Ford Model T - Replacing the Head Gasket 

You should take it to the ford dealer for a service and see what they say

A pure joy watching a guy work with his very old car. It’s plain to see he loves this machine not unlike a man loves his bride. Great videos!

I have no intention on ever replacing a model T head gasket. But I really enjoyed this video.

a few things, always stuff the piston area with rags to collect chips and use a vacumn cleaner While your scraping near the blade or tool to pull the dust away. and of course work slowly , nobody sees how fast you do it , just how well. dirt will get jammed in the rings etc. Id also never use a wire brush as they can shed, and of course scratch. unless you use a bronze brush and work slowly. hard plastic scraper probably be best. compressed air will blow dirt in to places it never would ordinarily get, a good shop vac is the best clean up technique

Great video sir! While I'm not a Model T guy, I have deep respect for anyone who keeps the old motors a live.

My 88 year old father said you run a high risk of breaking your wrist the way you crank that. You must crank underhanded and only from top bottom to top. Don’t crank over the top! And underhanded so backfire will spring out of your hand!!

everything looks so simple it's hard to believe it really works.

also this might seem like a very weird observation, but i like how you have set the bolt and tools off to the side of the vehicle. a lot of people would have had velvet lined magnetic bowls for the pieces as they came off

Greetings from UK. Really enjoying your videos and the obvious level of effort that you have put into them,very professional. I am a big classic car fan and have a couple of oldies myself but never a T, well not yet anyway....... I have restored a couple of old Fordson tractors, an F and an N and can see so much similarity to your car in them. The F was from 1917, a lend / lease for the war effort from America. It's so amazing to see a 100 year old machine still be able to work hard and plough like it did when new. The N is an ex Air Force airfield tractor that is crazy fast. It can easily keep up with modern tractors on a run and I have not had the guts to fully open it up! It was confirmed at 38 mph on a gps and still had more to go. Love the engineering of these beautiful machines.

Love your videos, wish I could afford to buy a Model T myself. With your knowledge I would have it purring in no time.

I really good tech tip I learned is that with bolts like the rear ones that must stay in the head you can take a rubber band and put it across the two adjacent bolts which will apply tension to them and keep them into the perfect position while reinstalling and removing the cylinder head.

Now that was very enjoyable to watch! Kind of like an oversize lawnmower engine, but easier to work on lol.

It's nice to see people are still passionate about the classics, very nice video!

I've always found the brush-on gasket sealer to be easier to deal with, but that's probably just my frugal nature. If you use solvents to clean out the cylinders while you're in there, that's good, but don't forget to re-oil them before you close it up. Most of your engine wear happens in the brief period between when it starts turning and when the oil starts actually going where it belongs, so try to avoid making that problem worse. That bit where you were getting impatient starting it and just running the crank around in a circle is what will earn you a broken arm. Always pull a starting crank, never push.

Fab! Been watching vids of newer cars but nice to see something vintage and something so iconic as the Model T.

A good idea would be to check both the block and head for flatness with a straight edge. When head gaskets leak, there's a reason. You might want to look into replacing the head bolts with studs. Good luck with your fine car.

Love your videos, and working with the original tools is just perfect

Another great video. I noticed you used a wire brush and not a scrapping tool to clean. The correct tool! Scrapers tend to make gouges which is not good. When I was working on my old Ford flatheads I learned the hard way about gouging the block surface with scraping tools.

Some old American drag racing history for ya is that the carbon buildup was used by drag racers to raise compression to increase performance in fact they also used to sand blast the tops of the pistons and the combustion chamber of the heads to create a rough surface that carbon loved to stick too I personally wouldn't do that but it was the cheapest way to raise the compression even tho it wasn't much as we have modern ways with thinner head gaskets high comp. pistons and heads and definitely have my respect for using the original tools 👍

I want a model T just to work on it, I love older cars they’re so simple to work on

Great video, Cheers from New York City.

thanks for doing these videos. I find them enjoyable and informative.

Enjoyed this Mitch!

`These old cars are fascinating. As a child, I used to watch my father's friend work on his old model T and other cars.

Looks good. Be careful using a steel brush on cast iron. It will put scratches in the surface. Also a head gasket made from modern material would probably last longer.

Mitch ur vids are awesome and I've learnt so much about model ts

Did you clean the valve surfaces? And why wouldent you use 1000 grit sand paper to smoothen the pistons and valves? And a tip for removing gasket material is to use a flat razor.

Very nice, thanks!

I’ve found this fascinating 👍

the hardest part was starting the car, great video

18:20 looks like a really happy engine

This is amazing

Nice job Thanks

really enjoyed the video

I looked at Model T engines before and they look fairly simple like that anyone can repair them without much mechanical knowledge

If f only modern cars were this easy. My grandfather used to own old cars like this and he told me once he had a Model T and during restoration he didn't have to remove the engine!

are those cast steel pistons? wonder how much better the engine would run if you put aluminum ones in

really cool videos my friend!

thanks for share, nice Ford!

I love how almost all repairs can be done with the one spanner that Ford gave you. You can't do that with modern cars, not at all. Back then, even your nan could redo the head gasket on that car.

thanks for the video i will now proceed to do the same on my model T THAT I CASUALLY HAVE IN MY BACKYARD LOL

very good toy for weekends Regards from Brazil

fantastic!

OK, so this is probably the most random comment you will get, but I have to ask. Are you originally from NZ? I am not an expert by any means, but your accent, inflections, and pattern remind me a lot of the NZ accent versus the traditional Aussie 'g'day mate'. And great job on the video! :)

Wow! Good job and nice video, the hardest part was to start her up! Careful not to injure your wrist.

last video i saw was "Ford Model T - How to Start & How to Drive" (7 years ago) and you still have the same clothes on!

