Nice having help.

[Dollisdad]

[Dollisdad]

[Dollisdad]

[Dollisdad]

[Tadpole]

I love seeing so many smiles in these. Thank you, these photos are always a treat.

[John kuehn]

Neat photo of the T homemade PU in no. 7 photo! I’m thinking it’s near an oil field town. Isn’t that a Derrick in the distance?
Anyway there aren’t any paved roads around! The PU must belong to a roustabout or worker. I guess the tire chains worked and he surely would have needed them on those roads! Might have run up on the pole since it’s that close. I think the battery cable is hanging out of it. It sure looks like it. Anyway it wasn’t raining that day since there is a cloths line full of sheets and clothes. All fun photos for sure!

[Wayne Sheldon]

Another bunch of interesting photos!
Number three is a really good look at a rare (relatively speaking) model T windshield used in factory production for only about three months including crossover times with more common earlier and later variants. I would certainly be very curious to know if there are any records of those changes?
However, I personally do not take "records of changes" too seriously as being accurate. I am too far away, and never had an opportunity to study those myself, but too often I have seen records of changes shared by others that the "official" dated changes did not jive with photographical and other observed evidence. Those records of changes are very important points in understanding the evolution of the cars, and the dates give a general timeline of the decisions made. However actual implementation of changes could shift a couple months either way of the dates given. Sometimes changes were dated when the decision was given, then delayed by production issues or timelines related to stock on hand or previously ordered. Other times, records of changes were clearly dated after-the-fact and appear to be dated after the change was actually in production.
Era photographs are excellent sources to see what actually was! However, one always has to question whether it really was as it was originally, or was it somehow changed at some point? The other problem with era photographs is that they very rarely ever are connected to a car sufficiently identified to pin down its date of manufacture. The production timeline is almost always not known.

Back to that windshield. The important details are that it has the even folding hinges used through most of 1915 model (1915 style) year through all of 1916 (open cars), and a good chunk of the 1917 model (style) production. Nearly all of the 1915 well into 1917 even folding hinge windshields were riveted into the windshield to cowl brackets. Only for a short time in mid 1917 model year were the even folding hinge windshields held into the cowl brackets by slotted round head cap screws.
A couple years ago, I went through a bunch of era photos of apparent 1917 open model Ts, as identified by a few details, most including the horn button which was one of the few "1917" details that went throughout the 1917 model year and was changed to the combination horn/light switch early in 1918 model year. Only a relatively few photos showed enough details to break them down to a small enough production timeline in 1917. Late 1917s with offset folding windshields were about or slightly more than half of the 1917s. A bit more than a quarter of them were the earlier riveted brackets with even folding hinges. Less than one in five had the earlier even folding hinges with the later screw-mounted brackets. The estimate puts primary use of that windshield at around late winter or very early spring of 1917.

[Jones in Aiken SC]

Nice fitting top on that 15 touring in the last photo.

[Mark Gregush]

I would take either car in picture 12!

[TWrenn]

Nice pictures as always. And as always too, it's something how poor the paint held up! From gloss to satin in Lord knows how short of a time!!

[Original Smith]

The second photo proves they never had natural wood varnished steering wheels.

[Wayne Sheldon]

Oh yeah, that number two is a wonderful photo. The kid is obviously very happy with the new automobile, and wants to start driving right away! Babies and toddlers of those years seem to instinctively know what that strange new contraption was and loved being placed behind the steering wheel. We can thank this one for such a great look at that factual detail of the car. The steering wheel including the wooden rim was in fact painted black.
I am not familiar enough with the 1913 bodies to be certain, but I believe this to be a 1914 style touring car, in part based upon the details of the bead around the driver's side fake door. It could actually be a very early 1915 as some of those did have the earlier brass quadrants and two piece gear cases on them. It wasn't common, especially with the rare interim stamped steel on both the very late 1914 style cars and very early 1915 style open cars. I have only seen a couple of those steel ones in person. There used to be a fair number of genuine early 1915s in very original condition that appeared to have had the earlier brass quadrants on them. Years ago, I knew a couple people that had those, but I suspect the cars have since succumbed to restorations.

