MTFCA Forum

At last year's MTFCI International Tour in Cadillac I saw a couple of radiator caps with little anemometers on them. The cups spin as you go down the road (or it's windy.) Does anyone know who might be making and selling them? I have a Berg's radiator and have learned the hard way I can't put anything too heavy on the filler neck or the neck comes loose.
Thanks in advance!

Anemometer - you get the idea

I have an original one made by the Wiggler Company Buffalo, New York and patented in Dec 1925. It has red, green and blue jewels in the cups. A mate has one which has a motometer in place of the ball that is on mine. Allan from down under

The one you saw at Cadillac was the one I bought for my daughter's 12 touring. I bought it 2 or 3 years ago at Luray. I don't think they are available at the moment.

Thanks Charlie.... Did you by any chance take a photo of it?

Here's one that I took pic of a T on a tour somewhere. And an old advert.

The Wiggler company made these RotoScopes. I have vague remembrance that Bob Scherzer (RIP) may have made repops. I got one of his Air Ford radiator cap toppers from him.

Don't know how to post a picture, but it is the one like Allen posted.

Very hard to find.
One just went off on TBAY. $499 + shipping. No jewels. (they came both ways)
There was A guy reproducing them. I bit. Repop uses a sealed bearing. Need a strong wind to turn.
The original ones are a jeweled movement? takes very little to turn.

speedytinc wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 19, 2025 2:22 pm

Very hard to find.
One just went off on TBAY. $499 + shipping. No jewels. (they came both ways)
There was A guy reproducing them. I bit. Repop uses a sealed bearing. Need a strong wind to turn.
The original ones are a jeweled movement? takes very little to turn.

as much as I like gadgets, I don't think I'd spend more than $50 for one....

still want one...

You would have to be lottery lucky to find one @ that price.

I had considered making one. All you need is 4 melon ballers.

Never seen the cup spinners before, but have seen one of the airplanes....have always wanted one of the plane spinners...

Someones collection https://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/4 ... 1401935234
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worth
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speedytinc wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 19, 2025 2:37 pm

You would have to be lottery lucky to find one @ that price.

I had considered making one. All you need is 4 melon ballers.

challenge accepted....

$6.55 initial investment...

https://www.amazon.com/Double-Headed-St ... 9hdGY&th=1

ohh $6.59 for 1,510 jewels...

https://www.amazon.com/Stickers-1510pcs ... =8-23&th=1

I can stand this, but I drive country roads a lot.
I don't need extra weight bouncing on the neck.

The Dauntless Geezer speaks practical truth (as always)

Not on a T (obviously) but if you like accessory radiator caps, how about this one ?? I’m hoping the bagpipes play when the car overheats, and there’s a head of steam in the top tank !

For that steaming Ford, this cap releases the excess

Frank Brandi's post has a link to a previous discussion on this topic. In that post Bob Scherzer showed a photo of a boy pissing from a radiator cap.
Mannekin Pis, Dutch for little missing man, is a famous statue in Brussels, Belgium. I found a similar little man in an antique shop a few years back. They were probably sold as souvenirs to tourists. Allan from down under.

Need to see it in action (could be modified fora steam stream)
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The real one gets a change of clothes from time to time
Installed at this very spot in 1618 or 1619, this world-famous statue is a major landmark of the city.
Its clothes are changed many times a week according to a schedule posted at the fountain. The costumes are on display on the Grand Place.
There are many legends and stories associated with the statue and several replicas of it can be found in many countries. Its female counterpart, Jeanneke Pis, was erected in 1987 on the east side of the Impasse de la Fidélité/Getrouwheidsgang.
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Not quite Frank. According to Wikipedia, the real one is in a museum in safe keeping. He had been stolen previously. The one the public sees in its usual place is a reproduction so that they do not loose the real one again. Perhaps spellcheck was being clairvoyant when it corrected pissing in my post and made it missing.

Allan from down under.

He,
You have stollen Toon Boer's Manneke Pis.
Here is the original during one of the French Model T Concentrations.

Andre
Belgium ( The original land of Manneke Pis)
(There are two of them: The most known in Brussels and the other in Geeraardsbergen)

I wonder how you activate the water stream?

Here's mine:

I really like the anemometer in the OP, but the only time that it would be on my T is when it is parked.

Old time fiddle player.

Another version of Manneken Pis.

John, the anemometer I posted is about as light as any radiator ornament i have found. None of it is a heavy, solid casting. Have no fear about it doing any damage to your radiator neck.
Original Ford radiators had the neck crimped to the top panel.This was then soldered to seal the joint. The reproductions I have seen rely entirely on solder to make the connection. These do not always fare well with additional weight on the neck.

Allan from down under.

Allan wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 22, 2025 9:23 pm

John, the anemometer I posted is about as light as any radiator ornament i have found. None of it is a heavy, solid casting. Have no fear about it doing any damage to your radiator neck.
Original Ford radiators had the neck crimped to the top panel.This was then soldered to seal the joint. The reproductions I have seen rely entirely on solder to make the connection. These do not always fare well with additional weight on the neck.

Allan from down under.

I'm actually more concerned about any vibration then I am about the weight.

Weight, or mass, of an accessory is what allows vibration to damage the radiator. A very lightweight ornament would be unlikely to cause problems, and the closer any added weight is to the radiator tank, the better.

A hollow plastic ornament finished with gold leaf might be light enough to put on any radiator.

This is my remote motometer mounted on an all brass angel with bluetooth connection to my smart phone.
 

...Keeps the brass shining....