Mark,
Congratulations! Looks like a great car!
You probably already know that the earlier 1913 bodies had a manufacture's fix provided to the customer at no cost. Note the Beaudett body did not appear to need this fix as often and the same is true for cars produced after Mar 6, 1913. But if you have an early 1913 and it does not have the reinforcement brackets, you may want to consider installing them or some type of reinforcement before you drive it a lot?
Ref:
https://www.mtfca.com/encyclo/doc13.htm
JAN 28 1913 Acc. 575, Letter 395, Ford Archives
T-5637 Body Reinforcing Bracket Bolt. "Four required, Touring Car, 1913."
T-5453 Body Reinforcing Bracket. New Drawing. "Two required, Touring Car, 1913."
T-5638. Sketch showing location of Body Reinforcing Bracket. "We have made this sketch for the purpose of showing customers who are having trouble with the touring car bodies how the trouble can be overcome. The material has been ordered and we will be able to supply same in the near future. For your information will state that the construction of the body has been improved upon and undoubtedly will not need this reinforcement as soon at the change can be brought about. We will therefore order only enough material of the above parts as shown on sketch to take care of the bodies which have already been built."
FEB 12 1913 (Letter from Ford to the Chicago branch)
"We have decided to place an extra body bracket just beneath the tonneau door hinge of the Touring Car body, extending from the frame of the body sill as you will observe from blue print enclosed. We have entered order to send you one hundred pair of these brackets and we want you to put them on every car now in stock. It is also our object to supply larger dealers with a quantity of these brackets so that they can install them before the cars are put out on the road next spring. The purpose of this bracket is to stiffen the body sill and prevent too much play in the door when the top is down, also binding in the door when the top straps are drawn up too tightly."
Installation instructions followed with hints on how to add or subtract shim washers in order to align the doors.
MAR 4 1913 Letter, Ford to the Cincinnati branch
"In attaching the Touring Car body reinforcing brackets, be sure they are fitted 1/8" to 3/16" from the top of the frame so that when the bolts are put in it will pull the sill down. Unless the sill is sprung down 1/8" or so when the bracket is attached but little benefit will be derived by the reinforcement. All bodies coming through from now on will be fitted with heavier sills so that attachment of extra brackets will be unnecessary."
JUN 12, 1913 Letter from Ford to all branches
"In order that all our branches may clearly understand the handling of complaints on present touring car bodies we submit the following:
"It is expected that you will furnish all Dealers with body sill reinforcements, wood reinforcements for the rear seat frame and also rear corner brackets as shown in the attached blue print. To make a satisfactory and permanent repair all of this material should be put in. We have found that the sills break most frequently within a few inches of the rear end and in such cases the rear corner brackets will serve to bind the sills together. The wood reinforcements in the rear seat will relieve the rear ends of the sills from all strain, consequently there is no necessity of replacing the sills on account of the wood splitting at the end. In applying the steel stamping underneath the tonneau door you will find it necessary to chisel out the wood at the lower rear corner on all Beaudett bodies and perhaps shim up other makes of bodies where the bracket spreads out at the rear.
"As this body trouble is going to be more or less general perhaps you had better employ one or two good body men to do this work. We believe this will be better that to leave the work to the ordinary shop mechanics to handle. As the season advances you will probably have a great deal of this work to do and you might as well prepare for it now."
JUL 14, 1913 Acc. 575, Letter 434, Ford Archives
Noted that 1913 Touring bodies were made by Herbert, Fisher, Wilson, and Beaudett. Apparently the Beaudett bodies differed in construction from the others. Beaudett bodies with a filler block on the rear door hinge posts apparently did not need the steel reinforcing pieces.
NOV 24, 1913 Letter from Ford to the Denver branch)
"Kindly give us by return mail your present inventory of the following:
T-5668 reinforcement, right
T-5669 reinforcement, left
T-5675 rear seat frame reinforcement
T-5678 rear corner bracket."
These are the 1913 touring body reinforcement parts.
Again, congratulations on your "New" addition!
Respectfully submitted,
Hap l9l5 cut off