Model T colors from Argentina plant in 1923?

[ElGranadaT]

Greetings,

I am restoring a 1923 Model T Touring that came out of Argentina. When I got it, it was painted yellow and had some significant body damage. Since then, I've stripped it down to the bare metal on all the skins and I've only found traces of a green and a red (primer?) I have not found any trace of black paint at all, anywhere.

I gather the Argentina plant mostly assembled the early T's using various parts made in the US. I don't know if they painted the cars there, or used pre- painted parts. Does anyone have any information about what color the Argentina plant painted their cars?

THANKS IN ADVANCE!

PS

I've looked at the Argentina club Facebook page- and found a couple images of T's in something close to the green paint - but not speaking Spanish I'm unable to gleam much data.

[TXGOAT2]

I think "verde" means green. As for the colors, I don't know, but later Fords used a lot of two different shades of green, one being "Channel Green", a sort of gray-green, and the other being "Commercial Green" which mostly went on trucks or pickups or fleet cars. The Commercial Green was a fairly bright green. Early Ts used "Brewster Green" a rich, dark green. I don't know if Ford used any primer in the pre-Duco days. They may have used a light gray-green primer on the bodies of some later Ts.

[Ron Patterson]

Contact Daniel Bolo in Cordoba, Argentina.
If any one knows of a source for this Buenos Aires Ford manufacturing plant information he will.
Daniel Bollo <dbollo@gmail.com>
Ron Patterson

[Ron Patterson]

If you send Daniel a photo of the car he may also be able to give you some history.
Daniel once told me of an Argentine Model T that was driven to the US.
The your description of your car sounds a loot like it.
Good luck
Ron Patterson

[ModelT46]

Driving a Ford from Argentina…40 years ago, someone drove a Model A Ford from there to the Us. The story was published in the Model A club magazine.

[ElGranadaT]

Thank you all for the links- About it being the one in the article, strangely enough the few pieces of paper I have show it entering the states around 1977. All paperwork before that show it as being in Buenos Ares. I'll write Daniel Bollo and ask for more help.

[George Mills]

Showing my age...

There was a time perhaps 40 years ago or so that the US dollar had phenomenal buying power against the Argentine Peso.

I forget the exact year and most of my colleague peers are now looking down on us but during that time, someone was scouring the Argentine countryside for Model T in just about any condition and exporting them to USA for resale sending them up by the container load. Not sure how many containers, but I do remember them being listed in Hemming's at the time.

This was just after the period of Montana 'dry and rot free' stuff was starting to get thin pickin'. Whatever these Argentine cars were they pretty much disappeared once they arrived...I don't recall if they had USA serial numbers or not. (I have visited the gaucho farm museum just outside BA and they have a T there but I'm fairly sure that pup was painted black anyway.)

[2nighthawks]

Gorge Mills-Yeah me too; my next birthday cake (were it to have candles) would need 81 of them! However, I think I remember that Edward Towe, of the now defunct Towe Antique Ford Collection,... as a young man, actually went down to Argentina and brought back, and also arranged to have shipped back many Model T's from Argentina. Perhaps someone that has to do with what remains of the Towe Model T's in the car collection in the Museum in Sacremento CA might have some information about the colors of Argentina Model T's that might help. FWIW,.....harold

[Hap_Tucker]

George you posted

"I don't recall if they had USA serial numbers or not."

All the Model T engines installed by an authorized Ford Branch assembly plant with the exception of those assembled with a Canadian engine, would have had a USA engine serial number. (And before May 1913 all the Canadian produced cars used the USA engines with the used engine serial number.) And since Argentina was a Spanish and not a British colony -- they were not part of the British Empire and Ford USA supplied the parts (engines) rather than Canada.

If the photo is of the Argentina Ford Plant at La Boca, Buenos Aires, they appear to be 1924-25 model cars (note the radiator valance below the radiator and the one man tops). And they look very similar to photos of other factories with known black painted cars. (From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_o ... or_Company )

A short posting about the Argentina Ford Plant is at:
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/41 ... 1412515346 while not directly related -- it is one of the few items I have found it in and I thought you might want it. Note that the posting was started by Ron Patterson. So yes, contact the person he recommended.

And from memory there was posting or an e-bay listing that had a 1925ish celebration book for one of the Ford Assembly plants in one of the South American Countries. But I didn't find that one.

And please let us know what you discover about your Ford.

Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off (Made in the USA not sure which plant)

[Rich P. Bingham]

FWIW, Argentina gained independence from Spain in 1816.

[KimDobbins]

I heard the same story about Ed Towe, but not involving model T's but Earle Ford V8's.

[Wayne Sheldon]

Kim D, For whatever it is worth? I also heard the stories about Edward Towe bringing early V8s up from Argentina. In fact, I once saw one of the early Argentinean V8s, a 1934 touring car as I recall. I also met Edward Towe on a VMCCA Nickel Era Car tour, but I did not ask him about his business or business practices.
I do not recall any serious stories of him importing model Ts. Certain early Ford V8s were relatively expensive here, and fairly common and cheap down there. It made sense to import them, in spite of the usual poor condition they were in. The model Ts? Not so much. Too common here to justify the cost of shipping in those days.

[2nighthawks]

Hmm,....I think you guys are right. I remembered hearing & reading about Edward Towe going down to Argentina and finding many old Fords but I guess my "misguided assumption" was than they were Model T's. Hence the old saying about the word "assume", right? Thanks for the correction,....I don't post nearly as much on the forum as I used to,.....probably a good thing, huh? ......harold

[Colin Mavins]

There was a 1920s Model t touring in Winnipeg in the mid 1960's it was driven from South American through the states and wound up in Winnipeg. I was just a kid but I remember the car and the if memory serves me correctly it was Oliver and Bertha Foukes the car was a yellow body with red fenders later they moved to Toronto. I will look for pictures.

[Colin Mavins]

They were driving to Alaska but stopped in Winnipeg the color picture was in front of our house the yellow Manitoba plate is 1964 I think this was 1965-66 . I have a Christmas card from 1967 with 2 pictures of Oliver Bertha with our 1912 and with there car restored it was still yellow with red fenders

[Colin Mavins]

there was a news paper article on there trip I think it was funded and the funds ran out as a kid the car was neat because it had coins from different countries stuck on the hood.

[Colin Mavins]

This car was an original model t no modification just a bone stock model t

[Wayne Sheldon]

"I don't post nearly as much on the forum as I used to,.....probably a good thing, huh? ......harold"

Harold Schwendeman! I always enjoy reading your postings, insights and advice! Always good to read that you are still around and doing well (I hope!)!