Automotive American – Classic Vintage & Modern
Category: Model T
Back again with more Exciting Model T Racing Action! We get some custom lettering done on the Number 24 Car to Put it Back To How it was Last Raced along with some pre-race maintenance and then fire these beauties up! Model T Race Footage and More!
The T’s transmission is a planetary type with two forward speeds plus reverse. Once rolling, the driver simply removes his foot from the clutch pedal and adds a bit of throttle, and the transmission shifts into high gear, much like a modern automatic
Drawbacks of a Two Speed Gearbox
In normal driving the two speed pedal operated gear change works very well. It gives a very simple easy gear change enabling you to nip up and down the gears with a minimum of effort. However it does have its drawbacks. The obvious one is the large gap between the gears, there are some circumstances when bottom gear is too low and top is too high. A Ruckstell two speed rear axle alleviates this to some extent.
Places where you may find difficulty are:
1. Changing up a gear on hills.
2. Going into junctions or roundabouts (traffic circles) where top gear is too fast.
Or
3. Going over rough ground or grass.
All that can be done is to grind along in low gear until top gear can be used again. The only other answer is to install an auxiliary gear such as the Ruckstell two speed rear axle. In practice a bit of coasting around obstructions and then with a quick burst of low gear before going back into high again will negotiate most of these situations with ease.
Source FordModelT.net
An older post from a while back, but it’s just a cool car so…
During twenty years of production (1908-1928) the Ford Motor Company produced a lump of 16.6 million Model T motor cars. A staggering number that still affords the Model T a place on the listings for most produced automobiles of all time. Ford built them quickly and cheaply to get Americans out on the road. Fast forward another twenty years, and you will find the popularity of the Model T is still lofty. Although America had long-since gained her license to drive and laid the pavement to do so, the soldiers returning home from the second world war discovered a reinvigorated passion for automobile modification and the Model T was the perfect starting point. With a surplus of spending money and spare parts from the mass-produced Model T inexpensive, ideas for enhancements to the platform took root and formed the foundation of hotrodding
Today on our auction block is a starling showcase of how early hotrodding and racing merged. The 1922 Ford Model T we have was initially built together and completed in 1948 by Tommy Garland of Buellton, California. Transformed from a coupe into a roadster the Model T was shaved of weight and heavily modified for dirt track racing, which it heavily competed in during the six years after its birth. Driving at tracks such as Old Ascot, Thunderbowl, Bakersfield, Porterville, and Lompoc, the Model T saw success. Still sporting its authentic 1950s blue livery complete with hand-painted numbers, sponsors, and the driver tag Chuck Hulse, who piloted this craft a decade before his years racing in the USAC Championship Car series this fast Ford is a time capsule.
Unfortunately, by the mid-1950s the roadster was ready for retirement. Placed into storage for thirty years the roadster was eventually put into a museum collection until 2016. RM Sotheby’s sold the car to the current seller who immediately turned it over to renown hotrod restoration expert Jimmy Shine. One hundred hours were put into the repairs and rehabilitation work that reinvigorated the mechanical components and discreetly added some engineering improvements. Under Shines watchful eye the brakes were restored, and the shock absorbers were also rebuilt. A few significant welds were refinished then aged to match the current state of patina. However, there are still several small areas of rust. Included with the sale are the original red painted wheels with dirt track tires from the 1950s plus the current gold painted mesh wire wheels that have new dirt track tires installed
These days, we’ve become accustomed to track noses as just another option in the sea of hot rod aftermarket items. Sporty, yes, but all too often backed up by an otherwise standard street rod. However, the track nose on this 1927 Ford Model T-based street rod for sale on Hemmings.com is entirely fitting, given that the builder of the car chose to power it with a real-deal Drake Offenhauser dual overhead-camshaft four-cylinder. Once the hood is up, not even the screaming yellow zonkers paint can divert focus away from that jewel of a racing engine, and we’re sure there’s a story about how the engine came to power this car, along with many stories of frightened and delighted passengers who went for a ride thinking it was just a regular ol’ 1-800-street-rod. From the seller’s description
includes: A 255 cu in Drake Offenhauser engine with original magneto and water plumbing system, Dual two barrel Mikuni carburetors, Dry sump oil system, Custom built tube headers and exhaust system, Steel tube chassis, Ford automatic transmission, Ford 9 inch rear end with three link rear suspension with coil over shocks, Front drop chrome axle, Ansen type five spoke wheels CNC profile cut for original machine finish, Wilwood front disk brakes with chassis mounted master cylinder and bias valve, Custom radiator with electric cooling fan, Rear mounted battery with under seat disconnect, Hand fabricated upholstery and carpets, Fiberglass body with aluminum hood, radiator nose and louvered side panels. Car is currently licensed and insured and ready to drive
Read on
The Gilmore Car Museum offers an amazing program called “The Model T Driving Experience”
. This program will take you on a crash course on the history of the Ford Model T and give you hands on experience behind the wheel of one!
You will get to drive one of the many Model T’s in the museum’s collection and drive 3 miles around the historic campus. –
The Gilmore Car Museum –
Website – https://www.gilmorecarmuseum.org/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/GilmoreCarMu…
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/gilmorecarm…
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrno…
(Editor’s note: The Western Reserve Historical Society, which includes the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum, recently published the following article in its newsletter and we’ve been granted permission to share it with our readers.)
