MTFCA Forum

I and another Model T restorer have volunteer to work on restoring a 1928 Midget Model T built on a reduced size chassis and custom body. This vehicle is owned by
a local museum in Bay City Michigan .Very little information has been found so far about The Midget Car Co. Of Findlay , Ohio . It is believe that only 500 of these cars were produced. We are seeking additional information. Any help will be appreciated. Joe

Years ago when there were many GM plants Dobson heavy haul was in Bay City at the old round house site?? Bud.

Could it be related to King Midget?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Midget

That car appeared in a 2014 thread -

Click on this link and scroll down once the page opens.

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/41 ... 1393968104

Good of you to step up Joe


FJ

It looks like it has Mini Moke wheels.

Found this picture on Pinterest.com said it was from Hemming's but couldn't get any details than that. Put the picture of it alongside the Dobson. The wheels are different and there is a drip edge above the Dobson rear doors. Roof line is a bit different too. Perhaps this was a kit or Plans for a DIY Well I found (pininterest.com) The source of the photo was smcar.net , supposed to have blueprints available upon request. You'll need to compare measurements no idea what a full size one is.

Thank you all for the feedback so far. Here are a couple interesting things that have surfaced. The engine number is 15110042 which makes it a July 1928 build date. Also there no markings on the cylinder head that I can find so it is not a Ford head . Also it had TORNADO Brand distributer which is made of pot metal and badly cracked and swollen. Also it has a period correct Holly Vaporizer that is in good restorable condition. Pictures attached. I’m assuming that the Midget Car Co purchased new engines from somewhere but not Ford because not Ford head. So far the car is in good shape with almost nothing worn out. We are going to install a new Texas T Distributer. Comments are requested. Joe

Joe,

For your engine -- it would not need Ford on the engine head: Ref: https://www.mtfca.com/encyclo/E.htm#eng3 where it says:

Other records indicate that in August 1926 the " Made in USA" and "Ford" were being eliminated from the head castings.

That also agrees with the Model T Ford Club International Judging Guidelines, 7th Edition which also comments that the "Made in USA" and "Ford" were also not on the engine block.

Good luck on tracking down additional information. Posting a note on the AACA forum might help. And sending in a photo with what you know and your questions to "Hemmings Classic Car" magazine might give you additional leads. From their website it has: Recently discovered a unique or noteworthy classic car? Let us know. Photographs, commentary, questions, and answers should be submitted to Lost & Found, c/o Hemmings Classic Car, P.O. Box 196, Bennington, Vermont 05201, or emailed to dstrohl@hemmings.com. For more Lost & Found, visit https://www.hemmings.com/blog/category/lost-and-found/.

They are good at finding information and they usually will publish the photo with a request for any readers to send in comments.

Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off

There was another one of those "Midgets" posted on the forum in the past but I have yet to be able to find the thread with the photos. It may have been posted in the classifieds under the pre-2019 format. If it was, then that post is gone.

In any case, without being able to see better and more detailed photos, I doubt either one of those cars were built in the 1920s. I'll bet they are post WWII creations. They might be projects from plans published in "Popular Mechanics."

Also, regarding the yellow car. Isn't there any provenance, i.e. record of prior owners? It's unfortunate when antique cars are bought and sold, nobody ever bothers to pass along information or write things down or buyers don't the sellers questions regarding the car's history.

If I were seriously researching, the first thing I would do is go to the Findlay public library or the nearest historical society and research Findlay city directories to see when the company was actually in business.