Tank shortage solution

[Dollisdad]

[Dollisdad]

[Dollisdad]

[Dollisdad]

[Wayne Sheldon]

Some really interesting pictures here! A few unusual speedsters with unusually large loads.
A 1910/'11 torpedo roadster with an odd gasoline tank. One must wonder what the reason is for that?
The second photo is an interesting touring car. Not a standard Ford factory body. I am not sure if it is a US model with an after-market body, or maybe an Australian model? It "appears" to be left side driven, although it would be possible the photo could have been flipped?
The third photo, the coupe on the shore, looks like a modern attempt to make an "early" black and white photo. Nice job! But the tires give it away, along with a few modern "bling" items that weren't very popular back in the day.

Farther down are two shots of one of the fanciest Ford front ends I have ever seen!

Thanks again Tom R for a bunch in great photos.

[George House]

Once again; the highlight entertainment of my day !! Many thanks Tom ! I don’t know how you do it - but keep doing it ! The ‘10 torpedo appears to be a RHD judging by the generator on the right runningboard. But it also appears to have black/brass cowl lamps ? The almost new late ‘25 coupe by the sea must’ve been built with larger brake drums.

[JTT3]

Thanks Tom for the pictures & intrigue.

[Mark Gregush]

I can't decide if that coupe photo is era or (more)modern? Maybe that mirror on the fender or looks almost over restored, paint is just too shinney.

[Wayne Sheldon]

Mark G, When I first looked at that coupe photo, I was 90 percent sure it was relatively modern. The more I look at it, the more sure I am (about 99 percent sure now!). Whether it may have been taken in the 1960s, or within the past few years? I don't know. But film was different in the 1920s than it was since World War 2. And digital is even more different. There are programs today that are supposed to mimic the films of a hundred years ago, and although they do a good job of trying, after closely looking at thousands of era photos? There are still subtle qualities that just say it isn't what it appears to be.
That subtle quality, makes me look closer at details in the picture.
The biggest thing, really is the tires. In the first place, history gets in the way. A rarely considered fact is that an unknown percentage of model Ts between 1916 and 1923 actually left the factory with "sort of" whitewall tires. A million? Three million? Nobody knows for sure. Many factory photos show true blackwall tires, or off gray tires. Yet quite a few factory photos clearly show the off-white wall with dark gray or black tread tires on cars and chassis. Once the cars left the factory, the dirt roads of the day "blended" the black or dark gray and off-white enough that it often does not show in photographs. Closeups and zooming in sometimes does show the "sort of" white walls.
Where "history gets in the way", is that the era "sort of" white walls were "white wall" on both sides of the tire, and they were not a distinct shade differential. The tires on this car clearly appear to be whitewall only on the outside, and very distinctive. (No sign of whitewall on the inside of the far side!)
Looking closer, they look suspiciously like Universal/Coker straight rib tread tires (with a much flatter tread base than the era tires had!)
Couple all that with the fact that the "sort of" whitewalls were pretty much gone from the factory by 1923 (the latest factory photo I have seen clearly showing them!), and therefore should not be on a 1923 or 1925 coupe?
There is of course another possibility. True whitewall tires were sold after-market for model T Fords. They were NOT popular in the era simply because MOST model t owners wanted good tires on their car for practical use. A couple extra dollars for some "flash" that didn't even last long just didn't make sense!

On the subject of accessories that really were not popular? A few photos farther down are two nice shots of the front of a 1923 or earlier open car (I cannot tell for sure if it is a touring car or runabout?) One of the things I LOVE about that car is how it is the exception that proves the rule! There actually were some owners that went nuts over fancy accessories that basically did not sell very well at all! After-market windshield with fancy visor. Nickel trimmed bumper. Nickel trimmed headlamps. And that radiator shell! I KNOW they were manufactured. I have seen a couple original ones. I have seen original (or copies of) advertisements for them. I don't know if I have a copy of it or not, but I have seen a few times a photograph of a parts counter in an era auto parts store with a shell like this displayed on a wall shelf!
Yet out of the thousands of era photos I have looked at, I doubt I have seen even five such shells on a car in the era.

