The picture in my profile and the picture below is of a 1913 Model T that my Grandfather purchased new. It stayed on the farm in the barn and I played on it as a kid. Guess that's what fascinated me about Model T's later in life. So after having restored several Model T's and having fun with them for many years, I would love to find the original car shown below. It was sold new in Warrick county Indiana and stayed on the farm until about 1957 when my Grandmother sold it to my cousins. They got it running and cleaned it up then sold it to someone in Evansville, Ind. We lost track of it after that. Would love to find it again if possible. Maybe someone out there knows about this car. I know many of you have a Model T in the past you would like to find so this post is for those lost cars in your past too. Thanks for your responses.
1913 touring, but without having the engine number tracking down that exact car could prove near impossible.
Good luck with your search.
The Evansville area has a strong old car club (horseless carriage club) that goes back quite a ways. Maybe someone here is part of that club & can ask the old timers if they remember it.
Mike Sa
Fred,
It is a long shot -- but if you don't look you know what the outcome will be -- you won't find it. We helped a father and son find a 1908 Model S Ford they had owned years earlier. Since the 1913 survived to 1957 it is most likely still out there unless there was a major fire etc. that destroyed it.
Mike's information about Evansville area having a strong old car club is a good lead. Do you know if your Grandfather was a member of the Horseless Carriage Club America (HCCA) or local old car club? If so that may be another source of information. And if you have any other photos showing license tags that were on the car -- that might lead you to the engine number. Note folks back in the 1950s and early 1960 didn't think to much about trying to keep the car "all together." I remember reading an article where a very original 1912 or so had the engine replaced with a later starter engine. That wasn't bad -- but they immediately sold the other engine as they didn't think they would ever need it again. So it possible if you can find the data plate number as well as the engine number – you have a better chance of verifying the car.
A much later car but still the events were around the same time frame. A friend of mine sold his Model A Roadster when he got married. He had driven it to high school in the late 1950s. He lost track of it but it showed back up. And he worked a deal with the current owner that if they ever wanted to sell the car to let him know. They did and he now has it back.
Good luck and keep looking.
Respectfully submitted,
Hap l9l5 cut off
Hap - You started out you post above with a thought that never occurred to me, but certainly makes sense when you think about it. You said,...
"Since the 1913 survived to 1957 it is most likely still out there...."
That really makes sense, because a huge number of Model "T's and all other antique cars of that era were victims of the many scrap metal drives that took place all over the nation for WW1 in the teens, WW2 in the '40's, and to some extent even for the Korean Conflict from '50 to '53. And if the car survived until '57, by then, and interest was developing in the old Model "T's by then, and as you said Hap, there's a very good chance the car is still around,....."someplace"!
This is a story about a Model A, not a T, but it's On Topic.
Larry Sears (passed away years ago)courted his wife in his Model A roadster before WW2, and carved her name in the steering wheel. Sold the car when he went off to war. After the war he got a job in Sacramento (not far from where he was before the war) and one day at work he looked across the street at the used car lot. "Hey, that looks like my old A." During lunch he wandered over, and sure enough, there was his wife's name carved into the wheel. He bought the A and still had it when he passed away (sometime in the '90s--I forget!). And, yes, same steering wheel still on it!
Thanks for the suggestions. Hap: My Grandfather passed away in 1939 so no luck on the history and that's the only picture I have. Like a lot of other things, we sold the old license plates in 1996 when the farm equipment was auctioned off. I am going to Evansville this weekend and will try to locate a member of the local club. I will let you all know if something turns up.
Fred
Good Luck Fred and remember this. " It is far better to have jumped for the moon and failed, than not to have jumped at all"
When I was about 7, (1958) my Dad and I recovered the remains of a 1903 Curved dash Olds.
Over the next few decades he restored the car and it became part of our family. My bride and I were photographed in/on it in 1978 on our wedding day. When dad died in 1990, my mother, desperate for cash, sold it and we lost track of the car. Recently I've tracked it down and found that its for sale. I'd love to buy it back, but alas, the funds to do so are none existent.
I would certainly start your search in the last known area but these cars can travel all over the world now. My '25 was originally sold by a dealer in Norwalk, Ohio. Norwalk is a small town between Toledo and Cleveland. The car is now in a small town in south Texas.
Some states will allow searching registrations. You might look into that.
I sold my '13 touring in 2009 to a guy in Ohio on eBay.
It went to Australia. Then it got driven across Australia, shipped to Africa, drove across Africa, and was shipped to Arabia, from which it was driven to Moscow.
You never know where it might be today. I don't know!
Additional information on my search: Today I returned from a visit to my family home in Newburgh, Indiana and I had an opportunity to talk to one of the original cousins who purchased the car. He gave me a most unusual story of their time with the car. They got it running after basic maintenance and installing new coils and drove it around the area quite a bit. Going down one rather long hill, they lost control and it spun around a couple of times on the gravel road. It didn't turn over but scared them so bad they decided to sell it. A local fellow who sold vacuum cleaners was interested in it and they made a deal with him for a new Electrolux vacuum and $35. The brother who I talked to thought the man's last name was Perdue.
There is no Horseless Carriage Club in Evansville that I could find.
One of you sent me a private email which I appreciate the information but will continue to search. Thanks to all - Fred
True, there's no HCCA Regional Group headquartered in Indiana. But there is the Michigan Brass and Gas Regional Group that has many members from states in the vicinity. And there are a couple of HCCA members in Evansville. PM me and I'll send you contact information.
Well, guess we are fortunate. My father purchased a 1927 Model T coupe from the original owner in 1959. I still have this car and plan to keep it in our family.