Royce Peterson – Page 7 – Model T Ford Fix

May 21, 2019

Swapping a Rear axle on the Model T Ford

A huge fallen Sequoia tree in what was then known as General Grant Park provides a nice backdrop for a Model T photo in 1914. Today the park is known as Kings Canyon National Park.

We built a replacement Ruckstell axle for our Model T a couple years ago. See the articles here: https://modeltfordfix.com/the-ruckstell-two-speed-axle/

Finally the time has come to install it. The Ruckstell axle in the car worked fine, it has the standard 3.63:1 gear ratio. The axle being installed has the optional Ruckstell ratio of 3.25:1.

May 4, 2019

Front Axle Alignment for the Model T Ford

Alignment is critical to control of the car. It also is a big factor in tire wear. Obviously having tires that are the same brand and size might also help! In the depths of the great depression a person might have to decide between buying food or tires. The photo above shows the result.

With several Model T’s in the garage we get to drive a different one often enough to be able to compare them to each other. I started noticing “hmmm the ’15 doesn’t drive as nice as the other ones.” It was sort of squirrelly at higher speeds. It seemed to dart one way or the other on bumpy roads. Something wasn’t right. I thought about putting the car together about 25 years ago, and couldn’t recall ever checking the alignment. Maybe I never had? With that thought I started researching what the various Model T manuals around here said in order to make a decent job of it.

April 22, 2019June 12, 2019

The 1915 Model T Ford Part 4

A Canadian built 1915 Model T Ford touring. Notice the typical black background on the hubcaps. This car is RH drive. As was the case with all Canadian built Model T’s it has fork mounted headlamps and opening doors on both sides of the body. All four wheels are the same size, and use 30 X 3 1/2″ tires. Notice the body feature line above the rear fender is straight to match the profile of the earlier “1914” style rear fenders.

As the 1915 model year progressed cars began to come out of the factories with the new touring bodies. Generally the cars built in Walkerville, Ontario just a few miles away from the USA main Ford factory in Highland Park, Michigan were the same. A few basic features were different on the Canadian built cars and we will take note of them in this article.

April 15, 2019April 30, 2019

28th Annual Bakersfield Swap Meet 2019

Bakersfield swap meet can be dusty or muddy depending on the weather. This year it was neither, the weather was perfect!

April 6, 2019April 10, 2019

The 1915 Model T Ford Part 3

An upside down 1915 touring is wrecked early in the car’s life. Many interesting details are visible such as the asbestos wrapped muffler, straight tail pipe, wood blocks between the running board brackets and the running board, and the 1913 – 1914 style rear axle assembly. The new “1915” rear axle assembly was approved for production as early as August 1914, but there are so many surviving examples of 1915 cars using the earlier version that it is clear to us that the new design was not implemented until months after it was designed.

The 1915 touring body style is a complicated subject indeed. We have spent a lot of time at the Benson Ford archives trying to identify when the new “1915” body style was introduced, and how the new cars appeared. A fortunate set of objects exist in the Benson Ford archive, which are the (so called) Cost Books. This collection of volumes is incomplete for most model years, but for 1915 it is very nearly complete. The Cost Books are leather bound, typed reports that show the actual costs incurred by Ford Motor Company during each month. The amount of detail is staggering. The accountants provide a cost for every item in the car’s construction. Even cotter pins are detailed by quantity, size, price and location.