Pics 36 hour T parts adventure with my grandfather: goodies we found

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2013: Pics 36 hour T parts adventure with my grandfather: goodies we found
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Matthew Atchinson on Monday, May 27, 2013 - 03:33 pm:

Hey guys, I've been back at college and so haven't had time to share this story. 7 weeks ago my radiator for my T project was stolen. Shame too: the radiator was known to be good because my grandfather had ran it on his T for years until he recently had the original redone and put back on his T. I needed some parts, so he and I went out to Vermont to a friend of his. He had already found me a beat up honey comb radiator which is currently in the shop being worked on as we speak. We set out from NYS in the early morning with my grandfather's friend for 60 years: shorty (guess how he got that name?). when we finally arrived in Vermont I was pleased to find three model T chassis in various states of disrepair in a yard, and an earlier T chassis being worked on in a garage.
One chassis had a wooden steering wheel damned bolt had a broken cotter pin stuck inside it, and it took 30 minutes just to get that nut moving. We then had to feed the column through the firewall, as we did not want to disassemble the wired engine components and remove the firewall. I should note that this was our second day there, the first day we made a deal on the back half of a touring body, and I got an original dog bone radiator cap for $5.
We came back the next day and got:
Touring back half: back panel, back half side panels, seat meatal, spare body pieces, brackets---> $100 (60 from me 40 from grandpa)
Steering column with accessory locking mechanism and wooden steering wheel. $25 and a promise to bring back another one for his car he's working on (we're heading back in about a week or so)
Dog bone radiator cap, which my grandfather gave me a boyce motometer for that night (original no less) --> 5$
All in all it was a great trip. we even saw a model T doodle bug that I'm sure would still run tucked in another man's garage, and a bunch of other nice parts.



Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Matthew Atchinson on Monday, May 27, 2013 - 03:36 pm:




Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Matthew Atchinson on Monday, May 27, 2013 - 03:38 pm:




Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Matthew Atchinson on Monday, May 27, 2013 - 03:38 pm:



Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Matthew Atchinson on Monday, May 27, 2013 - 03:40 pm:





Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Matthew Atchinson on Monday, May 27, 2013 - 03:41 pm:

p.s.- If anybody can help Id years of these parts, and particularly the make of this aftermarket column/wheel, it would very much be appreciated.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Matthew Atchinson on Monday, May 27, 2013 - 03:44 pm:

Darn, part of my message was deleted: we originally just wanted the steering wheel but couldn't get it to come off: it even broke the pullers we had brought to use on it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Monday, May 27, 2013 - 04:33 pm:

Did the girl come with the parts? (Just kidding!) She looks like a keeper.
That looks like a bunch of great stuff. But the time spent with your Grandpa is priceless. So I guess the car will be a touring. You will never regret it.
I have only seen a few steering wheels like that one. I imagine they are fairly rare. I would expect it to be difficult to get apart. Many of those locking wheels are. I have never had one and cannot help you much. But some of them are like a puzzle with hidden pins to be removed or carefully drilled out. I hope someone here has done one like this and tell you where to look.
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erik Johnson on Monday, May 27, 2013 - 04:59 pm:

Note the factory rubber plugs in the top saddle holes on the touring body.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Matthew Atchinson on Monday, May 27, 2013 - 06:10 pm:

My grandfather really liked that it still had the plugs in it too. Time spent with my grandfather is always well spent: I'm enjoying while I still have a chance. He's 82 and finally starting to slow down, which for most is still fairly fast.