As for the painted wooden steering wheel rims? Did ANY model T ever have a "natural" finished rim from the factory? I have read so many conflicting opinions that I have never been sure myself. I am almost certain that all of 1913 through the end of wooden rims were painted black from the factory. I am fairly certain that 1912s also were black. Likely also 1911s. However, I really don't know about 1909 and 1910?

Another interesting detail in that photo, nearly lost through the digitization process, is the seat covers. Those were a popular accessory for the ubiquitous model T in the 1910s. I have dozens of era photos on my computer showing that style "snap on" seat covers.

[TFan]

I believe photos 3 & 6 are the same car with the same fake background most likely a photo booth. Jim

[Wayne Sheldon]

I believe photos 3 & 6 are the same car with the same fake background most likely a photo booth. Jim

Three and six are both photographer booth/studio photos, but the windshields are different. Three has the very rare used for only a few months in mid 1917 model year windshield (see my description above), while six has the later offset folding windshield introduced in mid 1917, and continued through 1922.
While it is possible that the windshield could have been changed for some reason, it is somewhat unlikely. Model Ts were commonly used by photographers as a setting for people getting their pictures taken. That angle and distance from the people was a popular one with photographers in the era for one or two people in the car.
Back in the days when most people had not yet owned a car, and most people had not yet driven a car, it was very popular for people to get their pictures taken sitting in a car. For some people, it may even have been the first car they ever sat in!
For about twenty years, many photographers made a decent living traveling around the country taking pictures and selling them to people that had no real experience with an automobile. There are likely thousands of such photos still scattered around the country. I have more than two dozen of them on my computer that I have "borrowed" off of various forums in recent years. I just recently found a second duplicate car studio/booth photo on another forum. That is now two different photos, same car, different people at different times, for two different cars.
By the mid 1920s, automobiles were common enough that they were no longer such a popular setting for photographs. Most people by then were getting their photo taken by family members with their own car. Studio/booth photos were usually people that did not have an automobile, but probably hoped to one day.

[Allan]

Wayne, there is a very original 1915 tourer her in Adelaide which has the two piece steering box on the column, and the twelve rivet diff centre housing. It has since been restored now and those details kept, rather than "corrected"

Allan from down under.

[Wayne Sheldon]

Allan, So nice to hear of one being properly restored to how it was rather than "corrected" as by so many restorers in this country.
Too many details of how the cars really were built have been lost by hobbyists trying to make their cars something they weren't. Too many people today expect their hundred year old cars to have been built with modern notions of manufacturing and design. Even today, model years are not set to a clock. Ford in the model T era made continuous running changes.
When I was just getting into this hobby more than fifty years ago, I saw so very many unrestored cars that appeared to have earlier or later by a few months pieces on them. If one saw a couple 1915s with 1914 style twelve rivet rear ends in them? One might think they would have been replaced at some point later (in spite of the fact that most later replacements were later enough that later parts usually replaced the earlier parts?). However, if one saw a dozen very good unrestored original 1915s with the late 1914 rear end, and nearly ALL of them were early 1915s? One should maybe think that the rear end change wasn't completed until a couple months into 1915 production?
Club members at meets used to brag about how they "corrected" various things on their cars. I knew a dozen people that replaced their 1914's incorrect early 1915 engine with a genuine 1914 engine. We now know absolutely that the 1914 open style cars were produced well into 1915, at least as late as April of 1915. Nearly all of those cars we now know probably had their original engines in them, and their rightful history was erased. Twelve rivet rear ends used to show up often on pre-June 1915s, but almost never on July or later cars. Coincidence? A very good friend had a June 1915, well maintained never restored car with a twelve rivet rear end, he kept it that way. Earlier gear cases and quadrants usually showed up on March or earlier cars.

There have probably been a hundred mid year model introductions by major manufacturers in the recent slightly more than half a century? The 1964 Mustang comes to mind.