 |
Howdy, fellow Model T’ers! In our March
2001 issue, we talked about getting a T ready to drive after being stored
for the winter. Let’s touch on a few more things that may help when
bringing a stored T to life. I’ll also talk a little about storing a T.
Ok… we’ve changed the oil, put in water with a rust inhibitor or, better
still, put in anti-freeze and there’s fresh gas in the tank. We also have
charged the battery. But what if the T won’t start…
If we have fresh gas and opening the petcock on the carburetor gives us a
good stream of clean gas, then we might want to check the ignition system.
Disconnect the plug wires at the spark plug and position them near the base
of the plug. There are two reasons for doing this. First, we can see what
kind of spark we’re actually getting at each plug and second, if there’s
a short in the timer wiring, the engine won’t kick back while we are hand
cranking it. Turn the ignition switch to BAT and slowly turn the engine over
with the hand crank. Watch the coils and make sure that each one buzzes and
that only one buzzes at a time! The plugs should fire in the order 1,2,4,3.
If two coils buzz at once, you have a short in the coil primary wiring. The
most common shorts are at the timer connections. This might be a good time
to mention that the engine pan bolt under the timer should be put in with
the nut under the pan instead of on top as all the other bolts are! If this
bolt is put in like the others, it’s very likely to short against a timer
connection.
When you have all the coils working with a good spark at the plug, turn off
the ignition and replace the plug wires. Make sure the spark lever is all
the way up (some cars seem to start better if the spark is a notch or two
down from the top). Set the gas lever 3 or 4 notches from the top, open the
gas mixture about a quarter to a half turn richer than normal, pull out the
choke and give her a try. If you feel the mixture control isn’t set
correctly from the last time the car ran… turn it gently down until it’s
completely closed (don’t force it or you will score the needle and seat)
and then open it about a turn and a quarter to a turn and a half. That’s
usually a good starting position.
Now let’s touch briefly on storing a car that won’t be used for a long
period of time. Some folks like to mix some two stroke engine oil with a
small quantity of gas and run the engine for a few minutes with the mixture.
The two stroke oil tends to lubricate the upper end and will stay on
surfaces for years. Next, drain the gas tank and carburetor! Modern gasoline
begins to deteriorate on about a month! If left in the tank and carburetor
it will turn to varnish and you’ll have a real mess to clean out when you
try to get the car running again!
Jack up the car and place jack stands under the axles at all four wheels. By
the way… Never jack a T up by putting a jack under the
differential! The Model T differential housing is not strong enough to
support the weight of the T on that one point and a sprung differential and
axles are a real possibility! Check the tire pressures. 25 to 30 pounds in
21 inch tires and 45 to 50 pounds in clinchers should do the job. A slightly
lower pressure than normal will take some strain off the tires but let them
keep their normal shape.
Taking the weight off the wheels is also a good idea for the wood spoke
wheels. The weight of the car is normally on the bottom two spokes in each
wheel. Over time, this constant pressure can compress the bottom spokes
enough to cause them to be loose.
Drain the oil and pour in four quarts of new oil. Drain the radiator. Remove
the sparkplugs and squirt some engine oil in each cylinder. Do replace the
spark plugs so moisture can’t get in.
Remove the battery. Don’t store on a cement floor as it will discharge the
battery. That should do it. When you’re ready to roll at some future date,
the startup should go much faster.
See you down the road...
|
|
|
 Printer
Friendly PDF
|
