The whole process of reinstalling the Hogshead was a lot easier this time too. I also routed a brand new copper outside oil line. Unfortunately, there’s always bad news with good news. I tested out the brand new mag post. When I turn it to mag, there wasn’t as much as a stutter. Might as well have turned it to the off position. Seems kind of disappointing. My mag looks fine visually. Does it just need to be recharged? I know it at least makes a little power because I tested it with one of those outlet testing wands and it makes it beep. Tomorrow, I will add a video to my YouTube showing how it sounds when I try to flip it to mag.

My mag looks fine visually. Does it just need to be recharged?

Very unlikely. It may be weak and need a recharge, but that's not a reason for it to suddenly go too weak to run the engine. If I installed a new mag post and the mag output was suddenly weak, I would start there. Did the engine run OK with the old post? If so, put it back in. If that fixes your mag, there's your answer.

The mag never ran since I have had the truck. I thought that maybe since I snapped off the other one, that’s why it would not work but that is obviously not the case. It is evident that my magneto was rebuilt at some point though because I also inherited the KR Wilson magneto spacing tool from my great grandfather. When my TT was restored in the 80’s, virtually everything was went through. I will do more testing today.

Thanks, Jacob Mangold

Check for continuity on the mag switch terminal.

Jacob ideally when you had the hogshead off you could have checked the gap on almost half the field coil & magnet keepers but that’s water under the bridge right now. BushMike made a good suggestion that might solve the problem. Really am enjoying your enthusiasm and work you’re doing. Very nice work on your truckbed.

Thank you for your complements. I did inspect the mag visually when the HH was off. The gap seemed consistent all the way around. No wobble in it. The field coils also were in good condition too. No tears or visible damage on the ones I could see. The magnets seemed a bit week though. They still would grab and hold a steel screwdriver but barely. I’m thinking my magnets need a recharge. Will post what I find when I test it later today.

Thanks, Jacob Mangold

Jacob

you are excellent at researching things and making good choices...so to ensure that you stay on track, you should know if you don't already, that a MAG post cannot be expected to carry the current necessary for a recharge. Be sure to remove it and then use a suitable contact which is heavily insulated from shorting against the hog's head

good luck!

Jacob the gap should be between .025-40 thou. You can buy an inexpensive set of brass feeler gauges, to use in checking the next time you have the hogshead off or pull the engine, off Tbay.

I think it would be ok to use some heavy 2/0 gauge wire and tap the soldered button, right. I’ll just strip the end in order to not short it on the Hogshead.

Thanks, Jacob Mangold

Jacob, if you do an in-truck magnet recharge, you want a solid connection where the mag post touches the ring. Do your tapping elsewhere (and away from the gas tank). That process will be more forgiving of where to tap.

I think this video on it is pretty good, what do you guys think?
Video:https://youtu.be/n1S8ZO6Cj2k

Thanks, Jacob Mangold

No driveshaft play Steve. I check when I pulled the pan inspection cover. It is about as tight as it gets. Checked the mag post with a light tester, Nothing. It still lights up my little wand for ac outlets though. Maybe the button at the top of the mag ring? I just posted a video of how it sounds when I flip the key.
Video: https://youtube.com/shorts/q25zQowlk6w?feature=share

Thanks, Jacob Mangold

It is progressing well!

Ironic that with a truck you have no where to carry your lunch in - hence the need for a box on the deck

How did you get on with the Ruckstell issue you were having?

Sounds like your dash switch is not making contact when you switch to magneto... Since you say you have power coming off the magneto post.

Adrian, thank you. The box is super nice. It provides a whole bunch of storage area plus a sort of table. I will be able to carry spare parts, gaskets, fluids and tools with room to spare. Only thing missing now are cupholders As for the Ruckstell, I have not touched it since because I’ve been busy with the actual truck.

Robert, the mag post is not working. I tested it with a light tester and no dice.

Thanks, Jacob Mangold

Wouldn't hurt to replace the magneto post.

It is brand new. Just got it from snyders

Thanks, Jacob Mangold

Magneto then needs to be recharged

I installed the bed today!