As some of you may know, I am restoring a 1912 Torpedo. It was the last car dad began to ground up restore before he passed away in 2009. He could do it all on an expert level so I have been told by many of you, from the engine, paint, coil box, dash, everything but upholstery.
You also may know that I am currently completing that restoration and writing a book on the restoration and dads lifelong passion for antique cars and in particular, the Model T Ford. He owned many antique cars during his life time but I think he loved the 1912 Torpedo most of all for some reason. He actually owned two of them , I still have them both.
Anyway as the restoration nears completion and the book also , I was missing something. The book contains many photos of the restoration and of dad thru the years with his cars. But I did not have a photo of dad with his beloved Torpedo. Until today.
In a large crate full of the magazines and jammed between two issues of Model T Times, I found a large brown envelope. Inside was the photos you see here. They are from the day sometime in 1978 when dad took home his barn find, the very 1912 Torpedo I am now restoring. My dad, Sarkis Kojoyian, with the hat and his lifelong friend ,and also a lifelong Model T collector, the late Karnig Maljanian, are seen here hooking the Torpedo up to the back of Karnig's car for the ride to its new home.Fenders,top, and the brass were removed and put into Karnigs station wagon. Both Karning and dad collected and were involved in the hobby since the late 1940's.
It certainly was a surprise to find these photos and an emotional experience as well.I have to wonder who was there and took the photos.
So I thought you might appreciate some photos of that generation of collectors doing their thing and enjoying themselves.
That looks like a Replica Torpedo.
Somehow, it just doesn't look like a Torpedo Ford would make. It just looks fake. Sorry.
I dont know who you are but you are clearly wrong or unbalanced. You cannot possibly own a Model T ford or know anything at all about Model T Fords to say that.
Greg
Great photos, I remember those two guys well.
Sarkis would caution me to count the silverware after Karnig visited and Karnig would say the same about Sarkis.
Don Lang, referring to those two, would jokingly say "you gotta watch those guy's with names ending in ian".
What a hoot those two Armenian's were when together.
Ron the Coilman
Garrett
The 1911 and 1912 Torpedo Roadsters were very different.
Ron the Coilman
THAT IS CLEARLY, WITH OUT QUESTION, A GENUINE 1912 TORPEDO. Anyone saying otherwise must be smoking something really wild....
Great Great photos, by the way....
Calm down guys, Garrett is young and just learning about model T's, so lets give him a break.
This is a teaching moment.
Ron the Coilman
Greg:
Nice pictures, I envy you collection. I hope you get out and drive them not just have them as garage queens.
Thanks guys. Dave, I am hoping to make the Vermont tour. Thats my goal. Lets hope I learn to drive it before then......
Great pictures Greg, those are some that you need to frame and hang on the garage wall in a prominent place.
Please keep us posted and as mentioned above keep those "as found" photos framed and up on the wall.
That car can leak oil in my shed anytime...
Garrett
Contrast the difference between the 1911 and 1912 Torpedo Roadster on pages 117, 112 and 82, 84 of Bruce's book "The Model T Car"
Ron the Coilman
Maybe Garrett should not make statements about things he doesn't know anything about, and instead ask questions before blurting out whatever comes to his mind. His posts would read better and be better received by those that do not know he is a kid.
Thanks Royce and Dave for the kind words.
Thanks Royce for the advice you have given me on the forums in the past.
Don't know what I would have done without this forum. It would have been far more difficult or even impossible for me to have undertaken this restoration.
If not for the forum, I would have never known about John Regan for help with my dash, or Russ Furstnow for my speedometer or RV Anderson for the coil box or Russ Potter(also a friend of dads) for my carburetor. I could never have done this restoration without the advice and work of such knowledgeable and skilled people.
Especially grateful to my remarkable engine builders, J and M Machine,who have done my engine and transmission, rebuilt the rear end and will be involved in the final assembly.
. Don Lang who knew dad who told me early on, 'whoever does any element of the restoration, make sure its a 'T guy'.Well he was right and that advice also led me to the forum.
