text: Model T Ford Forum: Thicker Trans bands
  Thicker Trans bands
  Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2013: Thicker Trans bands
  By Dan Hatch on Saturday, November 16, 2013 - 09:27 am:
  Years ago there were thicker bands for Model T transmissions. I can not find them now. Are they not being sold any more? Thanks, Dan
  By Bob Jablonski on Saturday, November 16, 2013 - 09:42 am:
  Dan, older linings under the "Wards" brand were thicker, have a distinctive green and tan weave.... E-Bay or swap meets ?
  By Richard Gould on Saturday, November 16, 2013 - 11:03 am:
  I think Mark Auto sold them years ago, but last time I looked, they are no longer available commercially. As Bob says, Wards, Sears and some other period linings were thicker. One caution, be careful of the stuff you find today as they can and do shrink in length to where they are not usable.
  By R.V. Anderson on Saturday, November 16, 2013 - 11:18 am:
  The ones offered by Red Hook were considerably thicker and were sold specifically for use on worn or turned drums. They were identifiable by the black thread woven into them. I tried to buy some awhile back but they weren't available. They did sell me a set that were about 0.020" thicker; nothing special, just the upper end of the specs tolerance.
  By Dan Hatch on Saturday, November 16, 2013 - 12:08 pm:
  RV: That was who I was thinking of. Did they say why they stopped making them? Dan
  By Dave DeYoung on Saturday, November 16, 2013 - 02:23 pm:
  I have several of the older band sets that are for my own personal use. As Richard said, they tend to shrink in length. To use them, I split them in half and leave a gap at the bottom of the band. I doesn't seem to affect the operation as I have 15,000 miles on the low band with about a 1/3 of the adjustment left.
  By Richard Gould on Saturday, November 16, 2013 - 02:34 pm:
  Good thinking Dave, I was wondering what to do with mine that have shrunk.
  By R.V. Anderson on Saturday, November 16, 2013 - 03:27 pm:
  Dan, it's been a few years, so I'm not sure; I think that it may have been that they realized that turned or badly worn drums shouldn't be used, therefore there wasn't much of a market.
  If you'd be interested, I have a steel band to which I welded a strip of spring steel on the inner surface in order to make a thicker band assembly once I had installed the standard-thickness Kevlar lining. I never used it. It's mighty springy. You might not need band springs with it, but I'd use them anyway.
  By Erich Bruckner, Vancouver, WA on Saturday, November 16, 2013 - 03:37 pm:
  Some vintage cotton bands deteriorate in strength as well as length, depending on storage conditions, etc.
  By Dan Hatch on Saturday, November 16, 2013 - 04:10 pm:
  RV: Thanks, but I am looking for more than a one time cure. I have a bunch of drums that I am trying to use. I am also running into the metal bands that look like they have stretched over time. I think that the thicker bands when also a cure for that. Maybe time to start repro the metal bands????? I tried the email at wear ever and it did not work, any idea what their email is? Thanks, Dan
  By Mark Strange on Saturday, November 16, 2013 - 08:37 pm:
  Here is a thread I started a while back regarding one person's solution that I found by accident:
  http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/331880/401248.html?1384396139
  By Allan Richard Bennett on Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - 06:03 am:
  Dan, I have a semi permanent fix for worn/undersized drums/stretched metal bands. I have my sheet metal guy cut some strips of mild steel sheet of varying gauges and he rolls them so they are an approximate fit in the trans band.
  I clamp one of these and the new lining to be used around the drum using the T band as usual. If the ears are too close together, a thicker rolled piece is tried. Once I have established which ring to use, I clamp that ring around a buggered drum with the T band to be used, and drill the rivet holes in the ring.
  Then the band linings are installed as usual, the metal ring acting as a spacer to compensate for the worn drum.
  By James A. Golden on Wednesday, November 20, 2013 - 07:43 am:
  Dan, look close at those stretched metal bands.
  If they nave GM on them they are for early GM automatic transmissions and about 1/4th inch longer to start with.