Wood or a 26 roadster pickup

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2005: Wood or a 26 roadster pickup
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Santilla on Monday, December 25, 2006 - 08:07 pm:

Hello,

I'm looking for reference material on where my truck had wood pieces and what they looked like. My truck is a true basket case. I have a number of pieces of wood to use as patterns. Problem is once I make the new pieces I still have no idea where they go.

Thanks,

Bob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hap Tucker on Monday, December 25, 2006 - 09:25 pm:

Bob,

Is it a Ton Truck or a car chassis? Is is a Ford body or one of the several different after market bodies that were offered? Also approximately what year is it and what body style?

Hap 1915 Model T Touring cut off and made into a pickup truck and 1907 Model S Ford Runabout in South Carolina


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hap Tucker on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 - 08:23 am:

Bob,

Rereading your title -- you may have said what type of truck -- please confirm it is a 1926 model year roadster pickup. If it is you don't have any structural wood -- i.e. the termites can eat all the wood out of the body and the doors still open and close ok and the body is safe to mount on the chassis etc. The 1925 and earlier roadsters, tourings, had a structural wood. In general (there were several exceptions) the older the body, the more wood it tended to have in it. For one of those bodies, if the termites ate all the wood, there is not even a way to mount them to the frame as a wood sill that was the foundation of the body was what was bolted to the frame using brackets.

If you body is a 1926 roadster a good first place to look is Cubels at: http://fordwood.com/ they sell wood kits for many Fords.

Caution, a basket case can be a great adventure. In some cases someone takes apart a low mileage T and for some reason is unable to complete the restoration. All the parts are generally for the same car and it can be a challenge but -- it is more of a case of figuring out which puzzle piece fits where.

Other basket cases are what is left over from two or three other restorations or if it was done years and years ago, what is left over from making a couple of basic transportation Ts out of several "donor" Ts. In that case the matching parts or at least the parts that go together reasonably well were used to make the one or two earlier cars. What is left is often a compilation of parts from 1915 to 1927. Sometimes you will even have earlier parts -- but normally those have already been claimed by someone over the years. If this is your case, you need to ensure that your body parts will actually fit together. I.e. that they are all 1926-27 and not some 26-27 and some 23-25 and some 21-23 etc. And even for the 1926 - 27 bodies there were some changes (see pages 392-395 of Bruce McCalley's excellent book "The Model T Ford"). And on page 409 he shows pictures with the main difference between the roadster and the roadster pickup bodies for 1926-27.

If your car is a 1926 roadster or roadster pickup and the body panels have been removed for some reason (they store in the attic easier) then you will have more of a challenge. But it can still be done. Depending on the condition of the body, you may want to consider doing the chassis and then placing a temporary body speedster, cut off, etc. so you can drive it while you restore the body.

Recommend you contact one of the local clubs and get some a few opinions on how hard or how easy your task will be. And of course part of that depends on your own resources. A friend of mine who taught at a trade school could have his car's body work done by the school as a project. He had to put his name in line for the work, but after a year or so of waiting his old station wagon went in for rehab. It came out beautiful and all he had to do was pay for the parts & paint. If he would have had to do it himself -- he probably would have been way ahead to purchase a better car and/or body.

Good luck and if it is not a 1926 roadster pickup -- let us know what it is.

Hap 1915 Model T Touring cut off and made into a pickup truck and 1907 Model S Ford Runabout in South Carolina


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