Titled as a '26 but . . .

[paddy1998]

My touring car is titled as a 1926 but bears none of the improved design features of a '26/'27.

The engine number is 12521890 and my research indicates that it was manufactured at the River Rouge plant in October 1925.

Keeping in mind that the engine may not be original anyway, is there some other way to narrow down the date of manufacture of the car?

It has an oval gas tank under the front seat, 16" O.D. Fordite steering wheel, 11 inch rear drums and wire wheels.

Thoughts? Does it matter? Or is it enough that I've got it narrowed down to '20 to '25?

Or did they manufacture some of these in 1926 before changing over to the improved design?

[Marshall V. Daut]

The sloping windshield would make it 1923-25. The large drum rear end could make it a late 1925. How about a view of the front fender's raised curves? Does one curve go under the side splash shield or run parallel to it? Under would make it a 1925, parallel would be 1923-24, give and take a month or two depending upon the assembly plant's supply of obsoleted fenders for the 1925 model. The wire wheels didn't come out until mid-1926, so they are definitely incorrect for your Touring, although a nice reliability and safety feature over rotted wooden spokes.
Marshall

[Dallas Landers]

We have something in common. Mine is titled as a 25 but its a 26-7

It matters not to me as its a driver and workhorse. I cant help much to determine the year of yours but its a nice looking T. Someone here will tell you what to look for to narrow it down for you.

[paddy1998]

Seems like it goes under (if I'm understanding what you're talking about - I'm still learning the lingo.)

[Steve Jelf]

You're right about October 1925. Monday the 19th, to pin it down. That's in the 1926 model year of course, but the absence of any improved car features makes me suspect it's a replacement engine in a 23-25 car.

[John kuehn]

Your car sure looks to be a 25 to me. It’s not a 26 body wise. If that’s the original engine in the car and it’s a Oct build date it could have been sold as the next years car or it was a T that didn’t actually get sold until early 26. The wheels are 26-27 wires and were probably added later.
There are more than a few T’s that have had replacement engines in them from years gone by that have been misdated because of the engine no.
If you have a clear title I wouldn’t worry to much about it unless you want the title to be more correct. Most DMV folks wouldn’t know the difference. The only thing they are concerned about would be if it’s a stolen car and they would use the engine no to verify it if it was or not depending on the situation.

[paddy1998]

Hey, thanks for all the info.

I'm not worried about the title (it's been titled as a '26 for at least 35 years) just more curious than anything.

It became an issue in my mind when ordering parts and such.

[Tiger Tim]

Hey, thanks for all the info.

I'm not worried about the title (it's been titled as a '26 for at least 35 years) just more curious than anything.

It became an issue in my mind when ordering parts and such.

The engine could well be a 26, especially with that serial number. The big obvious change made to engine and trans that year was a set of wide pedals for the clutch and brake, and a less visible change was a set of bolts between the top of the hogshead (trans cover) and the back of the block. It seems those bolts are frequently missing but the presence of the holes is a clue.

There’s a pile of more subtle stuff if you want to go down that rabbit hole too. The online encyclopedia can be a big help and then there are of course forum members who have enough experience to see this stuff at a glance.

[RajoRacer]

Hard to distinguish but from the first photo, it appears the rear door hinge is longer at the bottom than the top one - indicates a '23 - '24 body. Door hinges that are parallel would indicate a 1925.

[Norman Kling]

Several things to bear in mind. Ford would typically make "improvements" during the year and when the assembly plants still had parts left over, they would continue to assemble the cars until they ran out of the older parts, then switch to the newer parts, so some cars assembled on the same date at different places would be different from those assembled elsewhere. Another thing is that in some states, the car was dated when it was first registered in that state, so if the car was first sold after the first of the year, it would be registered at that date. I don't think people were as concerned about "year model" in those days as they are today. One more thing to consider, is that many cars more recently "restored" were put together with a mixture of parts from various years.
Norm

[Altair]

A 26 frame would have the serial number stamped on the passenger side under the floor boards.

[Jim Sims]

From the steep angle on the cowl, lack of the wide radiator apron and not seeing any apron on the fender skirt. I claim this is a low radiator 23.

[John kuehn]

If it’s a low cowl 23 it has the later 24-25 fenders that have the lip next to the radiator on it.
You can see the fender lips in the photo. The earlier and later fenders in the 17-25 era will interchange. A lot of T’s have have either this or that style of fender on them in this year range.
A look at the engine to see if it actually has a 26 engine in it will tell the rest of the story. If it’s a 26 engine you can tell by looking at the back of the engine just below the cyl. head and see if it has the 2 bolts that go through the transmission cover and screw into the back of the block.

[Mark Gregush]

This might help to see if it has low or high radiator to help date the car;
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/41 ... 1403557682
Generally you can't mix and match body, hood and radiators between low and high radiator cars, things just don't line up. Tops, windshields, fenders different story.
From Bruce's book, the US one man top was introduced in September of 1922. If it has low radiator and one man top, I would say it is a 1923 model. If it is a tall radiator it would be a 1924-1925. There is, except the rear end, wheels and maybe engine, nothing 1926-27 about this T. I am guessing someone used the engine number (?) to title the car if the engine is 1926 as described above. I would let sleeping dogs lie re the title and paper work, but if you do sell it disclose the information to buyer. (I don't think without a lot of rework that the forged front irons can be put on 1926-27 frame)