MTFCA Forum

Bought a 1919 , according to the ownership , engine is a 1922 .
Problem is a few things aren't fitting as I think they should . I believe the car was put together with parts and un finished .
Cant get the rear fenders to mount or the supports to come thru the holes in the body , won't line up with running boards or splash aprons ..
Steering column doesn't fit into the dash properly either I believe . 1/2 inch gap between the dash and column

While others will chime in...offthe wall I'd say measure the tread width.

Cars built for Southern Roads were wider and took special fenders and running boards.....

as far as the dash to column...your firewall brackets may be on backwards, or you have an earlier frame than 19???? Somewhere you lost 1/2 inch in the make-up...so prob in the brackets.

Southern Wide track was 60 inches vs 56 inches for the standard rear axle. They were made as an option up to 1916. The steering columns and frame bracket are different depending on the year and body.

Also has 2 different windshield hinges , one large ,one small . Which hinge would be correct?

Geirge's link to the firewall brackets should be the starting point. These need to be the correct ones for a wooden firewall. They have a different offset between the vertical face and the two holes that are used to mount the brackets to the frame. If everything would fit better if you could move the body forward 1/2" or so, that would likely fix it.

Allan from down under.

Someone that KNOWS model Ts of that era needs to check it over closely and determine what and how things are wrong. Your photos do not help much at all. I can tell that the windshield frame is assembled incorrectly, just can't tell how incorrectly beyond the fact that the front to back of the hinge is wrong.
The steering column fit could be several things. Wrong firewall, wrong brackets, wrong directions, the half inch is close to the difference between the steel and wooden firewalls.
It is even possible that the body is mounted in a wrong position. Nearly impossible to do, but I have seen people that managed to manage to accomplish that feat. Actually, that would not be as bad as it sounds. The "fix" would actually be easier to do than determining if it is off and by how much.

Model Ts are fairly simple things. However, there are a hundred little details. The body finish looks very nice. This car could likely be completed and made to be a very nice car! But someone that KNOWS model Ts will have to look it over closely, if practical to do so. Even the simple and obvious things may first need to be confirmed as correctly positioned between the frame and body. If there is ANY doubt to that being correct? Anything you fix before confirming that may have to be redone all over a second or third time if it is later found the body is off even a quarter inch.
Just a general observation. When so many things aren't fitting? And things mounted backwards? Expect more things you haven't found yet to also be wrong.
Start by comparing the front edge of the frame measurement to the front edge of the body cowl-NOT the firewall!!!! That measurement did not change from 1915 through the 1925 model year. From there, you can go onto which firewall and brackets and orientation. From there onto the steering column.

Thanks for your suggestions Wayne . I had a 27 roadster that I sold , as I lived in Toronto ,Ontario Canada .
Due to traffic the car was neither fun or safe to drive .
I now live in the country and wanted another original t .
The gentleman putting this together was an amateur, but did the best he could before taking ill and his son selling it. The son said he painted the car without test fitting the body and fenders . All else is nicely done ,
The hood fits well from what I remember, but will get it out tomorrow and check again .