MTFCA Forum

I just picked up a low cowl roadster body. Is there any way to figure out what the year is? I can post lots of pics, but I'd just be guessing. Tell me what I should be looking for or you want to see to help me ID it. Thank You forum for your help.

Chad,

Did the upper cowl appear to have a metal dash? If so 1920-23? And did the front of the seat riser (driver side) have a hole for a starter button?

Hank

If you are building this back, I have a bunch of misc sheetmetal pieces.

Above the door at the end of the arm rest is a metal end cap. The large one is for 17-22. The small is 23-25. From your photo it looks like it may be the large one. Photo from Snyder catalog.

Yes, It has the large caps, but that makes sense being its a low cowl body.

Hank, when you say dash, do you mean the "firewall" or are you talking the "instrument panel"?

The "firewall" I received with the body is a non stock plywood with a metal band around the top and just down the top curve part which had the clip for the hood center rod to slid into.

I did not get an "instrument panel" with the car

It will be going on my Gow Job build, so no intention of returning it to 100% factory stock, it is cut off already exactly where I need it to be. I will be trying to rewood it as stock though. For my build, It has to appear to be a "stock" as would be found in a junkyard circa 1935. What panels do you have?

I did not get a seat riser....yet, but I have been told it has been found with the cowl panel so I am just waiting for the middle man I bought it from to retrieve it for me from the previous owner.

Also, are doors from '24-'25 interchangeable with an earlier body like mine?

I believe the doors do not interchange, but I have some low styles, need work but good. Wooden firewall probably 1919 down with coil box and key mounted there. Will look tomorrow on body panels.

Hank

The door would be the same from 1915 to sometime in 1925 before they changed the hinge per the body parts book.

Is there anything else I can use to pin down a date on this body? Or is it just going to be 17- 22

I think some of the pieces that may further ID the year I don't have, but I appreciate any help. Thank You

Found a little more info. This is a pic of the seat riser from the car (not in my possession yet). It is meta and has a hole for a starter switch. So according to the sites encyclopedia it should be the earliest of 1920 (as 1918-1919 cars had wooden seat frames, and starters were first introduced 1919)

It's interesting this calls 15-22 a Torpedo rather that a Runabout. According to this, except for the Battery trap door, everything from 1917 or earlier is the same thru 1922 or replacements will fit. We know the cowl changed several times so this may not cover subtle changes. I hope others will mention any other differences. Otherwise they are all pretty much the same. I should have realized the large caps weren't a logical clue.
Rich

I have a 1919 Runabout, Roadster , Torpedo or whatever you want to call it just like what’s pictured. I restored mine to as close as I thought I could get to what I thought it was.
In saying all that I decided it was at least a 1919 because of the seat riser which had the hole for the starter switch.
Going by what you have it appears this car, parts is a 1919 because of the electrical equipment. (Starter) maybe actually a 20 depending on when it was built. Hard to pin that down for sure.
I found a dash that was correct since the cars with a starter had one.
The cars that didn’t have a starter didn’t have a dash and the coil box had the ignition switch mounted directly on it.
If you want you can use the metal low cowl firewall that came out in 22. It will fit and work just fine but the wooden firewall would be correct. Cars have been built up that way and again depending how correct you want to be.
Don’t think your cars pieces are cut off but just missing the sheet metal pieces that went around the rear deck. The turtle sat on top of the rear deck.

Whether mine is a 1919 or later I’m not 100% sure but the engine I found later for it was a 1919 serial no. So that’s what I used to get a title.
All I had to begin with when I started on mine was the parts like you have. I gave 25.00 for the remains that was found in a field and went from there.
Have fun with yours. Good luck.