Its too bad dad never got into the internet, he would have been something on these forums.
Once again, thanks to all for the kind words and helpful advice.
Greg,
How special to find those photos and have the car to restore today. We are looking forward to reading your book.
Garrett and others,
I'm glad we all are enjoying the forum. Sometimes pointing out errors is important. Someone has asked for advice etc. Sometimes it is really important -- for example if someone is unaware that they are missing three of the four lug nuts on their demountable rear wheel and they are planning to drive their Ford. But often times the relationships are more important than being right. My Dad always referred to our 1907 Model S Runabout as a 1906 Model N Runabout. That was because that is what it had said on the title when he purchased it back in the 1950s. And until we found some additional information that is what we had believed it was. The Accounts Receivable Ledgers at the Benson Ford Archives indicate the car would have been shipped around Oct 15, 1907 so clearly it was not a 1906. And the running boards and style of fenders clearly made it a Model S Runabout rather than a Model N Runabout. But I always referred to it as the 1906 because the relationship was far more important than the actual year of the car. And I still have the notebook my Dad used to file information about that car. And in large print so he could read it without putting on his glasses it says "1906 Ford."
Thanks folks for putting up with those of us that take lots of words to say something [that would be me] and others that might be a little blunt at times [hopefully not me too often]. And for those who have not had teenagers living in the house or those of us that are empty nesters -- we now have a teenager on the forum to interact with. Hopefully we can be a positive encouragement to him and each other as we pursue our hobby and relationships.
Respectfully submitted,
Hap l9l5 cut off
Hap, thanks and I will get you the information you were seeking on dad's 1912 Touring car.
Garrett may have thought the Torpedo looked strange because the fenders and brass were off the car in the photo.
Greg-
Great photos.
I love the head gasket hanging from the windshield...
: ^ )
Now I see why I thought it wasn't a torpedo.
I noticed something wrong with the car, and that's why I posted it's not a torpedo. Part of that was no brass and no fenders. Besides that, this is a Torpedo.
Duh me!
Thanks Keith and for your input in the past.
Garrett, to you I would say that just 2 years ago , I knew very little of my dad's hobby. Dad started at just about your age and continued with it for the next 70 years!
But when you see members on this board saying ' great photos', they are not referring to the car. In fact the car is the least important element of the photos.
Ever since I was old enough to understand language, I have been exposed to the world of antique cars and Model T Fords. Growing up my sister and I would overhear dad's phone conversations. We would laugh and mimic the words. Babbit, jig, clamshell, rods, caps ,reemers, line boring and on and on. What was dad talking about? It was some kind of strange language to us and remained so to me until I began this restoration.
But what you see in these photos is important. They represent the very pure essence of the hobby. This is why they are so special to me and why I am so touched to have found them. The members on this board have been there or have seen their dad in that special place and that's why they appreciate the photos. I believe this part of the hobby is even more enjoyable to the pure collector than even the restoration. Its about the hunt for your dream and capturing it.
Its finding out about the car from an add or word of mouth. Its the making of the deal and bringing your car home. Its about the plans you have to restore the car and get it running.
I have been excited about making dad's Torpedo shiny and new and correct and finishing what he did not have the time to complete. . But these photos crystalize dad's passion for the hobby to me. If you look closely you can see him smiling and if you knew Karnig you can tell he's smiling also. They just love it. So someday you will see yourself in this photo and understand more clearly what I am saying here.
Very well said. Good luck with the restoration and I will look forward to the book.
Greg, does that make it an Armenian torpedo?
Garrett - this is what Greg's car looked like when it was new:
Great photo Royce. I see the prestolite tank as opposed to the EJ or Brown. Nice clear view of the pinstriping. Also a late 12 torpedo, inside the door horn bulb and the "upside down" horn.
Dick,
I would say in these photos you have two Armenians bringing a Torpedo to its new home. Now you have 3 other Armenians , some 34 years later, completing its restoration.
Like the Armenians of today whose ancestors survived a genocide in 1915, just 3 years after this car was born, where 1 and a half million died, this car is a also a survivor.
