TheMoneyPit

Look up Chaffins garage for model T parts - you can connect from the Model T Ford Club of America website. He is the person reproducing Ruckstell parts and there is a lot of good information on his site.

A good question to ask your great aunt is if it had a hand shifter or if the speed was controlled by three pedals on the floor. Three pedals was T and a clutch with a hand shift was a model A. If you think it was a T, I can put you in touch with the Central Mass Model T Club and they may be able to help narrow down the year.

It could have been a Model T or A. Either way an open car as isenglass is the plastic like material used in the side curtains. Model T production ended in 1927 and A's began in 1928. Was the car 5 years old in 33 or only 4 years old?

I think what you have is something simmilar to a "campers kitchen". It sounds as if it were made to mount onto the runningboard of a car and be filled with the items you would need for a weekend in the woods. Not uncommon in the teens and twenties as the auto was used for working-class liesure on the weekends and camping was made popular now that city dwellers had transport.

Good to hear we helped. I saw your original post and think that you found a sweet looking car to work on. I've got a 26 Fordor sedan that I've just finished after several years of going thru. The most daunting task was the interior, but I was able to do it myself using a kit from Mac's --- and with a little help from another club member to get me started on it. Good luck with it! Mark

Lift the front floorboards - on 26 & 27 T's Ford had stamped the RH frame rail just about where the passengers feet would be. You might have to scuff the area with sandpaper for it to show up. If your car is very original this number will match the motor number which is located under the coilbox on an embossed area above the water inlet. If these numbers do not match you should use the frame number as the Registry usually prefers it.

**Will also fit the Special 6 with different rims...

Mid 1920's Studebaker Big 6. Little dented at the top of the rim and the wrong lenses - should be Liberty lens

I try to "snipe" all the time since what I'm usually looking for has a highly competitive group of bidders. You may not know this, but you can search for items bid on by a specific buyer... So lets say 1909Ford is bidding on the same parts you need - DB script of course - and you know he has been buying things you need you can search the things he bid on and bid against him... I lost a lot of items to a certain collector in New York City until I caught on to this. Now if I find something good I don't bid until the last minute - this also keeps me from throwing money at it and regretting it later. I also changed my bidder ID once I realized the issue. What is being implied above is called "shill bidding" and is illegal for auctioneers in just about every state I've been to an auction in. That is where the seller has a friend "bid-up" his item against the sucker they are trying to scam. It is frowned upon by e-bay for good reason and if there is any proof you should report your suspicions to them thru their complaint center. The dead giveaway is a repeat buyer winning lots of items from one seller and the seller lising the same item a month or so later.

I had to rebuild my engine last year, when it was done I had another member of our local T club over for dinner and we towed the sedan around the block twice to break everything in a little (about 3.5 miles total), and loosen the new bearings up. We did this with the gas off at no more than 20 mph and I "ran" the engine in both low and high gear to make sure it all was worked a little bit. After the tow we gave it some gas and hit the starter button and I was able to drive it back into the garage under her own steam. Possiblly your car is just a little stiff from sitting and needs simmilar loosening up. Try getting in touch with someone in a local T club who has some mechanical knowledge and see if you can sucker him into helping - it only cost me a steak dinner with two good friends...

Having collected "car junk" for thirty years now, I've got quite a pile. I've tried to insure before and at one time looked into an appraisal. The appraiser I found was placing value at around 25% in my estimation and wanted to buy until I kicked him out. Charged $100/hour to try and cheat me, but was arrested for burglary (someone else's house that he had appraised) before I paid him, and I got out of it lucky. Moved several states away shortly after so I'm not worried about him. I'd go for insurance if a company had a competent appraiser on staff and didn't want my first born as a downpayment... I keep a burned CD with high resolution pictures and update a spreadsheet with an "assumed value" every year or so in a fireproof box and a copy at work JIC. Now this forum wants us to add our information to our posts, does anyone wonder why so many of us DON"T??

CONDITION, CONDITION, CONDITION... And are they really what the last guy thought they were?? Great condition, I'd think 100- would be cheap if you needed them, junky and you'd be hard pressed to get the 20-

McMaster-carr is an industrial supply company that does carry some diferent snaps and tons of usefull stuff, but last time I searched their website this style of snap was not there. I went looking for the same snaps about 4 months ago and wound up buying them thru Mac's although they are available from all of the major Model T Ford part suppliers (Snyder's, Lang's, etc.). I might get around to installing them once the snow melts and I can get back into the shed...

