I am beginning a mechanical refreshment of "the Rattletrap Car" my 1913 Touring that appeared on the cover of the Model T Times a Fall 2016. I have driven the snot out of the car and it is tired mechanically to say the least.

The car has a 1918 engine in it now, though I have a correct 1913 engine for it. The final couple straws have been failure to run on the mag (and I did hear something let loose during a tour), it is burning/leaking oil at a prodigious rate and the radiator holds water but only barely.

So now it begins. I have not decided the goal for my work. At this point I am going to allow the car to lead me where I need to go. Clearly both axles, the drive shaft, transmission, wheels, tires and cooling system will be redone. The body has the rear sag that is typical of the 1913 tourings and I have a broken front top bow. So, some woodwork will be done while the car is apart.

I have decided to let the car decide where we are going. I did get an AACA HPOF certification last year so that is a deterrent from full restoration though I may not be able to stop myself once I get going. For now, here is where I am starting.

Eric-
That is an interesting mounting bracket for the acetylene tank. I have never seen one like it before. What can you tell us about it?

Have fun with the project whether it is refresh or restore. Take lots of pictures along the way for your reference.

: ^ )

Keith

For those of us not fully immersed in the culture, what is an "AACA HPOF" certification, please.

Antique Automobile Club of America

Historic Preservation of Original Features

It is a judging award. Personally, I don't consider it a certification.

Good luck Erik. You have an interesting car. Besides Bruces book, the MTFCI judging guidelines will be of big help.

Eric, To get that many enjoyable miles out of that car is wonderful. I hope you can retain that "well earned" beauty as you make your improvements.
The HPOF recognition is an attempt to honor cars that are nice originals and might have been restored thus loosing some priceless charm. Other clubs have followed suit.
Do what you need to do and keep us posted.
Rich

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

I'm in the group that like to see them preserved visually and perfected mechanically.

I agree with Keith Townsend that you have an interesting mounting bracket for your Acetylene tank. It looks like it puts the tank out of the way so a spare tire could still be mounted on the running board.

Could you please post a closer picture or two of the bracket? I'd like to make one like it so I can still mount the spare in that area also.

Thanks, Keith

What about the 14' Touring? It looks like it needs a restoration first?

The touring behind it is a 14 with a 13 casting date its is the 335xxx serial number. It has 13 style front fenders and its my next restoration project for myself. Eric works in my barn and we have been best friends since our early teens. Our fathers had a common interest in Model Ts. There isn’t much Eric and I wouldn’t try in terms of Model T restorations.

Thanks for all the interest in the project. The 13 was a "city car" originally delivered in new york city. The acetylene tank and brackets are odd but are what was on the car. I can't tell you how correct t hey are as they have a decidedly home built look to them.
Mark is right though. There have been some crazy things we have attempted and completed all in the name of authenticity. Several times...many times we've fixed things that others said could not be done, simply because we like the idea of beating a seemingly insurmountable challenge. I am fortunate to have a friend who allows me to use his space and knowledge base. It is something I never take for granted.
I will post a closeup of the bracket next time I'm over there working.

Thanks for all the interest in the project. The 13 was a "city car" originally delivered in new york city. The acetylene tank and brackets are odd but are what was on the car. I can't tell you how correct t hey are as they have a decidedly home built look to them.
Mark is right though. There have been some crazy things we have attempted and completed all in the name of authenticity. Several times...many times we've fixed things that others said could not be done, simply because we like the idea of beating a seemingly insurmountable challenge. I am fortunate to have a friend who allows me to use his space and knowledge base. It is something I never take for granted.
I will post a closeup of the bracket next time I'm over there working.

Gorgeous.

HPOF is a good step in encouraging historic preservation of still original cars. I have been arguing for preservation of good original cars for a very long time. Unfortunately, most of the hobby did not adopt that belief until too late. Most of the cars that should have been preserved were restored thirty to seventy years ago, while many cars that should have been restored were relegated to parts car status instead of being restored.

