Basket engine -1929

New Member, looking for help and advice. My brother in law has a 1929 Model t that was running fine and he took it to a “friend” who was a mechanic to have a minor part repaired or replaced. This friend was also a relative so he agreed to store the vehicle in his shop. Recently he was forced to vacate the shop and returned the model t to my brother in law (James) with the engine completely torn down, in pieces and nothing is marked. James has no idea why he took it apart and wants to get it back together and running. He has little mechanical experience, and while he has been told all the parts are there he doesn’t have much information about how it goes together. Told him I would help him and I am trying to find some resources that would provide a comprehensive roadmap to reassembling the engine. I have found the Model T Tips videos, but need something more to fill in the holes. Looking for diagrams and any step by step instructions that we can follow. Alternatively would like to find someone reliable that we can turn the engine and parts over to for reassembly. Thanks for any suggestions. pmeyers

Hello pmyers
While it is entirely conceivable for a T engine,via a new replacement engine made in 1929 to have a 1929 serial number,1927 model year was the last T.
Sure you don’t have an A?
I edited this for clarity.

Sorry, my error. It’s a 1923. Thank you for catching the mistake.

Where are you or the car located? There could be a local club or member close enough by to give a hand.

Is the engine still in the car? Or is it out of the car and in pieces. That makes a big difference on how many pieces your potentially dealing with (alot more can be taken apart if the engine is removed from the car).

If it’s still in the car, most likely your dealing with the rods and pistons, and probably the head and oil pan cover, amoung a few other pieces. That’s a much easier fix.

Located in Ridgecrest Ca, about 2 hrs East of Bakersfield. There is a club in Bakersfield, but haven’t been able to get to a meeting yet to explore the possibilities. The engine is out of the car and pretty much torn down.

If you own a Model T you need this book. New copies are available from all the Model T part sellers:

Or you can save big bucks buying a used copy on Amazon or eBay.

This book will answer 99% of the questions that you might have.

Thanks Auto Inn, Checked and apparently James ordered them all.

Auto Inn is emphatically correct.Everybody needs one of these,not just newbies.
If nothing else,it’s an OK read.
An out of print T book that I dearly love is a collection of articles from a period magazine.
Model T FordOwner by Murray Fahnestock.
This IS a good read.Includes an article about teaching a woman to drive a T.
Never teach your own wife.
I can testify to the wisdom of this.
While my ex wife could drive a car,after a fashion,it fell to me to teach my city girl to drive farm tractors for such things as bailing hay.
Eventually,she became quit competent.
But,not before I was thrown off the wagon every way possible,numerous times.
This resulted in much bluster and Great Oaths leaving my throat.
Including going THERMONUCLEAR a couple times preceded by “You stupid”.
Thus EX was inevitable.

Spellcheck forced the bailing thing.
Evidently,bailing someone out of trouble or jail is far more common today than doing it to alfalfa.

Currently there are 8 copies of the Murray Fahnestock book available at Amazon dot com starting at $35.

Making some progress here. Found a machine shop that has some experience with Model T engines and he has agreed to assemble the engine. With that done I think we can work through the rest of the project with all the resources that seem to be available. I will likely have additional questions for this forum. Thanks you for your help. Paul