Help with window hinges to Coupelet

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2013: Help with window hinges to Coupelet
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ake Osterdahl on Friday, December 13, 2013 - 03:39 am:

I miss the upper right window hinge for my 1918 Coupelet. Here is the left that I own.
Do you have a complete frame for sale, I buy it as well.
On the lower screen you see the missing hinge.
In the nickel-plated tray;
JUS.N. SMITH & CO. PAT. Dec15 14-OCT.29.12
I think I read the correct text.

    Would be very grateful if someone could help with that!
I can pay with Paypal or another.
ake.osterdahl @ telia.com


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ake Osterdahl on Friday, December 13, 2013 - 03:52 am:

Want even ask on the forum, does anyone know anything about this manufacturer.
JUS. N.SMITH
I think my body is made of Fischer.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tim Wrenn on Friday, December 13, 2013 - 09:54 am:

If the window hinge in question is for the car in the pic above with the red hood, it looks more like a COUPE rather than a COUPELET...a Coupelet, from my understanding, is basically a convertible that when the top is up, gives the appearance of a coupe from a bit of a distance. This one looks like a hard top all the way. And if I'm wrong, I'll graciously be corrected. Always learning.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ake Osterdahl on Friday, December 13, 2013 - 10:35 am:

Tim
... in Ford literature mentioned this model with detachable pillar that Coupelet.
My car's engine number is 2211929 September 22, 1917, 18-year model.
this model flat top came out 10 sepember 1917
Thank you Tim for your comments.
Ake


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Walker, NW AR on Friday, December 13, 2013 - 12:31 pm:

Tim -- The Coupelets you are familiar with were convertibles made in the '15, '16, and very early '17 model years. Then Ford switched to a fixed-top model with removable B pillars, and used a similar setup on the '18 models. The '17 and '18 Coupe-type cars were still referred to as Coupelets. As far as we know today, all those bodies were outsourced from the Fisher Body Co. The '19 model year saw the return of the "Coupe."


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tim Wrenn on Friday, December 13, 2013 - 01:05 pm:

Mike and Ake...thanks for the edification. Like I said, always something to learn. Reading the book "From here to Obscurity" I didn't see that about the removable pillars, but then could've easily missed it. I did see where the book mentioned the end of the Coupelet in '17. Now, I also wonder if just maybe those bodies from Fisher just might happen to be of the Fisher family right next door to me in Norwalk Ohio?!? It's quite possible, although that particular Fisher I do know was directly connected to GM's Fisher Body works...so maybe it's different. Would love to know. The hospital there in that town is even named after the Fishers, as they were great philanthropists in the day.
Thanks for straightening out the info for me!
Tim


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Walker, NW AR on Friday, December 13, 2013 - 06:57 pm:

Tim -- "From Here to Obscurity" was published in 1971, and it reflects the commonly-held knowledge of the time. Bruce's later book, "Model T Ford -- The Car that Changed the World" has much of the same information, but a great deal of other info was gained in the interim. One example often cited is that in the Obscurity book, the authors state that the hand-operated Klaxton horn was issued as standard equipment '15 Fords. So many 15's were equipped with that aftermarket item that folks assumed it must be original equipment. It has since been learned that that was not the case, but it was pretty much accepted as gospel earlier on.

In the Obscurity book, here is what the authors say about the '18 Coupelets: "1918 saw the introduction of two new Fords, the Coupe and the Truck Chassis... The Coupe features a removable pillar which, when removed, gives the car a 'hardtop' look. This feature lasted only two years, was discontinued in the 1920 models." Also, the 1917 model line pictured in that book shows the convertible version of the Coupelet, which was replaced by the "hardtop" version during the '17 model year. So the removable pillar design did last only two years (or slightly less), but it was in the '17 and '18 model years, not '18 and '19. The '19 Coupe was a fixed-top body without the removable pillar, which was continued through the '23 model year.

It is easy to get confused by this kind of thing, and you're not the only one by any means. In 1971, Ray MIller and Bruce McCalley wrote the "Obscurity" book, which was a big help to folks who were trying to learn about Model T's. The information in it was generally accepted as being fact. In 1994 Bruce's later book came out, and it quickly became THE authoritative tome on Model T's. But folks have continued to research Model T's and learn more about them, and so we now know that there is some misinformation in the later book as well.

There still are LOTS of things we don't know about Model T's. No one who worked in the assembly plants and knew how things were done at that time is still alive to explain it to us. But many of us are continuing to dig for info and facts about the cars, so our "current" body of knowledge is continually changing.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tim Wrenn on Saturday, December 14, 2013 - 09:47 am:

Mike... a big thanks for the info. Especially this "new" info you just revealed..that being about that dang Klaxson horn. My '15 that I acquired a year ago does NOT have one, but indeed does have the magneto horn. For a while there I was wondering if my car "wasn't correct"..so now you have calmed my nerves! I remember reading somewhere, and that's another of my problems, reading too much, retaining too little!....that it's almost impossible to actually find let alone own, a completely "correct" car. The main thing is, these cars are just plain fun! Everybody wants to ride in 'em!


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