24 Roadster Top

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2012: 24 Roadster Top
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Cobb on Saturday, August 11, 2012 - 03:59 pm:

Hi all, new to the thread. I have a 24 Roadster Pickup that my father bought from the original owner. The car never had a top installed. I was wondering if any one has any diagrams with measurements for the one man and 2 man tops. Foremost, I need to know where the fore/aft support attaches to the upright(slanted back) piece. Thanks in advance for your help.

292fan


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Chuck Hoffman - Gold Country of Calif. on Saturday, August 11, 2012 - 09:55 pm:

No measurements, but here's a few pics from my '24.bowsbow2bow3


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Larry Smith on Saturday, August 11, 2012 - 10:04 pm:

Do your homework. If it is an early '24, then it will have two windows. If it is late, it will have one. There are many ways to check, but the easiest is to check up front for an all steel cowl area, and a two rivet brake quadrant, and two rivets for the patent tag on the firewall.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Cobb on Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 01:13 pm:

Mr. Hoffman, thank you for the pictures. They are very helpful. I think I have the irons for the top you have pictured. But the pivot point for the middle bow is not attached to the rear upright. Would you be able to take a measurement of the rear upright(slanted back) piece from either top or bottom to the pivot point for the middle bow. Thank you for your time.

292fan


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Chuck Hoffman - Gold Country of Calif. on Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 01:25 pm:

Steve, sorry, I don't have the car anymore so can't give you any measurements.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Cobb on Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 01:57 pm:

Mr. Hoffman, no problem. I may be able to work off the pictures that you sent or someone may chime in with their measurements. Thanks again for your help,

Steve


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Phil Mino, near Porterville on Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 06:08 pm:

Some measurements here:

23-5 Roadster top frame


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Cobb on Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 06:19 pm:

Mr Mino, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for the measurements. That is EXACTLY what I am looking for. This will make my dad happy indeed! Now we can assemble the top correctly. Please have a favorite beverage of your choice on me, and thank you once again.

Steve


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hap Tucker on Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 08:54 pm:

Steve,

Welcome aboard. Depending on how familiar you and your Dad are with the Ts, you may or may not want to post a photo or two and have some of the folks confirm the car is a 1924-25 roadster rather than a different but similar looking Model T. The roadsters (called runabouts by Ford in the USA until Ford introduced the 1928 Model As and started calling the two place open car a roadster) would have come from the factory with a top fitted to the car.

Many of the Mode T Ford touring cars were converted to pickups over the years. It was a very easy process to remove the back seat and rear doors. And then add a small pickup bed. See below for a photo of John Butler’s 1925 touring that was cut off and made into a pickup truck.



Note the door hinge sticks out the same distance from the top and bottom of the door. That is typical for the 1925 and some of the later 1924 door hinges. Note that the front seat of the touring body does not have a place for the top to attach and pivot on. Nor does it have a place for the top to rest against when the top is put down. Those can be added, but they were not originally installed on the touring car front seat but rather on the rear seat of the touring cars. Also note that you can tell the rear panel on the front seat has a ledge for the rear door to fit against when closed. The runabouts (roadsters) had a rounded front sear rear panel as shown in the posting above by Chuck Hoffman.

And the 1923 cars look similar but the cowl is a little lower. The 1922 and earlier roadsters had a different style windshield and top. Canadian cars also had a slightly different top and windshield. So if you have any questions about he actual year/body style recommend you post a few photos and folks here can confirm your understanding or if necessary provide you with a possible correction.

If your Dad has not already checked out the local Model T clubs that might be near you, I would recommend checking the listing for New Jersey at: http://www.mtfca.com/clubpages/chapters.htm and http://www.modelt.org/index.php?option=com_chronocontact&Itemid=35 If there is someone near you with a similar body style, it can answer a lot of your questions just by taking a look at the car.

Again, welcome aboard.

Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Cobb on Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 10:14 pm:

Mr. Tucker, thank you for the welcome and the very useful information. Our Roadster is a 24 model with the larger cowl, all metal firewall, equal door hinges, 2 rivet parking brake quadrant,etc. It also has all the top attachment points and saddles for when folded. It also still has the original engine. My dad bought the T in 1953 from the original owner who was a local farmer at the time. He bought the T new but never got a top for it. He told my dad all his "adventures "on the farm with the T.The truck bed had long rotted away along with the iron pieces so my dad found a turtle back cover for it.. Anyway thanks for the welcome and when I can get some pics, I'll post. And I'll be looking into the sites you offered.
Thanks again,
Steve


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Larry Smith on Sunday, August 12, 2012 - 10:19 pm:

It sounds like you have a late '24 runabout. I suspect it could fall within the 1925 model year. Does it have the correct engine? If it does, that will help identify what you have. As I mentioned earlier, do your homework, and you won't regret it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Cobb on Monday, August 13, 2012 - 08:56 am:

Mr. Smith, I don't have the exact engine number in front of me, but I recall the number being three fourths of the way through the 24 model year. It is the original engine. The only things added were aluminum pistons, modern fiber clutch discs, external oiler, and an alternator.(the car sees frequent night driving) The original owner told my dad that the car would make a 30 mile round trip about twice a week in the summer and a 75 mile round trip about twice a summer. Thanks again for the advice. Are there any other things I should be looking for that would be unusual or note worthy?
Thanks for your time,
Steve


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dennis Hoshield on Sunday, September 09, 2012 - 05:04 pm:

Should the 24 roadster top have straps from the rear bow, down to the outside bow saddles? I've seen some with, some without, and ditto for touring vehicles. Varies by year?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Larry Smith on Sunday, September 09, 2012 - 10:27 pm:

The original rear straps are nailed to the rear bow, and the tack strip, where the bead comes up. The original strap was an early nylon type material, an not thick. As I recall, it was originally 4" wide, but I had to use 3", because I couldn't find the 4".


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