Getting Rattles Back On The Road

[TXGOAT2]

If the carburetor is adjusted too rich, extra soot will get on the plugs and into the oil.

[Mopar_man]

Took Rattles out for some practice. We're going on a small tour on Saturday. Just about 50 miles or so to a picnic with the Model T club. This small drive let us torque the head bolts after it was hot. We also took out the plugs and made sure they were clean. They looked good. I can also report that after sitting for months Rattles started right up and ran great!

First we oiled it up and did a safety check.

Then it was off to the drive. We were able to get it up to 39.5 MPH!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kpQ3UxUcio0


https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rqcq-2WTWN0

[EdWhite]

Awesome you have a new subscriber, we will follow along on your YouTube

[Mopar_man]

Awesome you have a new subscriber, we will follow along on your YouTube

Thanks Ed If you are rebuilding a car I tried to document it all here. This is my 26 Touring. It's been a fun trip.

[Mopar_man]

Well My Mechanic came home from school and we got a few things done. Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Life sometimes has a way pf putting somethings on hold.

First I got the clock installed. I grew up in Waltham so it was kind of fitting to get one.

[Mopar_man]

Then after taking the car out a few times I had to adjust the reverse band. This is the first adjustment I had to make. The reverse peddle went all the way to the floor and Didn't grab as well as I would like. I also found that the peddle was bent (normal for a 100 year old car) and was catching on the floor. So we cut the wood out a bit so it would clear. Someday we may bend the pedals back into shape. The floor isn't original so We didn't mind cutting it. Here are some shots and a video.

The video
https://youtube.com/shorts/e7-7T1Lw-zg

[Mopar_man]

Just got some pars in from Lang's. The first thing I'm going to tackle is the steering shaft bushing. I think I also may need a new Pitman arm and Key. It seems to be loose but I'll be able to check it better when I get it out. When I move the steering wheel very slightly I can see the shaft moving but not the pitman arm until the steering wheel moves a lot more.

The other thing I want to do is check the real axel. I used a borescope and I think I can see a bronze thrust washer on one side. I also received a lot of broken rear end parts and some Old style thrust washers that leads me to believe that they changed the washers out. I still want to take it apart and confirm everything was done right.

I'm not sure what these small disks are in the bag with the outside grease seals.

I also got these.

It says these are shims?

This is the rest of the gasket kit.

[speedytinc]

The small metal plugs are for the late rux shifter shaft.
The red are the center axle thrust fiber washers.
Yes, Shims. They are for spacing the DS out a bit if needed for a little extra gear clearance.

[Mopar_man]

The small metal plugs are for the late rux shifter shaft.
The red are the center axle thrust fiber washers.
Yes, Shims. They are for spacing the DS out a bit if needed for a little extra gear clearance.

Thanks John! I get it now. I knew about the fiber disks but I didn't know the Drive Shaft had that fine of an adjustment. I have a stock rear so I guess I won't need the small disks. Once I pull it apart I'll see what else I need.

[Tparts]

The small metal plugs are used on the rear axle housing where the aluminum cap goes. There is a small hole that allows the sleeve dimple to seat into. They go into those holes, one on each side. When installed they will make a good surface for the aluminum cap (O-ring) to seal against.

[Mopar_man]

The small metal plugs are used on the rear axle housing where the aluminum cap goes. There is a small hole that allows the sleeve dimple to seat into. They go into those holes, one on each side. When installed they will make a good surface for the aluminum cap (O-ring) to seal against.

Thanks so much Don. For the parts as well. I've got the rear axel book as well as the video.

[Mopar_man]

Well we started to get the steering column out.

[Mopar_man]

Looking more at the steering and in trying to get the slop out of every joint we found one of the adjustable cap on the drag link could be tightened.

I also discovered some movement where the pitman arm connects to the steering shaft. The solution for this is to tighten the nut. I admit when I put it on I didn't really crank on the nut. Come to find out the pitman arm is all the way up on the shaft and hitting the lever for the timing rod. I've heard of some people grinding the top of the arm so it can be tightened higher on the steering shaft. Is this an option? I sure would like to keep my original shaft.

I'm pointing to it with the screwdriver. You can see where it is rubbing.

[TXGOAT2]

Can you space the spark lever up toward the steering wheel?

[Mopar_man]

Can you space the spark lever up toward the steering wheel?

You could but moving it to a new position would throw off the geometry of the spark rod. A lot of people bend the rod around things but that will make the timing off.

[speedytinc]

A little clearance grinding wont hurt a thing.
I have not run into your problem. Is this a new repop pitman arm?
Is the spark rod a repop?
Looks like there is lots of room to shorten the rod, move the lever up & redrill for the pin.

[Mopar_man]

A little clearance grinding wont hurt a thing.
I have not run into your problem. Is this a new repop pitman arm?
Is the spark rod a repop?
Looks like there is lots of room to shorten the rod, move the lever up & redrill for the pin.

It's a repo spark rod and lever but everything else is original.

