MTFCA Forum

Does any one have any pictures of the set wood in a 15/16 roadster? Is it similar to the front seat on a 15/16 touring? Are there tack rails on both sides of the sheet metal as in the attached picture?
Thanks, Mark

Mark, my 1915 tourer had tack rails both sides if the panel in the front and rear seats. I can see no reason why the roadsters would be any different. they are certainly needed, to add stiffness to the panels. They need to be bent to conform with the panels. Cutting the curved corners from solid planks results in a weakness which usually means breakage across the short grain at the curve.

Hope this helps,
Allan from down under.

Mark,

Summary: It probably depends on the which of the 5 body makers supplied Ford with your body and what time frame they produced the body.

Additional Details:

Do you have any additional information on the photo you posted. If possible I would like to find out who owns the body, which company produced the body, is there a body maker letter on the front heel panel. Are the metal channels supporting the back of the front seat original to the body etc. That is the first body I remember seeing that has that style of metal channels.

From Bruce's research ref: https://www.mtfca.com/encyclo/doc15.htm

JUN 26, 1915 Factory Letter

"Hereafter when ordering body panels for 1915 cars, please give both the car and body numbers. The body number will be found on the right sill just inside the front door. This number will be preceded by a letter which indicates by whom the body was made.
"The above information is necessary as panels for bodies made by our various suppliers vary somewhat."

Below are photos from two different 1915 TOURING bodies. Hopefully some folks will post some photos from some 1915, 16, 17 etc. Runabout/Roadster bodies. And hopefully the body will have body maker letter on the heel panel or in front of the body number on the right front floorboard riser so we can know which body maker did what etc. (For new folks -- don't get frustrated -- many of the cars do not have any markings. My 1915 cut off appears to have had that wood replaced and so I still don't know who produced the body. For info on body numbers and body makers please see the posting at:

The first one is an unknown body maker. But it should NOT be a Beaudett, Wilson, or H as it does NOT have a body letter on the front seat heel panel. Estimate May-ish 1915 body based on the engine number. Yes it may have been replaced -- sometime in the past -- but not for the last 70 years that are known.
The second is a Beaudett body. The body tag makes it a May 1915 body.

Another photo of that same body:
See also: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/50 ... 1208088038 shows metal channels used on some 1915-20ish tourings. Does anyone know if those were also used on runabout/roadster?

See: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/50 ... 1445850930 shows a TOURING with the wood on body sides of the body. That style was used on the Beaudett bodies. It also show the wooden slats on the back of the front and rear seat backs. Both styles of seat back panel supports appear to have been used during 1915-16 and again in 1918-1919ish.

Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off

ModelTMark wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 24, 2020 10:27 pm

Does any one have any pictures of the set wood in a 15/16 roadster? Is it similar to the front seat on a 15/16 touring? Are there tack rails on both sides of the sheet metal as in the attached picture?

Mark, Here are a couple of pictures of our 1915 runabout/roadster when I was restoring it. The body was made by Baudette, and it has wood rails on either side of the body panel like the other picture shown for a 15 touring that you posted.

Guys,

Thanks for the replies, this is exactly the help I was hoping for.

I have no idea who made my body and I don't see any numbers on the passenger side front door sill. Here are a couple of pictures of my Roadster body. From the pictures, I can clearly see things that appear not to be correct based on the pictures you all posted. It looks like they were modeling some aspects from a later year car, like a 22/23, that have taller arm rest areas and other structural elements that the earlier cars didn't have.

I am making good progress on the chassis, all rebuilt from the ground up. Working on the wheels now, but still looking for a front tapered spring.
My 15 was restored many moons ago by persons unknown and just about everything they did was incorrect...clearly a backyard job! I'm starting over and trying to make everything correct. I assume they painted the inside blue because that's what they had on hand.

R/Mark

Mark,

It definitely looks like someone took some "creative liberties" with the wood work in your runabout body. Are you positive that the car is an actual 15 and not one pieced together to look like one? Is there a letter stamped in the heel kick panel below the seat? That's where a B for Baudette would be, or I believe a different letter for the other makers.

Our runabout had a B on that panel for Baudette, but it was an early model year runabout made before 6/15 and doesn't have any number stamped on sill by the door.

Neal,

The only thing I'm sure of is the body is somewhere between 1915-18. From 1915-1922 the outward appearance of the "core" bodies were almost identical (excluding things like fenders, hoods, radiators, and such). There are elements in the sheet metal of my body, such as the "L" bend that runs the entire way around the seat for the outside tack rail that I believe were only present in the 15-18 open car bodies. I believe the seat rail/tack rails were change to the style in the below pictures beginning in 1919, which did not have the "L" bend and had a single inside wooden seat/tack rail around the seat top.

I think someone added the upper armrest rails, which I believe wasn't introduced until 1919. I believe this body had been molested over the years, so honestly, I just don't know. I just want to rebuild it back to a 15, which from the pictures of the 15 roadster, seems to be minor changes.