It's ready to come back to life! Awesome job Ray, and chronicling the whole process was very cool. I hope it all goes well when she first fires up!

I’m sure something will go wrong. It always does. But the mechanicals are pretty simple, so some adjustments here and there, and it will probably start up

Well we pushed the TT out of the garage and into the light of day, for the first time in a couple of years






The newly rebuilt engine was very tight! Could not turn the crank by hand. Had to stand on the crank to get it to move. So we decided to tow it around in gear to get the engine moving. Squirted oil down the spark plugs and did a few laps around the back yard.




The engine loosened up a little, but it was still too tight for the starter to turn it over. Not that much power behind the 6V starter. Options now are:

1. Hook up starter to a 12V battery and try that. But I think the engine is still too tight for that to work, and it’s hard on the starter.

2. Keep towing it around trying to loosen it up.

3. Try to pull it around with the ignition on, dump the clutch and see if it will start

4. Pull the pan and check the clearance on the mains and rod bearings with plasti-gage. Supposed to be 0.002 inch.


So we pushed it back onto the garage. Not sure what to do next. Will take another cut at it this coming week

Looking good. You'll get things ironed out soon enough, and I look forward to hearing about it!

Well, it looks good!

You’ll get it, though you picked a warm week to do it.

Good luck!

Yeah, I think it's a good idea to check the rods and Main clearances, it shouldn't be that tight.

You just needed these guys to help... but seriously i did see some guys do this to a model t at the monroe swap meet probably 25 years ago.

Check clutch lever adjuster to make sure not too tight

Jack one rear wheel up in air and try to spin it over.

Make sure hand brake lever is all the way forward.

Just a few things I remember…. Hope it’s something simple.

Also try to hand crank it over with the spark plugs out just to get things moving and lubricated.

If you used lubriplate assembly lube or equivalent it could be a bit sticky on the babbit.

Thank you cqb - good stuff! My next step will be to pull the inspection plate on the hogshead and make sure the bands aren’t too tight

I stumbled across this picture on FB and had to share.

Looks like a nice babbitt shop! Lots of work lined up. You know where this is, Rick?

Nope. I'll have to find the picture again to learn a little more. I didn't know if you'd be interested but I guess you are. Gimme some time to find it.

Found it.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057803403855
Hope you have FB.