Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

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KMcoldcars
Posts: 85
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 12:07 pm
First Name: Keith
Last Name: McGowan
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1916 coupelet
Location: Puyallup, Wa.
MTFCI Number: 24767

Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by KMcoldcars » Thu Jul 08, 2021 7:28 pm

Today I got the coupelet outside for the first time since buying it. A fellow T club member came over with a spare front wheel to put on the car as the one that came with the car was flat and needs a new tube. I have polished brass, buffed some paint, changed the engine oil, made some pieces for the inside of the turtledeck, repaired the latch on the taillight rim, and done some other things. I still need to lube all grease cups and oilers and wire the headlights and a brake and tail light, along with replacing some front end parts to tighten the steering. but it does run and drive quite well.
I know a 1916 should not have the brass trim on the lights but it came that way and I like it that way.
Attachments
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I own a 1936 Packard convertible sedan, 1962 Thunderbird, 1991 Corvette, supercharged, a 2000 Corvette convertible and a 1916 coupelet.


Topic author
KMcoldcars
Posts: 85
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 12:07 pm
First Name: Keith
Last Name: McGowan
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1916 coupelet
Location: Puyallup, Wa.
MTFCI Number: 24767

Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by KMcoldcars » Thu Jul 08, 2021 7:31 pm

You will notice the top has a nice headliner, and not shown is the inside of the firewall is upholstered and the floor is carpeted. Altogether a deluxe Model T.
Attachments
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Last edited by KMcoldcars on Thu Jul 08, 2021 7:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I own a 1936 Packard convertible sedan, 1962 Thunderbird, 1991 Corvette, supercharged, a 2000 Corvette convertible and a 1916 coupelet.

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CudaMan
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Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by CudaMan » Thu Jul 08, 2021 7:48 pm

Beautiful! :)
Mark Strange
Hillsboro, MO
1924 Cut-off Touring (now a pickup)


TXGOAT2
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Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by TXGOAT2 » Thu Jul 08, 2021 8:22 pm

That interior looks pretty posh for a "danged old Ford"....


Dallas Landers
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Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by Dallas Landers » Thu Jul 08, 2021 10:41 pm

She is a looker ! Congrats.

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Rich Eagle
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Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by Rich Eagle » Thu Jul 08, 2021 11:11 pm

It looks great.
Thanks for sharing the pictures.
Rich
When did I do that?


Wayne Sheldon
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Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by Wayne Sheldon » Fri Jul 09, 2021 1:36 am

Beautiful couplet!

The 1916 couplets are supposed to have the small windows in the sides of the top. Not that they actually help very much to see out? Since your car does not have those, it looks somewhat more like the 1915 which did not have the little windows. Which makes the brass lamp trim look more right. Regardless, beautiful car! I hope you get many wonderful years of enjoyment with it.

I couldn't quickly find a good picture of the 1916's top, but it is basically the same as this early 1917 folding top couplet.
1917 coupelet.jpg
1917 coupelet.jpg (57.84 KiB) Viewed 3188 times


MWalker
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Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by MWalker » Fri Jul 09, 2021 8:39 am

I agree with Wayne, I believe you may have a '15 there. Besides the top with no porthole windows, some '15 Coupelets and Sedans were a very dark blue color. Some of the 16's were green, not blue. Others will disagree, I'm sure.


Kerry
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Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by Kerry » Fri Jul 09, 2021 9:41 am

If a 16 and a original, then a real early one to have a tapered front spring. 15 is looking good :mrgreen:


Topic author
KMcoldcars
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Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by KMcoldcars » Fri Jul 09, 2021 9:59 am

The coupelet body was found in the hills above Spokane in 1974. There was no chassis with it. It is a 1916 because the turtledeck lid is on the top, not the rear. The person who found it restored it as a 1915, which is why it has brass trim on the lights and no porthole windows in the top. I like the brass trim on the lights which is very easy to change to make the car correct. I am not going to take the top off to put the porthole windows in it as the top and headliner are very nice. The engine they used in the car is an early December, 1915, which is exactly when the 1916 coupelets were being made. It is not a perfect car but is very nice and has an original coupelet body, not a reproduction.
I have a photo of the body as found, with the son of the man who found it sitting in the body. He is the person I bought the car from.
I own a 1936 Packard convertible sedan, 1962 Thunderbird, 1991 Corvette, supercharged, a 2000 Corvette convertible and a 1916 coupelet.


DHarmon
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Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by DHarmon » Fri Jul 09, 2021 10:43 am

Nice car Keith. I may have to stop by and take a look. It's been a while since we have caught up on things.

