ford model T body schematics

I'm sure that the Benson Ford Research Dept. has all of the original drawings and specs for the various "T" bodies.
I'm sure that you are aware of how incredibly difficult and how much talent one needs to construct a car body, even one as simple as a "T". Open the door of a "T" sedan and look at it piece by piece. It has inner and outer structures, garnish moldings, window mechanisms, latches and a bunch of other stuff. Do you have access to an English wheel, bead rollers, planishers, shrinker/stretchers, etc? Do you know how to construct a body buck?
If you have the tools and talent, go for it. Keep us posted and take lots of pictures

fiftyV8 sez,
What happened to the schematics stuff???

Actually he doesn't want a schematic. A schematic is a diagram that show how a particular system functions such as a wiring or hydraulic schematic. What he needs are plans, drawings or, possibly, blueprints. I guess they don't teach that at ITT Tech.

 

yes i have the tools, talent, and time to do it, but i need to know what it is im supposed to be making, i really like the 26-27 tudor design, which is the most complex of all model T years unfortunately, but to me is the most beautiful.. unfortunately most the origional bodies have been butchered and mutilated into chop topped hotrods

 

The Hamb just aint what it used to be......

 

Well, if you do, indeed, have the wherewithall, a trip to a museum or a meeting of a local "T" club should be enough. Unless you want an exact duplicate of an original (sp) "T", a bunch of pictures and measurements should be enough to get you going. Again, be sure to post pix of your progress

 

Do you know what a matrix format is? A photo graph is taken of an object, it is placed into a matrix format. All one has to know is the size of a cube within that matrix, the tighter the matrix, the more detailed the final dimension, you need a photo of one side, front and rear. The photo does not have to be flat, it can be at any angle, the angle of the matrix is adjusted to compensate for this and for trajectory as well.
In high school, Chicago Public schools no less, pre computer, no less, on paper, for my final on Machine drawing, in decimal inch, as all machine components were made at one time, we were given a drawing of a 350 chevrolet engine at a 45 degree angle and 45 degree view from above, we were given only the flywheel dimension, calculate the rest yourself and present a fully dimensioned mechanical drawing, with a reveal detailing the cylinder. I got an A and I'm no genius, Chi town public, so take a picture of what you like with a 1 inch by 1 inch cube directly in front of it and get to work. Sounds like it should be a 20 minute thing for you, especially if you have access to an engineering dept. as there is a program for this. They do kitchen design at Home Depot using this so if your college don't have it drop out.
I personally feel that if you are going to go through all the bother of making your own fuel, your own car body, a hyper technical engine and all of this high tech mind blowing science that you are truly wasting your time toying with something as mundane as an auto mobile, build a supersonic jet or a rocket ship. And BTW you only need to plant a quarter acre of switch grass, it recycles 4 times per year, you just need a source for the microbe that cracks the carbon chain so it can be processed, check Vera Sun, they have the technology to turn grass to fuel.

 

He has an engineering background. This, all, should be child's play. I agree about the idea of a car. He should build a time machine or a devise to turn lead into gold

 

And BTW you only need to plant a quarter acre of switch grass, it recycles 4 times per year, you just need a source for the microbe that cracks the carbon chain so it can be processed, check Vera Sun, they have the technology to turn grass to fuel.

I'm not sure recommending grass to this fella is needed. It sounds like he has all the grass he can handle.

 

Sounds like this thread is dead in the water, which was my suspision from the start.

 

There's nothing wrong with not liking the fact that most of the original bodies have been transformed or crafted into chopped top hotrods. However, this is the HAMB sir. The purpose of this website is to "spread the gospel of traditional Hot Rods and Kustoms to hoodlums worldwide".

I only point this out in case you are wondering why you're getting so much guff.

Scott

 

Oh I don't know about that, this is my best sentence yet on the HAMB, and good diction grammar and comas. I even almost sound half ways intelligent. Hey now I did say half ways. Chi town Public and Plumbererers School, yeah baby.

