MTFCA Forum

What body style is on this T truck? Its really growing on me!

Roadster set on TT chassis

I agree with Matt on that, but I don't believe I've seen that done before. Interesting indeed.

Early production TT's were sold only as a chassis and the buyer or dealer could put on their own cab and bed ranging from home made to commercially available after market bodies. Ford wised up and by 1924 the TT could be bought as a chassis, or with an open C cab, or closed cab, with or without a stake bed or express box. Of course, someone could repurpose a car body and put it on a TT chassis. All the body brackets except for the firewall, I believe, are different for the Truck cabs and car bodies, so the TT frame body mounting brackets will not line up with car body mounts. I agree the roadster body makes a nice looking TT, and would be a lot more comfortable for the driver and passenger too.

I'd like to have one just like it.

We had a local fellow install a steel C-Cab & '25 p/u box on a car chassis - quite unique.

Steve, a lot of guys are making Frankenmodel Ts like that. Too bad. I’ve had 3 Ford steel cab TTs -2 enclosed and 1 C Cab - and, although those body styles are hard to find, TT rear ends and frames are plentiful and almost give-away items.

A long time ago, when I was just getting into this hobby, I was still in high school, and rode my bicycle for many miles in all directions. San Jose and Santa Clara county had not yet been taken over by suburbs, and there were literally hundreds of working farms scattered all over! The canneries ran full swing half the year, big rigs hauling fruits and vegetables the few miles from farm to factory.
Riding my bicycle around was wonderful! I saw so many wonderful pieces of history. Some things still being used, old buildings, water towers. I knew where dozens of antique era cars and trucks were. I knew of at least six TT trucks sitting on farms, unused for a decade or more, that had common model T rubout bodies on them. Made perfect sense. The farmer would buy a new TT truck, at the time it was a chassis only with fenders, hood, and lamps. He could have paid good money for a local shop-built cab and bed or box? But why? He could just as well nail a few old boards together and built his own rough seat and bed or box. However, there was a better way. Right up the alley of the prudent farmer. By 1920, the country was littered by thousands of worn out or wrecked old model Ts. Used model T bodies were readily available and cheap! Bodies clear back to 1912 were easily adapted to the firewall and steering column, and mounted onto the frame with little or no major effort.
I saw one front half of a touring car body on a TT chassis. But usually the runabout was used. Some clearly had had the top still used years earlier. Talk about riding in style and comfort!
A long time ago, I decided that I wanted to restore a TT using a runabout body on it. It will probably never happen. The TT I did restore I built a wooden body that fit my needs at that time. I had a lot of fun with it, but eventually sold it. I did buy a set of wood plans for the 1915 to 1922 runabout bodies when I found it at a swap meet about thirty years ago. Those plans came in handy when I restored the body for my 1915 runabout. So some good came out of the idea.

Wayne,
Thank you for the wonderful story! My new mission is to find a runabout body for one of my TT projects. It sure would make a comfortable snowmobile! Do you still have the plans?

When I bought my 1921 coupe, it was a toss-up between it and the TT with a roadster body sitting next to it. Coupe won. The finish on the above setup is nicer than most TT's that got a roadster body. The frame that would have been under the T deck is extended back under the bed and looks finished.

Saw this one in a museum today.

BushMike C,
I had to check to make sure I knew where they were, but I do still have the runabout body wood plans.
However, the plans I have are old, and not complete. If I recall correctly, I found some notation somewhere that indicated they had come from Harrah's research library. My runabout had some original wood in it to use for patterns, and the plans and original wood were not quite the same. Pat of the problem is that especially during the 1910s, model T bodies were built and supplied by several different companies. Also, even with a few companies working hard they always having trouble keeping up with demand. Things like seat frames and floorboard risers designs were altered and changed numerous times, and then sometimes changed back. The seat back support also varied a lot.
Most of all that is not included in these plans. Also, there are no drawings for the wood inside the door itself, or the floorboards. So while the plans may be a lot of help with the main sills, pillars, and part of the seat riser/support? Much of the upper body, seat framework (if yours is to be wood?), floorboards and doors, you or someone else will need to get creative, find good photos, or other information.
I was lucky with my body, in that the seat frame itself was steel. Seat frames varied a lot, some were all wood, many mostly steel, and some a mix of wood and steel. Plus my body had the original wooden risers in fair enough condition to copy. And Those pieces, the plans are identical to my originals! The upper tub pieces and seat back I just got creative and cut to fit and sort of resemble photos of restored cars I found searching the old years of this forum.

I did offer and did send copies of what I have to one person on the forum a couple/few years ago. And have offered to send copies to the Model T Museum (again a few years ago). At the time, there was some indication that the Miller and/or Parker plans were going to become available. However, I have NOT heard whether that actually happened or not. At the time, I sort of dropped the idea of sharing my set (such as they are?) largely because they are incomplete.
If better sets of plans are again available? They may be worth the cost! On the other hand, if they still are not available, or are too expensive? I would be willing to get another copy made and mail them. (Provided the place hasn't gone under like so many others around here?)

Let me know. (I would need an address to mail them!)

mbowen,
That looks like one of the form-a-truck trucks. Smith Form-A-Truck was one of the best known offering such kits. But there were at least a half dozen others. Jewett, a company not affiliated with Paige, and the Graham Brothers (who years later bought out Paige to form the Graham Paige automobile company), were among the several companies that manufactured and sold form-a-truck kits for the model T.