T-2009jul

July 2009

FRONT SEAT NEWS

MODEL T FORD CLUB NORTHWEST OHIO, INC.

Bob Torbet, Pres; Bob Hollister, V-Pres.; Jack Putnam, Treas; Jim Cook, Sec/Ed

NEXT MEETING: July 1st 2009 7:30 at Jack Putnam's shop 1215 Hancock Rd 28; Bluffton (fourth house east of Anderson Tractor Supply), Phone (419) 358-6313

The June meeting was held at Jack Putnam's. There were 18 members in attendance. Jack Putnam gave the treasurer's report. All of the CD's have been paid for and we donated $50 to the railroad museum in Findlay that Dennis Russell was instrumental in creating.

It was announced that the Marion Historical Society would be running a pre-WWII meet in June. In reality, it was an organ grinder meet that had a car show tacked on. A couple of the members of our club attended. A write up of the event is in this newsletter.

In Jamboree news, the invitations have all been sent out and reservations are coming in. We are up to 50 cars. Many of the members have said that they are coming early to help with the parking and registration. Others will be placing signs. Bob Torbet is working on donations and public relations.

The Forest parade this year is on July 10th and the Annual Bluffton show was held at the University because of the street renovation downtown.

Ray Sutton brought his 1915 for a little help. It was determined that the engine would need to be torn down to check out the rod and main bearings. Thanks to everyone who helped with the diagnosis. Once Ray gets into the engine, we will find out if we were correct.

Every month, treats are supplied by Marilyn Putnam for our meetings. I know that everyone appreciates the time and effort that she puts into the club. I'd like to take this time to personally thank her for her continued support of all of us. On a related note, please remember that we are responsible for the soda that is stocked in the refrigerator at the club meeting place. Bring your favorite variety, so that it can be stocked for the next meeting.

Remember that this club is dependent on its membership to make it work. Everyone is invited and encouraged to input your thoughts and ideas to make this the best Model T club in Ohio.
Respectfully submitted,
Jim Cook

Jamboree happenings

This is the picture that will be antiqued to go on a T-shirt for this year's tour. It is a simple set of three Model T sedans standing in a field of dandelions. It was chosen to remind us of simpler times when our automobiles spent much of their time off road.

The latest news for the Jamboree is that a documentery crew would like to haver permission to come in with a film crew to record the event. They will set up at locations along the way and interview individuals about their experiences as they pertain to certain aspects of the Model T. The person that I talked to was not sure what direction the film will take. He is coming to Tiffin on July 4th weekend to get some ideas. I have been assured that this is not a sales gimmick to sell videos. If a video is created from the cutting room floor, copies will be available to tour participants. There will be standard release forms for anyone who is interviewed.

This is an addition to any filming or picture taking that will be used as a normal part of the Jamboree. We are still looking for someone local to do stills of the participants at a location on Saturday.

Jack's Story of a Flat

Went out touring today in my "New" 14 touring along with Bob Torbet. We drove 25 miles to visit other T owners. When we returned to my house Torbet went on to his home in Lima. I had no sooner pulled into the garage and my wife says "honey lets go for a ride", best excuse I've heard to avoid the lawn mower. Off we went covering another 20 miles of country side. On our return towards town I thought it would be time to buy some fuel. Filled the tank and on our way. Didn't get

150 feet! The sound of a problem. Pulled to the side. Flat Tire!! Of cource the new tires, tubes, flaps, less than 100 miles on the car. Its a new car, no tools, no spare. Hitched a ride home, only 4 miles away, to get what I needed to change the wheel. They are Dayton wires and I had another with a mounted tire ready and made it home quickly after it was changed.

Yes, the tire slipped on the rim, the core was still in the wheel rim but bent. I carry 65 pounds of air in the tires. Couldn't see anything in the tire such as a nail and I guessed the stem had been cut causing the flat. The autopsy of the tube revvearled the stem held but the tube separated at the seam where it had been vucanized together. The pictures show how the tube was pulled through the hole in the flap by the wheel but the stem was intact and not cut!

The dollar bill in the second photo shows that split in the seam of the tube. The split part of the tube was toward the tread side of the tire not toward the clincher edges. The tube was not pinched, it failed.

A similar thing happend to Ben Nolting's wheel on a tour last year. His uncle Gary was driving the car when the tire suddenly went flat, rolled off of the rim, and crossed the road in front of the car

as he came to a stop. The culprit in this case was a cord that had not been totally contained in the rubber mold of the tire. th cord had gradually worn a straight cut in the tube that caused the suddden deflation of the tire and the resulting "derimming". Here we are seen making the needed road repairs. Even after this very eventful weekend, Gary has caught the Model T bug and is in the process of building up his own car.

June Meeting Happenings

The project at the June meeting was a knocking engine in Ray Sutton's 1916 Roadster. Ray trailered the car to Jack's place and pulled it into the shop. It started easy enough and ran smoothly on battery. It would not continue to run on magneto. In order to get a better feel for the source of the problem, Ray took out the plugs so that we could listen to the engine turning without the combustion sounds. This is mostly an original car and has not had a lot done to it.

To the left, we see Bill Sieberg listening to the engine while Ray turns the crank. Bill suggested pulling the head to determine which cylinder was making the noise. Ray decided that he had heard enough to make the move to put the car back in the trailer and tear the engine down at home.
This is the type of thing that we would like to see more of at the meetings. Please feel free to bring in your projects. The group will either help at the time or at least give advise.

Bob has been working on some auxiliary springs that he found somewhere along the way. Its easy enough to make them look good. It the functionality that proves to be the difficulty. Here we see Bob and Jack working on getting a grease cavity opened up. A bearing doesn't do a hole lot of good without some type of lubrication. I think that this was an extrension of an earlier project that resulted in a broken drill bit stuck in the hole. The project was a success.

Marion Show and Tour

The Marion Car show was held around the historic Palace theatre. The event started on Friday night with a reception and pre-registration that was hosted by one of the local retirement centers. Everyone had a chance to meet one another and find out what was going to be happening during the event. Gale Martin from the Historical Society welcomed everyone to the event. The fact that there were discount tickets and free admissions in the registration packets made us feel that they appreciated us coming.

The oldest car at the event was a 1903 curved dashed Oldsmobile that is owned by Charlies Mueller over by Akron. The show wasn't all that big; but, it is their first year and the cars that were there were all nice representations of the era. The cars that I can remember were Ford, Dodge Brothers, Essex, Overland, White, Oldsmobile, Chrysler, and Plymouth. This was what they call a Pre War car show; so, all of the cars fit the vintage of the organ grinders that were also at the event. The organ grinder in the picture below is a fellow by the name of Todd from just south of Kenton. We would visit his home on one of the Sunday tours. His home had three rooms that were dedicated to mechanical music boxes in one form or another. All in all a very nice 2 day event, with the car show on one day and tour on the other. The evening had a silent movie and organ concert at the Palace.