Ford junction blocks

[Tony Wheeler]

Cleverly obscured in Keith's photo is the central mounting screw, creating the illusion of a single 6-terminal strip! It's actually two separate 3-terminal strips with ends overlapping to share a common mounting screw.

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I've searched for these Ford parts in the past without luck, however the hole centres are standardized at 2 3/8", which means the 3-terminal Chev part could be used (after removing the metal end fittings)

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and likewise the 6-terminal jeep type part, as reported by Tony Baker: Refer post #1032 here: http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/sh...493#post177493.

Originally Posted by Private_collector

Junction block NOS.jpg
This NOS junction block is a perfect fit, despite being from another type of MV.

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Of course, in terms of appearance, the modern repro parts differ considerably from the original Ford part, which used a hard rubber insulator strip. Something similar is available for T-Model Ford, so it may be possible to rebuild the Ford CMP part using these, along with terminals pried off the old part and cleaned of rust. That would be my own first preference, as I find the bright orange insulator with shiny zinc plated terminals completely alien to the period, let alone under a blitz bonnet. Yes they could be painted but they weren't painted ex-factory.

Snyder's Model T Ford.jpg

[Keith Webb]

Quite right Tony. I think I have a (sort of) answer as I have a few of the 1940 style resistor/cutout parts I can dismantle to salvage the black hard rubber bases to cut to make new ones using original metal parts. Only thing is they are slightly thicker than the originals.

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Tony Wheeler

Something similar is available for T-Model Ford, so it may be possible to rebuild the Ford CMP part using these

Having checked the price on these at $20 each plus shipping it's hardly a solution. Ideally we need some hard rubber strip in the appropriate size, so we can churn these parts out dirt cheap. I'll check with a few industrial rubber supply joints when they reopen next week. I'm pretty sure they'll have something suitably hard in the correct thickness, even if only in sheet form, which we can cut to size. The original strip is invariably rock hard and crumbly after 70 years but it was obviously somewhat flexible when new, as evidenced by the outward bow when fitted. I believe this was intentional, to prevent possible inward deflection causing earthing on bodywork. In other words the hole centres were designed slightly overlength to create an outward bow. It's this kind of detail which makes the Chev part look completely wrong on a Ford.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Good subject, Keith!

Here's the situation on my truck. There are two 6-in-a-row junction blocks, the metal pieces are "oval" rather than "square" shaped, so they are most likely replacements. This could well be the result of work done by previous owners in the UK (the wring is a bit of a mess, really).

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Here's an example of how this junction block was replaced by a fuse block - not a bad idea in itself, by the way....

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H.

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Tony Wheeler

Ideally we need some hard rubber strip in the appropriate size, so we can churn these parts out dirt cheap.

Example using 75mm x 4.5mm strip from Clark Rubber:

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[Keith Webb]

Excellent result Tony!

What about the metal terminals themselves, are those cleaned originals or have you found a source for them?

[Tony Wheeler]

Terminals are cleaned originals, easily done using 50mm rotary wire brush. No need to pry open the crimped tabs to remove them, just apply flame to the old insulation strip. It's made of fibrous material which crumbles away when burnt, releasing the terminals. The crimped tabs can then be opened easily for re-use.

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One slight problem is elongation caused by re-crimping, which alters the finished length and terminal spacing. Solution may be to punch holes slightly closer initially. Once I've perfected this I'll make up a quantity of blanks which can be sent by mail.

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