1914 Stuff

[Original Smith]

I recently acquired a very low mileage 1914 touring. As with many models up to 1925, the sediment bulb handle was broken. Since I had a spare, I was able to replace it, but I had no way of telling if the screen was good, so had to remove the that assembly which was not even serviced when new! The screen was ok, so all I needed to do was install a new lead gasket. To tighten it I used a 3/4" short extension and a long crescent wrench to give it even pressure. I also tried a new sealant product for the threads called Gasoila. It never hardens, and takes the place of Teflon tape. No leaks! I'm using the original gas line which is exactly the same as the diagram Dan Treace posted last week. All of the original headlight tubing is intact too, and even still has the old red hose. Only the piece to the carbide generator is missing. I finally got the hot air pipe to fit the back of the carburetor too. My friend Don Skille was able to fit it in a 1 1/4" collet, and close the opening slightly. Now it fits. More later.

[rbishop26]

Hey Larry,
I've got an extra broken sediment bulb handle off my '14 if you need it???

[ThreePedalTapDancer]

Let’s see the 14!

[david_dewey]

Wow Larry, your garage must be stuffed! At least the piano fits in the house (or it used to. . . . ) So, how do you like it? Now I know what you've been doing instead of listening to piano rolls. .
T'ake care,
David

[KeithG]

Larry, We need pictures!!!

Thanks,

Keith

[Original Smith]

Yes, I know. I hate taking pictures. Maybe I'll get around to it. My car is more of a '13 than a '14! The firewall is still drilled for a '13 steering column, although it has a '14 steering column. I have the sediment bulb problem fixed, no leaks. The car was built in November of '13.

[Original Smith]

Here you go guys! I did it just for you. I don't work on it much, but try to get a little done on it daily. Here is the engine number: 378058, Nov. 21. The car has few miles on it, probably because the driven gear was shot before I bought it. The hand crank is a tight as new, and still has an aluminum handle. The ratchet is riveted to the crank. It has a model 100 speedometer on it that a previous owner must have installed, as it hasn't been hooked up ever. I plan to have Russ fix me a model C, which really isn't correct either, but I'm putting one on anyway. It also has the extra large 1913 hubcaps. The top is shot, but hope there is enough left for me to use as a pattern. The upholstery is also original to the car. The handle for the sediment bulb was broken, and I fixed that yesterday. More later.

[Original Smith]

I failed to note for you to notice the hole in the firewall for a 1913 steering column.

[Wayne Sheldon]

Wow Larry, that is one nice original '14!
I liked seeing the picture of the floor mat. About forty years ago, I bought about three pickup truck loads of miscellaneous model T parts and stuff. Amongst all the good and bad of it, were two original floor mats. Their condition was not very good, and the rubber was pretty hard and brittle, so I never did anything with them. I just kept them somewhat protected, and laying flat and mostly out of my way all these years. Hardly ever looked at them, or paid much attention to them. About two months ago, I needed something that they were in the way of, so I dug them out for the first time in a long time. Turns out, one of them is what I thought both were, a common later one to fit the tapered cowl. The other one appears to be a pre-'15 with nearly straight sides all the way to the front edge!
So I enjoyed seeing your picture of part of the floor mat, straight and square like what I didn't realize I had. How much did those change over those years. I know some of the early ones were white. And I have read that there is considerable disagreement on how late the white mats were used. Some factory closeup photos of the front compartment seem to show white floor mats in both 1914 and 1915 touring cars. Then again, those could have been special factory mats for better photography so that the dash and controls would show up better? So much we still do not know.

[ThreePedalTapDancer]

Very nice. I hope you research the 14s as thoroughly as you do the 13s and give us the info.

[Chris Instness]

Very nice car Larry! What have you discovered about the wheels. Has all the paint flaked off or were the spokes replace and not painted? I was under the impression that natural spokes were not offered until later.

[KeithG]

Nice looking car, Larry. Thank you for posting the pictures.

Keith

[Bud Delong]

Any body numbers?? Any idea of the body mfg ?? Bud

[Original Smith]

The floormat is definitely not black, but close to it. I wonder why Snyder didn't put Made In USA in the corner like the originals? Since this car has had many owners before me both the rh wheels may have been changed, or a previous owner may have wanted natural wheels, and then never got around to finishing them. Another thing that bugs me is a previous owner must have had issues with the fenders, splash shields, and running boards, because they have all been replaced with the correct parts. When all that was going on a former owner replaced the body mounting bolts upside down. I can't stand that kind of stuff on my cars, so decided to turn them over. Well, I'm glad I did because the two center bolts were 1/2" diameter. They are supposed to be 7/16. Here is the issue. You can't buy 7/16 NF bolts with an 11/16 head. I know the four flywheel bolts are the correct thread, and have a 11/16 head, so I plugged the two holes in each bolt, threaded them a bit higher to match the originals, and drilled new cotter pin holes. Are any of you aware Ford used three different lengths of body bolts on the same cars? Enough for now!

[Rich Bingham]

Gosh Larry, don't leave us with a cliff-hanger! Please fill us in on the body mount bolts !

[Norman Kling]

Nice looking car! Now I know why you call yourself "original" Of course, that title can have two meanings! One is you want everything original, the other is you are one of a kind or "Original"
Norm

[Steve Jelf]

I was under the impression that natural spokes were not offered until later.

That's correct. Wheels were always painted body color until early 1926. Even after they became an option, I believe "natural" wheels were uncommon. How many do you see on cars in period photos? Mighty few. They are mostly a modern fad.

[Kevin Pharis]

I was under the impression that natural spokes were not offered until later.

That's correct. Wheels were always painted body color until early 1926. Even after they became an option, I believe "natural" wheels were uncommon. How many do you see on cars in period photos? Mighty few. They are mostly a modern fad.

While Ford may not have offered “natural”wheels from the factory... most original ads offer natural varnish as an option. There are a few ads in this ‘ol thread;

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/50 ... 1231297433

[Colin Mavins]

Here in Winnipeg the dealer offered natural wheels as fare back as 1912 ,one of our club members back in the 1960s how worked on my 1912 T when it was new told my Dad all the cars had painted wheels when new ,if the customer wanted natural wheels they would take a new set of the shelf and varnish them , and do a switch at no charge. He said this was very common . My 12 had painted wheels on it in a 1936 picture . When Dad bought it they were natural and he left them that way .

[Original Smith]

Sometime a previous owner replaced, or worked on the running boards and splash shields, which of course means removing the body bolts. That person didn't keep track of the bolts, and two of them, a front and a center got lost. He put in 1/2" home made bolts in the middle. They do fit snugly, but are incorrect. I don't have any extras to use, so I had to adapt flywheel bolts to do the job. This was necessary to me because I like stuff correct, even though the parts can't been seen easily. I even had Don Skille contour the heads of the bolts to look original.