MTFCA Forum

I'll be honest....I've never liked the looks of the spare carrier that came on black era Touring cars. It hangs low, at a weird angle. It looks like an afterthought by Ford.

And that spare rim with a tire and tube installed is heavy. Add that weight to the weight of the carrier and you've got a whole lot of weight leveraged way out there, bouncing around...using that spindly little crossmember to support it.

I just don't like it.

So...now that I've revealed those heretical thoughts, I'd like some input. If I don't run that carrier, what are some options for mounting my nifty Model A stop light/license plate holder? I guess I could mount them to the fender. Any other ideas?

Since I know you're not a "purist", mounting the stop/ tail/ license plate holder to the left rear fender using the same stand as the 26-27 tourings and other body styles used, ought to work fine.

ModelTWoods wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 04, 2020 12:59 pm

Since I know you're not a "purist", mounting the stop/ tail/ license plate holder to the left rear fender using the same stand as the 26-27 tourings and other body styles used, ought to work fine.

Yes and no on the "purist" thing. I'm being "pure" about limiting any mods to this car to those that would've been available prior to around 1945. And your 26-27 fender mount is a good suggestion, and would fit the bill.

There is a top saddle bracket mount that will work for the light but not sure about the license plate. Or, use an earlier kerosene lamp iron

Thanks John and Steve.

I’m interested in learning more about both of your ideas. Do you have any photos?

Here's mine. If I were doing this again I'd make it a little more stable by adding a brace attached by the next running board bolt toward the rear.

Top end.

Bottom end.

The whole works

This worked OK, but eventually I installed a stock carrier on the back of the car to clear the running board for cans and camping equipment.

You need the carrier directly above this post. No need to put holes in your fender. Hopefully the three holes are underneath your body where this carrier is positioned. I have this carrier on my 1920 and I believe 1924 is the same. If the bracket for the light doesnt cover up the tail light portion of the carrier you could always cut that part off. It should look OK.

I’m having trouble visualizing where the bracket (in the.photo below) goes, and what the long skinny part of the bracket is for.

That bracket is for a Touring & it mounts under the body on the left rear cross wood.

Thanks for all the superb tips. The bracket that mounts under the rear of the body gave me an idea...

I have two of the spare carriers that mount on the rest crossmember, both of which are beat up and heavily repaired. So I cut one of the arms off of one of them and made a taillight bracket.

It mounts to the crossmember, just like original and keeps with my “pre-1945 farmer hack”.

It’s just mocked up in the photos. It’ll come back off and get cleaned up, etc.

The vendors sell 'improved car' right side tail light brackets too.
Here's mine.

That’s a great looking runabout Terry. I love period political sign...how cool.