MTFCA Forum

… I didn’t The foam crap needs to be replaced occasionally. I haven’t driven the roadster since the 2019 Covered Bridges tour where it performed flawlessly. So the other day I figured I’d wash off the dust. Air the tires and pour 2 gallons into the gas tank. Also serviced the radiator. Primed her 3 times with ignition off and she started strong on the 2nd ignition on crank. Had a ball driving several miles but wouldn’t start the next day…… This is what I found…the rest of the crap foam filter is in the carburetor. I’m realizing now that roads are infinitely less dusty than 100 years ago and Ford never offered an air filter so I’m gonna throw these remnants into the lake

Good plan!

George, you are a naughty boy! What benefit is there in adding pollutants to the lake?

Allan from don under.

Ford did have an air filter; Put your engine splash/dust pans back on. The radiator fins filter out anything too big.

Plus, the hot air tube from the exhaust manifold to the carburetor filters out a lot of crap.

I’m realizing now that roads are infinitely less dusty than 100 years ago...

That depends on where you are.

I had a filter on my car, but in the cold mornings it would run terrible. I put my hot air pipe on and it runs great. Maybe I will have it on during the summer months.

I'd replace the filer with a new one. Dirt is everywhere, all the time. Engines wore out in a few thousand miles "back in the day", and lack of an air filter was a significant contributor to rapid ring and cylinder wear and valve troubles. Dust particles can stick to exhaust valve faces and cause them to run hotter. The valve is hot enough to fuse dust onto the valve face and the head of the valve, where it makes a pottery-like substance.
I've had several years-old old foam type filters disintegrate on lawn mowers and ATVs. They need replaced from time to time. Washing the foam in solvent may make it deteriorate faster, but after a few years, it needs replaced, regardless. The best filter is a dry element Donaldson type, and venting the carburetor bowl to the inlet pipe between the carburetor and the filter is a good idea.

A hot air pipe is a good thing to have in cold weather or cool, damp weather. Some kind of manifold heat AND an effective air filter is much better!

The best arrangement is an inlet air heater, air filter, and hot spot manifold, and compensated carburetor bowl vent.

A high flow screen to keep mice out of the carb is a good idea especially for winter storage. Ive seen mice damage to cylinders a few times. They can squeeze through the valves. The pee can eat deep into the cylinder wall. Steel wool in the exhaust outlet during storage helps too.

Good advice…. I drained a T radiator for winter one time and left the petcock open. Sure enough, a mouse crawled through the petcock, made a nest in the lower tank then wedged himself and died in an original radiator round tube.

There’s more than hot air being discussed ha

By George, George. I was under the impression that everything in Texas was larger than life.

Allan from down under.

JTT3 wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 05, 2024 9:21 pm

There’s more than hot air being discussed ha

Lets not get too restrictive here hehe

I use the same filter - I remove, wash and oil it yearly. I also have a spare if it shows signs of deterioration. I have never needed a heat pipe, even though I live in Michigan which sees much more extreme climate shifts than Texas.

I prefer to limit the amount of dust entering my engine. Evidence of how much can be sucked in is readily observed when I wash the filter. If you don't like the foam type, there are paper filters available also.

Allan wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 06, 2024 4:27 am

By George, George. I was under the impression that everything in Texas was larger than life.

Allan from down under.

Allan, They are, but Texas mice have the "Houdini gene" in them and shrink or swell as the condition calls for to get into the places they want to go.

My Granddad was driving in a Model A and the engine died suddenly. Everyone got out and started looking for the problem. It turned out that a frog or toad had apparently jumped up from the road and got stuck head first in the carburetor inlet. The animal was removed and they went on their way. As for mice, they can get into and destroy anything. They love to pull the stuffing out of auto upholstery and stuff it into the radiator and gas tank and into doors and other enclosed areas, then they pee on it to get the rust started. I've found old barn cars completely destroyed by mice. They'll ruin an engine if they can get into it by stuffing it full of debris, then adding their special corrosives to the mess.

In July I had a mouse nest in my HVAC compressor that shorted out the unit, a hole chewed in my lawnmower gas tank, and the gas line on my car chewed up. It was an expensive month. Now I have traps, screens and plugs everywhere.