MTFCA Forum

Attention West Coast MTFCA members:
There's a real nice looking 1915 Touring for sale on the bring a trailer auction site, I believe located in California. It has all the bells and whistle updates for serious driving,
including:
* Electric starter,
* Waukesha Ricardo head
* Delco distributor
* Hassler shocks
* Warford 3-speed auxiliary transmission
* Rocky Mountain brakes
* And much more.
It has real nice looking paint, nice presentable interior and (2) sets of wheels and tires.
It is a no-reserve auction and it's currently bid up to a whopping $2,650.00...if I was on the left coast, I'd be paying attention! Good hunting!
Kind Regards,
Rick Rice

Speed equipment and accessories aside, that car is a real mongrel as far as being a 1915 Ford is concerned. Body may or may not be 1915. Windshield is later., Splash aprons are later. Running gear is later. Engine is later. Blah, blah, blah.

Those top bows are a real rube goldberg. The first bow is either the second bow from a roadster or touring or the fourth bow from a touring. The second bow has forks at the ends of the sockets. Look at how high the fourth bow is - like a cat in heat!

The accessories, if in good shape, are probably worth more than the car. At the right price, it's a good buy. It does not rate a high early car price premium, being much modified.

I sincerely hope that the final buyer does not find this Forum. Doing so would blunt their feelings of excitement and pleasure of owning such a nice looking vehicle. Presently at $5000 it is a steal, given that the paint on the thing likely cost $3000+. Yes, it's a bit of a put-together, but it's a much better looking put-together than many put-togethers that have graced these pages. Correct or not, it is a fine looking car that has excellent period accessories which should make it quite a nice tour or parade car, which ever the new owner choses to do.

For those looking at15 Tourings there is also one for sale on the HCCA site. Has a 16 engine and looks like its set up quite well for touring. I have no affiliation with the ad.

Presently at $5000 it is a steal...

Quite true, but that won't be the final price. I expect there will be a bidding frenzy at the end, and it will sell for considerably more.

Amen Scott Conger! Tough crowd anymore for sure!

We often pick apart cars for sale to help those less knowledgeable about these cars know what they are looking at. Not all that glitters is gold.

The car in question is very nice! It would look great anywhere a model T belongs! I would say it should sell in excess of $15,000. It should not get close to $20K because of the wrong engine! It does not technically qualify for the HCCA national club. Although the dirty little secret is that quite a few cars on their tours also do not technically qualify. The rules are there, and for good reasons. They are not always strictly enforced. Some people do get upset about that.
HCCA Regional Groups are allowed to extend the qualification years and rules to fit local needs. Most Regional Groups would happily allow this car on their local tours. However, some Regional Groups (including the one I belong to!) take a tougher stand with those rules. They may, or likely won't, allow this car unless one is actively working to replace the engine with a correct era engine! They may or may not allow it on a tour as a guest.

Whether the car in question ever was a "real" 1915? At this point is anybody's guess. There are a bunch of good photos of the car on BAT. Several do show a fair number of things wrong on the car. Certain specific details curiously do not show up in the many photos.
The funny thing I noticed in the photos? The rear wheels are wood felloe non-demountable wheels whereas the fronts are later steel felloe demountable wheels! Must be a story behind that?

If someone is interested in looking at the listing?
This might help;

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1915-ford-model-t-12/

Beware of any 1915 Ford in California! Many of them are not 1915's at all, and a converted from later Model T's.

If it's as good mechanically as it is cosmetically, that's a very high end driver car. It is not represented as being original. The description mmentions many modifications and states that the otor is a "replacement".
Is it a 100% 1915 production car? No. It clearly isn't. But is has the look, and that would suit me for a car I wanted to drive a lot, if it was reaonably priced. I'd figure that car at $13 to 16 K, if it would stand a close inspection and a half day test drive.

Strictly speaking, there are no strictly original 1915 Fords known to exist today. Should one turn up with 0 miles I doubt seriously if it would be in touring condition without a number of items being replaced with non-factory parts.

I looked at all the photos and don’t feel the need to give an opinion as it is very well presented. Unsolicited opinions don’t do anyone any good.


Andy

Listing says that it's in Downey, CA. I live in the next town over. If I had room for another car, I'd be all over it.

I probably should keep an eye on this one.

I hope any potential buyer also looks @ ALL the pictures & has the knowledge & experience to know what they are getting into.
This T could be a very good brass looking driver to run as is, but would be a deep deep money pit for someone wanting a 15.
There are a lot of neat accessories & serious modifications. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Nuff said.

It sold for $18k, which is good news for the buyer. Model T auction sell prices on BaT seem to be creeping up again, which is good. Variation certainly depends on the year and vehicle.

Does anyone know who bought this car?

The more I looked at the pictures the more things I noted as pretty cool for a good touring car. I wouldn't be surprised if it even had a Model A crankshaft. I saw an interesting oil pump for the pressure oiling mounted to the side of the block just above the starter?? Those Master outside brakes with the cast iron medium sized drums were operated by some kind of Unique lever system.

I hope the new owner sees the license plate frame from the Long Beach T club and joins our local clubs! Would be fun to see this car out on tours.

Brought 18K to the seller, and I gotta admit, even for a 1919 "composite 15", even tho a little rich for my blood (imo), it's still a pretty car, and someone is going to have a LOT of fun wiht it!

Beware of any 1915 Ford in California!

Not just California. My "fake" 1915 was assembled in Kansas about fifty years ago.
In the words of Dude Lester, "That don't hurt the runnin' of it none."

I believe I know who bought it. I was offered $$$$$$ to pick it up and trailer it to the bay area, and use it on a tour up there, but was unable to because of previous commitments. The car is not a true 1915 either, as most of them in California are not.

I like to note the things that aren't correct and those I don't prefer when I look at a car too. It is good to have some knowledge of what is right. I know some of my cars couldn't stand the scrutiny given here if I showed all the detail this one has in selling it. Some of mine are better for knowing more. I like Steve's comment "That don't hurt the runnin' of it none." The cars and owners bring a lot to the hobby and fellowship of having them. I hate to think of anyone feeling unwelcome for things that aren't correct. They are wonderful regardless. There is value in pointing out how cars can be improved, and I hope it can be done without losing any interest in them.
Thanks for the comments and consideration.
Rich
I don't think I could get that much for most of mine.