What better way to usher in the coming year than with the purchase of a brand new car? Hypothetically, let’s say you are shopping for a new Ford, for example. Now, to have some fun, let’s say you were shopping for a new Ford exactly 100 years ago. What would be on offer, and what would the experience for today’s consumer be like? Let’s listen in on the conversation between ‘C,’ the customer, and ‘D,’ the dealer.
‘D’: ‘Good morning little lady, what can we do for you?’
‘C’: (With a slight frown), ‘I’m interested in buying a new car, and I see you’ve got plenty on hand.’
‘D’: ‘Sure do Miss, fresh off the assembly line in Detroit. We’ve got whatever you need; a Sedan, a Coupe, a Roadster Pickup, a Runabout, and a top-of-the-line Touring, all courtesy of Mr. Henry Ford.’
‘C’: ‘Are these the famous Model T’s I’ve heard so much about?’
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‘ve been nattering about this project for a few years now, as the plans have morphed based on my resources. Last month, I unveiled the first installment in a series of articles discussing, in depth, the recipe I’ve worked out with my friend Clayton Paddison to turn a well-preserved 1921 Ford Model T touring car into something capable of running on modern roads without hanging an orange triangle on the back.
The blueprint we’ve laid out uses 1920s and ’30s technology to expand the capabilities of the Model T’s 1900s design in much the same way a driver in that era might have done so. The previous installment dealt with the chassis and brakes. This month, I want to explain our plans for the powertrain: engine, transmission, rear axle, and driveline.
Engine
The engine on a hot rod should never be an afterthought, yet on my car it’s getting only mild attention. That’s because it’s an original, 99-year-old (June 1921) engine that still runs well.
I know that if I were to start hotting it up, it would quickly collapse under the strain. On a pre-1927 Model T engine (engines stayed in production through December 1941), the biggest weakness is the “bent-paperclip” crankshaft.Eventually, when the reservoir of fun tickets has refilled, I will build the “big” engine—starting with a 1926-’27 block and EE-series crank and capped off with a pair of Stromberg 81s on an Evans intake. Beyond that, who knows? Maybe by then I’ll have acquired the Rajo Model A head I’ve always wanted.
Alternately, I’ve also got a ’28 Chevrolet head bumping around here that I can’t bear to part with.Until then, a set of aluminum pistons and a few mild bolt-ons will suffice. The original intake manifold and Kingston L4 will be set aside and replaced with a “straight-through” Holley NH and an aftermarket high-volume intake manifold.
The straight-through NH was a short-lived version of the common Model T carburetor that flows slightly better than the norm and the high-volume intake is a necessity to take advantage of its potential.Bigger, one-piece valves and a high-lift camshaft will further the performance enhancements, permitting more mixture into the cylinders.
To make sure that charge is properly tumbled and squeezed, I’ve also sent Clayton an aluminum “Z” Head which has about 6:1 compression (stock was 4.5:1—gas wasn’t great in the ’20s—and the practical maximum for an L-head engine is around 7 or 7.5:1, but that’s awful hard on the bottom end of a stockish T engine) and the efficient combustion chambers advocated by the great Harry Ricardo.
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I’m serious. This 1925 Ford Model T for sale on Hemmings.com is perfect as is, and I don’t say that lightly. Modifying a car is a highly personal endeavor and ultimately only the designer must be pleased.
Very rarely do I come across an already modified vehicle where I wouldn’t be tempted to change something.There are a lot of Model T speedsters out there. Just removing the body and driving a T that way could be considered the speedster treatment—it certainly strips off a lot of weight.
Not all speedsters are beautiful, but some are incredible—Bugattis built of tractor parts. Others are in between.
This car isn’t a Bugatti, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s long and low and looks fast even as it stands still.
The retention of the fenders and hood add a very civilized air to what is otherwise a pretty bare-bones affair. The kicked-out front axle (on what appears to be a 1926-’27 chassis, 21-inch wheels included; the most fully developed Model T) extends the wheelbase somewhat and really improves the looks as well.
It’s worth mentioning that while the description says the car has four-wheel drum brakes, there aren’t any front brakes, just a speedometer drive. There are aftermarket brakes visible on the rear, however.
The Ford Model T bridges the gap between when cars were mostly built by hand to when mass-produced, interchangeable parts came along. Sometimes, that means that the most effective way to repair one is to go back to the blacksmith-like techniques of yesteryear instead of needlessly dragging the T into the space age. If you’re used to the more modern approach, a Model T is refreshing to work on.Every car has its weak links.
On the T, those are most famously the number one main bearing (“A Ford owner had Number One Bearing constantly in mind,” E.B. Write wrote in 1936. “This bearing, being at the front end of the motor, was the one that always burned out, because the oil didn’t reach it when the car was climbing hills.”) and the thrust washers in the rear end. The ways those thrust washers can fail was discussed in the previous installment on this subject.
Bryan Cady, of Albany, New York, hasn’t had any trouble with his Model T’s number one main bearing, but earlier this year he learned firsthand why many Model T owners prophylactically replace the original-equipment babbitt thrust washers (selected for economy and ease of installation) with hard-wearing bronze or brass thrust washers.