Just as Armenia was resilient and rebuilt itself and is now a free and independent country so too will this 1912 Torpedo be restored to its former glory as close to as Mr. Ford envisioned it as possible. .
Greg,
Something else, beautifully said.
W2
thank you Wayne.
i thought torpedoes had 4 front fenders and no rear fenders?
Don't mind Kep, he's a New Zealander;)
Settle down Anthony. Besides, I think Kep's from the North Island.
You're a sneaky one anyway, not putting your location on your profile.
Cheers
Bede
South Island :-)
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/50893/77390.jpg
Has front fenders on the rear
Kep, look again. The rear fenders are very similar to the front fenders, but they are a bit different. Dave
Kep,
There are two good comparison shots of the 1911 front and rear torpedo fenders at the Rootlieb site. See: http://www.rootlieb.com/html_files/mt_fend/mt_fend.html and look at the 1910-1911 Torpedo Front and rear fenders. [Note they were produced in 1910 but they would have been considered a 1911 model year just like many of the "new model" cars sold in Nov of 2011 are considered 2012 models.
You will also occasionally find some cars that have been fitted with four front fenders. It works well for a speedster look and also gives you the smaller running board than standard. But for the 1911 Torpedo Runabout and Roadster they are different but similar looking fenders from the factory.
Respectfully submitted,
Hap l9l5 cut off
1914 Front . . . . 1915 Front
Hi Greg, Karney's son Mike here. Thanks for posting the pictures, I remember hearing about that day. Our dad's were always working on something. I'm not sure who took the pictures. Glad to hear your having the 1912 restored. I still have the red 1910 touring. I keep it well oiled and polished and it still wearing it's Ford truck red paint from 1980. I was a member of this site years ago but have not been here in a while. Just happen to stumble across this thread.
Here is a link to a youtube video of the 1910.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWTBmdEJDeQ
Wish we could see the video with out the annoying musak. The car looks nice. I had to turn the sound off. Wish we could hear the car without the awful synthesized faux music.
Hi Mike ,
Great video. Sent you a private message.
Here is a shot of our dads circa 1950,they were in their 20's. Your dad is on the left..Not certain what year these cars are,maybe someone on this board knows....
We should set up a similar shot for the book I'm doing on this restoration with you standing next to your 1910 Touring and me standing next to the 12 Torpedo.
No doubt about it, they were consumed with a passion for this hobby from an early age and until the end of their lives.
Royce - It always irritates me when they insist on "twangy" music to accompany an otherwise excellent Model T video. It's always obvious that the actual producer of the video couldn't care less about Model T Fords. This one is actually increased the volume of the irritating and repetitive "music" (???) just when I was trying to hear the Model T engine; when the engine first began to fire, and when pulling out of the garage past the camera. I guess it's along the same lines as most of the automobile commercials on TV. What hard electronic guitar and drum noise has to do with selling cars,....I'll never understand!
Mike -- welcome back and feel free to stop by anytime. And yes, another similar "Later Photo" with the two sons would be great!
Greg -- if you can post a better resolution photo of the two Dads and the cars -- the cars should be easy to ID. And folks who are more awake with better eye sight may do fine with the photo that is there. Often times the photos turn into "dots" very quickly when we zoom in on newspaper articles. But usually it helps to have a higher resolution copy.
Again, I'm glad you both have your Dad's car(s). There is something very special about that.
Respectfully submitted,
Hap 1915 cut off
Thanks Hap.
I will try and get a better resolution but i do not have the original photo , the image is from an old local newspaper article from 1988.
But here is the second photo which was on the back page of the newspaper which reveals the years of the cars.
Hi Greg,
A new photo and or video sounds great.
Harold sorry you were not a fan of the music. This was a test of a GoPro camera and it just happened to be during a T ride last year. The GoPro camera audio quality is muffled and sounds like crap so the video needed some music. I will do a new video with lots of engine noise and details shot in 1080HD later on with maybe Greg's car in it too.
Mike