The 2 different 1914 door latch assemblies and why it is important

[Corey Walker]

Here are some pictures of the 2 different 1914 door latches.
Both use the exact same strikers and mounting screw locations. Their construction is slightly different but the main difference is where the handle itself is located.

[Corey Walker]

It is important to know in case you are buying a new interior with the hole for the handle as such. I have here a factory photo where the area for the latch is cut out and stitched around. Not sure if they were all like that but if you get a new kit with a hole there is about a 1” difference. It is easy to tell the difference because the one with the longer distance between the handle and the edge has a space and the other is filled in so you can’t see through that area.

[rickd]

Great post Corey, thank you. This is how we continue to grow the knowledge about our cars. Now I'm headed to the shop to look at the latches on my 14.

[John kuehn]

Good information Cory. It’s another detail that there were small differences in Model T’s we don’t think about. Since this post is about differences in parts and how they were built it fits right into the differences in other T parts and assemblies.

One thing I found was that T open car bodies in the low cowl era weren’t always the same as far as the sheet metal goes. Which means that the wood structure of the bodies weren’t either. I mentioned this before from the late Leon Parker who told me that Ford used up to 5 body builders in that era. I restored a 21 Touring and since he really studied open T
bodies and drew body wood prints he began to notice this when ordering body wood. I made it fit but I modified some of the wood structure pieces to do it.

[Art Ebeling]

Corey, I am glad you found the latch to fit the used interior panel you bought from me. I ended up making paper patterns of my right side panel with the latch/handle location and the drivers side panel for Mike at Classtique who made panels that will fit my 14 perfectly. They are being shipped to me and I should have them today. We are very fortunate to have Mike and Classtique for our Model T and Model A interiors and tops. The loss of Cartouche and Lebaron Bonney has made it impossible to find interiors for the later,(30's/40s) vehicles. I had to settle for plastic panels with no vinyl attached for my 36 Pickup. I can't even find any "chicken tracks" vinyl to cover the plastic panels. At least the plastic panels have the chicken tracks molded in them, it's better than nothing, Art

[Original Smith]

They are both real. The one on the left is later.