1919 wheel question

Topics Last Day Last Week Tree View    Getting Started Formatting Troubleshooting Program Credits    New Messages Keyword Search Contact Moderators Edit Profile Administration
Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2014: 1919 wheel question
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gordon Drisko on Wednesday, August 20, 2014 - 09:51 am:

I recently acquired what I'm told is a 1919 T runabout. It has wooden fellow wheels on the rear and demountable wheels on the front. Can this be correct?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Roger Karlsson, southern Sweden on Wednesday, August 20, 2014 - 10:11 am:

It was likely changed during the years. There might be a reason - Ford offered the base version with 30x3.5" tires in the rear on 23" wood felloe wheels and 30x3" tires in the front on 24" wood felloe wheels. Some owner may have thought it was more convenient to have the same size tires all around, so the front wheels got changed out. Ford began offering demountable wheels with 30x3.5" tires all around as an option in 1919, so the change may have been made when the car was new or near new (but not so likely)

http://www.mtfca.com/encyclo/1919.htm


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mark Strange on Wednesday, August 20, 2014 - 10:15 am:

Can you post some pictures of the car? Be sure to resize them to under 194K before posting them. 150 dots per inch and a width of 6 inches works well. Also, let us know what the engine number is (stamped on a pad just above the water inlet on the driver side of the engine block).

Does your car have a starter, generator, and battery? Based on the wording in the MTFCA encyclopedia (link below), it's not clear to me whether you could get demountable wheels separately from the starter/generator/battery package or not. The encyclopedia says that the starter package was available for $75.00 and that demountable wheels were available for an additional $25.00.

Here is a link to some info on 1919 model year cars:

http://www.mtfca.com/encyclo/1919.htm


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By john kuehn on Wednesday, August 20, 2014 - 05:01 pm:

These cars had wooden firewalls. Don't be surprised if your car has the later metal firewall that came out a few years later. Same goes for the tires also. Having the wheels and tires all the same size was more convenient.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Wednesday, August 20, 2014 - 06:51 pm:

Besides. By the late '20s, 30X3 tires cost more than 30X3.5, and sometimes be difficult to find. So people would change out the early front wheels to save a buck.
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Fred Dimock, Newfields NH, USA on Wednesday, August 20, 2014 - 07:34 pm:

My 1919 has demountables all around and I know that it was purchased that way. It may have been an option.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Wednesday, August 20, 2014 - 11:06 pm:

1919 was the first year for Ford to offer demountable wheels. At first, they were only available on the coupes and sedans. About mid model year, they became optional on open cars. They remained optional until the improved cars, and even then for awhile. There is still some debate and doubt exactly when all these changes were made. During the later half of model year 1919, many people still bought their Ford without demountable wheels. There are quite a lot of original era photos showing touring and runabout cars without side lamps (indicating, but not proving starter and generator), yet still having non-demountable wheels. It would seem that many people were more concerned about neighbors watching them crank an old fashioned car than cared about the trouble to change a tire. As the next year progressed, more and more Fords were sold with the demountable wheels.
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2


Posting is currently disabled in this topic. Contact your discussion moderator for more information.
Topics Last Day Last Week Tree View    Getting Started Formatting Troubleshooting Program Credits    New Messages Keyword Search Contact Moderators Edit Profile Administration