A custom body sedan?

[Dollisdad]

I have never seen a sedan that had a body that looked like this or that had 4 door hinges. Have you?

[Dollisdad]

Also, here is a 1912 Coupe with an unusual body. Have you seen one of these?

[Joe Bell]

I recently seen a Columbia bodied Fordor, it was more squared off and the doors shut like a Brewster bodied car, wish I had a picture, any one else ever heard of one?

[jiminbartow]

Just my opinion but I don’t think that top picture is a T. The hood curvature and small louvers, the curvature of the radiator and stubby neck, the doors, the square cornered windows, the trunk with the nickel body protector strips on the back and the joint where the splash shield connects to the front fender are all wrong. Too many differences for it to be a T...but it is a nice looking car. Jim Patrick

[Mark Gregush]

Companies did sell aftermarket bodies for Ford Model T's. If you look close you can see the front spring perch. In the rear there is a gas tank with the opening on the right side just behind the tire, I don't see frame horns stick out alongside it. T headlights, fenders, running boards and wheels look Ford to me. In most cases that I have seen when you got your new fancy body, matching hood and radiator shell came with it, sometimes even fenders.

[kmatt2]

It is a Ford T chassis, look under the front fender, you can see the end of the transversal front spring, a Ford thing. The fenders, head light, etc are Ford. The car's license plate blown up on my little phone is hard to read but it looks like 1921. In US if you wanted what Ford would later in 1924 call a Tudor, in 1921 a outside body builder was your choice to stay with the Ford chassis. There were many company's in 1921 that gave you that choice with up scale bodies.

[ThreePedalTapDancer]

[Rich Eagle]

I'm reading the license plate in the first photo as an Alabama 1927. Something seems to be obscuring a letter prefix.
I also agree that the fenders and chassis are model T. 1925 or earlier.
Rich

[Susanne]

Also, here is a 1912 Coupe with an unusual body. Have you seen one of these?

[image]E28E5F40-7AEA-40D6-901C-400C5E5C34C9.jpegE5B4B5CA-0504-4B66-AB45-267B58312AD6.jpeg[/image]

Swoon....

I haven't seen one, but wow, I am enamored on first sight. a '12 coupe? The details on it? And... it looks like it has leg room!

What a car. Wow. I usually wouldn't say this but yeah, I am in love.

[Allan]

The light coloured tulip bodied roadster above was built by Duncan and Fraser in Adelaide, South Australia. Little else is known about it. The same photo is in David Chantrell's book, "Legacies Left Untold", detailing the story of Duncan and Fraser as Ford agents and distributors for the state.
A replica of this car would be a great project. My Haigh's chocolate van is based on the 1912 Monarch Laundry van photo also found in the same book, although I built mine from that photo published years ago elsewhere.

Allan from down under.

[Mark Nunn]

To my eyes, It appears that the coupe has a rear-facing jump seat. Maybe I'm seeing something else.

[DanTreace]

Mark

Yes, think that center door custom seats more than 2 at least. Custom body builders made closed car bodies for the Ford early on. Many held more than 3 or 4.

This company advertised in 1915, would supply any needs.

[DanTreace]

I have never seen a sedan that had a body that looked like this or that had 4 door hinges. Have you?06AA1327-8CCC-4BC5-A950-01E0028713EF.jpeg

Not real sure, but that custom bodied sedan may be an Ames. They were famous for the racy bodied speedsters, but made closed cars, and also this special touring sedan, with fixed top, now this is on later T's, but you can see the outward exposed hinges that were on Ames bodies.
Another hint is the rear of that custom body has the padded upper, that is an Ames feature.


Ames Tour Sedan, fixed top, removable side windows.

Ames tour sedan.jpg (110.43 KiB) Viewed 3571 times

Ames tour sedan 2.jpg (76.01 KiB) Viewed 3571 times

[Kbillet]

Say What? A 12 coupe with gas lights and an interior dome light. Just saying.
Keith,

[Mark Gregush]

Say What? A 12 coupe with gas lights and an interior dome light. Just saying.
Keith,

They were battery powered, batteries had been around for a while...in fact they go way back in time.

[Luxford]

I think between Dan Treace and James Patrick the first photo has been solved.
Jim noted the shape of the hood, the louvers and the stubby radiator neck.
All shown in Dan's photo's of the Ames, Ames made a 4 door sedan, so probably also a two door sedan.
An Ames guy hopefully has an ad or front photo of one and can share with us.

The 1912 Coupe body has all the features of electric cars of the period such as Baker Electrics.
Maybe the body was built for a T by the Baker or other electric car body makers or an owner liked the style and had one of the bodies mounted on the T chassis.
The interior dome light would make sense also, would have been in an Electric car.