While working on my 15 runabout restoration tonight, I saw the marking "MB" on the front of the of the seat frame. Does anyone know if that indicates what company built the body, and if so, any idea which company?
Thanks,
Neal
1915 runabout body marking question
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Wayne Sheldon
- Posts: 4249
- Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 3:13 pm
- First Name: Wayne
- Last Name: Sheldon
- * REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1915 Runabout 1913 Speedster
- Location: Grass Valley California, USA
- Board Member Since: 2005
Re: 1915 runabout body marking question
The "B" usually indicates a body built by "Beaudette", one of several companies that supplied the bodies in 1915. I have never seen an "M" like that before, and since the size and font do not match the "B", it is probably for some other purpose. Seat frames and many other details varied a lot in those years. Suppliers were struggling to keep up with Ford's orders. Not all bodies have a makers mark there, however, many of them do have one.
A possibility, because the body builders were having trouble keeping up, Ford sometimes ordered bodies "in the white", which means no paint and/or upholstery. The unfinished body was then sent to another vendor to do the upholstery and painting. I don't know any of the names of those finishing companies. It would be pure speculation, but that "M" could have been a finisher's mark. It doesn't look like something that would have been added later.
A possibility, because the body builders were having trouble keeping up, Ford sometimes ordered bodies "in the white", which means no paint and/or upholstery. The unfinished body was then sent to another vendor to do the upholstery and painting. I don't know any of the names of those finishing companies. It would be pure speculation, but that "M" could have been a finisher's mark. It doesn't look like something that would have been added later.