The snaps mentioned are available from Mac's (a Ford part dealer) use the link below and type in that you want parts for a 1926 Fordor and then go to the fasteners section (confusing website, but...) the part number UF26 is the carpet snap mentioned above. http://www.macsautoparts.com/cartouche/cartouche_intro.asp

Several companies offered an aftermarket running light to be attached to the left front fender (in the US - right front in the UK) as an extra parking light. These were in every Ford aftermaket catalog as I'm sure they were offered in many other ones.

I agree - looks like a 1980's "Homade Special" with the majority being by Rootlieb.

The emblem on the top is for a Nash - not sure of the year, but I'd guess later part of the 20's.

Mid 1920's Studebakers with disc wheels had also used brass nuts for a short time. I have a cigar box of misc LH & RH nuts in brass & steel kicking around - leftovers of owning a 24 Special-6. Granted I did not drive the car as harshly as 1924 roads woud have been, there was never an issue with the brass nuts except rounding them over on the hex...

I should mention that fragile is key in the message above- the best way to ship the unit is disassembled and in separate boxes for the items mentioned above. I damaged the meter on my unit one time and it was not easy to have repaired.

The Model T Ford Club of America has a forum where your question will gain a lot of answers including the wiring diagram for the unit. It is a hand-cranked coil tester, and the meter can also be hooked to a car to test the magneto. Rare items, they usually sell between $500 to $1200 on e-bay depending on condition - the higher price being a restored unit, the lower is a realistic expectation for your machine.

The scroll shaped Whippet is definately a matte gold finish, the round one I have is nickel. I'm not sure if the platings changed depending on the year or purchase order as I was almost sure the round was gold as well before removing it from my display to look at the back. I apologize for not getting back sooner. Regards, Mark

I built a T speedster out of Dad's spare parts when I was 17 and put the plate from the front of his car on the back of mine. About three weeks later the police officer up the street asked me for a ride around the block, he knew us but was not a close friend but I'd give anyone a ride just for an excuse to go round the block again, so off we go. After the ride, and a few compliments on the car, he told me in no uncertain terms that the next time it's on the road it better be registered in my name... Seems he drove by while both cars were out being washed. A few days later I got clipped in one of the famous speed traps in the area, 32 or so in a 25. I'd have been in a world of $#!& if I had not been to the registry. That officer checked everything and once I explained that speedometers were not standard equipment and all I could do is guess the speed he let it go with a verbal warning. I'm still looking out for #3 twenty some years later!

The Flying Cloud REO was a matte gold finish, but I'm not too up on truck stuff (do not collect it). Is the Whippet the scroll shape or one of the rounds??? I can check out either tonight and reply tomorrow. Good to know you jumped on-board here, and it's a good place to ask this kind of question. Regards, Mark

Yes, both YOM plates are on the car in Maine with the valid plates in the vehicle. To get a title there is a visit from one of the State Police Motor Vehicle Inspection Division (or something like that) who comes to the house and photographs every corner of the thing plus all numbers on the vehicle, motor, body and vin. He even took a picture of the key number on my car. As far as theft is concerned this doccumentation would be far more valuable in court as compared to the plates.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dave@Moon</div><div class="ubbcode-body">In Ohio, and I believe all other YOM states, the YOM plate is registered to the car offically. You may or may not need a current plate kept <span style="text-decoration: underline">in</span> the car (like in OH), but certainly the police have to be able to ID the car as belonging to you using the numbers displayed. You can bet if PA has OKed YOM plates it isn't a casual, <span style="font-style: italic">"go ahead and hang whatever you want on your car"</span> type thing! </div></div> Try again - this is exactly how Maine handles it - any PAIR of YOM plates can be displayed so long as you keep your active modern plates under your seat with all up-to-date stickers on them... There is no way to cross reference a car to the plate on the front since the number is not registered! Most of the Police officers do not know how the law actually reads so I tell everyone I know running these plates to keep a copy of the title/section with their plates and registration to avoid the hard a**es giving out tickets and wasting court time. Here is the link:State of Maine Statutes 29-a Sec 457