 

By the way, what color are you going to paint it?

 

i have no problem with people wanting to build a rat rod or a hot rod in todays times.. however, with the aftermarket information available to such bodies and the aftermarket bodies available, i see no point in chopping up something origional, that in itself is an icon, which is largely the reason i dont want to go out and buy an origional model T to do this with, many aspects of this build are not going to be origional, so i will leave the origionals left out there for people wanting to restore them as they are as starting with an origional yields no more of an end product than using a fabricated frame and body would... but to someone else those parts are gold

so i will make my own frame and body, and preserve the ones that remain for others to enjoy

 

well since its not going to be an origional model T, i dont have to go with black, though i just might, although olive/olive drab with a tan interior is more of my favorite combination, ill probably go black exterior with a gray interior.. why do you ask?

 

a quarter acre of sugar beets makes all the fuel i use in a year... so why go with grass when the excess sugar beets can be processed into other useful materials, such as granular sugar?

 

to get it more and more pure, you have to distill it to remove the water

 

There's an unmolested '26-'27 Tudor body for sale on that nasty auction site right now.

the trouble I'm having with your idea is the thought of all that power going in to a car with skinny-skinny tires and a high center of gravity- just seems like a world of trouble.

 

i havent decided exactly on which tires i would use... if i could find a metal version of the old wooden spoked wheels that would be perfect.. even thought about fabricating a set of these myself with steel

but reguardless, a model T with four wheels has about the same amount of weight on each wheel as a large touring bike... that is, with a smaller inline 4 cylinder engine like it origionally came with, i could see a major problem if i was putting a V8 into this, but since im not i dont see any major concerns with it.... hell if you remember the old jeeps of WWII and the korean war also had rather small wheels, and those seen a lot of offroad duty, so im really not worried about what the wheels will or will not hold... i havent really seen a modern wheel yet that doesnt look out of place on an old style body either...

and ive considered buying just a body, no frame or drivetrain, just a body to blast, rebuild, and repaint, and i may have to go that route if i cant find the proper plans for really any of the 1920s model T tudors, id rather make my own if i can though

 

I was just curious. It helps me picture what you are going to build.

Scott

 

just wondering... It can't really be that hard to find a model T... they made millions... and I'm almost possitive that there's gotta be one or two out there that haven't been turned into a chopped topped non eco friendly hot rod... I don't see why you would go to all the trouble to build a T when you could just buy a decent body, they aren't rare at all... a quick search on eBay and the classifides on here should prove that.

As far as your handcrank sugar beet powered pinto engine.... I'm just going to ask why? if you want something that will run on ethanol why not just use something like an Ecotec or maybe a newer Ford 4cyl? why put all the time and effort into a 2.3L when there are quite a few proven factory engines at your disposal?

I personally like my crude underpowered 6cyl and sloppy manual trans, and the fact that you can't buy half the parts I'm using on my project at the local piggly wiggly doesn't bother me.. I'm not one of the older fellas on here, but I'm right along with them... I don't get it. I think you are thinking way to hard on this project, step back and try to get a feel for what traditional hot rodding is all about... It never has been about building something to comply with enviromental standards, or any of that non sense.. Hot Rodding since day one has been about going fast.. (looking cool goes in there too, but going fast is the main point).. step back, take a deep breath, and let your inner hot rodder shine through....

 

Well now. I'm intrigued, it sounds like a very cool project and it seems like you've done your research and could pull it off. However, don't be surprised that you are getting grief from the HAMB. This site isn't about restoration, alternative fuels, resto-modding or any combination of those. Your project, while cool, isn't a traditional hot rod. Personally, I can't see why you'd go through all that effort and make it look like a stock T and stick it up in the air on skinny tires. It would handle like crap but hey to each his own. If don't stick around (due to the attitude you're getting from some) I hope you at least drop in once in a while a drop a link to where you keep updates on the project. I would like to see your progress. Good luck.

