MTFCA Forum

Before the cold set in Mark Eyre and I got the engine in my '13. This is a major upgrade for the car as it has been running an '18 engine for probably 70+ years. There is a lot more do do to get ready to tour but I am happy to be at this point now.

Congratulations! Looks great!

Always nice to get the right one back in!

The 13 is one of those cars that just likes to run. With the exception of one bolt on the passenger side, the engine was in and bolted down inside 30 minutes. Mark's pan straightener was a godsend.

Eric, I agree. My '13 runs like a scared rabbit, yet quiet as a mouse. Until I acquired this '13 coupla very cold January's ago,
my beloved "Pete", the '12 Comm. Roadster P/U on the current V.F. cover was my favorite. "Clarabelle", the '13 rapidly took over.
Perhaps that's what led to me letting Pete go. And other reasons...

Happy days and great picture.
rich

I feel your joy. Congrats! IMHO, the brass radiator, low head Ts are the most fun and have the best performance. And the out-of-date flat board firewall in lieu of a cowl gives one the impression of enjoying a real antique

Eric: I hope, if you've been doing your homework, that you will get some of the other issues taken care of on your car too.

Nope. Just schlepping it together like I always do!

Everything Eric does is first class! It’s a car that has been used but maintained over the years. I was talking with him last Thursday night and he has the correct rear axle housings and front wheels to change to. He has the actual housings that are original to this car. So as far as homework I’m sure Dr. McLeod has done a his share of homework over the years.

As I recall, the car had an early large patent plate on the right side of the firewall near where the speedometer should be. It should be in the standard location over the steering column. Is it original to the car, or just one that someone found at a swap meet? I believe it had a factory firewall in it still.
We need to know these things!

Well, that is a good and fair question Larry. I agree that the location of the patent plate on my car is very strange. What I wanted, when I pulled the dashboard apart was some clear evidence that the patent plate was moved...or even evidence that it had ever been located anywhere else on the dashboard other than where I found it. To my surprise that evidence just wasn't there. Attached is a photo of the disassembled (and very rotten) dashboard. Candidly, I would like to be proven wrong on this point as it would make the job of reassembling the car in a non-controversial manner easier.

Looking over the photos you can see that oddly, the car didn't seem to have a patent plate at all. Or at least it must have been missing for a very long time, as evidenced by the color of the dash behind the coil box vs. behind the patent plate. I'm curious what the rest of you think.

What type construction is the inside of the firewall? Wooden blocks tongue and groove together? Or multiple laminated layers? An original firewall should be blocks T&G (technically not T&G, but something similar I forget the name of). A later replacement would most likely be layers. Either type should have a finished veneer on both surfaces.
If the firewall is a later replacement (they have been available since the mid '50s at least!), that could explain the unusual data plate location and lack of nail holes in the proper location.
Also, compare the data plate's serial (car number) number with a visual assessment of the cumulative dating of the various (apparently) original parts of the car. Fords were changing quickly in those years. Although 1913 was not nearly as severe as say 1912 was, someone familiar with the '13s may be able to narrow the car down to about a five month window. If the data plate's number indicates a '12 or early '13, and the car has late '13 features, it would indicate the plate is not original to the car.

I hope we can someday put together enough comparative serial data to put realistic time-frames on car, engine, and body numbers (even earlier brass radiator numbers!). I know Hap T has been working on that somewhat. This is a project that this forum should take on in full force!

Firewall doesn't seem to be drilled for the RHD mixture, but pretty late for these old eyes. Is it drilled both sides?

Ken

A possibility here is that the firewall was replaced back when they were still offering them, and that could account for the lack of a rhd carburetor adjusting hole on the drivers side. Next, as I recall, and you can see from the photos, this car had an early large patent plate installed on the right. Do you believe this plate could be original to the car? I doubt it, and when I saw it I recall the serial number was very early, possibly a 1912 build date. If the car was built in 1912 there should be screw holes present for an angle mount speedometer. Where are they? By early calendar year 1913, they adopted the flat mount speedometer, so there could be evidence of that too, not to mention the cutout in the upper floorboard for the speedometer cable, and of course the rest of the unit on the front wheel and spindle arm.

Larry, would my Sept/Oct. 1912 built 1913 have had the big plate too? My car had the original firewall replaced long ago. I currently have the small plate on the car as a reproduction. I have the big plate.

Very interesting question! First of all, were the patent plates supplied by Ford, or the body maker. If by the body maker, then it's anyone's guess. I've seen the large plate on cars as late as March 1913. BTW, Randall Anderson had a set of stamps made that duplicate the style of numbers that Ford used.