MTFCA Forum

Hi Folks
It has been awhile since I have been on this forum and have a couple questions.

Got my car out and cleaned up for a good drive and a friend sent a picture to a friend of his that has several model T's. He came back with some responses to the picture about my car and I want to see how true they are. So I am sure these questions have been ask in the past and I have looked a little but thought I would just ask them to get it all in one place for me to look at.

My Car is a 1926 Roadster I bought about 5 years ago.

1. My Car has Wood Spoke wheels. I was told they did not come with wood spoke wheels in 1926. Is that a true statement or did they come with wood spokes?
2. I have read that color was introduced back into the line in 1926. I was told they were only available in Black in 1926. Is that a true statement?
3. I have see pictures that has the brace between the headlights and some do not have it between the headlights. Did they make them both ways?

The car was black when I bought it and did not run. When sanding the body down I found red under the black and under the seats. That is why I went with the red. It has had a very old restoration done to it at some point.

Thanks for any information you can provide.

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No 1 Yes it could have come with wood wheels. Wire wheels were mostly closed cars and when production of them ramped up, special order.
No 2 For open cars, black would have been correct till late 1926, But if you like that color and you found samples of it when redoing, just smile and walk away.
No 3 Depending on what part of the year the car was made it could have come (early) without a brace and later with one. The early cars had a stem mount to fenders setup without factory cross brace, later cars had a u shaped bracket on the headlight that mounted to headlight bar. There were aftermarket cross braces that could be fitted to earlier 26 cars. Without knowing when your car was made in the calendar year can't tell which might be correct.

Maybe there was a difference in models but my '26 touring came with wood spoke wheels, was black and with a light bar, however I have seen several photos of 26 models with no light bar and fitted with pedestal lights and some with no lights at all. It is conceivable that dealers may have modified some cars and they get labelled as "factory".

Thanks for the reply. According the the SN the car was built in June. And that is if I am reading the book correctly. The same SN is on the engine and the frame rail so I would say that is the correct engine for the car. I do like to color of the car and I try not telling people their cars are not correct because it is their car and you can build them the way you want them. If they ask for an opinion that is a different story.

Thanks for the quick response.

Gerald, that is a very nice looking car. I share your attitude regarding not feeling the need to inform owners of everything "wrong" with their car if not asked. Mark G gave good advice retarding that aspect. The hobby would be just that more genteel if more folks took that approach.

All the above is correct. Wire wheels could be bought from the dealer for an extra charge and the headlight bar was actually introduced for cars with bumpers to raise the license plate from behind the bumper. They could also be bought just to reinforce the fender supports to give more strength to the fenders.
I have color painted both my 26's but my attitude is to keep the basic mechanical parts nearly correct for the year. As to the engine, so many engines have been swapped over the years that it is hard to tell if one has the original block. Some blocks were produced after the production of the cars and those were not stamped with a number. The owner would then stamp the original number on the block. I personally don't like to do this unless the original block has been destroyed beyond rebuildable, because I don't like the idea of two or more cars with the same engine number. If you are building your car for a show car, then it might be best to keep it black and keep everything original, even the vaporizer and timer. However if it is a driver, don't worry about it. Most people, except some club members either don't care or don't know the difference. I have actually pulled into a gas station and had people ask, "What year is it? Is it a '46?" It's kind of like one time when I got on an elevator and some asian people were also on the same elevator. I asked, "Are you from Japan?" They looked very ofended and said, "No! We are from Korea!". So now if I do ask, I just ask them, "where are you visiting from?"
Anyway, have fun with your car. It is beautiful.
Norm

My '27 left the factory in green and it is still green. For '26 and '27 there were four color choices plus black. Green, blue, gray, and a reddish maroon. The '26 in the OP is a true red and isn't correct, but it looks great and as was said earlier, unless you are planning to show the car,
Just drive it. The only people that will notice the color isn't correct, are T people and those who believe that all model Ts were black. I like it! BTW: My March-built '27 came with wooden wheels. If it had wire wheels, I wooda looked for someone with good wood wheels to do a swap. I know that wire wheels are stronger and arguably better, but if I wanted my T to look like an A I'da bought an A. No offense to anyone with a wire-wheel T intended.

I love those hickory wheels even if they are painted. They should be strong enough for any driving you do unless you hot rod around the curves. I only switched to wire cuz I cant install clinchers by myself. Love the red as well.

From the encyclopedia

1926
COLORS: All cars were painted black, with black fenders, initially. Closed cars were then offered in colors: green for the Tudor and Coupe, and Maroon for the Fordor. Other options offered later in 1926, perhaps for the 1927 models.

WHEELS: Open cars used 30 by 3-1/2 tires all around. Non-electric open cars used non-demountable rims but all others used the demountables as standard. Before Calendar 1926, non-demountables were discontinued. Front wheels used taper-roller (Timken) bearings on all models. Hub caps have Ford in script letters. 21 inch demountable wheels standard on closed cars, and optional on the open models. Welded wire wheels were offered as an option, beginning about January 1926. Standard wire wheel color was black but colors were available. The hub caps for the wire wheels were entirely different, being crimped on to the wire wheel hub. The Ford logo and Made in USA was similar to the regular hub cap, however.

1927
COLORS: All cars had black fenders. Various body color options, ultimately on all models. Black no longer available except on special order.

WHEELS: 21 inch demountable wheels were standard, wire wheels optional on all models. Late in the model year, black wire wheels became standard on closed cars.

Note primer colors were red or gray. Sanding may have revealed the primer. Under the seat?

Thanks everyone for the responses. Maybe the red I saw while sanding was the primer. I am still pretty happy with the car as is. I have taken it to a few local car shows and it is usually a big hit and I have won several trophies with it so I am very happy.

Thanks

Something about a red and black car!