MTFCA Forum

In the process of rebuilding my 26 transmission and the driven plate rivets are all loose and the holes were not round anymore. It is
virtually impossible without the proper equipment to replace the rivets and get the shaft properly aligned.
I called Dave Nolting who is machining drums and asked about the driven plate. He confirmed about the issues trying to put new rivets
in and he put me onto Mike Hartman in Arkansas who is machining one piece driven plates for 26/27 and also for earlier years.
I purchased one and got it last Friday. It is absolutely perfect. All you have to do
is install the three clutch fingers and he supplies pins for that with a hole for a cotter pin.
They also come sized for a standard ball cap.
Just wanted to give a shout out to some great machinists. The part was $700.00 plus tax and shipping.

Bill

That's a great option for those that don't do swap meets or have the capability to make repairs on a loose drive plate.

There is/was a reason that drive plate shaft worked the rivets loose.
I hope you addressed whatever was causing the misalignment(s)
Crank flange, Center shaft & flange. Output plate shaft. 4th main. Crankcase.

I purchased the transmission with the intent of rebuilding it. The only thing I ended up using from it was the break drum and the clutch drum.
Used reverse and low speed drums from another transmission. New bushings and main shaft along with the new driven plate should make it run
smoothly.
Also had the flywheel balanced with a new ring gear, magnets and triple gears by an experienced T mechanic.

Bill

BarnesvilleT wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 03, 2024 2:13 pm

I purchased the transmission with the intent of rebuilding it. The only thing I ended up using from it was the break drum and the clutch drum.
Used reverse and low speed drums from another transmission. New bushings and main shaft along with the new driven plate should make it run
smoothly.
Also had the flywheel balanced with a new ring gear, magnets and triple gears by an experienced T mechanic.

Bill

Very good.
When you have the transmission all assembled to the motor, indicate the output shaft to be sure it all runs with no run-out.

You mentioned about using some drums from another transmission. They will work but letting you know you may have a noisy transmission sound depending how the wear is on the drums. That sometimes happens when using good used drums. The transmission in my 21 Touring was a bit noisy with a good used brake drum and eventually I found a better one and replaced it.
The Transmission drums and triple gears work together and wear together as a unit and when 1 is replaced it might have just enough wear to have a whining sound. Some just get used to the slight whine and don’t think anything about it.

John kuehn wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 03, 2024 4:09 pm

You mentioned about using some drums from another transmission. They will work but letting you know you may have a noisy transmission sound depending how the wear is on the drums. That sometimes happens when using good used drums. The transmission in my 21 Touring was a bit noisy with a good used brake drum and eventually I found a better one and replaced it.
The Transmission drums and triple gears work together and wear together as a unit and when 1 is replaced it might have just enough wear to have a whining sound. Some just get used to the slight whine and don’t think anything about it.

The brake drum doesn't have a built in gear. The gear is the driven gear which would have/should have been used from your old drum to keep the gear meshes the same.
It may be just disassembling a transmission & shifting the triple gears will make more noise until the gears re-familiarize themselves over time.

I had a conversation with a fellow that built a transmission with every part NOS. He claimed it was the noisiest transmission he ever heard & was quite disappointed. I also recall some Laurel & Hardy movies where their T's transmission was also noisy.

So I figure noise is inevitable & part of the normal cycle of transmission wear/life. Noisy new getting quieter over time until the tripple gear bushings wear out & gets noisy again.
With the exception of someone completely lapping the gears in before finish assembly.
Any other thoughts on the subject?

One of the quietest T trans I I've had when taken apart was in such bad shape that it almost all went in the scrap pile. Reverse & low drum
cracked, lugs in brake drum looked like sharks teeth, triple gear bushings were one seized & two the bushings fell out of the gears, rivets
loose in drive plate & reverse, square in drive plate almost round. The first trans I put together was with parts from 3 different trans. It
made enough noise to scare small children & animals now it's pretty quite. It is nice to know that good quality parts are being made.
Craig.

Good information on rebuilding a T Transmission with the best “good used parts” !
I read on posts over the years about being disappointed with all new parts in a transmission. After a while the whine gets quite after a rebuild with used parts and as I said some whine more than others but quiten down. I’ve often wondered how a T sounded coming off the assembly line at Henry’s factories. I guess we’ll never really know! ???

My '22 Centerdoor is unrestored original and must have been a low mileage vehicle based on the condition of the interior. Quietest transmission of the eight T's I have. I have always assumed that is how they sounded from the factory.

Many of the 26/27 drive plates I looked at have lose rivets. I can't tell you if they came from transmissions that only had the single bushing in the low drum assembly or not. My thought is that the combination of maybe extra weight of the cars, wider tires, wider brake drum and maybe the single bushing all put extra strain on the output shaft which led to lose rivets over the 1925 back style.

In case anyone is interested in contacting Mike here is his info.
Mike Hartman
MMS Futurecraft Dynamics Inc.
Ola, Arkansas 72853
479-489-5815

Pretty sure that Larry Smith's cars all produce the original noise or lack thereof!