Hey Trivers (Two Rivers) here's one for ya.

Hey Mike!! As Teddy Roosevelt used to say "Bully for You!!" Its really kool that you posted a video like that! Did you get a new camera?
Thats one (I can think of 20 ) things that are better about the Barn... Take a step across the hall and one of the main topics of discusion is "How do I post a picture"... Makes me think Verner VonBraun drove a model T... Get it??? ws
 
Yeah, invented rockets and drove a model t. Hmmmm. No new camera, same old Iphone. I just figured it was time for me to sit down and figure out how to go about posting a video. I've got a real nice camera but as long as the phone does the job, what the hey. Put about 50 miles on the '21 today. The trans was a little loud to start with. It seems to be getting better as I drive it. I found the click I was looking for; I had one of Andy's rebuilt coils go south on me and in the process of investigating the problem I shorted out the #2 plug wire. The click immediately went away. So i went around and immediately tightened the clamps on the manifolds and the click stayed gone. So it looks like I'm going to have to pull the manifolds and take care of business. I traded the bad coil for one out of the '26. I'll have to have Andy look at the bad one and see what it's going to take to fix it. Other than that the car is fun to drive and I'm excited to drive it on tour on Wednesday.
 
2 very nice cars. You're a happy camper I'm sure. OT: It pisses me off, though I've never said any thing to the neighbors, that I'm the only Flag flyer on the block. 365 days a year. USAF Vet. Guess that has something to do with it.
 
What a drag! Mavbe its something simple... just a broken rod. Did the guy pull it out and finish on 3? Its 0220 and I cant see yet! ws
 
yachtsmanbill said:
What a drag! Mavbe its something simple... just a broken rod. Did the guy pull it out and finish on 3? Its 0220 and I cant see yet! ws
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The engine siezed. We're not sure what was wrong but rather than hold up the rest of the group his wife and him got into the fordor with the red wheels. Then after the tour took his trailer and picked it up.

It was a little strange. When the motor went it was sitting running at a rather smooth idle. We had heard the knock and knew there was a problem. The knock seemed to be coming from around the front main bearing area. His front pulley was dancing back and forth in time to the knock, Then it just stopped. It went from a smooth idle to dead. There was a little suspicion within the group it may have suffered a broken crank. Which would explain all the symptoms with the pulley dancing in time to the knock. Anyway, it was dead 40 miles from home and was obviously not going to go anywhere.

This was another one of those deals where the guy bought the car fully restored and started having trouble immediately. I wish some of these fly by night mechanic/restorers would tell the truth about what they're doing. And I wish people would pay attention to what they're buying. I think when it comes to buying Ts their emotion of wanting the car becomes a lot stronger than their desire for a trouble free vehicle. When purchasing a Model T, if there is anyway of talking one of a local club member to take time to look the car over. I know, right now my rear axle assembly in the touring is about to come apart. Maybe I should throw some bananas into the thing to quiet it down and then sell it.
 
Mike,i am with you on the loathing of hacks that sell junk cars to unspecting buyers for too much money.the only thing worse for me is people who take money from people for work to be done and then do nothing.just rip people off.since we run a good reputible business those people make it so hard on us.we want to do great work for the best price we can but to regain that trust even thouigh we did no wrong.difficult!
 
I fully agree that there are crooks out there that are quite willing to misrepresent their cars. I actually paid top dollar for a T touring that was represented as a well sorted tour car by the owner. ( A well known player in the old car world) What was missed in the description was that the Ruxtell axle had been switched for an unknown, well used, regular assembly, the Bosch mag had been replaced with an aircraft mag with no advance mechanism, the Rocky Mountain brakes had been removed, the double wish bone had been removed & who knows what else. This left an unsorted car that was unuseable for touring that took months to fix. I could have lived with all of the switched parts if the seller had not sworn that the car was exactly as he & his family had used it for several years.

There are other situations that can be just as frustrating;

There is the fellow who thinks he knows what he is doing that "restores" a car & truly believes that he has done everything correctly BUT everything is sort of correct & in reality needs to be redone often taking more time & money to repair the damage done. The military restorers often refer to this fellow as "Bubba". These fellows rarely realise what they have done & ask the going rate for a restored car. The mess created can be more frustrating than thr rattle can restoration passed on by the actual crook.

The third situation is the owner who hires most things done. Often a substantial bill for, say, a valve job, soon becomes a complete engine rebuild in the memory of the owner. A wheel seal becomes an axle rebuild, etc. These people also fall prey to the crook who sometimes cuts corners & bills them well. Again, the seller thinks the car is worth top dollar since he has paid so much out. The saving point here is that he often keeps the bills & you should go over them well to try to interpret actually what was done.

The bottom line is that all purveyors of junk are not crooks but the buyer is wise to seek the advice of someone who actually has been there when looking at a model T.
 
That pretty much sums up why I went the route I did... started from a pile of parts. Even the seller asked if I was or wasnt disappointed; I wasnt. It was merely bolted together many moons ago, and every single nut and bolt (so far) got the "correction". I really wouldve been "T"d if the seller tossed a gallon of rustoleum on it and took some blurry pics and had me drive 300 miles with a trailer. I pretty much expected what I actually got. Yet there are still a few bugs to work out. Im gonna go outside right now and pull the LR wheel of and probably put a shim on the axle. Theres a brake drum rub. Hell, the stuffs 85 years old! If it aint a rub its an axle bearing... no big deal; just dont tell me its all new! Even tho I rebuilt the rear end and re used the Hyatts, so if it is bad; MEA CULPA!! ws
 
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