TinLizMitch
Junior Member
I Built an Interactive Model T Workshop – 9 Apps Now Live
Over the past little while I've been building a completely new section of FordModelT.net – the Model T Interactive Workshop.
Rather than simply reading about how a Model T works, the idea is to let you experiment with it. You can diagnose faults, operate the controls, see what is happening inside the planetary transmission, experiment with the thermosiphon cooling system, decode engine numbers, test your knowledge and more.
There are now nine interactive apps in the Workshop:
1. Specifications Chronology
Select any year from 1908 through 1927 and explore the specifications and changes made throughout Model T production.
It covers such things as engine specifications, compression ratio, tyres, wheels, electrical equipment, transmission, available body styles and colours, production figures, and important identification clues and changes for each period.
It's a handy way of seeing just how much the Model T evolved while still remaining, fundamentally, the same remarkable car.
2. Serial Number Decoder
Enter your Model T's engine/serial number and the decoder will identify where it falls within Model T production and give you an estimated build period and date.
It supports both United States and Canadian-built Model Ts, including the separate Canadian numbering sequence, and also provides period-specific production information relevant to the number entered.
A useful little tool if you've ever wondered, "When was my T actually built?"
3. Virtual Mechanic
Model T won't start? Missing? Running badly? Overheating?
Tell the Virtual Mechanic what the car is doing and work through a series of workshop questions covering fuel supply, spark, coils, timer, plugs, compression, starting behaviour and other symptoms.
At the end it analyses your answers and ranks the most likely causes, giving you somewhere sensible to begin looking instead of simply replacing parts at random.
It won't replace an experienced Model T mechanic – but hopefully it might help point you in the right direction!
4. Safety & Starting Trainer
This app actually contains two training sections.
The Pre-Drive Safety Checklist walks through the things worth checking before setting off – oil, radiator water, fuel, tyres, wheel security, steering, brakes, pedals, fan belt, leaks and more. Safety-critical faults will prevent the car receiving a green clearance.
Then there's the Starting Procedure Trainer.
Choose hand crank or electric starting, select whether the engine is cold, warm or flooded, and then operate the actual Model T controls – fuel, spark, throttle, ignition, choke and starting method.
Do something dangerous with the hand crank and the trainer isn't shy about telling you!
5. Model T Driving Simulator
Ever tried explaining Model T controls to somebody who has only driven a modern car?
"So which one's the clutch?"
Well... there isn't one. At least, not in the form they're expecting!
The Driving Simulator lets you operate the three pedals, hand lever, spark lever, throttle and ignition and shows exactly what the engine, transmission and car would be doing as a result.
Try low gear, neutral, high gear, reverse and braking and see how those wonderfully unconventional controls actually work together.
If you've never driven a Model T, this is a good place to start.
6. Planetary Transmission Simulator
This one goes considerably deeper.
Operate the low pedal, reverse pedal and hand lever and watch an animated representation of the Model T planetary transmission respond.
The simulator shows which components are rotating, stationary or being held, their direction of rotation, the power path through the transmission and their relative speeds.
It also displays the gear mathematics behind the famous Model T transmission, including:
Low – 2.75:1
High – 1.00:1
Reverse – 4.00:1
You can even deliberately select conflicting controls and see why certain combinations would mechanically lock the transmission and stall the engine.
For anyone who's ever looked inside a Model T transmission and wondered what on earth all those gears are doing, this should help!
7. Thermosiphon Cooling Simulator
No water pump required!
The Model T's thermosiphon cooling system is beautifully simple, but understanding why the water circulates is much easier when you can actually see it happening.
The simulator shows hot coolant rising from the engine into the radiator, cooling as it descends through the core and returning to the engine.
You can alter:
• Engine temperature
• Engine speed
• Road speed
• Outside air temperature
...and watch the effect on circulation, radiator temperature drop, airflow and coolant temperatures.
It's essentially a virtual Model T cooling system you can experiment with without boiling your real one!
8. Carburettor Tuning Wizard
Black smoke? Needs too much choke? Won't idle? Stalls hot? Backfires? Drinking petrol like there's a hole in the tank?
The Carburettor Tuning Wizard takes the symptoms you select and helps narrow down likely mixture and fuel-system problems.
It provides guidance around areas including carburettor needle adjustment, float level, jets, fuel flow, air leaks and mixture condition.
The aim is to help distinguish between rich, lean and fuel-delivery problems before reaching for the screwdriver.
9. Model T Knowledge Quiz
And finally – how much do you actually know about the Tin Lizzie?
The Knowledge Quiz contains a library of 250 Model T questions.
Choose:
• Easy
• Medium
• Hard
• Mixed
Each game selects 20 random questions, so you won't simply get the same quiz every time.
Questions cover Model T history, specifications, controls, construction, maintenance, workshop practice, timing, lubrication and plenty of obscure details for the seasoned T enthusiast.
Your answers aren't revealed until the end, when you receive your score and can review everything you got right – or embarrassingly wrong!
All nine apps are available together from the one Workshop page. Just select an app from the Workshop menu and start experimenting.
I've tried to make these tools useful for new Model T owners, experienced enthusiasts, younger people learning about the car, and anyone who's simply curious about how Henry Ford's famous machine actually works.
They're intended to make learning about the Model T a little more hands-on than simply staring at another page full of text.
And I'm certainly not finished with the Workshop yet... there are more ideas on the drawing board!
If you have a Model T, give some of them a try – particularly the Serial Number Decoder, Virtual Mechanic and Knowledge Quiz – and let me know how you go.
Introducing the Model T Interactive Workshop – 9 Interactive Apps!
