1923 T Restoration

pjdeb

pjdeb

Senior Member
I have a 1923 Model T I would like to restore. What are the best restoration books, references, etc?

Thanks in advance.
 
What body style?

Is it early or late 1923?

Do you have paper work in your name or can be put in your name for your state?

How much work are you planing on doing yourself?


Is it high or low radiator 1923?



How about some photos?

Owners Manual
Ford Service (depending on what year it was published can have blue or black cover)
Ford price list of parts that covers your year
Parts catalogs from Chaffins Langs, Snyders etc
Model T Ford, The car that changed the world
The clubs have put out a number of videos and repair books, but without knowing what parts you plan on doing yourself would be hard to suggest which ones? The are listed in most all the catalogs.

If you are going for 100% or points, The Internationale club does have a Judging standards.
There is no from A to Z restoration book, lots of stuff gets picked up over the years from different places to make a whole.
 
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It is a Plain Jane standard coupe. It is not a barn find. This car was restored by my father in 1961. My son has it now. I do not think it has been started in at least 30 years, maybe longer. We would like to get it running. We are not interested in restoring it as anything other than a driver. Time and money are limited, but it has been hauled around from barn to barn, garage to garage, shed to shed for 40 years. Time to do something with it.

I last drove it 50 years ago. Recall that it knocked a bit. We will see.

Plan is to assess the situation first. What is in the gas tank? Does it turn over? Is there any compression? Radiator hold water? Who knows. It might even start.

If the engine needs to be rebuilt, we will send it out. Transmission? We will see.

Body does not need work. Paint is dirty, dull, but decent. Good enough for what we intend at this point.

Interior is shot, but that will be last if at all. Glass is all good.

Rewiring for sure.

Suspension, steering...we will see.


I have a model A. It is a driver. I live by Les Andrews books. I was just wondering if there are similar books for the T.

Thanks
 

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The closes to Les's book would be the repair manuals put out by The Model T Ford Club of America. You would buy them to help with each sub system such as rear end, transmission, carburetor etc or The Service manual which does a good job of leading you thru the repairs, it was written in back the day for shops. Even the owners manual has trouble shooting in the back. All are listed in the catalogs. So you are just looking to get the car running and safe not restore it, great. If there are any T clubs close by you might think about joining one. The people in them can be lots of help.
 
It takes a lot of time and effort, BUT

a new thread showing progress and techniques with lots of pictures would be nice. And would give you a record of what you did.

Please give it some consideration as some would find it very inspirational.
 
If it had a knock then there is likely excessive wear somewhere in the engine. I would gravitate toward finding out what that is, A person may be able to repair it more easily than it might seem depending on what sub assembly is affected. If a person runs it too much with a problem, more damage can take place.

Getting the fuel system back in usable shape may be the next problem. Old fuel has a tendency to turn to solids in the tank and fuel line. It can also plug small passages in the carb. As was mentioned, next will be the cooling system cleaning & checks. The rest will likely still work as long as it has been stored well enough. If the coils still buzz when you crank it then you can check for spark.
 
pjdeb said:
I have a 1923 Model T I would like to restore. What are the best restoration books, references, etc?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Your best bet is to get a mentor instead of a book. Steve Ellis in Ocala would be my first choice. As you are probably aware, there are also several Model-T guys who live in the Villages. If you don't know Steve, ask any Model-Ter in your village and they can point you to Steve.

BTW, hurry and get your car finished as we will be touring in Howie-in-the-Hills next March. Generally about 150 Model-Ts attend.
 
The three DVD's that were helpful for me are series 8-3, 8-4 and 8-5 Taking a Model T out of moth balls from the MTFCA.

As Brent had mentioned a knowledgeable local T guy would be like having an experienced model T encyclopedia and worth paying him for his time as well. The MTFCA safety check list is a nice guide and starting point to get it mechanically sound.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.
 
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pjdeb said:
It is a Plain Jane standard coupe. It is not a barn find. This car was restored by my father in 1961. My son has it now. I do not think it has been started in at least 30 years, maybe longer. We would like to get it running. We are not interested in restoring it as anything other than a driver. Time and money are limited, but it has been hauled around from barn to barn, garage to garage, shed to shed for 40 years. Time to do something with it.

I last drove it 50 years ago. Recall that it knocked a bit. We will see.

Plan is to assess the situation first. What is in the gas tank? Does it turn over? Is there any compression? Radiator hold water? Who knows. It might even start.

If the engine needs to be rebuilt, we will send it out. Transmission? We will see.

Body does not need work. Paint is dirty, dull, but decent. Good enough for what we intend at this point.

Interior is shot, but that will be last if at all. Glass is all good.

Rewiring for sure.

Suspension, steering...we will see.


I have a model A. It is a driver. I live by Les Andrews books. I was just wondering if there are similar books for the T.

Thanks
Click to expand...
"Glass is all good." But is it safety glass? Best check! My mom had a long nasty scar on her left forearm. She rolled a Model T on her way home from high school and her arm went through the windshield.
Obviously could have been worse but safety glass would have helped!
 
Hi there. So many sources with important information. I am not gonna work with 1923T but who knows it is always good to have such information. Thanks.
 
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