Latest T-Bay offering "Coupelet"

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2014: Latest T-Bay offering "Coupelet"
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By G.R.Cheshire on Friday, October 17, 2014 - 10:20 am:

My wallet ain't that big!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By G.R.Cheshire on Friday, October 17, 2014 - 10:24 am:

Oops the link didn't post
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Extremely-Rare-Unique-1918-Model-T-Ford-Coupelet-Body-Su rvivor-Coupe-Brass-Era-/121431273907?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits =Make%3AFord|Model%3AModel+T&hash=item1c45de31b3&vxp=mtr


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Derek Kiefer - Mantorville, MN on Friday, October 17, 2014 - 10:26 am:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Extremely-Rare-Unique-1918-Model-T-Ford-Coupelet-Body-Su rvivor-Coupe-Brass-Era-/121431273907?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash =item1c45de31b3&vxp=mtr

Very cool.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Wells on Friday, October 17, 2014 - 10:29 am:

No deal there. Problem is the seller knows too much. Looks like a few parts are missing as well. Better to wait for the next one to come along.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Friday, October 17, 2014 - 10:38 am:

I didn't know 1918 was brass era.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jay - In Northern California on Friday, October 17, 2014 - 10:43 am:

This same seller asks crazy money for most of the stuff he lists on Ebay.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kenneth W DeLong on Friday, October 17, 2014 - 10:55 am:

I don't think this guy got all his shots when he was little!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bud.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Roger Karlsson, southern Sweden on Friday, October 17, 2014 - 10:58 am:

Another no sale I suppose. Well, this old Coupelet body formerly owned by Fred Houston is still very interesting since it might be a rare surviving example of a non black closed car during the (otherwise) black era. It's even two tone - black above the belt line and green below.

We have had discussions before about what Ford actually meant with the 1919 letter mentioned in the encyclopedia:
http://www.mtfca.com/encyclo/1914H.htm
"To add to the confusion, another letter, dated February 20, 1919, addressed to the branches, said, “As closed bodies are now being painted black, instead of green as heretofore, also carmine striped, it becomes imperative that the branches prepare to repair bodies when needed according to the new color. It is necessary that someone in your paint shop, accustomed to the method of striping, be assigned to this work, as this section of body painting is something new for branches to contend with. Striping pencils and carmine paint for striping will be furnished you for this purpose upon request for same.”

In the same letter, Ford goes on with “New paint specifications. . . These are being sent you at this time and comprise the change in sedan, coupe, touring car and torpedo body painting, according to the latest information. You will note the change in the Symbol number of paint used in painting closed bodies, as well as that for the touring car and torpedo bodies, and wheel paint, as called to your attention in our general letter of the 11th and 12th. F-165 and F-166 will be held for repairs only on closed bodies which were formerly painted green.”


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Cascisa - Poulsbo, Washington on Friday, October 17, 2014 - 12:27 pm:

Why does this "1918" have a place for an ammeter I the dash?
I would agree that this is a valuable survivor but, it is a looooong way from being a car.

Be_Zero_Be in VA


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Gruber- Spanaway, Wash. on Friday, October 17, 2014 - 12:36 pm:

The same guy has a '12 Mother-in-law body listed for the same price.
What's he up to? Parting out these cars?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By G.R.Cheshire on Friday, October 17, 2014 - 12:56 pm:

this is the same guy that has been trying to sell this "T" block for about 6 months
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1914-Model-T-Ford-Engine-Block-Brass-Era-Pre-16-Speedste r-Rajo-Roof-B-R-A-S-S-/121241718075?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash= item1c3a91cd3b
He sure is proud of what he has!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Stan Howe Helena, Montana on Friday, October 17, 2014 - 01:45 pm:

Well, I've posted this before but you can think whatever you want. The guy is an Engineer in Bozeman, he has a collection of easily a couple hundred cars, fire engines and tractors. He is probably trolling for people with similar interests in these listings but he has almost 4,000 positive feedback on ebay. Anybody who isn't smart enough to find his phone number and contact information in the listing probably doesn't have the money to play at his level. Need a 13 Packard?? How about a few fire engines? Maybe a Yellowstone Park White bus?? Bob has them along with half a dozen original T's, half a dozen Corvettes, a Chrysler Letter Series 300 collection and on and on. He's doing something right.

