MTFCA Forum

After a 6 year restoration, Mark and Phil Eyre finished their '11 Torpedo today. This was a car they looked at only to satisfy their curiosity. Originally advertised nearly 30 years ago as a "Model T Speedster" they realized this was a real '11 Torpedo. They purchased the car and gradually acquired all of the missing or incorrect parts. Once they had everything needed to complete the car they began the frame up restoration in 2015. The restoration was finished today just in time to be shown at the Auburn AACA meet this Saturday. I wish them the best as they go after a First Junior award. Here are a few images of the car as of this morning.

Magnificent car, Mark!

Thank you this car has been all apart since we purchased it and took it apart to store it. That was in 1987 I was 17 years old. Eric helped dad and I put in on shelf in the barn . It really was time to get it done! I wanted to have it done by my 50th birthday and didn’t make it! Sometime life gets in the way of our hobby.

Very nice Ride !!!

What a beauty. Worth waiting for!!!

Very nice!

Very desirable! Well done!

Congratulations on a very nice restoration.
Good luck on your 1st junior. Looks like there will be no problem.

Beautiful!

Now that’s nice, great job, well done.

I have watched this car move from "gotta get this done someday " to the top priority car, then back on the shelf (literally) and then to completion. The car looks very nice in the photos but in person it is overwhelming. Everything is so clean, so detailed. It has been a treat for me to watch it come together over the years and was a real privilege to be offered a chance to share it here. Attached is a detail shot of the front axle I took last winter. It gives you a glimpse of what the car is overall.

Beautiful Car!

Thank you for that last picture Eric, Details are everything when setting one apart from the rest & that one definitely show them!

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/thr ... ed.614419/

Wonderful! Will you be showing it at Hershey this year?

I haven’t decided. I’m a 6 th grade math teacher and it’s impossible to get three days off in a row right now. I’m retiring at the end of this year I think so I may wait till next year when I don’t have to fight to take days off. Then it all depends on how we do this weekend….

Looks great!

That is your leather kit and top.

Mark,
Would you please show us some of the details of the work you did using Michael's upholstery kits?
-Keith

I could but I don’t do technology very well. I can tell you how I did it I sent cardboard patterns of the kick panels and he wrapped them in leather and sent them back. I also sent him my cushion seeing it was the one in the wooden frame. He made it to fit. The top was done with the deck not stitched in place I fit it and had my local upholstery guy stitch it in. The back rest he sent as he would in his regular kit and I installed it myself. Then I had Mike custom make the back window panel in the top with the dip to follow the seat. Looks way better than what I had which was probably hacked out of late model gm car in a junk yard complete with pleats. If you contact me off line I’d send you some pictures. Seeing teach I have to pick a happy medium in order to afford what I do.

Outstanding! Best of luck!

Thanks Mark. I can tell that you didn't rush through the upholstery and top installation. It's a night and day difference when people take their time.

I didn’t rush it I probably have 40 hours fitting the backrest alone. Wrapping the front bow can be a real challenge to get it without wrinkles. It is possible I use a heat gun ever so slightly and pulled with my other hand. You make a good product. My advice go slowly and don’t cut till your happy with the results.

I just got word from Mark that they were not awarded a First Junior for the 11 Torpedo. What they got was a First Junior AND were nominated for the Zenith Award. This places the 11 Torpedo as one of the top 20 cars the be shown in the AACA...on its maiden voyage. Pretty amazing work there Mark and Phil.

Sounds like a good job well rewarded!

Congratulations on the First Junior award. Beautiful work!

Mark and Phil took the '11 Torpedo to the Red Barn Spectacular car show at the Gilmore Car Museum yesterday. They came home with two trophies...a 1915 Widetrack Runabout...and the award for Best of Show. Pretty good day by my count.

Beautiful car !

Great story and super reward , well earned ! (plus it gives me hope, being kneedeep in a three year resto of a '23 huckster)

Gorgeous!!

I was accepted at the OCF but I don’t think I will show it if it is raining.

ericmac wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 08, 2021 10:30 am

Mark and Phil took the '11 Torpedo to the Red Barn Spectacular car show at the Gilmore Car Museum yesterday. They came home with two trophies...a 1915 Widetrack Runabout...and the award for Best of Show. Pretty good day by my count.

Beautiful T. You have peaked my interest further with a 15 widetrack. Some pix of it would be neat.

ericmac wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 08, 2021 10:30 am

Mark and Phil took the '11 Torpedo to the Red Barn Spectacular car show at the Gilmore Car Museum yesterday. They came home with two trophies...a 1915 Widetrack Runabout...and the award for Best of Show. Pretty good day by my count.

Well deserved from the pictures I have seen. Congratulations!!!

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/thr ... ed.614419/

Here are photos of the wide track

Ohh, neat widetrack, although you show great prowess at restoring, i would keep this one as is, great "oily rag" car, congrats !!

They already drove it today. It's a GOOD runner.

I got to take a ride in the 11 Torpedo yesterday. It is one super sweet runner. While it was an extremely hot day it was a great ride.

I just got word that the car has been nominated for the AACA Ford Award! Congratulations to Mark and Phil!

This morning I heard from Mark they were notified that they won the AACA Ford Award! Congratulations to them on this achievement.

Many of you know this, but in 2006, with considerable assistance from Mark, I finished the restoration of a 1926 Model T Touring that went on to win a class award at Meadowbrook, an AACA Senior at Hershey, three time class champion at Old Car Festival in Greenfield Village, an AACA Senior Grand National and the MTCFI Stynowski Award, among multiple other awards. .

I present that background as context for my next comment. The last two Model Ts Mark has restored are the two finest restored Model Ts I have ever seen. With all due respect for other T restorations, and their restorers, I humbly suggest this car may be the finest restored T in existence today. It's that good.

Eric takes good pictures and thanks for the kind words. We had a good Summer of car shows. Alway fun to show a new restoration. Still need to make it more drivable it so stinking tight yet……

The award arrived. This is a trophy any of us would be proud to have. That said, the real trophies are the cars and the friendships the foster. Congratulations again Mark and Phil.