I purchased a 1918 Model TT. Can anyone tell me the manufacturer of the cab. It appears to be original. As does the box.

tmdttmr, That's really a very nice TT. You might try the "Coachbuilt" website scroll down to commercial vehicles and take a look.

Are the side panels metal and the rear panel a roll-up curtain? Being a manufactured cab, I would think it would have some stamping on it someplace, maybe under several layers of paint.
Mine has the name and numbers on the kick panel, seat riser.

Since we are kind of on the subject. How original should I leave this thing? I was thinking I would just paint the cab, but I am not sure if I should build a new box or just clear coat the one that's there. It looks solid, but is gray like barn wood.

That's up to you, Mine was restored when I got it. Some I've seen in pictures were painted,on the outside, some plain. Mine has spar varnish on it on the inside but certainly doesn't have the old look. A good coat of linseed oil would darken it a little. A friend of mine has done some old farm implements and uses used motor oil for a wiping stain and then linseed oil. It gives it a nice aged finish. Click on Ray Elkins profile, he sealed his up and stabilized it. I'm sure he would give advice.

Personally, I think I'd get the new tires on, get it all figured out mechanically, drive it and have some fun with it and then you can decide on the "look" you want.

John has good advice, get it running and see how it goes. Drive and enjoy, meet others and see what they have done/ what the alternatives are. Take your time before deciding as an original like this is not that common. Once painted you can't go back to what you have now.
My truck is 1/2 original and 1/2 repainted about 30 years ago so has aged a bit. I usually get larger crowds around Albert than my friends in their fully restored cars.

Cheers
Adrian

If I don't put something on the wood, won't it be damaged by moisture. It is in such good shape because it was inside in Colorado. It is now in southern Missouri. Still inside, but whith much more humidity.

Agreed Adrian. mine has a little patina inside the cab but the box had to be built new. I suppose in 80 more years it will all match.

That cab and body are very intact. The paint looks good too. Maybe turn the spokes black again and match the radiator shell with the hood, it appears to be primer paint. Maybe fasten down that flair board on the box and seal it up.

Hope you don't think I'm being critical because I think it is a very nice truck and you may change your mind after having it for a while.

I'd put some Ternim-8 (Copper Napthalate (sp?)) wood preservative on the bed. Use the water soluble type, which is brown. The oil type is green.
-Keith

Of course - if wood is rotten it must be replaced - but if you build a more or less new cab - is it then the same car? Not really, right?
If wood is just gray but sound it can be freshened up - often just with some sandpaper and handwork :-)If the wood ore just going to be painted, it doesn't really matter if it was gray of natural patina as long as it isn't dirt.
You may consider to have some of the wood unpainted but just varnished. It may not be 100% correct, but it may charm you car up a little.
Take a look on my car (in my profile). It was originally all black, but was restored in the late 50's to it present look. Noone questions it look and it's a little more charming as if it was all black. And now it have been like this for more years (50) than black (37).
Happy T-driving!

I would definitely paint the wheels. Then you have to decide what to do with the box. You could replace it with a new shiny box, and save the old one just in case you changed your mind. You can sand, stain, and varnish the old one, or just varnish it to maintain the older look. You definitely need a type of spar varnish (satin or flat if you can find it) to preserve what you have. Enjoy.

West Marine sells good wood preservative chemicals.

Oxalic acid is a crystal which is dissolved in hot water. It does not harm the skin but will bleach the wood to its original color. It is nine dollars for a plastic pint sized container and worth ten times as much. Rinse it off with water and let it dry to make the wood look like new again. White oak which has turned black will look like white ash when dry. It is used to bleach boat decks back to like new color.

After the wood has dried, you can put Watco clear Danish oil but not a stain type oil on it. The oil will darken the wood slightly and it will look unfinished but will be protected. You paint it on and rub it with a dry cloth to remove what was not absorbed. An alternative would be to rub Teak oil on it but that would give it a luster where as the Watco oil will not shine when dry.

These treatments work on spokes too and will not make them look restored.

West Marine also sells a product that is coated on rotten or dry rotted wood. It soaks in deep and it turns it into a plastic that looks like undisturbed wood. It is as strong as when new.

You can look these products up in their on-line catalog. You can get lots of old car stuff at West Marine.

You can also use a flat water based clear coat for wood that will not darken the wood at all.

Do you have any other views of the cab? Does your cab have doors? I cannot seem to find the manufacturer of my cab, either. Click on my profile to see a photo of mine. It has sliding doors rather than hinged ones. A lot of the cabs with hinged doors are made to easily remove them for warm weather.

Here is another view of the cab. I can't find any name on it.

I forgot to add. It doesn't look like it had any doors. It looks as though there may have been some canvas attachments at one time, but I am not sure what the would have been.

tmd, you could also just oil the wood - (boiled) linseed or danish oils are options - they give protection, but are more 'period' than varnish. They do change the colour of the wood - so try a bit on a 'non visible' bit first to see if you like the effect. (Just another alternative to consider )

Unless it's one of better known body builders it's nearly impossible to trace the maker. There were hundreds of local cab builders and maybe thousands of "homemade" cabs. Here's a local builder from San Antonio, Texas. Ever hear of it? Probably not. If the tag wasn't on it the cab would pass into oblivion.

My favorite wood preservative is boiled linseed oil and turpentine. Typically I use a 50-50 mix. I use it all the time; it really stabilizes rotten and weathered wood, and gives a good old school finish. The pros in my opinion clearly out way the cons.

Cons;
It may take 2-3 days for it to fully dry if you let it soak deep into rotten wood.
If you want to paint over it and you only applied this mixture in spots you will see shinny spots where the mixture was applied. Fix, prime the area first.

Pros;
Stabilizes just about any wood surface.
Works as a great pre-primer
Gives a nice finish to tool handles, oars, paddles, etc

If the TT was mine and I was thinking about sealing the wood this would be my first solution I would consider. I have yet to find a commercial wood preservative that works as nicely.

Typically, I continue Appling it in the same area with a cheap chip brush as long as the wood will continue absorbing it. If the wood is soft, I continue applying the mixture until the wood will not absorb any more. If there is dry rot don’t be surprised if you apply about a cup worth of this solution within a 1 square foot area.

Good luck with the TT. Personally it looks nice and I would only do the body repairs that must be done to make it safe/secure.

Ken,

20 some odd years ago when I lived in Arlington Texas a good Model T friend of mine restored a C Cab TT with a San Antonio Body Co body. It was a well build body and had that same tag. Woody and I had a heck of a time getting the rear wheels to pop off. I borrowed a 17 ton hydraulic puller from work and still had to heat the hubs.

Paul