The steering column and wheel is certainly a mystery to me. I have no idea what company it is, year, etc. What I do know is that that wood is still smooth and hard: no major cracks or rot of any kind. The chassis I got it off of must have been stored somewhere dry in order for it to still be in that kind of shape.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Matthew Atchinson on Monday, May 27, 2013 - 06:14 pm:

oh and Erik: The girl doesn't come with the car; fortunately she loves the hobby almost as much as I do. Yet another reinforcing reason among many as to why she's being offered a certain ring this summer :-) I'm hoping to have the touring in good enough shape to be used in our wedding in 2014.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ken Kopsky, Lytle TX on Monday, May 27, 2013 - 07:07 pm:

Does she have an older sister? :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Walker, NW AR on Monday, May 27, 2013 - 07:17 pm:

Ken -- You should be asking about her grandmother. :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Matthew Atchinson on Monday, May 27, 2013 - 11:02 pm:

She'll be flattered :-)

But, back to the topic. I'm surprised so few people have commented. I was hoping somebody would be able to ID the body year and possibly the wheel/column for me. I have no idea myself. Do you guys think I should upload them to another post asking that specific question?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob McDonald-Federal Way, Wa. on Monday, May 27, 2013 - 11:29 pm:

Mathew
That will be a trip to remember, hopefully Art might see this and find the patent drawings. Is there any name or numbers on the lock assembly. The spiders on the steering wheel looks to also after market. I'm not up on touring on the body.
Congratulations on all three, having a grandfather to help and remember, a girl friend that is interested in your hobby OH and the great find of T parts.

Best of luck
Bob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Tuesday, May 28, 2013 - 02:41 am:

The body section appears to be correct for a '23 or '24 touring. The rear section can therefore be used for either a high or low radiator car. I am not certain of when the sides of the rear section became that smooth, but much earlier would have had a folded out piece around the seat for the upholstery tack wood. Before 1921 also had another seam in the side of the body metal. The doors are hanging on "uneven length" (dual) hinges. Most 1925 tourings and runabouts had hinges changed to "even" length. This made for a "cleaner" looking body line, but the doors hung open differently.
I can't tell exactly what year the steering column is without a better look at the underside or close-up to see which horn button it had, if it had one. It is 1925 or earlier, and '15 or later. There was not much change on steering columns from 1919 until late 1925.
The steering wheel? That will be the "fun" part. Hopefully, after the holiday, someone having one of those will read this and respond. I wish you were closer to me. I would enjoy working with you on it. It appears to be one of the top-of-the-line anti-theft locking wheels. It should be very nice once done. Some of those type wheels are rather difficult to take apart.
That radiator cap, cleaned up and plated, should be very nice. With the motometer from your Grandfather, just cleaned up a bit, should be very special. Take good care of it. The red "mercury" can be pushed back down so it will function again, hopefully without too much trouble. There have been several threads on this in past years. I have pounded them down on a tire, but feel that there is a risk of breaking the meter that way. I like the idea of carefully spinning the meter on a bicycle wheel, however I have never tried it.
Good stuff!
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Matthew Atchinson on Tuesday, May 28, 2013 - 04:30 pm:

Wayne,
Thank you for Identifying the body for me. that works out excellent because the front sections I have are also 23-24 Touring.

I have a question for you and everyone else though. I have made an agreement from Gustaf to acquire wood for a 1919 Touring from him. How well will this fit the 23-25 body style? I know they're not drastically different. The 23-25 body should fit right? I don't mind too much if the fit isn't perfect, but I just want to make sure that it will even work.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By William L Vanderburg on Tuesday, May 28, 2013 - 06:03 pm:

The wood for a 1919 and the wood for 23 are different. The biggest difference is the wood for the seat boxes as well as the wood for the belt rails.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Tuesday, May 28, 2013 - 11:18 pm:

The cowl section is different for a 1923 and a 1924. The '23 is narrower, and lower. But then, years ago, I knew someone who built a '14 out of a '25. A little finagling here. A little tweaking there.
Enjoy!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Nathan Bright on Tuesday, May 28, 2013 - 11:39 pm:

i found that a gear puller works well for removing stubborn steering wheels... might wanna give that a try!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By kep on Tuesday, May 28, 2013 - 11:51 pm:

An anti-theft wheel would likely be designed to resist removal. Gear puller might not work if you cannot open the lock first.


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