MTFCA Forum

I know I kind of painted myself into a corner by starting with a 26/28 depot hack to convert into a 1917 WWI ambulance, but it's what I had on hand and my budget could afford. So, it will never be anything more than representative of the specisis, which is more than acceptable to me and the people hearing me tell it's story. So, I have 26 engine with cowl box mounted on the head, high radiator and high hood and 26 fenders and running boards, but it's all Ford Model T.
But here is today's challenge that I could use some insight from the forum members with. First two pics will be what the ambulance should look like. My issue is the cowl. It appears to have a metal cowl and possibly metal lower cowl side pieces, but they might be wood. I have a wood firewall that doubles as the hood support. It was attached to the depot hack windshield and both pieces were bolted to the firewall to frame brackets. I have the windshield frame mounted temporarily, but it will not stary. I was thinking of just building a squared off cowl plywood panel to hold dash switch, cowl lights and some sort of floor board supports.
But, the real deal appears to have this meatal curved cowl, probably off a 1917 Model T model??
Can I obtain some sort of metal cowl upper section that will bolt to the existing high hood firewall? I presume I can create some sort ot metal or wood side panels from the upper cowl down to the side skirt. If I can obtain a metal upper cowl, what year and model would I look for that would fit this firewall?
Or, should I go back to some sort of flat wood panel and build it out towards the interior if I need to for appearance.
Thoughts?

And here is what I have to work with.

Last two.

I used a standard Ford cowl top panel on my 1917 shooting brake, and made the side panels to suit. The windscreen is wood framed and the uprights bolt directly to the cowl. The wooden fire wall is directly bolted to front of the same uprights. It looks like the photo of the model you posted.

Allan from down under.

Hey Robert, Dave up in Ohio..... I've got an idea that would be easier to explain over the phone, I'll try to call you in the morning. If you don't hear from me give me a call.

A hood tight up against the wooden firewall like that will require considerable care when lifting, to avoid dragging the back corners on the paintwork on the firewall. You will need to put forward pressure on the hood handle to flex it to the front while lifting. This will overcome the fact that the centre hinge line rises at the rear.

Allan from down under.

Here's an official 1917 photo of the standardised Ford Ambulance Model of 1917 for the U.S. Army, as can be seen it has a standard civilian cowl, it should not be too difficult to find a restorable cowl at a swap meet in the US or from one of the known parts sellers on this forum. Success on the build !

OK, Dave, I'll wait to talk with you. I may need your address again anyway for the nickle head light rings. Sounds like I need to locate a cowl top and blend in some sort of side panels, which is all doable.
But, I want to know what to ask for when I start looking for cowls. A quick search of FleaBay finds different cowl tops for low and high firewalls. I presume I have a high one as I have a high radiator and a high hood. But I am not connecting anything else to the cowl top, no windshield or doors , so I don't know if it makes a difference to this build.
Good point on the hood sitting on the wood firewall/former. I could increase the thickness of the wood if it is an issue and I am wrapping the wood edges in webbing or leather to protect both the hood and the wood. In my pics I do not have the hood support rod in or the woood adjusted, so the hood is just sitting in place.
I'll post a wanted listing in the classifieds for a cowl top once I'm clear on what style or type would fit my firewall the best.

Robert,

If you want to do a good WWI ambulance, there are plenty of 1918 era chassis to start from. It would be worth your time to do so.

But what if you want to use the car at hand? Well, instead of shoehorning a cowl and so on, why not evolve the project to suit what you have? Here's an army truck that has no cowl, and a body that your current depot hack body could be easily modified to represent. Eliminate the windshield from your car, some army drab and a bit of canvas and you're set.

This particular car was an X-Ray car. Had no idea they existed but you can only imagine what's inside. Like something from Jules Vern.

Come to think of it, if you showed up in an X Ray car you'd have all the crowds on the field. This version is a GMC but that doesn't mean they didn't use Fords.

It probably is still glowing in the dark in some US Army depot.

Not sure what you have for a body but in scanning the internet for Army ambulances 1915-1930 I found none with a wood window frame above the hood line. This link is for a scale model WW1 ambulance with significant details that you might find useful in building yours. It also has a common cowl that appeared in many pictures https://www.keymodelworld.com/article/i ... -135-build --
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The same firewall/cowl is used but the shield is folded baclwards