Body Makers, 1912

Topics Last Day Last Week Tree View    Getting Started Formatting Troubleshooting Program Credits    New Messages Keyword Search Contact Moderators Edit Profile Administration
Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2012: Body Makers, 1912
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Greg sarky K on Monday, May 28, 2012 - 09:17 pm:

Trying to figure out which body company built my 12 Torpedo, body number 103031. There is the letter M after the body number on the riser. It is faint but you can see it.

I found this info(below) but still not certain. It looks to me like the M may stand for Monroe.
Millburn looks to be for Delivery wagons.
Murray , the dates seem wrong.

My car is an early february car, so it could have been made in late 1911. That would be my guess.

Would appreciate any other opinions and wonder if anyone else has seen this initial M on their bodies.

Milburn
Delivery Wagon
1911-12

Monroe Body
Open Bodies
1908-11

Murray
Open & Closed Bodies

1913-27

Got the info here
http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/f/ford/ford.htm


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By roy palmer on Monday, May 28, 2012 - 10:35 pm:

Monroe seems right...


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hap Tucker on Monday, May 28, 2012 - 10:48 pm:

Greg,

I am assuming your car is a USA produced car – if that is not correct please let us know.

Between the "fossil evidence" what we can find on the cars and the "archive evidence" written information at the Benson Ford Archives, documents owners have etc. we are slowly gathering additional information about the body makers.

I would agree that "Monroe” is likely the body maker that the “M” stands for. I did a search of my 1912 body information and I did not find Monroe listed – I’m still gathering data – so no big deal there. I did a word search for “Monroe” in Bruce’s “Model T Comprehensive Encyclopedia” and I did not receive any matches. I did Beaudett, just to make sure my search function was working and of course there were lots of matches for that body maker.

Note we have the Ford Factory body tags from a 1914 Touring that clearly show Monroe was one of the body providers when that tag was printed (and hopefully when it was used) during 1914. Note some are listed as body makers and some as finishers (i.e. upholstery and top). [From the May - Jun 1971 article pages 5-11 "Vintage Ford" used by permission to promote our club and hobby.]





Notice that the 1914 Body tag would expand the date you have from the Coachbuilt site. From previous visits there over the years and also looking at the Monroe automobile (if you can make bodies -- making a car is the next step for some companies). I believe the dates 1908-1911 for Monroe supplying open bodies to Ford needs to be explored more. Again the evidence is sketchy but I am looking for additional puzzle pieces to help build a more complete picture. Because the shipping records exist for most of the Fords shipped between Mar 1909 and Sep 1911 and because Monroe is not listed on any of them -- the dates listed as 1908-1911 may not be accurate. One theory/guess that I have not been able to add any documentation to support is that Pontiac which was used by Ford Motor Company USA on their body maker might refer to both Beudett as well as Monroe -- as they were both located in Pontiac, Mich. But that is only a "wild guess" so far. But some 1915ish cars have both a "M" and a "B" stamped on their metal front seat heel panel. And I am trying to make sense out of that also.

Good news, the “M” you show is NOT an upside down “W.” Wilson used a “W” where the sides came out rather than having the sides parallel as on your “M.” Below is a “W” from a 1912 Wilson bodied touring that belonged to Russ Furstnow and was a feature car, page 25 of the May - Jun 1996 "Vintage Ford" used by permission again to promote our club and hobby:



Would you please forward me a photo of the complete body number for my files/references? With some of the body numbers there is a date code (especially Fisher, Beaudett, and Wilson 1914 and later). Also if you would kindly send me the first three digits of your engine serial number and xxx for the last three? And also the number that is on the ID dash plague which unless you have a Canadian car, should be different from the engine number by 1912. You can click on my name and my e-mail address is the third line down or send me a private message (PM) via the forum (but unless it has changed you cannot send a photo in the PM).

Hopefully others will let us know about other “M” lettered bodies/cars. I have a few later ones but not 1912 ones. And as requested before – does anyone have those tags that were attached to the cars when they were new? I would like to know what body makers were listed for other years in addition to the 1914 ones we have a scan of.

Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off


Posting is currently disabled in this topic. Contact your discussion moderator for more information.
Topics Last Day Last Week Tree View    Getting Started Formatting Troubleshooting Program Credits    New Messages Keyword Search Contact Moderators Edit Profile Administration