Early Roadster Top Irons

[Dan Hatch]

Are 13-14-15 Roadster Top Irons the same? Thanks Dan

[R.V.Anderson]

No. The '13 & '14's front socket is 20" long. The '15 is shorter due to the different windshield. About 3" shorter I think.

[Dan Hatch]

I was told years ago by the man who made the repro irons that 14 and 15 touring were same. So is that not so too? Thanks Dan

[Sheri]

This is more complex than just the differences (and there are differences) between model years. The fact is that the six manufacturers of top assemblies that were suppliers to ford in this era did not standardize the the dimensions of the steel portion of the top bow assemblies. The variance was overcome by adjusting the depth of the wood insertion into the steel socket. I once purchased a large quantity of steel sockets at an auction and attempted to piece together a set for my 15 touring. Eventually i had to cut, splice and move the stacking fittings to create a useable set. Clearly the relocation of the windshield to match the new steel cowl in 1915 made for a major change in the front bow assembly, the 2,3 and rear dimensions remained consistent overall the the steel/wood assembly. The best resource for this era is the elevation diagram found in the Murray Fahnstock book “Model t Ford owner”. This shows the overall dimensions of the top bows in relation to the body and windshield. This is the most important part of a proper looking top, getting the relation to the overall coachwork correct. I passed top install number 100 years ago, so I have had plenty of fun with cars that show up with top hardware that does not line up. Enjoy, Mark Cameron

[R.V.Anderson]

Dan, I'm not 100% positive about sockets #2,3, & 4, but the '13-'14 front (#1) socket on the touring is 26" long. On the '15 it is 23" long. This is information directly off the Ford prints.

[R.V.Anderson]

Adding to what Mark said, surviving top socket sets today are often a mix of genuine Ford and Western Auto or the like. That was the case on my '14. One side was Ford and the other was not. When John Boorinakis re-tubed them for me he made both sides Ford by swapping the non-Ford castings for factory ones.

[Mark Gregush]

Are you asking about the bows/top bow sockets(the part the wood bows fit into) or irons? The irons are the brackets on the body that the bows mount to.

[Dan Hatch]

Per Lang’s online catalog. 1913 to 1917 roadster top irons are the same. These are repro which is what I am asking about (should have said that in post sorry) . Thanks Dan

[Mark Gregush]

I asked because way too often people ask about top irons and what they really are asking about are the bows. Most of the replies above deal with the bows, not irons.

[Dan Hatch]

Here is link
https://www.modeltford.com/item/7940A5.aspx