MTFCA Forum

My '14 roadster has no angle brackets between the rear fender and splash apron. Should they be there or not. Langs catalog shows them starting in 1915.

Couldn't find the bracket that your are referring to in Lang's just the Fender bracket. What part # ?

Lang's states that the 1915-16 Fender bracket, front or rear, has 3 hole, sold with reinforcing pad and rivets.

From the Model T Encyclopedia
for the 1914 https://www.mtfca.com/model_t_encyclopedia/1914/
FENDERS: Front: Same as later 1913, with embossed bead on the apron, and across the wide part of the front fender. Had no front bill at first but the bill was reinstated before the end of the year. Rear: Similar in style to the front.
Support irons were now attached to the body framing, extending out the side of the body, through a hole in the apron of the fender, and were clamped to a single plate under the fender.
SPLASH APRON: Same as 1913. Fenders and aprons were painted black.

for the 1915 https://www.mtfca.com/model_t_encyclopedia/1915/
Rearfenders were curved to follow the wheel outline; had no crown.

FENDERS: Front: Continued the style of the later 1914 cars. The fender-iron bracket was now secured with three rivets instead of four. Rear: Similar in style to the front but now curved to follow the wheel outline, but have no crown as on the later fenders.
Support irons were attached to the body framing, extending out the side of the body, through a hole in the apron of the fender, and were clamped to a single plate under the fender.
SPLASH APRON Same as in 1914. Fenders and aprons were painted black.

Bruce

my 1/2/13 T and my 10/5/15 "T"s both have brackets. The '13 has the 2 screw/2 screw bracket and the '15 has the later 2 screw/3 rivet bracket. I recall seeing this early type in vendors' catalogues in the past but not lately.

I've shown my gross ignorance of all things Canadian, in other threads so will not suggest what your car should or should not have!

Mine look just like the ones shown here: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/80 ... 1244775502

here is what all the later cars get (3 rivets/2 screws), which I don't think you want/need: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/80 ... 1239286534

You may wish to consider buying the later ones, welding the holes closed, and redrilling to your need. I say that because they are cheap and involve a bit of complicated press work which would be difficult or time consuming to duplicate for only two.

Thanks guys for all the info. My '14 is a US made car with (I think) repro splash aprons with no flare near the back end, but have the holes drilled for the bracket to the fender. I'm thinking of making a pair of brackets to add stability and maybe eliminate some squeaks and rattles.

You're welcome

and like I said, give serious thought to buying the later version and back dating it via welded and redrilled holes. You'll be surprised as to how complicated that little part is...

I hear ya Scott. I may try and find some decent original aprons at Hershey as the repro's don't match up to the fenders properly and making the parts may be a challenge. Thanks again : Bruce

Good luck on the hunt, Bruce

I am acquainted with this part due to the 3 solid days I spent trying to get repro dust shields to marry up with repaired original fenders. What a wrestling match! Along with a lot of snipping, welding, and moving holes 1/4" hither and yon...

This car had a lot of rot and has taken years of off/on work to fabricate metal and repair everything and my last job was the dust shields. I threw in the towel and bought new. Even with the time/effort to make fit, they look great and there was far less labor to fit them than repair the old ones (which likely never would have really looked right in the end, anyway). Still, a job which surprised me and exhausted me in the effort to make them look right!