First T... speedster/hotrod/whatever you call it!

[Lahti35]

Sooooo after many years (20 or so) of helping/learning/restoring cars i've decided to do something I should have a long time ago... make a hotrod T out of period pre WWII era correct parts. How i would have done it had I been around in the late 20's.

Parts searching has commenced but never having done more than ask a few questions to T owners at car shows I need to gather much info!

A few questions I have right off the bat concern the radiator... can you put a late radiator in a teen's frame? I need to make sure I can before I end up with a frame I can't since it will be the foundation for the whole car.

Also, what kind of speeds are the wood spoke wheels safe to?

This will be a winter project for when the snow flies so i've got lots of time to do it right Hopefully!

[tmodelman]

Have fun, T speedsters are a world apart from the ordinary antique car.

as for safe wheels, safe is a relative term, depends on how much you want to 'soup up' the Ford, when adding OHV and extra horses to over 40hp, the best bet would be wire wheels. New hickory may be ok at original 22hp Ford T speeds of 45mph,.... certainly original 80yr + old wood wheels should not be considered for active road speeds.

As for the radiator, any T radiator of any year '09-'27 will fit on any year T frame.

All radiators have the same 21 1/2" mount distance on the front cross member. The later year frames, esp the '26-'27 have thicker metal and would be best for a fast Ford.

Lastly, a quick Ford will need brakes! The T transmission brake was hardly effective in 1909, you have to consider brakes when contemplating any speed in a Model T.

[dumb person]

Radiator will fit all years. Wood wheels are known to be good past 70MPH if wood is good. There is a rumor that alloy spokes can be bought nowdays if you want the fastest wood-look wheels.
(looks like he types much faster then i do)

[Lahti35]

Great info, thanks!

I'm thinking 55mph will be it.... down the road anyway as things progress from stock. I really like the look of wood spokes.

[fordman67]

how much engine you gonna have? that will need some good power to achieve.

[dumb person]

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If a stock model T in fine shape will do 65 on a long enough straight road then 55 should be easy to get from a light one with only exhaust tweaks & a cylinder head change, better if it had the high speed gears i guess. i would not know i never built one (yet)

[fordman67]

My stock speedster only header and exh would only do 45 at best before running out of rpm and the chevy disk wheels shaking my teeth out.lol

[gosloturbo]

Here is my t-speedster!!! My step-fathers father pulled it out of a river and built it by hand!! It has a 3 speed of some sort and has not prob hitting 55mph!

[Steve Jelf]

If you're using wood wheels on a speedster you want new ones. You can buy them ready made if you have the dough and don't mind spending it. If you're cheap like me, shop for some good used hubs and four Hayes steel felloes (Hayes rims seem most plentiful), buy Stutzman spokes, make a Regan spoke press, and assemble your own wheels.

[John Otis]

My boat tail speedster (which was a little on the heavy side for a speedster) had 312 T-bird pistons, high speed ring and pinion and a carb that was a Winfield clone. Exhaust was basically open. Had a stock cam. It had NOS wooden wheels that were put on the car around 1960. They were very sound and I was clocked by radar at 68 MPH. Once. Pretty scary but that was back in my younger more foolish days. I regularly drove the car on the open highway at 50 and never had any spoke issues. Remember that a wheel failure at speed will kill you dead quicker than just about anything so sound wheels are a must. If I was building a fresh speedster for the road I would use all new spokes or wire wheels. My life is worth a lot more than having a crappy old wheel kill me. And the advice on this page is good. Get some brakes.

[Lahti35]

Lots of great info, thanks!

I picked up an old mini oil can for it at the fleamarket last weekend. I've already got a nice steering wheel out of a 1924 REO to turn with... hopefully by the end of this month i'll have the makings of a car going...

[Buckelew]

Invest in your wheels and brakes for sure.

If you're gonna drive your car regularly, perhaps you should consider a juice brake system for your T; or at a minimum, Rocky Mountain brakes.

I will soon take delivery of my first "speedster", one 1920 Ford Fairground Racer. It consists of;

- 1920 engine block,
- unsure of chassis year
- early hogshead
- RAJO Model C head
- Warford with cast-iron case
- Ruxstell rear
- Rocky Mountain brakes
- Hays wirewheels
- brass radiator
- brass-era cowl
- period Stewart gauges

The car's been in the same family for 60 years, and I hope my family will enjoy it just for just as long. A real blessing.

[dumb person]

Is it true the Montana 500 cars are basically stock but can do 70MPH? i heard they did.