Brass Step Plates

[Original Smith]

I know I'm going to get a lot of flap on this, but brass step plates irritate me! First of all Ford never ever offered step plates. Second, step plates were not used on anything for any car until around 1915. And lastly, I couldn't bear to drill the holes in my nice original running boards! Running boards were meant to be stepped on. Perhaps the only wear would be on the tops of the diamonds. And this goes for aluminum step plates too.

[Tadpole]

There's a guy around here with brass ones on his original '25 roadster pickup. He's also got the brass headlight rims, a brass Motometer and yellow wire wheels, wish I had a picture!

[bdtutton]

Dear Original Smith,
I have a 1914 Touring and overall the car would score a lot of points at a car show for correctness. But, I have to admit that I added brass step plates. The running boards were not original, but I did feel bad drilling holes in them. I also have a solid brass horn off of a 1911-12 Model T and brass top prop nuts. I know those things are not correct for 1914, but at least it is a brass era car. I don't show the car at car shows, but and the grocery store parking lot crowds really like the extra brass bling.

[BobP]

If you want step plates on your car and want to remove them for show, glue soft magnets on them, they will stay on good remove them for correctness. no damage. Bob.

[ThreePedalTapDancer]

Incorrect brass step plates have been used on Ts for so long, people now assume that they were used originally-and you are now considered incorrect if you don’t have a set!

[havnfun]

I put a brass step plate on my 13, I like the look and at my age, my goal in this hobby is to make myself happy first.

[W Austen]

Brass step plates, Ford script on radiator core( especially cast) natural wood wheels, in the eyes of a purist is just plain wrong. To each his own, restoration is not understood by most people.(Restoration and customizeing are two different things) 1909 - 10 did have stamped radiator scripts on core.

[Michael Peternell]

I put a brass step plate on my 13, I like the look and at my age, my goal in this hobby is to make myself happy first.

Well said! I feel bad for the bashers. Apparently that is what gives them satisfaction.

[tdump]

I like brass light rims, and would Love to have brass step plates but they cost way to much.
We have these old cars to enjoy, not please the purist.

[Scott_Conger]

The great thing about Model T's is that if you wish, pretty much anything with 4 wheels is a Model T if you want to call it that...especially if it pleases you and annoys "the purists". No one dare refute you, and you can even take it to school to show the kids "what a real Model T looked like".

A good example is this 1929 Model T (don't take my word for it, that is what the restorer called it, and he should know). This was for sale a couple years ago on Barnfinds.com (where all the real stuff is found). Some people might say that no Model T was ever made in 1929, but just because you read something somewhere doesn't mean you should always believe it, and if you do, you're probably an elitist! If that were the case, we'd still believe that DNA determines if a boy is a boy or he is really a girl, but now we know better. Getting back to history and education, Imagine the children's delight in seeing something like this from the long-ago past!

oats-e1434393770955-600x433.jpg (53.59 KiB) Viewed 2447 times

[Steve Jelf]

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
~ Romans 3:23

I've quoted that scripture here before, as it applies as much to purism as it does to any other part of life. Some folks obsess over correctness, and strive toward having every detail as it was when the car left the factory. That goal is unattainable. Even the most beautiful Stynoski winner is practically guaranteed to have something that's "wrong".

I don't share the contempt some folks express toward "purists". I admire their tireless pursuit of an unattainable goal even though I don't share in the pursuit myself. So carry on, Don Quixote. Keep reaching for that unreachable star, and don't be discouraged by the scoffers.

[frontyboy]

When I took delivery of my 1914 Ford(I'm old but no I did not buy it new) it had one on the running board. After getting the car running and starting to drive, I damn near broke my ankle as the back edge caught my heel, and I slipped and fell. As soon as I came back to reality, I ripped the damn thing off and chucked it. For older folks they are dangerous.

just sayin'
frontyboy

[AndyClary]

No, the T did not come with step plates. That said, there are thousands of documented accessories and their use can and should be considered “period correct”. I dislike the term purist as it is often used as a term of distain. If someone wants to strive to have as correct a car as possible, more power to them. I applaud their efforts. If you wish adapt your car to your style that what all the accessories are for.

Andy

[Wayne Sheldon]

After-market accessories are a wonderful part of our model T's mystique! And, like them or not, simple step plates on up to boot-scraper step plates were on the market by 1915!

Definition of "after-market accessories". A manufacturer in search of a market.
Small joke, VERY small.

I think every model T should have at least one era correct accessory. For me? I like to have accessories that I see in era photos. Often that becomes a rear-view mirror or headlamp lenses, maybe a fancy taillight. I like overdrive transmissions and extra braking to increase the car's ability on the road. Sometimes bud vases inside, usually with silk flowers. And of course, most model Ts I have had got a fancy radiator cap and/or Motometer (usually the big one!). And radiator neck soldering be dammed! (sic)

Fifty years ago? The hobby was younger, and so was I. In those days, it actually was fairly common to find original era step plates, sometimes on old rusty running boards, at swap meets! Finding two that looked alike on the other hand was difficult! I am sure I must have seen fifty of the dumb things at swap meets over ten years time. So I am very well aware that step plates were made and sold and used during the model T era! These were all old ones with a few decades of weathering when the cars were just over forty years old!
Because pairs were so rare, and most people wanted two or more on their Ts, people began making patterns and casting reproductions of step plates to be sold. Sometimes I could swear that hobbyists today have put more step plates on model Ts than were ever put on them in the 1920s! But I know that probably isn't true. Although I think we are getting close?

Having looked closely at literally thousands of era photos of model T Fords? There are not many era photos showing step plates. Truthfully, they were not a popular accessory in the T's day. The Ford was a practical utility vehicle! Scratches and wear on the running board just wasn't something they were going to worry about. The step plates were a bit expensive, and served no real purpose. A radiator cap with a Motometer was something one could look at and admire for mile after mile sitting behind the steering wheel. Plus, it would warn you if the engine became too hot and might save you a bunch of repair bill's dollars! Or a rear-view mirror could save your @$$, literally? I see lots of rear-view mirrors on model Ts in era photos!

As for drilling holes in original running boards? Maybe its me, always a tight budget, on top of being a natural born cheapskate? But I have welded up so many holes in original running boards that unless a running board is some special near NOS or something? I don't see the big deal about it. I can just weld them up again.

[Steve Jelf]

I think every model T should have at least one era correct accessory.

I suspect the most popular accessory in the mid-teens was the mechanical horn. You see it in lots of period photos.

[ModelTWoods]

Maybe the administrators should split this Discussion Forum into two separate parts: The Purists and Judged Car Discussion and The Non-Judged, "Guys Just Want To have Fun" Discussion.

[Jerry VanOoteghem]

I'll admit, I'm not a fan of step plates, but if you are, then I'm all for them... on your car.

So, you might guess that my T's have no step plates. You'd be wrong! My '25 Touring does. Long ago, my mom bought my dad a set of step plates for Christmas. She was happy and proud to get him something for his Model T. My dad not like step plates, or drilling holes in running boards. But, he did love my mom very much, and the step plates went on. I will never remove them... 'cause I've loved mom too.

[NealW]

I had the running boards on both our T's powder coated gloss black, which provides a very durable and scratch resistant surface on something that gets stepped on every time we get in and out of a Model T. That being said, I do also have a brass step on the passenger side running board of our 15 runabout. It goes well with the unpainted, varnished spokes on the car!