Where did he get the money to start collecting cars? He basically invented the computer controlled tool changer for milling machines when he was in his early 20's. CNC anybody?? He is member of the Board of Fellows of the Engineering College at the University of Montana. That means he is part of the group that determines and directs the curriculum of the Mechanical Engineering College at the University.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jon Crane on Friday, October 17, 2014 - 01:53 pm:

Stan
Thanks for the info.
Hey the rear end went in well with no problems. Trust that all remains well
Jon


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Walker, NW AR on Friday, October 17, 2014 - 03:24 pm:

Bob G. -- He didn't part out a car to get this body. He bought it as you see it from Fred Houston in Tulsa. Fred had it for many years.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Friday, October 17, 2014 - 03:50 pm:

Some say that the only difference between being eccentric and being crazy is how much money you have. They may be right. Whatever his reasons for listing these things "for sale" at four times what they are worth, it seems that he is an okay fellow. I am just glad that he seems to care enough about the cars and important pieces of them to take care of them . Apparently he protects them and provides good housing while finding bits and pieces they are missing.
If the rest of the crazies running the world don't totally destroy the economy needed to provide everyone with a reasonable means of living well, some day he will pass on and hobbyists of modest means will be able to purchase these treasures and enjoy them. Without certain types of hoarders and collectors, MOST of the antiques we enjoy today would have been scrapped many decades ago. I may not (or may) agree with his marketing approach listing these things this way? But I am pleased that he is out there preserving some of these things. I have known or met a few too many people (?) that kept their treasures outside and wet where they would be destroyed long before anyone else could save them.
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ted Dumas on Friday, October 17, 2014 - 05:00 pm:

It could be an eccentric trolling for a crazy, or maybe someone who just has too much money.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Richard Gould on Friday, October 17, 2014 - 07:01 pm:

I purchased an NRS crankcase from him, along with enough parts to make an engine and he was meticulous in packaging. I got along with him fine.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By G.R.Cheshire on Friday, October 17, 2014 - 10:45 pm:

Stan: I put no faith in EBAY Feedback scores if you have ever tried to leave negative feedback for a seller EVEN when it is richly deserved (Seller marked item as shipped but carrier never received it and it was re-listed even though I had already paid for it) you will swear to yourself that you will never voluntarily allow your soul to be dragged through that cesspool again! Better to not leave feedback!:-( just my $.02 worth


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Stan Howe Helena, Montana on Saturday, October 18, 2014 - 12:37 am:

That may be true but I've known Bob for 30+ years and I will bet that you can't find anybody who would leave him negative feedback over any deal he has ever made with them. In a state like Montana you have to always leave so you can go back. There are probably more people in a 50 mile radius of your house than there are in the whole state of Montana, which is a little over 700 miles long and 400 wide with under a million people. Everybody knows everybody in the state.

You don't have to like him, you don't have to do business with him and you can make fun of his ebay listings all you want but nobody gets close to 4,000 positive feedback in 15 years on ebay without being a standup guy, especially when you are selling collector cars, fire engines, airplanes, tractors, etc., and shipping them half way around the world. This is not nickle dime stuff.

What do you want for YOUR 1918 Coupelet body?? Ten grand??? I'll take it if it's as nice as this one. Oh, don't have one?? Don't know where to find one?? Never seen a real one?? Can't step up for $20,000 if you do find one for sale?? I thought so.

This is one of his cars, a couple hundred thousand dollar Kissel, one of only a few of this year. It was bought new by the Judge in Madison County, used by him to travel to all the county seats in western Montana to preside over the trials there, sold out of the state in the 50's, pursued by Bob until he found it, offer price raised and raised and raised until the owner finally agreed to sell it to him so he could bring it back to Montana. He paid more than most people paid for their house but it was important to him that the Judge's car return to Montana. He was in his early 30's at the time. It was in the state museum in Deer Lodge for years, just brought out this summer for the 100th anniversary of the town he grew up near. I got to drive it after the car show in Bozeman in August. It is an impressive car. It's worth a couple hundred large, probably more, not for sale even tho collectors come knocking on his door with wheelbarrow loads of cash once in awhile trying to buy it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Stan Howe Helena, Montana on Saturday, October 18, 2014 - 12:52 am:

