I Need More Parts !!!!

I've been working on a lot of little things, but don't have much significant progress to show. I'm waiting on a couple of parts orders so I can get on with it. The first one is due in Monday, and will include the fan belt and radiator hoses so I can finish up the front of the engine and install the radiator and radiator shell, as well as a pawl and a couple of pins that will allow me to complete assembly of the hand brake and related parts, and to finish hooking up the steering mechanism. Once I get that done, I intend to call on a couple of the neighbors to help me lift the body onto the frame. I also have an order due in later in the week that includes all the wiring harnesses. I've rebuilt the coil box and bolted it back to the firewall. The coils that Dad had in it appear to be in really good shape, so I intend to use them as they are.

I talked to Bill, one of the tech support people at Lang's Old Car Parts in Winchendon, MA. He was a great help and provided a lot of information on which wiring parts I need for a Model T that doesn't have a starter, generator or battery. He also suggested that I install a "hotshot" battery, which is just a six volt dry cell battery, to use when starting the engine. It is switched in for starting, which means that you don't have to spin the engine so fast to generate the initial spark with the mag. Once it starts, you switch the battery out and it runs off the mag. Sounds like a good idea to me. That's what the "Batt" and "Mag" positions on the switch are for. My intention is to keep things as much like they were originally as possible.

That's it for this week. I'm sure getting tired of sandblasting little parts like nuts and bolts, but the blasting cabinet is really a big improvement over trying to clean them with a wire wheel. Hopefully I'll have more progress to show next week.