17-18 Coupelet mystery

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Topic author
EricMac
Posts: 300
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2019 11:11 pm
First Name: Eric
Last Name: Macleod
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 13 Touring, 24 Touring, 26 Fordor, 27 Fordor, 27 Touring, '92 Stynoski, '06 Stynoski owner emeritus
Location: Battle Creek, Michigan
MTFCA Number: 50125
MTFCI Number: 19464
Board Member Since: 2016

17-18 Coupelet mystery

Post by EricMac » Sat Dec 03, 2022 7:26 pm

Mark Eyre and I are a little perplexed. Last week he bought what appears to be a 17-18 Coupelet but some details are mysterious. Have the doors been changed? Is it a transitional car? The wood is highly intact and it appears largely original. Obviously some pictures are worth a thousand words so we're interested in hearing what you think.
Coupelet 1
Coupelet 1
IMG_1034.jpg (42.15 KiB) Viewed 1204 times
Coupelet 2
Coupelet 2
IMG_1035.jpg (40.91 KiB) Viewed 1204 times
Coupelet 3
Coupelet 3
IMG_0887.jpg (16.42 KiB) Viewed 1204 times
1913 Touring
1926 Fordor
1926 Touring
1927 Touring
Stynoski 2006, Nash, Franklin, Lincoln, Cadillac and Buick owner emeritus


Topic author
EricMac
Posts: 300
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2019 11:11 pm
First Name: Eric
Last Name: Macleod
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 13 Touring, 24 Touring, 26 Fordor, 27 Fordor, 27 Touring, '92 Stynoski, '06 Stynoski owner emeritus
Location: Battle Creek, Michigan
MTFCA Number: 50125
MTFCI Number: 19464
Board Member Since: 2016

Re: 17-18 Coupelet mystery

Post by EricMac » Sat Dec 03, 2022 7:28 pm

Here are a few more pictures.
Coupelet 4
Coupelet 4
IMG_1037.jpg (30.98 KiB) Viewed 1201 times
Coupelet 5
Coupelet 5
IMG_1038.jpg (32.67 KiB) Viewed 1201 times
1913 Touring
1926 Fordor
1926 Touring
1927 Touring
Stynoski 2006, Nash, Franklin, Lincoln, Cadillac and Buick owner emeritus


Topic author
EricMac
Posts: 300
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2019 11:11 pm
First Name: Eric
Last Name: Macleod
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 13 Touring, 24 Touring, 26 Fordor, 27 Fordor, 27 Touring, '92 Stynoski, '06 Stynoski owner emeritus
Location: Battle Creek, Michigan
MTFCA Number: 50125
MTFCI Number: 19464
Board Member Since: 2016

Re: 17-18 Coupelet mystery

Post by EricMac » Sat Dec 03, 2022 7:29 pm

One more pair of photos
Coupelet 8
Coupelet 8
IMG_1036.jpg (17.99 KiB) Viewed 1201 times
Coupelet 7
Coupelet 7
IMG_1039.jpg (36 KiB) Viewed 1201 times
1913 Touring
1926 Fordor
1926 Touring
1927 Touring
Stynoski 2006, Nash, Franklin, Lincoln, Cadillac and Buick owner emeritus


John kuehn
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MTFCA Number: 28924

Re: 17-18 Coupelet mystery

Post by John kuehn » Sat Dec 03, 2022 7:33 pm

Here’s an earlier post about Couplet changes
https://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/4 ... 1388868942


Model T Mark
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Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 8:00 pm
First Name: Mark
Last Name: Eyre
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1913 Touring 1914 Touring and Roadster 1915 Touring 1926 Roadster
Location: Battle Creek Michigan

Re: 17-18 Coupelet mystery

Post by Model T Mark » Sat Dec 03, 2022 7:36 pm

It has removable center posts. I will restore it eventually. I’m missing the side lamp brackets that have 4 countersunk screws that hold them to the body. I have seen it on two different Ford documents one calling it a Coupe and the other calling it a Couplet. Thoughts on which it is exactly? I can’t figure out how to post pictures I did it some time ago and couldn’t today so I asked Eric to post them.


ModelT46
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First Name: Darel
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Re: 17-18 Coupelet mystery

Post by ModelT46 » Sat Dec 03, 2022 8:21 pm

I have a pair of those brackets. I have been using them to mount a pair of lights on an out building. If no one else comes up for a pair, I will let these go at a reasonable price.


Allan
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First Name: Allan
Last Name: Bennett
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1912 van, 1917 shooting brake, 1929 roadster buckboard, 1924 tourer, 1925 barn find buckboard, 1925 D &F wide body roadster, 1927LHD Tudor sedan.
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Re: 17-18 Coupelet mystery

Post by Allan » Sat Dec 03, 2022 8:43 pm

Is that a battery access door in the floor of the rear compartment? The hinge does not look like any factory hinge I have seen. Perhaps the door is a modification to make the body fit a later frame at some stage.

Allan from down under.


Wayne Sheldon
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Re: 17-18 Coupelet mystery

Post by Wayne Sheldon » Sat Dec 03, 2022 8:45 pm

"Coupe", "couplet", and "couplette" were all used in era advertising. Some people get rather persnickety about one or another word. I usually call the removeable pillar coupes a "couplet" myself, but for no particular reason.

Is this the one that was advertised in our classified section a short while ago? I never did follow the link to the photos. This looks like a pretty good start to a very rare model T!

I am not sure what your questions are? But it does appear that the gasoline tank was in the trunk originally. I know that some of them were. You should of course check with Russ Furstnow. He is the couplet expert. I "think" I heard he added a removeable pillar couplet to his lineup? (But I could be mistaken?) I believe it is a future restoration project?

I am not sure how many removeable pillar coupelets there are now? The count was less than ten a few years ago, although I am not sure if that included a couple known bodies or not. A few more have been found since, including a couple bodies only. Still very rare by model T standards.
This appears to be either late 1917 or 1918 style, with the flat roof? The "hump" top was only produced for a few months in mid 1917.

Great project regardless! I am positively green!


Model T Mark
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First Name: Mark
Last Name: Eyre
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Location: Battle Creek Michigan

Re: 17-18 Coupelet mystery

Post by Model T Mark » Sat Dec 03, 2022 8:47 pm

It was on a 21 chassis. I have the original frame. It doesn’t have the holes for a carrier. The gentleman I purchased it from was going to build a rat rod out of it. I have the body and the frame and the title. It originally was an 18.


John kuehn
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Re: 17-18 Coupelet mystery

Post by John kuehn » Sun Dec 04, 2022 3:13 pm

Thanks for saving the Coupe body from being a rat rod!! It’s to bad that some T’ and A’s wind up and get ruined to that fate. To each his own what they do with their car.

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