Another T wake up

[Erik Barrett]

Got one in to put back on the road after a little nap. Very solid 25 Tudor with original body wood and some of the upholstery. Going through the checklist, doing a compression test. Supposed to already have one piece valves. Looks like chassis was worked over in the 80's.

[Steve Jelf]

Is that an old filling station hydraulic post?

[Scott C.]

Yes, that is an old service lift. I have a similar one made by Joyce in my shop. I have not tried to lift a T with mine. Can you post some pictures of how you have your lift arms set and what lift points you are using to lift the Model T?

[Erik Barrett]

Yes, it is an old school air over hydraulic lift. I bought it from a tire shop about thirty years ago that was going to all above ground lifts for several reasons. It has arms you can swing out with pads that will slide in or out. These pads can be left flat or folded up for either a two or six inch boost. I use the two inch in the front of a model T and put it under the wishbone just aft of the spring perch bolt. Six inch booster on the rear lifting the radius rod just forward of the rear axle. With the car off the ground I can swap ends with it as suits my needs. With tall cars like this one I can drive it in forwards and then swap ends so the top doesn't get to close to the ceiling. I have bumped it a few times. Then when I am done I can drive straight out.

[Rich Eagle]

Those Tudors are great cars. We enjoy ours a lot after years of driving open cars in the cooler months.
Rich

[Scott C.]

So, you do not have your safety pole installed?

[Scott_Conger]

You're lifting the cars by the radius rods, front/rear?

HOLY MOLY

[Erik Barrett]

Not by the radius rods, but by the axles at the attachment points for the rods.
No lock rod on the lift. The hoist does not bleed down, but I still don’t leave it raised when I leave the shop.

[RichardG]

THOSE LIFTS HAD A TWO INCH PIPE THAT WAS HITCHED TO THE MAIN LIFT BODY THAT RUN IN A TUBE IN THE FLOOR NEXT TO THE LIFT BASE IT HAD A TRIGGER THAT POPPED OUT WHEN THE LIFT REACHED THE TOP OF ITS TRAVEL,THIS WAS YOUR SAFETY LATCH, YOU HAS TO DISLODGE IT BY KICKING IT CLOSED WHEN YOU WERE TO LET THE LIFT DOWN, PLEASE ----DO YOUR WIFE AND KIDS A FAVOR AND GET A HARD WOOD 2/4 THAT WILL FIT SNUGLY BETWEEN THE LIFT AND FLOOR NEXT TO THE POST, IF ANY THING WERE TO HAPPEN TO THE AIR OR HYDRAULIC PIPING YOU WILL BE WAY TOO SHORT TO REACH THE PEDALS ON YOUR T, THIS IS WHAT TOOK PLACE AT OUR RAIL ROAD CLUB TEN YEARS AGO, WE INSTALLED ONE OF THOSE SINGLE POST LIFTS, TO USE IN OUR TURN TABLE PIT, IF WE PUT THE SAFETY POST IN WE GOULD NOT ROTATE TO LINE UP TO THE TRACK, WORKED FINE TILL ONE DAY THERE WAS A 4-10-2-LOCO [NOW THIS IS LIVE STEAM ] SLID ONTO THE LIFT , THE RIG THAT BROUGHT THIS LOCO IN WAS ABOUT 2-1/2-FEET OFF THE GROUND, GOT EVERY THING LINED UP PUSHED THE ENGINE ONTO THE LIFT NO SOONER WAS IT ON WHEN THE AIR LINE THAT FILLED THE TUBE FOR LIFTING BROKE, THAT TABLE WITH ENGINE ON IT HIT THE GROUND WITH ENOUGH FORCE TO BREAK THE PILOT AND THE BELL MOUNT AND TWO SPRINGS,I'M TELLING YOU IT CAME DOWN FAST!!!WE FOUND WHERE THE AIR PIPE WENT THROUGH THE CEMENT OVER THE YEARS BEING OUT IN THE WEATHER HAD RUSTED THROUGH ,THE BACK PRESSURE FROM THE HEFT OF THAT BIG ENGINE WAS ENOUGH TO OPEN THAT WEAKNESS AND DOWN IT CAME, SOME OF US HAD TO MAKE A UNEXPECTED TRIP THE LITTLE GIRLS ROOM, OTHERWISE ALL WERE OK.

[Erik Barrett]

No safety features have been removed from my lift. It was never equipped with what you describe. The built in safety feature is that while air pressure powers it, hydraulic oil is a dampening agent, using an orifice built in to the hoist so everything happens slowly. A catastrophic failure anywhere in the air system will result in the hoist coming down no faster than if you opened the control valve to lower the car, and that is quite slow. It can only get away from you if you allow the oil level to get low enough that air gets into the hydraulic side of the dampening orifice. If that happens, the hoist will let you know. This only happens when the packing leaks at the gland. I have to repack it about every 15 years. I can deal with that.

[Scott C.]

I don't know for sure, but I have never seen one that did not originally have a safety pole. I have seen a lot of them that had been removed. Since your installation is not the original, one could only tell by the super structure. It should have a place for the pole. What brand of lift is it? Since you mentioned that it has the orifice, I assume that it the reservoir is in the cylinder and that it operates from a single air valve? Or, does it have an external tank? If so, it should be controlled by an air valve and a hydraulic valve.

[Original Smith]

Did anyone at Chickasha notice the '25 Tudor with the square splash shields?

[John Codman]

Since the OP was about a Model T, I hope that this is not off-topic: When I was an automotive vocational teacher, the EPA came in and politely but firmly asked us to replace all of our in-ground hydraulic post lifts with above-ground electrics. They didn't like the idea of oil in the ground. The EPA was correct - when we removed the in-ground lifts, every single one (there were nine) was leaking at least some oil into the ground.

[Erik Barrett]

Mine was made by Western Lift, and yes, the reservoir is in the column so there is an air valve and no external tank. I got it from a tire store that removed it before they were asked to, and it didn’t like the newer, lower cars that were coming out thirty years ago. When it was there it was configured the same as it is now. I sandblasted the entire casing and sealed it with the most advanced epoxy coating available at that time. It will outlast me by a long time.