Note: Starter was an option on the open cars at $65. Weight 95 lbs. Demountable rims were an additional $20. Weight 55 lbs. 21” tires and rims $25 extra. Weight 65 lbs. “C” type truck cab, $65. Truck rear bed, $55 if ordered separately. Pickup body for Runabout, $25.

ENGINE SERIAL NUMBERS: 10,994,034 to 12,990,076 calendar year. 10,266,472 to 12,218,728 model year (August 1, 1924 to July 27, 1925, the start of the 1926 models).

MODEL YEAR DATES: August 1924 to August 1925.

BODY TYPES: Touring, Runabout, Coupe, Tudor and Fordor Sedans, Chassis and Trucks.

MAJOR MODEL YEAR FEATURES: Trucks were supplied with cabs and bodies beginning in 1924. Roadster-Pickup and Closed-Cab trucks in late 1925 (early calendar year 1925?, before “1926” models) production. Passenger cars were similar in style to the 1924 cars but more steel was used to replace the wood framework in the open car bodies.

COLORS: All cars were painted black, with black fenders.

UPHOLSTERY: Imitation leather in the open cars. The pattern was a stitched vertical pleat design on both seat bottoms and backs. Closed car upholstery was blue cloth.

FENDERS: Same as late 1924. In late 1925 models the rear fenders on the Coupe and Runabout were given larger splash aprons, reducing the gap between the body and fenders.

SPLASH APRON: Same as 1924. Near the end of production, aprons were “square”-shaped on the sedans, somewhat in the style of the 1926 models. This apron does not appear in the parts books, however, and it may not have been used on all production.

RUNNING BOARDS: Same as 1924.

HOOD: Same as 1924.

DASHBOARD (Firewall): Steel, same as 1924.

CHASSIS: Same as 1924 except that the brake quadrant was now held with two rivets instead of four. Painted black.

STEERING COLUMN ASSEMBLY: Pressed steel, black painted, quadrant, Zinc-plated spark and throttle levers, with flattened metal ends. Gear case was brass, zinc plated, one piece assembly. Wheel was 16” outside diameter, made of “Fordite” (synthetic material), and painted black. The wheel spider was pressed steel and painted black. With introduction of balloon tires, the gear ratio was increased to 5:1. The steering wheel diameter was increased to 17” in January 1925.

FRONT AXLE: Same as the 1924 cars.

REAR AXLE: Same as 1924.

DRIVESHAFT HOUSING: Same as 1924.

REAR RADIUS AND BRAKE RODS: Same as 1924.

WHEELS: Used 30 by 3 tires in front; 30 by 3-1/2 in the rear on non-demountable-equipped open cars. Front wheels used taper-roller (Timken) bearings except in the non-starter, non-demountable open cars. Hub caps were unchanged from 1924. Demountable-rim wheels were standard on closed cars, and optional on the open models; used 30 by 3-1/2 tires all around. 21” balloon tires and wheels were available as an option.

SPRINGS: Non-tapered, front and rear. “U” shaped shackles.

RADIATOR: Same as 1924. Nickel-plated shell was offered as an option late in production, before the 1926 models. A trim valence over the crank area was used as in the 1924 models.

ENGINE: Same as 1924. Starter was still optional on the open cars.

ENGINE PAN: “Four-dip” pan is standard.

OIL FILLER CAP: Same as 1924.

ENGINE CRANK: Same as 1924 one piece type with the rolled-in-place handle sleeve.

ENGINE FAN: Same as 1924.

MANIFOLDS: Same as 1924.

CARBURETORS: Kingston Model L4, Holley Model NH, or Ford F. The Holley Vaporizer was used on some later 1925 models (before the 1926 style cars). The choke rod with the integral carburetor adjustment was introduced late in the model year (before the 1926 models). These cars then used the U-joint type carburetor adjustment.

CARBURETOR STOVE ASSEMBLY: Same as 1924, but not used on Vaporizer-equipped cars.

MUFFLER: Pressed steel type with no tail pipe.