 

i see no point in chopping up something origional,
go out and buy an origional model T
well since its not going to be an origional model T
inline 4 cylinder engine like it origionally came with

For the love of God, the word is "ORIGINAL". Why do you refuse to add spelling to your long list of talents?




id rather make my own if i can though

Quote; yes i have the tools, talent, and time to do it,

I thought that your ability to build a body, in fact, nearly an entire car from scratch had been established.

 

well, seems i found my solution, just got a response back from the ford museum, they have blueprints to every single part to every ford vehicle ever made all on microfilm, i guess these even include individual components to build even small parts.... at $20 a page it make cost a few hundred, but i could get a complete set of blueprints to any model T body i choose... although lately ive been thinking of getting the GPW

anyway.. to convert a pinto engine to run on alcohol (just to sit things straight)... need high compression pistons, arias quited me at $170 per piston that would get me 14.5:1 to 16:1 compression, need to install stainless steel valves, press in new bronze valve guys, new valve seats.. all steel gaskets, probably brass fuel lines... and i might even need to put a new camshaft on this thing...

on top of all of that ill also have to do some tweaking to the carburator

a pinto engine is will suited to take these modifications, and handle them well, so looking for something to power a daily driver i see it as the most obvious, most logical choice

 

I'm not sure they even know how many plans of what they have - they seem pretty unorganized for a museum...one would think they would have a list of plan #s and general content of each...and even e-copies....

.

 

I am curious about what sort of life span the starter would have given that compression ratio. Also at some point you have to have some flex built into the fuel line to allow for the normal engine movement. Using a hard line for the whole thing seems ill advised. Although I'm sure someone makes parts that can do this and withstand the effects of this fuel.
I would think that if you really don't want to run on gasoline, it would be a lot easier to run propane, which you wouldn't have to farm and refine to at least be able to drive down the road. One other thing that puzzles me is using a magneto to power the electrical system. In my mind it would make far more sence to simply use a small alternator, than trying to make a one of a kind thing. Especially seeing how magnetos output vary with the speed that they are driven, and normally are not considered street friendly because of this. Likewise some sort of voltage regulator would be needed to keep from frying things that normally run on 12 volts.
I wish you luck. You have plenty of problems to solve.

 

This thread is great! More knowledge for my mind to absorb....

Plus, I like alcohol.

 

This Pinto engine, you'll be buying the high horse crank, caps, and all the good stuff to go in the bottom end too, right? Me thinks that the factory stuff will go on strike when you try to run what amounts to, well, a shitload of boost... 'course, I'm probably wrong, I usually am

Hey ProtoTypeDesignFlauz, next round's on me!

 

For the money you're going to spend on the blueprints and materials, you could buy a fairly decent body.

If you have the time (and money), then go to it- looking forward to seeing your work (do you have anything you've already done that you'd like to share a pic or two of?), but if you're building on a budget, find a body to work with.

 

they told me they could get me the plans i need if i knew the part numbers, which of course i do not, i guess the easiest thing for me to do would be go to the museum myself and print off copies of what i need on site.. which is about $5 per page

 

ive thought about that with the magneto.. and will probably use a starter.. probably just the starter thats typically used on the pinto engine, if i run into any major lifespan issues i can change it later... and the reason im doing this is to be self sufficient with my own source of fuel, so propane is definitely not an option, and since ill have the land, and plan to be farming other foods anyway, alcohol is the most logical choice

 

for electro, yeah, the pinto engine is just a great, efficient design with more "potential" than most other ford or GM engines, meaning for the weight and displacement of this engine it has more potential than most your V8s when you consider their weight and displacement as well... but yeah, its going to be completely rebuild for alcohol in mind, and its not going to be very cheap, however, it still wont cost as much as buying a 351 crate as people have suggested

and to the rest... im still undecided as to which body i will use, tudor, coupe, roadster, or even a GPW jeep.. but as far as the model Ts go ill probably buy just a body, no frame or drivetrain, and use that.