They are still out there

[EricMac]

Phil and Mark Eyre heard of a 12 Roadster for sale. This is the car the found when they went to look at it. It turned out to be a 12 Torpedo Roadster. They now are up to three Torpedoes.

Eyre 12 Torpedo

[Victor Borg]

What a beauty!! did they buy it? What is the difference between a roadster and a torpedo roadster? (my ignorance on display again)

[Hap_Tucker]

Eric -- thanks for posting -- great find!

Victor -- Disclaimer: Depending on the reference and who is speaking the names Roadster or Runabout as are used interchangeably by some references as well as what people call them.

For the 1911 & 1912 model years, the standard Roadster had a mother-in-law seat on the back and the gas tank was under the front seat. For 1911 Torpedo Runabout & 1911 Open Runabout as well as the 1912 Torpedo Runabout the major visible difference was the body. The gas tank was NOT under the seat but located behind the seat. The 1911 also had a lot more unique parts (2 inch longer hood, special dash brackets to mount the firewall 2 inches further aft, longer steering column, special pedals, special short running boards, running board bracket riveted to the frame in a different location to enable the shorter running board to be mounted etc.) while the 1912 was basically the standard Ford chassis with the 1912 Torpedo body mounted on it.

Take a look at the sales literature at: http://www.mtfca.com/books/11Cat.htm for the 1911s and at: http://www.mtfca.com/books/12Cat.htm for the 1912 cars.

For both the 1911 & 1912 models see also -- and you can click on the thumbnail illustrations and they appear larger and are easier to see.

For 1911 -- From: http://www.mtfca.com/encyclo/1911.htm Bruce wrote:

For 1912 -- From: http://www.mtfca.com/encyclo/1912.htm Bruce wrote: The Torpedo Runabout was now based on the standard Runabout, except for the enclosed front compartment, and the fuel tank and tool box on the rear deck (instead of the “mother-in-law” seat).

Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off

[Mark Gregush]

Sweet for sure, but i was expecting to see an unrestored early car that had been pulled out of hiding.

[EricMac]

It sort of was pulled out of hiding. This was a car that used to get driven and toured quite frequently. With the declining health of the previous owner it hasn't been out in a while. With about an hour of work it was drivable yesterday.