[speedytinc]

A little clearance grinding wont hurt a thing.
I have not run into your problem. Is this a new repop pitman arm?
Is the spark rod a repop?
Looks like there is lots of room to shorten the rod, move the lever up & redrill for the pin.

It's a repo spark rod and lever but everything else is original.

Well, there you go.
Looks like there is lots of room to shorten the rod, move the lever up & redrill for the pin.

[Mopar_man]

We got the steering column out today.

Here is a video of my issue. Thank you to all the suggestions that I've got so far. I'm still leaning toward grinding part of the pitman arm to clear the spark lever and rod. Check out the video

https://youtu.be/ePeYVbzhZwA

[Scott C.]

Looking at your pictures in a previous post, I think your clearance problem is that you have your steering column installed wrong. I have run into that problem myself a couple of times. You have it mounted on the inside of the cowl. It should be on the outside. Here are a couple of pictures, one that has never been removed and the one in my coupe. I have also found reproduction pitman arms that I had to grind clearance on. Also, have heard of guys shortening the shaft to repair the taper and key slot.

[Mopar_man]

Looking at your pictures in a previous post, I think your clearance problem is that you have your steering column installed wrong. I have run into that problem myself a couple of times. You have it mounted on the inside of the cowl. It should be on the outside. Here are a couple of pictures, one that has never been removed and the one in my coupe. I have also found reproduction pitman arms that I had to grind clearance on. Also, have heard of guys shortening the shaft to repair the taper and key slot.

That may be tru. Thanks. The clearance I need is at the bottom where the pitman arm attaches. I bet you're right about where it attaches to the firewall.

[Henry K. Lee]

Take a rubber mallet to the spark/throttle quadrant and pound it toward the steering wheel should remedy the issue. Rotate the levelers back and forth while striking and lift toward steering wheel. Been there done that to many times!

[TXGOAT2]

Wear on the quadrant notches and the "tooth" on the levers will allow the control rod to move closer to the pitman arm. Bending the quadrants slightly toward the steering wheel will move the rods back where they belong. You could also put a short length of rubber hose on the lever where it rides on the quadrant and glue it in place. That will move the rods back 1/8" or so and prevent them from moving on their own if the quadrants are worn smooth or the springs are weak, as most are.

[Scott C.]

Installing it correctly will compress the control rod springs letting the shaft set lower and give you more clearance. It has solved the problem for me twice. You might still need to do as Hank suggests also and raise the quadrant if it's not enough.

[TXGOAT2]

Wear is one thing, incorrect assembly is another. Correcting the assembly will probably correct the problem. My quadrants are worn almost smooth, but the levers stay put anyway. I need to shim the wood filler at the lower steering shaft bearing, since the spark rod contacts the hood shelf.

[speedytinc]

Installing it correctly will compress the control rod springs letting the shaft set lower and give you more clearance. It has solved the problem for me twice. You might still need to do as Hank suggests also and raise the quadrant if it's not enough.

I am calling BS on the control rod springs. They are mounted on the columb. Makes NO difference/effect on which side of the firewall the column is mounted.
As far as mounting. You got me second guessing myself. So, I looked @ past posts & my own T.
The column mounts inside the FW, same as all the earlier T's. If mounted incorrectly (on the front) its obvious by the fit of the lower trim piece.
Its bent in such a way it fits correctly when the column is on the back side. I see that the trim piece doesnt fit correctly in the 2nd photo.
Hank posits a good idea if the quadrant is bent down. However bending the quadrant to fix another slightly incorrect repop part isnt the answer. The answer is to fix the repop part. A comparison with an original part equipped Late T might be useful.
If you think about it, moving the column wont effect the spark rod & pitman arm clearance. It would change the amount of steering shaft & retard rod distance from the steering shaft mounting bracket.
As far as the claim that a T is original with the column mounted to the front side, that would be hard to prove that the column wasnt removed sometime in the past 98 years & put back wrong, unless you have a true Rip Van Winkle 27 T. No disrespect intended.

[Scott C.]

Maybe I am wrong on the spring compression. However, I am not BSing anyone. If you move the mount downward from the inside to the outside and the mounting bracket at the bottom stays in the same location, the steering shaft will stick further out of the bracket.

[Mopar_man]

Thanks everyone. I'm going to take a look at the Quadrant and see if it's already bent down causing the rod to be lower. I think the issue with the bracket on the firewall will sort itself out. If I put it on the engine side it may make the pitman arm too far forward and not line up with the drag link. as far as I can tell the pitman arm is original. the spark lever is not.

[speedytinc]

Maybe I am wrong on the spring compression. However, I am not BSing anyone. If you move the mount downward from the inside to the outside and the mounting bracket at the bottom stays in the same location, the steering shaft will stick further out of the bracket.

Agreed.

The steering shaft & the retard lever will still be hitting each other. No change where the interference problem lies.

[TXGOAT2]

It's common for the quadrants and levers to be well-worn where they contact one another. That wear allows the the control rods and anything attached to them to move toward the pitman arm. My steering column jacket is bolted to the driver side of the firewall.