MTFCA Forum

Looking for information on the transition from aluminum smooth side hood to aluminum louvered hood. My late September 14 has the louvered version and is not in the best shape. I will be looking for a replacement but wondering what is deemed correct for this transitional period.

This will tell you what is "correct" based on model year: https://www.mtfca.com/model_t_encyclopedia/1915/

parts did not run out on the day the model changed, and older parts were not thrown out...they got used when their use did not conflict with fitment. Once the model year was fully established, the unused new (earlier) parts were unceremoniously foisted upon unhappy dealers who were forced to sell them by hook or by crook...they often/usually did not have a say in the matter. A '14 hood will fit a whole range of vehicles as will a '15 hood. Fitment of the parts in this case, is universal through a number of years.

You can reach your own conclusion(s) as to what would be appropriate on your car based on what appears original, what may appear to be replacement or non-original, and finally, what makes you happy. For a September car you can pretty much claim is was what it was. As for experts, and their critiques of cars built at the immediate transition of models (particularly the '14 to '15 style was a very troubled and problematic transition at the factory), the more vociferous the experts are that they are right is usually inversely proportional to the accuracy or depth of their knowledge.

I have a late October '14 motor casting date roadster. Has bulb horn mounted outside, no louvers. 14 style wood firewall/body. Curved rear fenders +. "Early 15".
Louvers were added for the horn under the hood. McCally?
Not claiming to be an expert! Its what i have & it fits with what i have read on the subject.
You dont mention open or closed car.

This info is from Bruce McCalley's CD encly. Is part of Trent's research on dating brass hoods.


Bit out of focus but had to enlarge the screen shot.

Thanks all! It is a Runabout. Will be on the lookout for a smooth side hood.

I am not sure Ford ever had a simple smooth transition of moderately significant changes during the model T years. The 1912 year and the transition from 1914 to 1915 style cars were probably the two worst timeframes.
1915 'closed' body Fords began actual production during the Fall of 1914. So, many of the pieces for the 1915 model year were being manufactured and did exist by September of 1914. Unfortunately, the open cars required new mass produced sheet metal stampings requiring a redesign of the stamping process. The 'closed' cars (center-door sedan and couplet) were low production, and body construction was still largely done by hand, sot the sheet metal stamping issue did not delay those.
Because the open car body production wasn't working out as hoped, Ford continued to build the 1914 style open cars well into the 1915 calendar year! This no doubt created some confusion on the production lines. However, photographic evidence would seem to indicate the 1914 and 1915 style hoods rarely crossed model year/style cars.
That point, however, is debatable. There are photos showing 1914 style open cars with louvered hoods. Just not a lot of them. And, louvered hoods had been available as after-market items or modifications for several years. So the question becomes if a particular 1914 car with a louvered hood might have left the factory with that louvered hood? Or was the hood changed sometime after the car left the factory? I have never seen a factory photo showing a 1914 style car with a 1915 style hood! But that does not mean it couldn't have happened. Most factory photos are taken early in a production year to show the new model, or for special milestones like the one millionth model T.

Whether the hood should have louvers in it or not to aid in cooling the motor had been debated since the very early automobiles. Some engineers argued that a more enclosed airflow directing the heated air out and down was more effective. Others thought any and all added air outlets was a better idea.
Regardless, after-market sellers saw an opportunity for a product, and some offered to cut and stamp louvers into your car's hood, while others simply offered new hoods with louvers already in them. Our Southern Australian friends, especially in the hotter Outback areas, very often had louvered hoods from the very beginning of the model T. In this country, photos of Ts with louvered hoods, while not that common, also aren't all that rare either.
even 1909 and 1910 cars can be seen with louvered hoods.

When I was working on my 1915 runabout a couple years ago, I had several various model T hoods to work with. I had two 1912 to 1914 era non-louvered hoods, in decent condition. And I had two old aluminum louvered hoods in rough shape. I also had a nice (?) reproduction unknown year hood that had been modified for a speedster of some sort. The two '12 to '14 hoods were set aside for my 1912 and 1913 project cars. The modified repro hood, I really didn't want to try to make it right for my runabout. So I looked over the two louvered hoods. One was really beat up, worn through in several places, badly distorted. With no paint left on it, it really looked nasty. So I began working on the other one. It was rough, but still had a fair amount of original paint on it, and although it had several areas that needed significant repair, didn't look TOO bad.
So I began to straighten it. Then I took it over to the car to check the fit, and ran into a problem. The side hinges didn't fit the 1915 hood former! Turned out, it is a 1910 or 1911ish hood (requiring the notches in the hood former!), with louvers! Only then did I notice the louvers were slightly different in cut and position than the typical 1915 hood.
So I fixed up the really worn out and rough 1915 hood. It looks pretty okay today. I hope the epoxy holds up?
I still have the early louvered hood. I consider it an interesting oddity. I really should fix it up a bit.