MTFCA Forum

I find this car very interesting.
Very early '09. Square bill front fenders, covered wood running boards with screw on brass trim,
3 tiered side lights, Atwood Castle head lights, Troy windshield.
And an aluminum body! The higher mounted door handles and the way the upholstery fastens to the body give it away.
Plus, it's had "fore doors" added.
Not many of the very early cars had aluminum bodies.

The first picture is of a 1913 T. It is interesting in that the lamps and acetylene generator are all brass rather than black and brass. The windshield is also brass rather than painted black and the horn is the standard black and brass. The headlights are Model 19 John Browns which were used in 1911 and 1912.

Ford routinely had crossover times between model years and other changes where both earlier and later items might be used, often out of "proper" place. There are enough era photos of late 1912s with the black and brass lamps for a 1913, as well as early 1913s with the all brass versions intended for the 1912 models to believe they must have been sold that way. Whether it was actually Detroit? Or perhaps branch assembly plants or even local dealers mixing things up is still open to debate.
Just some of the continuing mysteries of the model T.

I enjoyed the 3rd picture where the owner replaced the left cowl lamp with a magneto horn Why not ? Once again, many thanks Tom for your good efforts.

I enjoyed the first photo. Yes, it's a very early '13, and is typical of those cars made in 1912. I think that car may have been around for awhile, notice the striping is all but gone on the body and wheels. And, what is that T shaped device over the radiator? Notice too, the lack of the windshield support bolt on the side of the body, as discussed in a previous post a month or two ago.

I wondered what that "bar" was too, Larry - maybe a towel rack or hanky dryer ?

Original Smith wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 19, 2023 11:33 am

I enjoyed the first photo. Yes, it's a very early '13, and is typical of those cars made in 1912. I think that car may have been around for awhile, notice the striping is all but gone on the body and wheels. And, what is that T shaped device over the radiator? Notice too, the lack of the windshield support bolt on the side of the body, as discussed in a previous post a month or two ago.

Didn't the striping come from the body people or even the dealer? May account for the lack of it? Owner didn't wanna spend the extra money? It is good to see the "little flap" on the top boot also. So many repop boots don't have it..I even paid extra to Mike for mine to be correct.

The gentleman with the coupe has added a road or 'driving' lamp under the fender. I too did the same

But, did ya’ll also notice it’d be impossible to spin crank start that engine in the first photo ?

Not impossible - just awkward ! I have a '15 Runabout in the shop with accessory bumpers - not an easy task.

The first photo also shows a "cap" running from the bottom of the windshield across the top of the body all the way across the top of the rear door. You can also see the brass screws that hold it on.