Post
by Wayne Sheldon » Sat Mar 14, 2020 3:37 am
Dallas Landers is probably drooling at those rear fenders you posted pictures of! His beautiful Martin-Parry restoration is missing them! Awhile back he said the last thing he has to finish on his TT is to replicate a pair of rear fenders for it. I tell you this so that although not particularly valuable, you understand they are something special and you protect and cherish them.
I zoomed in to the photos you showed. I can see the rear end has the "bead" on the ends of the center housings. That is an early feature, used for only a bit more than two years. Primarily 1918 and 1919 and maybe some or most of 1920. Those years also usually had solid rubber rear tires, so it is likely that a number of things have been changed over the years. The truck likely also had non-demountable front wheels and tires originally.
TT trucks were developed during 1917, but actual production did not begin until very late in '17 calendar year for the 1918 model year.
More details on your engine block would help with identification of it and your truck. There are a few things about that engine block that don't really hurt it, but could help clear up its past. It is clearly a replacement block of some sort. Just how much of one remains to be found out.
First thing, the embossment on the side of the block originally was of a single level between the serial number area and the water inlet. I can see that yours has been ground down over the serial number area, leaving the water inlet at probably the original height. It appears that was done to remove,or minimize the original number so that the new number would show better. It MAY be that the number has been changed more than once as the depth of the number stamping is usually NOT very deep, and yet the removed number still shows a bit much. The number style/font appears to be original, however, most Ford dealers and many garages had original style number stamping sets (they can be gotten even today, but expensive and hard to find). Another anomaly, The numbers (both series) appear to be higher than most blocks I have seen. That may or may not also indicate later stampings. It may be that the engine was an original era replacement block, stamped by the dealer. Then later changed to a different vehicle, and changed again.
Details about the block, style and location of casting dates if it has them, generator mounting bosses or not, and single or double valve chamber style and covers. Any or all could help date the block's era.
The 178#### serial number is too early for a production TT, and it is very unlikely you have stumbled onto one of the five or seven (depending upon source of research) pre-production prototypes (none of which are believed to survive). The December 1919 number would be a good fit for an early TT. The truck chassis probably never had a number anywhere but on the engine. The body looks to be an era professionally-built cab, there were quite a number of regional builders of such cabs. Martin-Parry was one of the better known, and more desirable ones, but there were dozens of others as well. Many, but not all, professionally built truck bodies did have a body number in addition to the engine number.
Nice truck! And one of the better preserved originals I have seen in a long time.