Dave Harmon

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varmint
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Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by varmint » Fri Jul 09, 2021 10:51 am

Total eye candy. Likes the color scheme. One of the top three most beautiful Model Ts that I have ever seen.
Vern (Vieux Carre)


Norman Kling
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Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by Norman Kling » Fri Jul 09, 2021 11:06 am

It looks very good to me.
Norm


Wayne Sheldon
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Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by Wayne Sheldon » Fri Jul 09, 2021 5:36 pm

You should check with Russ Furstnow about the trunk door issue. He is the coupelet expert, and has restored both a very early 1915 and a 1916 models. If I recall correctly, only the early 1915 models had the little door on the back of the trunk. Russ' 1915 has that feature, and I know he did considerable research about it. I am fairly sure that the door (deck lid) was moved to the top of the trunk during the 1915 model year.
Your car likely is a late 1915 or very early 1916 model and may be correct as a 1915. Although black trim began on the model T in July of 1915, still 1915 model year, some cars continued getting the brass trim into at least September. I can't be certain of it offhand, but I seem to recall seeing an original era photo of a late 1915 or 1916 couplelet with brass trimmed lamps and the little window in the top.
Regardless, the car looks fantastic as it is. And I wouldn't change any of the top window, color, or brass trim. (Maybe paint the steering wheel rim black? Sort of a 'thing' of mine.)

As to the color. About thirty years ago, I re-restored a 1916 center-door sedan. The car had been the victim of a bad '50s restoration, however appeared to have been an original 1916. I did a lot of research at the time. It was before the internet, and the Benson archive was just becoming available to local researchers. So I was quite limited in what I had access to. However, I did run into the color issue on both the center-door sedans and coupelets. Although I ended up selling my center-door sedan, I still tended to follow new findings on the research into both those body styles. Enough facts have been found, and I have seen the recent photos of several unrestored cars, for me to accept as very likely that at least some of the coupelets and center-door sedans were painted blue originally, probably at least through 1917.


Craig Raynor
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Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by Craig Raynor » Fri Jul 09, 2021 6:34 pm

Real nice looking car you have right there thanks for posting the pictures! -- Craig


Topic author
KMcoldcars
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MTFCI Number: 24767

Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by KMcoldcars » Fri Jul 09, 2021 6:53 pm

Wayne, I talked with Russ Furstnow several times before buying the car. He was very helpful and is very knowledgeable. According to Russ, the 1915 coupelets were made from about October 1914 to February 1915. The 1916 coupelets were made in late 1915 and very early 1916, until about March, as I recall. My coupelet has the lid on the turtledeck on the top, as a 1916 should. The engine was made in December, 1915, which fits in with when coupelets were being made. It is a nice, but not perfect car and a few things are not correct for the year, such as the top missing the porthole windows and the lights having brass trim. I am working on getting it ready to drive safely, and am lubricating all oilers and grease cups. I have changed the engine oil and am wiring headlights, a taillight and brake light, for safety. I have quite a few parts coming from Langs.
I own a 1936 Packard convertible sedan, 1962 Thunderbird, 1991 Corvette, supercharged, a 2000 Corvette convertible and a 1916 coupelet.

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GEmering
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Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by GEmering » Fri Jul 09, 2021 7:11 pm

Congratulations.
Your new Couplet is beautiful!
Gene Emering
Newton, New Jersey


Topic author
KMcoldcars
Posts: 85
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First Name: Keith
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Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by KMcoldcars » Fri Jul 09, 2021 7:18 pm

Dave, I sent you an e-mail. Call me at 253-841-1126. I would like very much to get together with you. KM
I own a 1936 Packard convertible sedan, 1962 Thunderbird, 1991 Corvette, supercharged, a 2000 Corvette convertible and a 1916 coupelet.

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Henry K. Lee
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Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by Henry K. Lee » Fri Jul 09, 2021 8:28 pm

She sure is Beautiful!!!!! Enjoy! Old man eye candy with no tooth decay.

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fbergski
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Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by fbergski » Fri Jul 09, 2021 9:17 pm

Nice coupelet, exposing the brass trim around the headlights and kerosene lamps seems to be a fade. I have pictures of my 16 coupelet when my grandfather brought it home. The headlights and lamps were black, he removed the paint to expose the brass. Mine is back in my garage after sitting in storage for a couple of years. Can't wait to clean her up and take her for a cruise. My car has been preserved not restored, except for a new interior and top by Ernie Romero, she's all original. My engine has a November 1915 build date (970533).

1115


Topic author
KMcoldcars
Posts: 85
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 12:07 pm
First Name: Keith
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* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1916 coupelet
Location: Puyallup, Wa.
MTFCI Number: 24767

Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by KMcoldcars » Sat Jul 10, 2021 12:04 am

Wow, what a great looking original car.
Can you post more photos of it, especially the dash area around the coil box so I can see where the light switch and carb control rod should be and of the firewall showing the magneto horn and how it mounts, along with the top of the steering column showing the horn button and its mount? It would be a big help to me for when I put them on my car.
I own a 1936 Packard convertible sedan, 1962 Thunderbird, 1991 Corvette, supercharged, a 2000 Corvette convertible and a 1916 coupelet.

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fbergski
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Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by fbergski » Sat Jul 10, 2021 11:31 am

Send me a pm with your email address and I'll send the photos.


John Codman
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Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by John Codman » Sat Jul 10, 2021 2:01 pm

I'm a natural wood wheel guy, but I think the black wheels look great on that car.


Dropacent
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Re: Photos of the 1916 coupelet I just bought.

Post by Dropacent » Sat Jul 10, 2021 2:36 pm

For the coupelet guys, are these bodies Fisher body built? Rare isn’t used much in the model T world, but these early closed cars are, IMHO. I agree with John, black wheels look beautiful on her.

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