FUEL TANK: Elliptical, under the front seat. Mounting brackets clamped to the tank. Outlet was between the center and the right side, between the frame rails. The Sedans continued the square tank under the driver’s seat.

COIL BOX ASSEMBLY: Same as 1924.

TRANSMISSION: Three-pedal standard-design. Pedals were of the plain type. Transmission cover was cast iron. Tapered inspection door was held with six screws. The door was of pressed steel with an embossed pattern. “Quick-change” bands introduced in calendar 1925.

LAMPS: Magneto powered electric type on the non-starter cars, and six volt electric on the starter models. Black steel rims. Side and tail lamps were similar to 1917 on the non-starter cars. The oil tail lamp was turned sideways with a small red lens on the side (now the rear) and a large clear lens on the door to illuminate the license plate. Starter cars had a redesigned tail light which is mounted on the license plate bracket. This style of lamp was used through 1927.

HORN: Magneto powered electric on non-starter cars, but six volt on starter models.

WINDSHIELD: Same as 1924.

TOP: (Open cars). Same as 1924.

SPEEDOMETER: Not standard equipment.

TURTLE DECK: Same as 1924.

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NOTES ON THE ROADSTER-PICKUP
By Trent Boggess

Factory records seem to indicate that the roadster-pickup was introduced in March of 1925 and that it was discontinued in April. Yet examples of seemingly original cars exist which were manufactured in May and later. The following information found at the Ford Archives should shed some light on what happened.

Careful reading of the factory letters leads me to believe that roadster-pickup production continued after May 1, 1925. One letter to the branches dated May 9, 1925 states: “When delivering roadster with pickup body equipped with demountable rims, it will be necessary to supply the extra rim. Our Engineering Dept. is at present designing a spare rim carrier to take care of this, but until such time as same is available you will supply extra rim only.”

But the real explanation of why this body style disappears from the factory rolls is, I think, found in a general letter dated May 1, 1925, on Excise Tax on Pick-Up Body.

“We are in receipt of a ruling from the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, with reference to runabouts sold with pickup bodies, in which the T Chassis and runabout body less deck (including in both cases freight differential, crating, tires, inner tubes, parts and accessories therefore sold on or in connection therewith or with the sale thereof) are held to be subject to an excise tax of 5%, and the pickup body (including advance or fixed freight, crating, parts and accessories therefore sold on or in connection therewith or with the sale thereof) billed as a separate item, is held to be exempt from tax since the sales price is not in excess of $200.

“Thereforee, in selling the runabout with pickup body, you will in the future bill the pick-up body (including advance or fixed freight, crating, parts and accessories therefore sold on or in connection therewith or with the sale thereof) as a separate item on the sales order on which no tax will be computed, and compute tax at 5% on the sales price of the runabout less rear deck body (including advance or fixed freight, crating, parts and accessories therefore sold on or in connection therewith or with the sale thereof).

“The present selling price of the pick-up body itself, you will understand, is $25.00 less discount, to which you will add advance or fixed freight differential, crating, tires, inner tubes, parts and accessories therefore sold on or in connection therewith or with the sale thereof, in arriving at the amount which is exempt from tax in selling a runabout with pick-up body.

“The Pickup body sold through service body (including advance or fixed freight, crating, parts and accessories therefore sold on or in connection therewith or with the sale thereof) is exempt from tax since the sales price is not in excess of $200.00. Though you will hereafter bill the pick-up body as a separate item on the invoice you will report runabout with pick-up body as one unit on Form 3560-F.

“This applies to United States branches only.”

Whew! If you get through that (and believe it or not I did edit out some of it), the essence of it is they were going to bill roadster pickups as two separate items. Roadsters without decks and pickup bodies. This so as to reduce the tax liability on the vehicle. This may explain why the factory production records lists runabouts and it lists pick-up bodies, but the records do not list Roadster Pickups. Furthermore, since the cars were being sold as runabouts (less rear deck) after May 1, 1925 the metal garnish strips covering the sills below the rear deck would have been installed at the factory. Roadster pick-ups built after May 1 would have these garnish strips, while those built prior to May 1 did not.

© Bruce W. McCalley. Rev. January 29, 2007