Couple years ago he decided he wanted to buy something and was short about 100 large to be able to write the check so he consigned a SMALL PART of his toy and automotive memorabilia collection to an auction house in South Dakota that specializes in farm toys. When it was over he wrote the check and said he couldn't even tell what was gone from the collection, he basically sold off the bottom end of his toys and signs. Only thing that didn't bring record prices was a John Deere 80 Diesel that only brought about $20,000 -- it should have brought 24 or 25,000. I tried to buy a few pieces on-line for my collection, I never even got a chance to bid before it was past me on most of the toys. When people saw in the advertising whose collection it was they came from miles and miles away and the auction house had hundreds of people bidding on line.

I've posted this before but........ This is his totally original 1914 T Roadster. Only thing ever changed from new are the tires, the fan belt and possibly one coil and one piece of windshield glass, although the coil and the glass are open to debate.

Yes, that is original upholstery you can see on the seat. We took the bottom cushion out so it wouldn't be damaged from me sitting on it for the parade.

That's my original 1920 flag holder on the radiator neck. He wasn't real happy about it being there so I took it off after the parade before we loaded the cars to take them back to the warehouse 200 miles away.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Stan Howe Helena, Montana on Saturday, October 18, 2014 - 12:55 am:

Notice the license plate number. 40, that was issued in the first week of registration of Pioneer plates in Montana in 1956. The car was only 42 years old then. It is an original Montana car, Bob has provenance on it from the day it was sold at the dealer. He has about half a dozen T's like that including the 1917 T Touring that he saw when he was 4 years old that turned him into an old car enthusiast.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mark Gregush Portland Oregon on Saturday, October 18, 2014 - 08:40 pm:

Thank you Stan for standing up for him.
MarkG


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Wightman on Sunday, October 19, 2014 - 11:09 am:

I've talked to him quite a few times and he is a real nice guy. Just a a real nice enjoyable character. He knows his cars. And he has owned many many rare ones. He is out there saving stuff for the next generation of collectors so he sure don't deserve a bad mouthing. I agree his ads are a little out of the ordinary. But he is very successful, and success is frequently somewhat ab-normal or unorthodox when analyzed by the crowd. Any price is just a point to begin negotiation, which is seeming also becoming a lost art. The ad is working; we have all looked at all his stuff on Ebay again this month, so he must be smiling big if he reads this thread. I believe he does this for the love of cars, not the love of money.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tim Morsher on Sunday, October 19, 2014 - 01:21 pm:

Set that body on an easy to assemble 1918 chassis and you would have quite a car. At that price . They say the loudest boos come from the cheapest seats!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Terry Bond on Tuesday, November 04, 2014 - 09:01 pm:

A few years ago a friend tipped me off to a Model t Coupe he had spotted in an older neighborhood here in the Norfolk Va area - it was out front of an older home decorated with a stuffed Santa and all kinds of Christmas lights. Following the lead, we discovered a late Coupelet body on a 20's chassis. It was an older fix-up, but the removable pillars were distinctive. My garage was far too small so I mentioned it to another Model t buddy and he promptly snagged it. I'll let Andy post some pics and info later, but the story was the guy's wife had bought it for him as a birthday gift years before. He never could figure out out how to start and drive it so he just put Santa in there and pushed it out of the garage for a few days each Christmas season.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ron Mc Willie on Wednesday, November 05, 2014 - 10:45 pm:

I have bought a few things from this seller and have always been pleased with my purchases. I talked with him on the phone once and he really likes talking about old cars and knows a lot about them. That big Kissel used to be owned by Harry Mycroft (RIP) in Southern California and is indeed a very special and important automobile. For many years it was a regular fixture at So Cal Region HCCA events and appeared on a couple of western national HCCA tours.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John H. Nichols on Thursday, November 06, 2014 - 06:17 pm:

I was told that the guy offering the 1918 Brass era Coupe was dealing with a full deck, but the problem was they were all jokers

John


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John H. Nichols on Thursday, November 06, 2014 - 06:31 pm:

Now I have it figured it. The gentleman is putting a high price to try and keep it out of the hands of a hot rodder and save it for one of us.

I have a 1915 Canadian Tub, I think I will ask
22K for it.


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