MTFCA Forum

Hi, I'm told this is a headlight off a model T but everything that I've looked at doesn't look like this one. The bottom oil container is different. Does anyone recognize it?

What You have is a front cowl light. the tail lights looked almost the same with a large red lens and a small clear license plate lens. with no rings in the glass. some had a small red lens and a large license plate clear lens. to satisfy vehicle Illumination laws. But Henry beat them at their own game and just turned the light ninety degrees and put the large white on the license plate and the small red for a tail light. posts from 2014 that address Your question on the purpose of the cowl light.

By Mark Gregush Portland Oregon on Tuesday, January 14, 2014 - 08:08 pm:
They were never meant to be driving lights, they were just like marker lights on trucks and or parking lights. Some places required you to have some sort of lights on after dark when parked on the street. Places that required parking lights after the advent of the starter and passing of the cowl lights you would have had small electric fender lights. I think that the parking light laws were a carry over from the buggy era in bigger towns and city's. Before the starter and battery came the cars still had cowl lights so that on coming traffic could still see you in the dark.

By tim moore on Tuesday, January 14, 2014 - 07:59 pm:
Mark,

It is my belief that cowl lights were the original "parking lights" and the purpose was to show where a car was (tail light also) so the horse and buggy wouldn't run into them on a street that had no lamps. I don't think they were intended for driving illumination but just as markers as they don't really help. I think they just stayed as standard equipment a little past their time because the population at that time used kerosene lamps in the home and it was a comfort.

That has always been my thesis but I may be wrong....

Tim Moore

By Wes Nelson ........Bucyrus, MO on Tuesday, January 14, 2014 - 09:03 pm:
Rob Heyen has pictures of his Model N on another thread and that car has bail handles on it's side lamps, this makes me wonder if those lamps were used as an early flashlight as it were. When you arrived at your destination you simply lifted the lamp off the car and walked to the door and the lamp lit your way. The black lamps that we know now as the most common lamps, are simply an updated version of those bail handled brass lamps. JMHO

(Message edited by admin on January 14, 2014)

Do I see an electrical connection on lamp ??

That's the nut that holds the font on.

That is a fairly rare lamp. I am not certain, whether these were actually used on early 1915 models, or maybe were an after-market replacement from the same time frame. There were several (about a half dozen at least!) different variations for the early 1915 side and tail lamps. Some of the verified early versions had smaller clear lenses, some with broader bezels, some with smaller outer diameter bezels. They have a "fatter appearance". These the bezel is made slightly differently than any of the later '15 lamps, but the size is basically the same, and a common later '15 bezel can be made to fit on these lamps. NOTHING else on these is the same as the later '15 and on through 1927 side lamps and/or tail lamps. The top is different, the chimney (inside and out) is different (including slightly shorter!). The entire inside of the lamp is completely different, including the burner, as (clearly!) is the font/bowl.
Open bodied Ts for 1915 were late to production, which barely began in December of 1914 (less than a hundred produced!), and progressed slowly through January and February of '15. The majority of open cars produced those three months were in the 1914 style, and used '14 type square side and tail lamps. By March, when production was nearing normal, Ford was using the much more common later '15 style that continued with running minor changes till the end of production.

I have the tail lamp that matches that side lamp, and plan to use it on my early '15 runabout.

Thank you for all the information! There's no markings on it like I've seen on the E and J lamps. Thanks again!