The T coupe in the coupe photo in question? Has a couple things very popular with hobbyists today, that were NOT popular in the era.
Step plates. VERY popular with a lot of hobbyists today. In part, that silly black painted running board just scratches and wears through way too easily! (I thought that was what rattle cans were for?) They were manufactured and advertised heavily in the era. And I remember back when I was a kid going to swap meets and seeing quite a few original ones. But the truth is, on model T Fords in the era, they were not common. While more expensive cars got them a lot more often, and many automobile manufacturers provided them as standard equipment or a factory option? I doubt that much more than about one in a thousand model T Fords in the era ever had a step plate. They just do not show up in era photos that much.
The "Ford" script on the radiator. Another thing that was made and sold in the era, but never sold in large numbers. Also, they were more commonly sold during the early and mid 1910s when people wanted to point out what kind of car they bought! The radiator script was a Ford factory item in 1909 through 1910. After-market sellers didn't stop making them and offering them until the depression. Even after that, unsold sock hid on shelves for decades! So again, they were available! But they almost never show up in era photos of the late 1910s or 1920s. (Except for Pierce Arrows! Their owners seemed to like to brag about what they drove?)
Rear view mirrors (generally speaking!) were very popular accessories! Hardly required anywhere, they show up in era photos by the hundreds! Almost always doorpost or windshield post mounted. Bigger, heavier cars with more solid fenders began using fender mounted mirrors in the late 1920s. Several years Packard (and many others) offered them as factory options! And earlier, after-market fender mounted mirrors were tried, offered and even sold, in small numbers. I have seen a few on late 1910s and 1920s larger cars in era photographs. And, I have even seen a very few on model Ts in era photos! I was even shocked when I spotted one in a photo a couple months ago! A Ford model T shakes and vibrates way too muck. A fender mounted rear view mirror would be nearly useless. A very good reason WHY they were not used often.

Between the radiator script, step plates, and fender mounted mirror, that coupe has three things rarely seen on Ts in the 1920s. The glass visor and the radiator cap were fairly common back in the day, and now. Those three rarities coupled with the tires means it almost has to be a modern photo.
Someone that has seen THAT car will likely see this thread. Will they speak up?

[Wayne Sheldon]

This picture appears to show the "sort of" whitewalls on all four tires.

seatcovers anddoordoiliestouring.jpg (92.79 KiB) Viewed 2428 times

It appears to be some sort of staged photo, whether a story line or gag with a first aid kit and a "broken" arm?
While I have dozens of harvested photos showing one or two such tires, this one shows more of them more clearly than most.

[Dennis_Brown]

The second to last photo appears to be on the Needles Hiway in South Dakotas Black Hills. It is still in use today. I am sure many of you have driven thru it. As the crow flies, I grew up about 7 miles from it.

[TXGOAT2]

Re: Coupe photo

There's nothing in the background that indicates time or place. It's probably a beach, but it could be a desert area. The car is very clean, even under the fenders, while the tires have sand or dirt on the tread area, suggesting that the car may have been parked and wiped down just prior to being photgraphed. I'd think sand damp enough to coat the tread area of the tiers would also have been deposited under the fenders. I doubt if the fender mirror would have been of any use under most driving conditions, but it may have been useful when backing up. The open windows and windshield indicate warm or hot weather. Could the background be a matte painting?

[kmatt2]

I agree that the picture of the shining coupe on the beach is most likely modern. All the things pointed out would point to that, like the tires. One thing not mentioned is that the demountable rims are painted black, the rims on such a new car would show the original cad plating if the picture was from the 1920’s .

[Wayne Sheldon]

kmatt2 said " One thing not mentioned is that the demountable rims are painted black, the rims on such a new car would show the original cad plating if the picture was from the 1920’s ."

Excellent point! Very good detail spotting!

With that fender mounted mirror? Someone should recognize the car. Even if they do not wish to name the owner, I am hoping someone will chime in knowing who owns or did own it. It is a beautiful car. Someone should be proud of it.
I did look through the forum's "Owners Gallery" and although several 1924/'25 coupes are pictured there, this one was not.

[Dollisdad]

With the thousands of pictures I’ve looked at, every once and awhile I see one that has the basic feel of long ago, but is not. I have snuck them in a few times and sometimes they don’t get mentioned, but others, like this one really get dissected. We have some really smart people in this group who question the validity of what they are seeing and throw that back and forth with each other until they reach the appropriate conclusion. That’s what makes this group so interesting. The collective knowledge never ceases to amaze me. All I did was lift the color out of the original. Well done to all the Sherlock Holmes amongst us.

[Wayne Sheldon]

Interesting. Guess I need to keep an eye on you?
No, ALL good!
I know about a year or two ago, there was one I questioned the vintage of the photo, a few people proclaimed they believed it from the era. I just left it alone.

I cannot thank you enough for finding and posting all these wonderful photos here. They are educational and should be seen and studied. I lack the time and computer skills to do that level of searching myself. However I love to study the details of historic era photos!
Again, thank you.

[TXGOAT2]

It's a painting!

"This is Not A Ford"
By that famous artist, Ford Maddox Ford.