1916 Coupelet

[Russ_Furstnow]

Thanks to the Covid pandemic, I completed the restoration of my 1916 Coupelet in record time. I've spent the past year finishing off teh car, and now it is ready to drive and enjoy. I purchased the car from Mike Walker following the MTFCI Boone, MO tour. Mike had worked on the car, but decided to sell the car when he could not get the body woodworking done in a timely manner. I took the body to Ray Wells, who did a very nice job completing the wood in the original body, and then took the engine to Jim Blair of Tucson for rebuilding. The engine was cast on 12-28-15. As the engine was being rebuilt, I restored the rear axle, front axle and transmission. When Wells completed the body, I took the body to my Friend Mark Stevens, who massaged the body panels and laid down a beautiful coat of Limco Urethane "Ultra Black" paint. Following the paint work, Ernie Romero upholstered the seat and side panels, and then installed the beautiful top.

After picking up the body,and painting the chassis, I invited my family to come over and "unite" the body with the chassis. I then painted the fenders, splash shields, running boards and hood. I found a NOS set of Universal "smooth" tires which set the car off very well. The fenders and lights were installed and the car was nearly completed. It was finally time to start the car, so my wife towed me around our one mile loop in our F-250 to loosen up the engine and drive train (I remove the spark plugs when I do this.). When I installed the spark plugs, the car started immediately on magneto!!!
All was WELL! The car drives very well, and while I probably won't drive the car on the dirt roads around Flagstaff, it will be taken on tours and outings.

[Mopar_man]

What a nice can and great job you did.

[Russ_Furstnow]

Not one scratch!!

[Russ_Furstnow]

Here is what it looked like before the restoration!! It needed a bit of work, but it was all there and ORIGINAL!!

[StanHowe]

That is absolutely GORGEOUS!!! I saw it at Mike's and thought it was going to be a big project but a worthy one! Glad you took it on an finished it.

[RajoRacer]

Nice job, Russ BUT I would have installed that "other" engine !!!

[John Warren]

Great to see it going, I was drooling on it when I purchased the Canadian engine from you. A beautiful thing!! Thanks for sharing.

[KeithG]

Kudos to Russ! That's a beautiful restoration.

Keith

[Russ_Furstnow]

Steve, Good catch about the Rajo, BUT I don't think it would have fit too well under that small hood! Russ

[Dollisdad]

Very nice Russ, very nice. And your right, lockdown has been good for progress on projects.

[Aussie16]

Another spectacular Coupelet restoration. Well done. On behalf of the forum members and my selfish self, could I trouble you for a picture of both the 15 and 16
Coupelets together?

[Wayne Sheldon]

What a beautiful pair they will make!
Now on to the 1917 couplet!

[Fire_chief]

Great looking car. Hope to see it on tour.

[Jim Bowery]

Beautiful Restoration Russ

[It's Bill]

What a jewel! Russ, could you comment on the finishes in the engine compartment? It looks like the block, head, and all the fasteners are unpainted. Is that the way they came ex factory, and did you apply anything to keep the appearance fresh? Hats off to you, Bill

[MWalker]

Outstanding job, Russ.

[Russ_Furstnow]

Hi Warwick, We still have snow on the ground here in Flagstaff, AZ, so I don't have a photos of the cars together. I'll do my best to show similar profiles of each right now.

[Russ_Furstnow]

Bill, The engine block and head were painted with a low-gloss black engine paint from O'Reileys. The engine pans were painted gloss black and the transmission cover is natural aluminum.

[John Warren]

I see now that I probably was mistaken thinking I saw the car, the one I saw probably was the 15. Both WOZERS .

[RustyFords]

It's stunning.....congratulations.

[Aussie16]

Thanks for the additional pictures for comparison. does the 1916 feature the same brass mouldings around the body and are just painted black or was the external brass discontinued for the 16' model year. the 16 looks much more plain with the absence of the brass, however, it is still beautiful.

[Russ_Furstnow]

Warwick,
The brass top molding on the 1915 is not present on the 1916. The 1916 has a special leatherette "welting" that is unique. The 1916 is definitely understated when sitting next to the 1915, as there is not nearly the same amount of "fancy" brass trim on the car. As for usefulness, the 1916 is a much better car, with its oval opera windows on the top, the deck lid on the top of the trunk instead of the rear trunk door on the 1915, the electric magneto horn and the leatherette top rather than the leather top on the 1915. The 1916 sold better too since the price was dropped to $595 rather than $750 for the 1915.

Both cars are a unique part of Model T history.

[John Codman]

Beautiful!

[fbergski]

Beautiful cars! My 16 had brass welting/trim around the top, see picture. Build date for my car was November 1915, 970533.

[MWalker]

The brass trim was also with this car, even though it has a '16-type top.

[Russ_Furstnow]

There were different manufacturers of the coupelet body, and it is clear that different trim was used on the top. Check out this photo of an original top that is in excellent condition that uses the leatherette trim. I know the brass trim was used up through mid 1917 since my 1917 coupelet has the brass trim.

[Angmar]

Fantastic car russ, very well done. Neat to see some of the before shots.

[George Danek]

Russ,
Nice addition to your Coupelet collection. Hope to see one of them at this year's tour. I do have a question for you about the rear taillight/license bracket. On the '17 is it the bracket that mounts on the rear body panel or the one the mounts underneath the rear body panel.
George

[Russ_Furstnow]

George, The license bracket is identical to the runabout for 1916 and 1917. Russ

[Henry K. Lee]

Sure is Purdy!!!!!

[Mark Wing - NM]

Russ - what a wonderful restoration! What a great example of attention to detail and dedication to authenticity of a rare car. I want to give Russ a "shout out" as he has been very helpful and supportive of me on an early (rear opening trunk lid) 1915 Coupelet that I'm restoring. In addition to being the source for some very rare Coupelet parts, Russ has generously shared his sources and knowledge. I've found the 1915 Coupelet body style to be poorly documented relative to the more mass-produced Model Ts and Russ' recent articles in the Model T Times (Jan.-Feb and Mar.-Apr. 2020) have been invaluable. I've also visited his home in Flagstaff, AZ to study his 1915. Russ thoughtfully contacts me when he notices a part on eBay that he knows that I'm looking for and is correct for my application.

I acquired most of the sheet metal and other cast parts for the Coupelet body from fellow Tin Lizzies of Albuquerque member Larry Azevedo. Larry is our local Model T expert, mechanical wizard, current MTFCA President, and a Rosenthal Award recipient. After my initial restoration of the body components, they were delivered to Ray Wells of El Cajon, CA in Dec. 2019 for re-wooding. After picking up the body from Ray in May 2020, I've been refining it in preparation for painting. I hope to haul the finished body back to El Cajon later this year for the leather upholstery and blue wool-lined leather top by Ernie Romero. Once the body is under control, I can turn my attention to the drivetrain, fenders, running boards, lights, etc. For these tasks my fellow club members and I rely heavily on Larry Azevedo's expertise, shop, and generosity.

Congratulations Russ on another outstanding project!

Mark Wing
Tin Lizzies of Albuquerque