This is What I Did

By Don Warner

Listen to music while you enjoy this page.      <bgsound src="heroes.mid" loop="infinite"></bgsound>

After we purchased our T from Ben at Texas T Parts in August of 2005, our first desire, of course, was to drive it everywhere we could think of. Ross made sure I knew of the importance of the lubrication areas and how often to maintain these items that need oil and grease. He also took me for a little drive to get me used to the mechanics of a Model T.

I did not do quite as much reading about the car on my own as I now know I should have before we took off driving all over Robertson County. In all my years of vehicle experience, the oldest thing I worked on was a 1948 Ford F-1 Pick Up. I never worked on anything without a distributor.

The first item I had a problem with was the mag sensor on the hogshead. Pow! We thought we had been shot. I looked into the "True-Fire" ignition system. I installed that and eliminated the magneto. Ahhhh, no moving parts. We have a driver now!

Later, our T seemed to want to go in every direction except where I wanted it to go. Most of that was some very loose spokes in the right rear wheel. I fixed that rather easily. However, Miss Lizzie still wanted to wander a bit. So, to tighten the steering up I installed new steering gears in the steering box. This changed the ratio to 5.01 from 4.01. I felt a little difference in how quick the car took a turn but nothing drastic. I got our T down to a little "road-walk" issue which I cured with some front-end repair. After a new Pitman Arm and R and R of the entire steering linkage and making a spindle bolt shim out of some stainless steel sheeting, our T now has a good steering system.

The latest upgrade came after the car would only start with the front hand crank. That made for a good show in town and some conversation. But, it got old after a while. I went to Ben's Texas T Parts and purchased a 12 volt single wire alternator with the internal regulator and the required battery. The alternator was no problem. The battery box modifications took a while. These newer batteries are shorter than the old originals. A universal hold-down kit with an extra "I" hold-down for the bottom of the battery box worked out fine. I also installed a slightly longer positive cable to give me a little more room to work with.

I can recall Ben and Ross speaking of how the Model T is, for the most part, simple mechanical basics, with the emphasis on "simple". At the same time, it was a new experience for me and it took some getting used too. Now, I enjoy taking the car apart and making repairs. The video Ernie sent around a few months ago on YouTube states that the car is "ridiculously simple". A true statement it is.

But take the time to read about the siphon cooling system and the mechanics of the transmission and differential when you feel like sitting around and reading something. An oil slinging system without a pump, gravity fuel pressure and how expanding hot coolant "siphons" into the radiator and back to the water jacket makes for good reading material. It is amazing to read how much Henry Ford implemented the laws of physics and mechanical engineering into what some refer to as a relatively "simple car." Ben and Ross have some good books at their shop. I purchased a couple of them myself. It is so much fun to be a Model T'er!

<<  LAST PAGE

NEXT PAGE >>