MTFCA Forum

Over the last several years or so, I've enjoyed seeing other's project progress, so thought id share mine. After a little over a year of disassembly, mechanical checking and rebuilding, my 1915 cut-down touring is finally pretty much back together again as of today. She may be wearing a 'little patina' on her, but aside from the rear end which will be gone through soon, the car has been put in tip top mechanical condition and is awaiting the delivery of a set of fresh coils from Ron Patterson to see if she will run. Then it will be on to going through the rear end and building an aftermarket style wood body for the back. New tires will likely be part of next year's investment. The current rubber will allow for playing and light driving. This car has likely not been driven since 1965 or so, and the fenders, running boards and aprons were off it when I picked her up, so today was the first time seeing it all together. I like the green brushed paint job and with black fenders. It may not be correct, but it does give the car a lot of unique character! Hope you enjoy the photos of my fun little jalopy.

I always think a little flatbed with removable stake sides looks kinda' neat, and maybe in some ways, a flatbed might be even be a bit more useful that a pickup. Another "plus" is that you could make the flatbed just a bit wider;....just barely wide enough to make rear fenders unecessary! Just a thought,.....harold

There was a very original 15 tourer here which had the same rear axle as yours, the commonly assumed 13-14 style. That car also still had the riveted two piece steering column, which this one does not. Perhaps there was a lag in Canadian production while they used up old parts.
In my opinion, a flat bed with side boards is much more useable than a pickup bed. I have both, but much prefer the tray top to the pickup. My tray has the rear mudguards under the tray and the tray comes just out to the outer edge of the mudguards..

Allan from down under.

Steve, yep a bed, still working on the design but I've been saving photos for inspiration.

Regarding the rear axle, the body is a Beudette body, with a body number that indicates its a January 1915 production, which I think could make this an early 1915 touring body. Obviously things have been changed on THIS car over the years, but am wondering if the earlier style rear axle is possibly a left over, used up as they built out the cars. Similar to what Alan is proposing. Who knows, if it had its original engine maybe it would be clearer, but after 105 years it does not... Certainly makes the car a conversation piece, which is OK by me!

Threw in a photo of the body tags for the curious. Yes, the ford tag has been moved to its current location from the firewall. Body tag from Beudette seems to have always been tacked here under passenger side of the seat.

I like it! It has a lot of class.
Rich

Thank you Rich!

That will make a great truck. A wood bed is very usefull for many things. I like the look already. Keep us posted on your progress.

Thank you Dallas! Your truck is great as well!

That cut-off is a beautiful car...errr...pickup! And white lettered Firestone's. Love it.
I'm almost "green" with envy.

Haha, thank you Duey! I was in love over a year ago when I initially saw it sitting in the garage! This is the first time the car has been back together since the mid-1960s! Photo from the day I met her.

Forty, fifty, years ago, good original early '15s often had '13/'14 style rear ends in them. The 1915 style open cars were delayed getting into production due to complications with stamping the new style cowl and side panels. Other than a handful of prototypes completed summer of 1914, and a few (less than fifty!) runabouts built in December of 1914, serious production of the open cars did not begin until January of 1915, and even then, the numbers were quite low. Most of Ford's production through February and even some into April of 1915 was in the 1914 style. They were sold by Ford simply as "new cars" and would have originally been considered 1915 models.
Over the years, some of those details were forgotten. Unfortunately, the hobby back in the '50s and '60s considered the cars to be incorrect with 1915 engines in 1914 cars, or '14 rear ends in '15 cars. So most such anomalies were usually "corrected", in effect restoring them to something they were not originally. Most of the 1915 built '14 style cars today are thought of simply as a 1914, instead of being remembered for their special place in automotive development. And most of the early '15s that had '14 style rear ends have been "corrected" to the '15 style, or even worse, completely later rear ends.
With a January body, it would have to be a very early 1915 style touring car. Production proceeded even more slowly for the touring cars than it did for the runabouts. There is no solid record of body dates versus engine numbers and manufacture dates for the whole car. However, it is likely that a January body would have been installed and the car completed by the end of February (and possibly somewhat earlier?). It is possible that your touring car was one of the first few thousand 1915 style touring cars built! Just a bit of information you can share with people you meet.

A very interesting model T you have there, with its long history. Looks like you are doing a fine job preserving it.

Wayne, thank you for the time to type out that info! It aligns with other information I've read or has come up in discussion. This car will always be a conversation piece, for sure, and your thoughts illustrate one of the reasons that dad and I are trying out hardest to not manipulate the car as it is presented in any way. What I can confirm with certainty is that it has been together as this collection of parts since at least 1962. And it was last titled as a 'roadster' in 1962, meaning it was cut down before then. I've learned a lot about this era of car from Royce Peterson as his Modeltfordfix.com

https://modeltfordfix.com/the-1915-model-t-ford-part-1/

Andrew, A lot of what I know about the early production problems of the 1915s I learned from Royce! He used to participate on this forum quite a lot. I like his forum also, but wish he would still share his knowledge here as well. (I also know there were reasons he left here and I won't push that issue.) I enjoy reading the articles he publishes on his site.