Update on "Ghost" for Hap

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2012: Update on "Ghost" for Hap
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Robert Kiefaber on Thursday, September 27, 2012 - 12:56 am:

Hap, just a quick update on "Ghost" the 1914,15 aluminum bodied centerdoor. I was able to save 95% of the original wood, just had to make new sills. All components of the frame have been powder coated, and the rear axle rebuilt. Now ready for the engine rebuild. The original interior has been sent out to be woven to original specs. Here I am in my carriage house with my dog Barnabas.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Clipner-Los Angeles on Thursday, September 27, 2012 - 02:51 am:

Wish we had a "Like" button


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Walker, NW AR on Thursday, September 27, 2012 - 10:53 am:

Ho, Bob -- Thanks for the update. From time to time I wonder how you're coming along with the car. Looks like you're making good progress. You are very fortunate that most of the wood is good. Having upholstery material woven to match the original is a step most of us would not take, but it is a good indication that you are doing the best job you possibly can on the rare car's restoration. GOOD ON YA'!!! Thanks for keeping us posted.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Rob Heyen - Nebraska on Thursday, September 27, 2012 - 11:11 am:

Robert,

I like the Model F too. Are you an Early Ford Registry member? I'd like to see/hear about your original liking F.

Thanks, and good progress on the center door,

Rob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Robert Kiefaber on Thursday, September 27, 2012 - 07:08 pm:

Thanks George!
Mike, Like your early Coupe updates as well.
Rob, Yes I'm a member of the EFR.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hap Tucker on Thursday, September 27, 2012 - 09:53 pm:

Bob,

Thanks so much for the update and taking the time and resources to save that car. It is great to know that you were able to use so much of the original wood. And I'm sure it will be a great looking Centerdoor when you are finished. I am so thankful you gave "Ghost" a good home.

For some folks they are just cars or just antique cars. But for some of us they are so much more. I grew up with those cars. I spent a lot of hours in Ghost-- no not on the real road -- but on the imaginary road or sea or sky or even space when I was just a youngster. And as a teenager I spent several weeks digging Ghost out of the garage, and getting it cranked up etc. I was the last one to drive it under its own power when we last drove it in and parked it in the garage sometime in the mid to late 1960’s.

Philip Van Doren Stern in his book “Tin Lizzie” pg 10 & 11 he shares:





And for me – the T is so much more than just an antique car. It is a window in to the memories of my soul – a scrapbook containing some of the best moments of my life. And if you use straight 30 weight oil – and it is 45 degrees outside – it will run your over unless you have it chocked well/good emergency brake. But if it is a nice day and the car has not been started yet, when it starts it will nudge up against you to let you know it is there and wants to go for drive. Or at least I always thought that is what they wanted...

Ghost in 1952:



Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Page on Friday, September 28, 2012 - 02:01 am:

Hello Robert and Hap also,
Robert you are to be commended for your dedication to restoring "GHOST" to its original condition. Case in point is the replication of the upholstery. If you are having all the interior trim done to the original specifications that is something that deserves to be praised. If the car is anything like the very special Centerdoor in both of Bruce's Books it will be a beautiful car when finished. A lot of the ( braiding, piping, bindings, and trim etc ) are no longer available. I will follow your progress with great interest. Best regards, John

Here are a few pictures from Bruce's books for the benefit of the research. I realise that " Ghost " may not have been made by the same Body Company and could be quite different.




Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Danial - Veneta OR US Earth Solar System on Friday, September 28, 2012 - 02:28 am:

This is one of the coolest threads in some time. Hap, I always enjoy your informative posts.

I take it that Hap was the previous owner of your aluminum-bodied center door, Robert?

That's just too neat. I love to see these connections. The guy I bought my 27 Coupe from was the second owner. He bought it in 1957 from his father-in-law.

I find it fascinating that I have been able to call him on the phone and chat with him about the car. To have that direct connection with a major part of the history of the car is almost surreal to me.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Page on Friday, September 28, 2012 - 03:19 am:

Just to add to my previous posting, here is what I call true dedication to getting the detail right. Best regards, John

This is a paragraph from an article published in the MODEL T TIMES September - October 2008. The article was about a 1921 Centerdoor Sedan.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hap Tucker on Friday, September 28, 2012 - 03:34 pm:

John,

For the 1915 model year -- all the production Centerdoor bodies were made by Fisher Body Company. There were 975 or 976 produced/sold depending on the source of the information. Additionally there were a few prototypes produced earlier and photographed (ref: http://www.mtfca.com/encyclo/doc14.htm that has:
SEP 23, 1914 Acc. 833, Photo 1621, Ford Archives
Photo of 1915 Sedan. Fork-mounted headlamps and lantern-like side lamp. Curved front and rear fenders.

SEP 23, 1914 Acc. 833, Photo 1546, Ford Archives
Photo of 1915 Sedan with gas headlamps.
Those were slightly different from the production cars (larger rear window for example.)

The current records I know about (i.e. Trent’s research listed in Mike Walker’s posting below), indicate the production 1915 model year Centerdoors were manufactured (or those may be shipped dates) in Dec 1914, Jan 1915, and Feb 1915 (ref: posting By Mike Walker, NW AR. on Saturday, February 20, 2010 - 11:24 pm in the thread at: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/118802/126504.html?1268414053 ).

For Danial – My Dad was the owner before me and he saved the car out of a Texas junk yard. While he never got around to restoring/fixing the body, he kept it inside for 60 plus years and that did a lot for saving the car. Also not letting the teenager (that would have been me) turn it into a speedster. The aluminum panels also helped out – as the body had none of the typical rust out on the lower parts like the steel bodied cars often have from water collecting there. The lower wood sill were rotted but the aluminum took the beating much better than steel panels would have. We do not know the history before my Dad purchased it. It was/is a major undertaking. And unless I had won the lottery and/or lived to be a very active 100 year old – I would never have had the time or resources (let alone talent) to be able to restore Ghost correctly. I wanted to make sure it found a good home where someone would try to restore it rather than just part it out. Parting it out – would have been a quick way to make a few dollars profit and there is nothing wrong with making a profit we all have to live and eat. While restoring it the way Bob has chosen is a way to leave a window into the past for those who will see it in the future. For me it is a little like sending one of my daughters off to be married. I want her to find a good husband who will take good care of her. Bob had actually contacted me several years before the transfer asking me to let him know if Ghost ever was going to be sold. I’m also looking forward to reading his book about Centerdoors in the future.

For a little background on getting Ghost ready to depart see the thread at: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/118802/142783.html

Again, thanks so much to Bob for taking the time and effort to take such good care of the car.

Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Page on Friday, September 28, 2012 - 04:18 pm:

Hello Hap,

Thank you for your in-depth explanation regarding the Centerdoor bodies. The one depicted in Bruce's books made a big impression on me when I first got " From Here To Obscurity " back in the early 1970's. best regards, John


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