MTFCA Forum

I’ve been wondering about the colour of my green 1926 Runabout... The reading I have done clearly indicates that the car was never offered in that colour.

From The Improved Fords for 1926 and 1927 (MTFCA) Bruce W. McCalley. Rev. July 1, 2000 "The improved Ford Runabout is finished in black." "In late 1926, perhaps for the 1927 models...open cars could be had in Phoenix Brown or Gunmetal Blue"

From the advertisement "THE RUNABOUT" it lists Blue or Brown only.

So I must conclude that the car was re-painted at some point. I’ve looked closely in hard-to-paint places and can’t find any sign of any colour except black and green. So I suspect it was a black car originally.

Unless it was a Pickup that was converted to a Runabout. The pickup was available in Commercial Green. What clues can I look for, that will indicate whether my car was converted to a Runabout from a pickup?

Just curious.

It's possible it was originally pickup, or it may have been one of some number of roadsters ordered by a large business direct from Ford, which may have been painted Commercial Green or a company color. Texaco used to paint a lot of stuff a similar color. I'd think you could find some of the original blue or brown under the seat or inside the turtle deck or looking up at the body from below if it had ever been another color. I'd also look at the firewall, inside and out, for another color showing in nooks and crannies or around bolts and nuts and around wear areas, such as around door latches, hinges, and hood and deck lid hinges and latches. Most all resprays that involve a color change leave plenty of evidence of the original color, especially if the car has seen some use.

I believe the gunmetal blue may have had a "greenish" tint to it, but not like the green shown in your picture. However, I am red/green color blind, so I may see color differently than you.

There was some talk about the metal panel behind the front back rest had an inverted "U" stamped in it for the runabout, and no stamping for the pick-up but I am not sure that is true.

Another item is the bun panel in front of the rear fenders. By the rear fender some bun panels ended with a vertical embossing and others extended into the rear fender area and ended in the wheel well. Some say, the embossing at the end of the bun panel was used for the runabout and the one that extended into the wheel well area was for the pick-up. However that may not be true! They were listed as part number S-155 for the pick-up and S-154 for the runabout a few years ago. That should give you an ideal of the panels we are talking about.

Another item, not for sure, is both sides of the body when looking in the trunk (assuming you have a trunk) at the extreme widths has an almost vertical section that may have holes to thread bolts in to attach the trunk. There would be two holes on each the right and left sides to attach the turtle deck to the body. It was thought if you had a pick up back you would not have these two holes on each side. However I have a 1926 runabout or pick-up that does not have the two holes on each side to mount the turtle deck (which some say indicates a pick-up) but has the embossed inverted "U" metal panel behind the seat (which some say indicates a runabout).

It seems more looking for the actual truth results in more questions than answers! That is part of the fun of it!

So in summary I have not helped you, but perhaps some experts can help give us a more definitive answer in regards to the statements above.

Arnie

I believe Ford offered and promoted spray paint equipment to dealers in the late T era. It's possible the car was painted to a customer's preference at the selling dealer.

Was your car US built? I don't know about Model T's but in the Model A era, Ford of Canada used different paint colors. Other "foreign" plants may have done the same

According to a post from Steve Jelf in 2015, 1926-27 Ts were Casino Red, Emerald Green, and Straw. 1n 1927 Black was available. Wire wheels were always black from the factory. The car in the OP is a repaint.

According to a post from Steve Jelf in 2015, 1926-27 Ts were Casino Red, Emerald Green, and Straw. 1n 1927 Black was available. Wire wheels were always black from the factory. The car in the OP is a repaint.

Sorry about the double post.

Base on the appearance of the paint finish in the photo, the car was repainted at some point.
FROM https://www.mtfca.com/encyclo/1926-27H.htm
....and a choice of colors! Well, not really a choice. Initial production offered the Fordor Sedan in “Windsor Maroon.” The Coupe and Tudor Sedan were offered in “Channel Green.” There were no options; maroon Fordors and green Tudors and Coupes. Period. The Touring and Runabout were available in your choice of black. note 1
All cars featured new nickel-plated headlight rims as standard equipment. In addition, all closed cars came with a nickeled radiator shell as standard, with this being an option on the open cars. note 2
Notes
1. In spite of the initial announcement of maroon and green closed cars, it seems that these cars were also supplied in black if surviving examples of original cars are used as evidence. Perhaps some of the assembly plants could not be geared up for the new colors initially, in spite of the ads to the contrary.
2. As with the paint colors, seemingly original 1926 cars have been seen with black headlight rims, and closed cars with black radiator shells. While these could have been changed in later years, it doesn’t seem likely since there are so many examples.
...
All cars, regardless of body style or color, came with black fenders, splash aprons and running boards. (Running gear was, of course, also black.)

Runabout option - PICKUP vs TURTEL DECK read this for detailed pictures as well http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/41 ... 1394467684
From the discussion it would appear that you can ID as an original Pickup but not necessarily as built with a Turtle Deck (the original holes referenced may be different - factory vs owner modified)
By Dan Treace, North FL on Monday, March 10, 2014 - 11:57 am:
"Andrew, if the Runabout was factory made, these bodies didn't have the captive nuts on the rear bucket upright to secure a runabout turtle deck. "
further down
Les Schubert on Friday, March 14, 2014 - 10:24 am:
I also have a factory Canadian pickup. It has the bolt holes and the embossed rear panel. What it does not have is the trunk floor panel which makes sense to me. The pickups also had the tail light mounted to the box and not the rear fender, so no holes for the tail light in the rear fender.

Yes, this is a US car, not a Canadian-built car. I should have mentioned that in my post!

FundyTides wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 23, 2021 7:48 am

Was your car US built? I don't know about Model T's but in the Model A era, Ford of Canada used different paint colors. Other "foreign" plants may have done the same

Very observant! yes, it was clearly repainted at some point. Where the paint is cracked and flaking you can see the current layer of green, another layer of green below, then metal. There is no sign of any colour other than green, anywhere that I have looked. I have yet to pull the seat out - I understand that the original colour can sometimes been seen under there. I also want to remove the door panels and look more closely inside there. How do you remove door panels, BTW?

TRDxB2 wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 23, 2021 12:01 pm

Base on the appearance of the paint finish in the photo, the car was repainted at some point.

Thanks for this link - helpful post. I will look for these clues next opportunity.

TRDxB2 wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 23, 2021 12:01 pm

Runabout option - PICKUP vs TURTEL DECK read this for detailed pictures as well http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/41 ... 1394467684

When I restored my '26 touring I almost desperately wanted it to be a color other than black. Alas, when I pulled the gas tank the paint on the underside of the cowl clearly was clack. The same was true of the color under the wooden seatback supports, both front and rear. It was obvious to me, new, the car was black. I would encourage you to look in those often overlooked places if you really want to know the original color of the car.