MTFCA Forum

The upper brass cap on my 1915 sidelamps seems to be brass plated. I notice on the vendor sites they say highly polished brass for replacements. But they mention solid brass on a couple of the other models for what looks like earlier cars.

The brand is Edmunds & Jones Model 8. Does anyone have experience and knowledge of this item?


Thanks.

Test it with a small magnet. A lot of people back in the 1950s and 1960s brass plated the steel caps to get the brass look. Willian Harrah on his invitational tours and the HCCA used to test the 1915's for authenticity on their tours! Hobbyists in those days believed that ALL 1915 built model Ts had brass trimmed lamps and anything built in 1916 or later had black trimmed lamps (we now know that nothing about a model T is that cut and dried).

The brass caps are crimped onto a steel base, so sometimes a strong magnet can actually read through the brass and pick up the steel underneath. So a basic small magnet tested near the top/center of the brass cap is the best test.

Shortly before Willian Harrah died, good evidence was found indicating that the switch to steel caps was actually much earlier, beginning in early July of 1915, still well within the 1915 model and fiscal year. So they both began to relax their demand for brass trim on all model T lamps. I don't think the solid proof was found until after the Benson Ford archive was opened to researchers about 1990, revealing change orders and ledger pages showing the steel caps and bezels being received early in July.

These are old repops. The script gives it away.

Mark is likely correct. The script looks to be laser cut/etched/engraved. The depth of the script is likely a good indication that the cover is brass. On the real ones the scrip is much finer, most likely die stamped.

Allan from down under.

I was led to believe that my August (or December) 1915 T Was supposed to have all this brass on the tail and sidelights, so I chased brass tops for my actually authentic side and taillights (which were black steel, which someone plated brass.....) because they "weren't right". One rivet doors (which for the car was right) but oh no, the tops were painted steel that were then plated brass... so they weren't right????

Now I find out the original tops for those lamps (as bad as they were - try keeping a 1915 taillight lit on a touring, not an easy task!!) WERE right, and I ruined an original set of lights chasing a fallacy, to put brass tops on lamps that should have been painted???

I now only wonder how may original and authentic cars were changed to make them "correct''' in the eyes of a 1950's old car club? I won't say it's upsettting, but maybe it was... looking back at the mistakes we made in the 1970's.

Bah ha ha ha... It still drove, but ya know, from now on, I'll make darned sure what I do on a car is RIGHT, and not what the "popular opinion" is...

regardless of what is right or wrong, this piece turned out to be brass, with a clear coat sprayed on it. Makes me wonder if the re pops are like that? or if someone just did it.

anyway, I will work to strip it gently and then can work with the brass finish. It's going to be fine.

And many ‘15s are seen with blank no script brass crimped on cover too, don’t know if factory or not, but all single rivet latch too.

I'm thinking that was probably stock set up.