This particular '13 touring may or may not be a really good candidate for historic preservation. It really depends upon just how original it is. If that is in fact the original Ford factory paint? It would be in incredible condition, and really should be preserved with just good mechanical restoration to make the car safe and reliable. If the paint is an old repaint? Then it is really marginal whether it should be kept as a preservation vehicle or not. Regardless, the car looks really nice, with a nice patina, and could be restored to preserve it that way.

Original upholstery, if it is mostly original is another thing that is nice to preserve if it is practical to do so. The problem is (especially with leather upholstery), that it can look very nice, and tolerate moderate careful use for some time. Then one day, there will be a new bad spot suddenly appear. A short time later, several areas begin to go bad, and two years later, there is little left to save. A very good friend had that happen with a Stanley Steamer some years back. It went from beautiful original to little left in two years. He then had it redone in new leather.

Some kinds of cloth interiors in closed cars can do the same thing. Sometimes, all we can do is our best. Age gets to all things eventually.

Once a car has been repainted? Or the upholstery replaced? It really doesn't matter if it is done again (as long as a real attempt is made to make an improvement on the car, either to the quality, or the correctness)

That is my take on it.

A beautiful '13! I look forward to seeing your progress.

Prestolite offered those tank mounts as an alternative to the normal acetylene generator, although it was normally the smaller size tank. I've seen ads dating back to the mid teens.

Looks like the original owner did a lot of night driving!

Wayne brings up several very good points. In the case of my car it has a very old coat of black paint applied with a brush over what is very obviously green paint. I know this because about 1/4 of the black has peeled back off. On the other hand, all of the upholstery is original. While its hard as a rock it really doesn't look too bad. So...what to do? One thing I will NOT be doing is simply throwing all that good reference material in the trash.
To George's point, that is great information and thank you!.

Eric M, If the black is over green paint? Can you tell whether the green is original factory color or not? One of the big issues with so many of the cars in the last half century being restored instead of preserved is that very little good evidence still exists about the original colors that left the Ford factory in some given years. 1913 was such a year. A lot of the written record that was followed for many years in the hobby said that all 1913 cars were painted dark blue. Fossil record (empirical evidence) suggests that most 1913 model Ts were in fact black when they left the factory. Many people now believe that the whole "blue" thing was an error and that all '13s were black originally. However there are some people, including me, that have seen some good evidence that some significant number of model Ts in 1913 were blue, as the oft repeated record said. Unfortunately, most of that evidence was seen many years ago, and has long since been restored over. And some people have seen and heard of evidence that some number of '13 Ts likely left the factory in a dark green color. Again, most of that evidence that existed fifty or more years ago, also no longer exists.
We recently had a lengthy thread discussing the colors of 1913. There still has been no resolution to the question. And I suspect that some people will never accept any resolution other than what they have already decided for themselves.
Me? I am still looking for an answer.
If your car shows some good examples of color, especially in hidden areas, and if it looks like a factory application? Some good photographs and documentation would be good for the hobby.

Among the issues complicating this search for a solid answer to the color question, is the way these cars were being painted in 1913. Different body builders used different methods, and sometimes changed painting procedures a few times during the course of the year. Some bodies got painted thoroughly, others got little to no coverage inside where it would be hidden. Much of the work was done with a broad brush, and about this time, they also started using the liquid "flow nozzle/run off" method. Paint went on in several layers, with a drying time between coats. So it is often difficult to tell finish colors from base coats. Couple that confusion with the fact that many cars got repainted in their early years, and it gets very difficult to tell the original color from other confusion coats.

It would be interesting if you can give us some insight to what appears to be the truth about your car.

Beautiful Car! Enjoy.

Wayne... I too am still looking for the answers with regard to colors for 1913. If this car does indeed have areas that display what appears to be Ford-factory green, that are not painted over, then at minimum,it should be very well documented, but preferably not restored. But if all the green has been covered, then it makes it difficult to determine if it really is factory paint.