forked steel headlights

[George Mills]

No axe to grind, no story to tell, but somewhere in the lore it goes that the early 15' open cars may not have had forked mounted lights.

Here is a photo that I was able to pluck from somewhere...shows a T being delivered (and assembled) that obviously is still in the shipping crate and has forked headlights. I'll leave it to the watchers to hold any discussions...but photo evidence floating around and collected always helps answer open questions...

[George House]

RHD and I’m no expert on the differences but black headlamp rims ?.. ‘16 ? Thanks ‘other George’, you’ve rewritten history

[Kerry]

Not unusual for Canadian T's, even listed in parts books for 15 model.

[Kerry]

By 1916 the part number was deleted from parts book, just the picture still listed.

[tman12]

A Friend has a early '15 that was a local car & came with acetylene lights! just commenting - Thanks John

[Wayne Sheldon]

I don't have the details in front of me. The photo is very well known. The dealership is well known. It is a Canadian built model T, was shipped to either Australia or New Zealand (I forget offhand which?). Canadian built model Ts for 1915 (all or most?) as well as 1916s and some early 1917s (black era radiator shells!) did in fact have fork mounted electric headlamps from the Canadian factory.
Most of the era photos showing fork mounted electric headlamps on 1915s or even 1916s/'17s have been determined to be Canadian built model Ts.
This is one of the best known era photos clearly showing fork mounted electric headlamps on a model T. It was thoroughly researched many years ago, and era local references found showing the car just delivered to the Ford dealer in the Southern hemisphere. It is absolutely known to be a Canadian built model T.

I searched for that particular white whale for several years. I became interested early on when I was still in high school, and "common knowledge" believed the early 1915s all had fork mounted headlamps. I found out that several restored 1915s that had fork mounted electric headlamps had in fact had the headlamps changed to fork mounted versions! People told me quite matter-of-factly that they had "changed them" in order to make the car "more correct". I found that interesting. That was one of the details that first made me closely examine era photographs!
I began with era photos published in books and club magazines using my magnifying glass (the very one coincidentally sitting on the table inches from my left hand as I type this!!!!)
Over the years, I have shared the search with dozens of other people. I have been allowed to look at hundreds of era photos in private collections. And discussed the facts with many serious researchers.
Nobody has yet shown me anything to believe that PRODUCTION 1915s built in the USA factories ever had fork mounted headlamps. A possible exception MIGHT be some of the earliest center-door sedans or couplettes built before December of 1914? Even there, even with early odd larger bezel electric headlamps (actually seen in very few era photos!) several photos show them post mounted, not fork mounted. I got to see a couple I could not get copies of years ago.

Remember! Fifty years ago, "common knowledge" was that the 1915 style open cars began production by September or October of 1914! Just like all model years did every year! It wasn't until the Ford Archives were opened up in the 1980s that proof was found otherwise! Today we KNOW that 1914 style open model Ts were produced in declining numbers January through April of 1915. Today we know that PRODUCTION open 1915s didn't even begin until December of 1914, and then only very small numbers.

I am still looking for that era photo. However I am fairly sure I will never see it. After literally thousands of era photos of 1915s/'16s/'17s, looking specifically for fork mounted headlamps? More than fifty years ago with my handy magnifying glass, and the past more than twenty years zooming in on photos on the internet? That one photo? An ERA photograph, of a definitely USA built, PRODUCTION version, UNMODIFIED basically as new (preferably open but I would just as gladly see "closed" body style) early 1915 model T.

If Ford had ever built such a thing? An era photo of it should still exist.

[Don Demio]

George,

I have a 1915, 2 door, Canadian, Roadster that is equipped with electric forked headlights. Unfortunately the engine has been changed to a later starter engine so I can't provide the original number.

Have a great day,

Don

[Allan]

My 1915 Canadian tourer had forked headlights. Of particular interest in the photo above is the appearance of what looks like an all brass steering box and quadrant. One original 1915 style tourer here has that, and the earlier rear axle with the flared tubes like the 1913-14 models. I guess everything was used up before newer components were introduced.

Allan from down under.

[Wayne Sheldon]

Certainly, clearly, after-market electric headlamps were on the market by 1913. And fork mounted versions were offered to fit most common fork sizes. That was the simplest way to change them.
Companies like E&J or Brown that made lamps for Fords were at the forefront of the market. After-market lamps looking remarkably like Ford's lamps were an easy progression.
In 1915, Ford settled into a basic design and made several companies standardize the design to the point that even nearly all pieces would interchange between differing companies. I don't think Ford could complain very much if the lamps made for after-market sales were also similar.

Gas lamps on 1915 (and sometimes later?) Fords is another subject.
Research in the past has found that Ford factory did not authorize changing the electric lamps for earlier gas headlamps. However, that does not mean it wasn't done.
The simple fact is that people are funny creatures! Many people embrace changing technologies. Many other people outright fear the changing of technologies. Most people are somewhere between the two. In the mid 1910s? Electric lamps had been around in some parts of the country for a couple decades already! In many parts of the country, millions of people still had not yet seen an electric lamp! For millions of people, in THIS country, acetylene lamps were something they were used to. Their homes were lit by acetylene or natural gas. They had been using them most if not all their lives! They liked them, they were comfortable with them. They did not fear the fire hazards of which people pushing for electric lamps spoke. And they didn't trust electric lamps.
Whether the Ford factory authorized it or not, some people still wanted acetylene lamps on their new Ford! So most likely some dealers switched the lamps to satisfy a customer that insisted on gas headlamps. And if the dealer for some reason feared the factory and refused? You can bet they knew a local shop that would do the task cheap.

Era photos showing gas headlamps on 1915 to 1917 Fords are not common. But there are more than a few out there.

This particular one was discovered recently on another forum seeking identification of the car. The detail is not very good. The car was cut and enlarged from a much larger photograph! (Hence some camera distortion of the car!) The source indicated an American photograph. Although partially obscured by what appears to be a fireplug on the sidewalk on the other side of the car? I am fairly sure that is an acetylene headlamp next to the radiator. And the Prestolite tank can clearly be seen!

[kmatt2]

I would think that after trying to drive a early 1915 T at night with the electric head lights that went from very dim, to overly bright, to burned out bulbs as the engine speeded up, some car owners went back to what worked, the gas lamps that they could still buy from Ford. By later in 1915 Ford added the resistor to the head light circuit to fix the burned out bulbs but that didn’t fix the dim lights at low engine speeds.

[Wayne Sheldon]

I believe, Kevin, that you are right! Another in the myriad of details of advancing automobile technologies of over a hundred years ago!