MTFCA Forum

The Encyclopedia page says this about 1927 Model T production serial numbers:

"ENGINE SERIAL NUMBERS:14,619,255 to 15,076,231 calendar year. 14,049,030 to 15,006,625 approx. model year (August 2, 1926 to May 26, 1927.) Note: Records show that the last Model T was serial number 15,007,032 but according to the engine production records, only engines (not cars) were built on May 31, 1927. There was no production from May 27 to May 31, and then engines and/or trucks began again with serial numbers 15,626,006 to 15,007,032."

Our 1927 Touring Engine serial number; 15,104,705 and matches the Frame serial number but is beyond the production year serial numbers. Only engines and/or trucks began again with serial numbers within the range of our Touring according to the Encyclopedia information. I would be interested to know if it is really a very late build "1927" Model T Touring (built May 1928 according to the Encyclopedia) OR there is another explanation. Hope someone here can offer an answer. Thanks.

Maybe assembled at a branch plant?

If the engine number and frame number match the registration number, then, you are OK. It might always be a mystery exactly when and where the car was manufactured. The books could be in error. You can tell by several parts on the body and windshield posts which year model car you have. Some things about Model T's are a mystery. Unfortunately no one who worked on the production line is still living nor are the original owners still around. There could be a few who were born during the last years of production, however, they were too young to have been either original owners or assembly workers. I wonder if cars assembled in other countries, could have had different numbers?
Norm

Perhaps there is an assembly plant stamping near the driver's side sill that can provide more info.

Thank you for the replies. Nothing stamped on the drivers side frame.

Here are some photos of the car.

Here is one from the front:

Please check your numbers again. You posted that your number is 15104705 which would indicate that 88080 cars were built after the "last" one. That seems like a lot! However if your number is 15014705, then only 8080 cars were assembled after the last one, which seems plausible considering the number of branch plants and the parts that they would have had on hand.

A closer look reveled the serial number was Over Written! Yes, of course! That would explain it, Someone over stamped the original serial number with a later engine serial number. BUT...

On closer examination, they appear to be the same serial number only in a larger, different, font furthering the mystery. Does anyone see something different?

A now deceased member of the San Fernando chapter, Morrie Ekwall, related this story to me. In about 1940 he was a teenager working for a Ford dealer in rural Nebraska. A local man brought his T in for service and it was titled as a 1936 Model T Ford. The story was that the gentleman wanted a new car in 1936 and would have nothing other than a Model T. The local dealer and distributor were able to get the Ford Motor Company to assemble a brand new T for him and it was titled and registered as a new car. I would imagine that the same thing could have happened in May 1928 when your T would have been built.

Interesting, the number one in the restamp is the late Model A style frist used in 1931. I didn't look it up but the text says that the Model T engine number on this 27 tourning was from 1928. It could be like what was stated above that a Ford dealer had Ford make a new T from parts in 1928. It could also be that a owner of a earlier 1926 car with out a frame number had the engine replaced by a Ford dealership with a new T engine in 1928 and stamped with the early Ford stamps. Ford dealers would update cars for customers, any business was good business in 1931, so maybe the car was updated again in 1931 and the number restamped with the new style stamps.
Check the tourning body to see if it is a 1926 or 1927 by looking at the door area, etc. Check the current engine to see what the number stamped looks like.
The more we learn about these cars, the less we really know.

Here are photos of the Frame and Engine Serial Numbers next to one another. It appears the 1 and 0 are of the same font of the small frame number stamp.

So this car could have been assembled post Model T production after May 1928, or more likely, it is really a 1926 Touring (without frame serial number) that was stamped with a replacement engine serial number at a later date. How do I check if it really is a 1926 Touring? Any theories as to why the re-stamp with the exact same serial number only larger font?