I am working on a 1915 Roadster and I have a few random questions:
1: Is there Firewall Brackets if Yes please add a photo
2: What seals the turtle deck to the back of the front seat and to the base of the body?
3: what bolts are used to fasten the windshield frame to the body? Screws or carriage bolts?
4. where is the battery stored, Under the turtledeck or ??
5: Where is the location of the light switch on the firewall:
6. is this the correct or near correct steering column? I know the wheel is incorrect and I have the correct one plus ignore the painted brassy looking stuff.
It is not a show car, but a nice and pretty close to original runner
I don't know about the other questions, but the 1915/16 steering column is the one with 2 threaded holes on top for the horn button to be fastened with. The one you have is later.
3. Carriage bolts.
4. There was no battery from the factory. Folks put dry cells in the trunk or where ever they could. In with the gas tank is not a good idea.
Rich
Here is a photo of what I "think" is the 1915 arrangement at the passenger side firewall.
Here is a listing from Lang's online catalog showing the firewall brackets:
http://www.modeltford.com/item/3640-41B.aspx
I don't think there is supposed to be anything between the turtle and body to seal that joint.
The pic posted by George shows the correct location for the light switch. There were two different types of switch; both are correct for '15. There was a "diamond" shape as shown, and a rectangular shape which seems to be more common and which are now being reproduced by Bob at Bob's Auto Parts. I believe the one shown in George's pic is the earlier type. My March of '15 Touring Car has that type.
Here is a pic of the steering gearbox area of the restored column for my '15 Coupelet.
The levers are reproductions, and the flattened area is a little longer than the originals. All the other parts you see are NOS. The 15" dia. wheel rim is wood, painted black.
Here is a pic of some original '15 levers:
It may not be a good idea, but I think most folks do put their small batteries (used for starting, then switch to mag) in with the gas tank. The turtle probably would be a safer place for it.
Yes... there are firewall brackets. I have a set if interested.
Mike, my April 15 runabout also has a light switch like yours.
While at Benson, I copied the drawings for the headlight switches. The rectangular switch drawing is dated Oct. 9, 1914. It says, "Electric headlamp switch, 1 req'd. 1915 1st 10,000 cars." It also shows the rectangular escutcheon to be "brass, polished outside." The "diamond-shaped" switch drawing is dated March 4, 1915 and carries the note, "Use on 10,000 cars 1915. KW Switch." There are no revisions shown on either drawing.
The rectangular escutcheon switch was used for a couple more years after '15, and with a steel escutcheon, I believe.
So one might conclude that the rectangular one was used for some length of time, with the diamond one used concurrently for a few months early in the '15 model year. Remember that the introduction of the '15 Touring Car and Runabout was delayed from August '14 until January '15, because of problems fabricating the cowl section. Once the floodgates opened, maybe the one light switch supplier couldn't keep up with the demand during that time of high-volume car production so Ford used switches from two different manufacturers for a while. This is just conjecture on my part (other than the info on the drawings), and is open to other interpretations. Go for it.
This switch is on when pushed in. The one with the square escutcheon is on when pulled out.
This switch is on when pushed in. The one with the square escutcheon is on when pulled out.
In addition to the steering column details. The correct one on our Canadian cars has a small tube fastened under the column to carry one wire for the magneto horn. On the later columns, this is a U shaped channel which will take two wires. If your two wires are routed in such a channel, then the column is for a later car with a battery horn.
Hope this helps.
Allan from down under.
And on some of the 15's there is no horn button holes or tubes--they had a bulb horn!
RE the firewall brackets, try to get an original set. The reproductions are either cast iron or cast bronze. The originals are forged steel - much stronger.
The windshield frame is held to the body by carriage bolts and nuts. You can see the nuts in this picture:
This is all Great Detailed Information, thank you to everyone!