Open Valve Engine Oil Leaks - Problem Solved!

[Russ_Furstnow]

My 1909 Touring has a nasty habit of leaking oil all over the engine bay and undercarriage from the open valve train. Not only is the oil unsightly, but the oil is a pain to clean after just a short drive. To solve the problem, I made a leather valve cover that straps to the engine and the problem is now taken care of!! The leather cover has two folds that hold two absorbant pads, and the pads hold the oil in check. I used a 3/4" leather strap to go around the block to hold the cover in place. The example in the photos will be dyed black tomorrow and will be barely visible when installed. The only bad thing is that I cannot see those eight valves working as the engine is running, but the oil spashing all over the car is a thing of the past! I hope this helps, Russ Furstnow

PS: For the purists out there, I have not installed the Kingston 5 ball on the car yet...but it is soon to be on the car.

[Rich P. Bingham]

Oh, to have such problems !

Yours is an embarrassment of riches, Russ !
Would you consider posting a photo tour of this wonderful machine ?

[speedytinc]

Very nice.
Necessity is the muther.........

[KimDobbins]

As another option, original accessory valve covers.

[Erik Barrett]

There’s a reason why parts for these early model T’s are rare. Frankly it’s because they suck and got tossed in the garbage as soon as they failed which did not take long. One piece pan? Junked as soon as the dealer had to nearly dismantle the car for a rod knock. Newer pan cost what, maybe $15? Old pan got scrapped. Don’t even get me started on the square hole hogshead. Anyway, the solution to the open valve engine mess is not a diaper. When I build these I put the tappet guides in the lathe and machine a groove for an O-ring at the top end. No more oil slobbering down that side of the block. Learned this from the late Ron Brown, Sr. One of three Rosenthal award winners in our little club.

[Rod]

Russ,

I noticed that your 1909 has a factory water pump which must mean it’s a 2 pedal, 2 lever. Would you mind sharing the engine number?

Thanks,
Rod

[Russ_Furstnow]

The car that I own was restored by Mark Cameron. Mark did an amazing job researching and restoring the car. The car won the MTFCI Stynoski Award in 2004, and is one of the most beautiful, and well restored 1909 Fords I have ever seen. I thought Mark would keep the car forever, but he offered it to me at the MTFCI tour in Owatonna. I was very fortunate to purchase the car from Mark in October, and I am enjoying being the car's caretaker. Mark collected many, many blueprints from the Benson Ford in an effort to correctly identify the correct and unique parts used on the first 2500 Model T's. Mark searched many years for the parts to properly restore the car. Mark purchased the engine assembly from the late Chris Eggsgard and the original motor number is #2350. The car number is #1001, and is a three pedal, one lever car.

This is the second 1909 Ford I have owned, and both cars have leaked oil from the valve train. While "o" rings may stop the oil from leaking past the valve lifters, the open valve engines were made to spit oil......so the leather valve cover was made to just keep the car a bit cleaner!!!
Russ Furstnow

[Russ_Furstnow]

Kim, I heard about those accessory valve covers...very cool!! I hope you use them on your 1909 Ford. Russ

[TXGOAT2]

The very early cars most all had total loss oiling systems, and many had open chain drive. The Model T engine and chassis, with most working parts enclosed in a metal casing and the external oil pumps and lines eliminated, was a great leap forward for low-priced vehicles. Given road conditions in the open valve era, most of the early T engines must have been a mess of oil soaked dirt and mud. Many people had no ready access to any convenient way to clean the mess up, and a great many had little inclination to do so. At least the grit, bugs, and debris that got stuck in the oil didn't get drawn into the carburetor...

[Erik Barrett]

As cars from 1909 go, the model T is one of the least messy. Total loss oiling systems were the order of the day.

[Wayne Sheldon]

Russ,

I noticed that your 1909 has a factory water pump which must mean it’s a 2 pedal, 2 lever. Would you mind sharing the engine number?

Thanks,
Rod

Sorry Rod, and clarification for others.
In rough round numbers. Roughly the first one thousand ( 1000 ) model Ts manufactured in late calendar 1908 and very early (January and February) calendar 1909 (all as 1909 models) were two pedal/two lever cars. The first roughly 2500 (two thousand five hundred) cars had the earliest style block and head with a factory installed water pump. So roughly 1500 (fifteen hundred) 1909 models left the factory with three pedals and a single lever with a water pump. For all practical purposes, the last water pump car was manufactured in early May of 1909.
The two lever/two pedal cars were slowly manufactured for nearly six months. Production was speeding up rapidly, and the half again as many three pedal/single lever cars were produced in little more than two months.

Things were changing fast in those days.

[Erik Barrett]

I believe the two lever model T’s were the subject of the first automotive industry recall. They were dangerous. Anyone who has ever backed up a model T knows how crazy they can be going backwards with negative caster. Imagine doing that with only one hand on the steering wheel because your left is on the reverse lever and your right is simultaneously trying to steer the car and managing the throttle.