Get hands-on with your very own virtual Model T!
https://www.fordmodelt.net/workshop.php
Get hands-on with your very own virtual Model T!
https://www.fordmodelt.net/workshop.php
Over the past little while I've been building a completely new section of FordModelT.net – the Model T Interactive Workshop.
Rather than simply reading about how a Model T works, the idea is to let you experiment with it. You can diagnose faults, operate the controls, see what is happening inside the planetary transmission, experiment with the thermosiphon cooling system, decode engine numbers, test your knowledge and more.
There are now nine interactive apps in the Workshop:
1. Specifications Chronology
Select any year from 1908 through 1927 and explore the specifications and changes made throughout Model T production.
It covers such things as engine specifications, compression ratio, tyres, wheels, electrical equipment, transmission, available body styles and colours, production figures, and important identification clues and changes for each period.
It's a handy way of seeing just how much the Model T evolved while still remaining, fundamentally, the same remarkable car.
2. Serial Number Decoder
Enter your Model T's engine/serial number and the decoder will identify where it falls within Model T production and give you an estimated build period and date.
It supports both United States and Canadian-built Model Ts, including the separate Canadian numbering sequence, and also provides period-specific production information relevant to the number entered.
A useful little tool if you've ever wondered, "When was my T actually built?"
3. Virtual Mechanic
Model T won't start? Missing? Running badly? Overheating?
Tell the Virtual Mechanic what the car is doing and work through a series of workshop questions covering fuel supply, spark, coils, timer, plugs, compression, starting behaviour and other symptoms.
At the end it analyses your answers and ranks the most likely causes, giving you somewhere sensible to begin looking instead of simply replacing parts at random.
It won't replace an experienced Model T mechanic – but hopefully it might help point you in the right direction!
4. Safety & Starting Trainer
This app actually contains two training sections.
The Pre-Drive Safety Checklist walks through the things worth checking before setting off – oil, radiator water, fuel, tyres, wheel security, steering, brakes, pedals, fan belt, leaks and more. Safety-critical faults will prevent the car receiving a green clearance.
Then there's the Starting Procedure Trainer.
Choose hand crank or electric starting, select whether the engine is cold, warm or flooded, and then operate the actual Model T controls – fuel, spark, throttle, ignition, choke and starting method.
Do something dangerous with the hand crank and the trainer isn't shy about telling you!
5. Model T Driving Simulator
Ever tried explaining Model T controls to somebody who has only driven a modern car?
"So which one's the clutch?"
Well... there isn't one. At least, not in the form they're expecting!
The Driving Simulator lets you operate the three pedals, hand lever, spark lever, throttle and ignition and shows exactly what the engine, transmission and car would be doing as a result.
Try low gear, neutral, high gear, reverse and braking and see how those wonderfully unconventional controls actually work together.
If you've never driven a Model T, this is a good place to start.
6. Planetary Transmission Simulator
This one goes considerably deeper.
Operate the low pedal, reverse pedal and hand lever and watch an animated representation of the Model T planetary transmission respond.
The simulator shows which components are rotating, stationary or being held, their direction of rotation, the power path through the transmission and their relative speeds.
It also displays the gear mathematics behind the famous Model T transmission, including:
Low – 2.75:1
High – 1.00:1
Reverse – 4.00:1
You can even deliberately select conflicting controls and see why certain combinations would mechanically lock the transmission and stall the engine.
For anyone who's ever looked inside a Model T transmission and wondered what on earth all those gears are doing, this should help!
7. Thermosiphon Cooling Simulator
No water pump required!
The Model T's thermosiphon cooling system is beautifully simple, but understanding why the water circulates is much easier when you can actually see it happening.
The simulator shows hot coolant rising from the engine into the radiator, cooling as it descends through the core and returning to the engine.
You can alter:
• Engine temperature
• Engine speed
• Road speed
• Outside air temperature
...and watch the effect on circulation, radiator temperature drop, airflow and coolant temperatures.
It's essentially a virtual Model T cooling system you can experiment with without boiling your real one!
8. Carburettor Tuning Wizard
Black smoke? Needs too much choke? Won't idle? Stalls hot? Backfires? Drinking petrol like there's a hole in the tank?
The Carburettor Tuning Wizard takes the symptoms you select and helps narrow down likely mixture and fuel-system problems.
It provides guidance around areas including carburettor needle adjustment, float level, jets, fuel flow, air leaks and mixture condition.
The aim is to help distinguish between rich, lean and fuel-delivery problems before reaching for the screwdriver.
9. Model T Knowledge Quiz
And finally – how much do you actually know about the Tin Lizzie?
The Knowledge Quiz contains a library of 250 Model T questions.
Choose:
• Easy
• Medium
• Hard
• Mixed
Each game selects 20 random questions, so you won't simply get the same quiz every time.
Questions cover Model T history, specifications, controls, construction, maintenance, workshop practice, timing, lubrication and plenty of obscure details for the seasoned T enthusiast.
Your answers aren't revealed until the end, when you receive your score and can review everything you got right – or embarrassingly wrong!
All nine apps are available together from the one Workshop page. Just select an app from the Workshop menu and start experimenting.
I've tried to make these tools useful for new Model T owners, experienced enthusiasts, younger people learning about the car, and anyone who's simply curious about how Henry Ford's famous machine actually works.
They're intended to make learning about the Model T a little more hands-on than simply staring at another page full of text.
And I'm certainly not finished with the Workshop yet... there are more ideas on the drawing board!
If you have a Model T, give some of them a try – particularly the Serial Number Decoder, Virtual Mechanic and Knowledge Quiz – and let me know how you go.
FordModelT.net – Model T Interactive Workshop
[www.fordmodelt.net/workshop.php(http://www.fordmodelt.net/workshop.php[/url)]
[www.fordmodelt.net/workshop.php(http://www.fordmodelt.net/workshop.php[/url)]