Do you know if the head bolts were ever replaced? I know that head bolts can actually stretch from use over time and cause the head gasket to fail and or the bolts can snap when your reinstalling them, I found that out from my dads 81 JEEP Cherokee. Awesome video though!

can't overstress how critical the tightening of the head bolts really is, and using such as the sequence graph you included, and using an accurate, measured ft/lb technique. hope viewers take your advice. thanks.

What likely happen the 1st time is someone thought if run the engine idle for 10 min. it's hot...far from the truth. Take your car out for a 3 hour or better cruise, let it sit over night then torque your head bolts. You probably could have solved the original leak by simply torquing down the head, bolt stretch isn't much of a concern because the torque is relatively low for the size of the bolts. With that in mind DO NOT OVER TIGHTIN. you can strip out the block and/or stretch out the threads in the block. And an other thing any copper gasket is reusable as long as the surface isn't damaged or ripped. The gasket must be baked in an oven preferably, a hotplate will do. bake it for 2 hour's at 400 degrees Fahrenheit and it will expand to original thickness and allow it to cool down in the oven. do not use water to quench it as this will only harden the gasket defeating the purpose, and risk distortion.

Surprised how easily those head bolts broke loose. 🙂👍

Debris Control-- 1) Project the block interior. Plug all passageways so as to not allow debris to invade. including the bolt holes! 2) Examin /clean/replace head bolts. Your work was properly done the aforementioned things are the modern pathways. this information is hard learned knowledge and should be applied today. enjoy

Nice!

Steel wire brush puts scratches on the surface of the cast iron .shouldve used a brass one and brake cleaner would’ve clears carbon up in seconds

Lol , love the Kookabara laugh on the background

Have you considered using a 6:1 compression head?

are parts still available online?

Awsome intro :)

Hi, where did you find the spare part?

Waaauu! Very easy! 👌🏼

Hi Mitch. I was wondering if you checked the head for flatness in case of warping? Maybe not an issue with those engines. At any rate looks like Lizzie is ready for some more trips. Not much in the way to fix her up like the new cars these days :-)

Since there are no dowel pins you can use a pair of old head bolts with head cut off as temporary dowel pins. Just to ensure that tha gasket won’t move.

I newer start with more than 10Nm always around 10Nm and then 20/ 30Nm , 50Nm and final tourque. When final is 20 -30Nm i start using 1 finger then up to 10Nm , 15Nm 20Nm and 30Nm

Is it really safe to just wire brush your block surface and the top of the pistons? I'd be afraid to do that on my own car.

Period correct repairs seem interesting to watch. Thanks for the videos, cheers!

I would love to daily one for a few days a week.

Mitch, does the Model T have an order for removing the head bolts?

yes, after engine reassemble it usually does not start well

would that engine last long if you put turbo on it lol. like 5psi

How many miles are on the car

Moroso ceramaseal, it's not like stop leak. When I ran copper gaskets on my small block they leaked like crazy around the head studs. This stuff permanently seals them after about 30 minutes running w/o a thermostat. I've used it on old tractors to newer cars that I couldn't get aluminum parts to seal from pitting. Never had any problems like plugged heater cores you get with stopleak. Best $20 fix for problems like this.

Is that an Iron block?

u could eat your dinner of that engine grate work mitch big fan of your vids frankie jacques 37 london uk

I would recommend investing in a speeder wrench

You should LS swap that thing

are u from au

Nah, get that air impact out. Ingersoll Rand started experimenting with air impacts in 1934. Alot of thing started being experimented with longer before you think.

The coolant was green? I thought you only used plain water in these old engines?

Use a brillo pad on the cylinder head!

Finally I’ve been looking for this video, haven’t been able to use my daily driver.

prided yourself on the period correct wrench, but used a modern torque wrench aye? ;)

SUHC - "Single Under Head Cam" - I'm making this up.

I appreciate power tools.

My insides cringed at the sound of that wire brush scraping across the top of the block, pistons and valves. A piece of emory cloth is the correct way to clean the tops of heads and blocks to get all the built up residue off. All this does is deeply scrapes the shit out of it. Ouch!!

After watching this, I had to know how many places sell head gaskets for a Model T Ford and sure enough, there are a lot.

I wish someone would make a pour mans car with that kind of simpleness under the hood for me.

I was two minutes beyond it before I suddenly realised you pulled the new head gasket for a 100 year old vehicle out of a plastic wrapper, like you’d just popped down to your local car parts store and picked one up. How hard is it getting parts for these?

15:35 the sound of a dog smelling your ear

wow a 4 cylinder lawn mower !

Dude you need an air compressor yesterday. Oil is your friend and is cheap. Use it to grab dirt and debris not solvents. Regardless good job.

Why was it so much more difficult to start at the end of this video, than in the first video when you introduce this car>>

Who needs cars when we have horses, they're easy on gas :P

Shouldn't you loosen all the head bolts before taking them out to prevent warping the head instead of taking one out ar a time? That's the way I was taught and modern heads are a lot thicker than that head

Great video but please get a coupon mic as your a little quiet

Four cylinder, coil for each cylinder, just like the new cars but much easier to work on and can go places Toyota's can't.

Those look like high compression pistons with the domes on them.....great grand pa may have been a speed freak....

What's carbob?

You know snap on were making socket sets by now right ? Nice video all the same though

This has to be the easiest head gasket job in the world.

...use a vacuumcleaner next time... ... and how did you torque the "Firewallbolts" ... AND WATCH YOUR THUMB!!!

28:57 I wonder how the electric starter ever got a foothold.