Re: 1915 cut-down touring - Project update

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Retro54
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First Name: Andrew
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* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1915 Cut-down touring
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Re: 1915 cut-down touring - Project update

Post by Retro54 » Mon Oct 12, 2020 9:39 pm

Well, since we got the '15 cut-dowm touring running a few months ago, we changed focus to the 'new-old' pickup bed for it. Dad's been itching to start this part and has spent the last few weeks plowing ahead. The bed is a mixture of new frame and hardware, weathered boards from my Model-A conversion farm wagon (it's due for rebuilding) and hand forged hardware off of an early 1900s Indiana farm wagon that was rotten from outdoor use and donated to my cause.
Thanks to lots of photos and some fellow forum members answering previous posts and questions, we started building a bed that fits and matches the rest of the truck.

The bed is slightly longer than the typical slip on bed plans call for, but we liked these proportions better. Lots of mockups were completed before these final boards. The end result is a solid frame and bed! It'll work real good, and the weathered wood and hardware help it match the rest of the car. Extra attention is being given to distressing and grinding the heads of any new hardware so it looks older than it is. Not perfect, but we like the results. All we need to complete are some good 8 or 10 inch strap hinges with pintel's threaded like a bolt and some rear touring or roadster fenders that are solid and preferably match the patina of the car. (Please see my classified want add for more info on those)

I spent the afternoon with dad and I'm going back tomorrow to help make more progress! Thanks for looking, hope you enjoy the photos!
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Topic author
Retro54
Posts: 543
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 4:40 pm
First Name: Andrew
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* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1915 Cut-down touring
Location: Middletown
Board Member Since: 2018

Re: 1915 cut-down touring - Project update

Post by Retro54 » Mon Oct 12, 2020 9:40 pm

Some more pics, really enjoying the details!
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Topic author
Retro54
Posts: 543
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 4:40 pm
First Name: Andrew
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* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1915 Cut-down touring
Location: Middletown
Board Member Since: 2018

Re: 1915 cut-down touring - Project update

Post by Retro54 » Mon Oct 12, 2020 9:42 pm

Some final shots of the truss rod up front. Should keep the front of the bed from spreading at all!
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Duey_C
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Re: 1915 cut-down touring - Project update

Post by Duey_C » Tue Oct 13, 2020 4:08 am

Wow! And rough-sawn simply adds! These next pics are gonna be gawgeous!
Since I lost my mind mind, I feel more liberated


Dallas Landers
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Re: 1915 cut-down touring - Project update

Post by Dallas Landers » Tue Oct 13, 2020 6:24 am

Looking good. I love the hardware.

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Retro54
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First Name: Andrew
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* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1915 Cut-down touring
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Re: 1915 cut-down touring - Project update

Post by Retro54 » Tue Oct 13, 2020 6:39 am

Duey_C wrote:
Tue Oct 13, 2020 4:08 am
Wow! And rough-sawn simply adds! These next pics are gonna be gawgeous!
Thank you Dewey! These boards are Hemlock from the mountainside property I grew up on and where my parents still live. I helped dad take the trees down probably 30 years ago now. The logs were transported one at a time to an old Frick sawmill by my father's 1946 Chevrolet pickup. The bed, built by him, will hold tremendous meaning for me.

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Topic author
Retro54
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Re: 1915 cut-down touring - Project update

Post by Retro54 » Tue Oct 13, 2020 6:42 am

Dallas Landers wrote:
Tue Oct 13, 2020 6:24 am
Looking good. I love the hardware.
Thank you, we agree! Most hardware was salvaged from this farm wagon my uncle used as decoration in his yard for years and years. We were allowed to salvage it last summer after I had gotten the T.

We like to think we are building it in the same or similar manner a farmer would have in the 1920s, using what they had on hand, not being able to purchase a ready made body from a catalog.
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Dallas Landers
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Re: 1915 cut-down touring - Project update

Post by Dallas Landers » Tue Oct 13, 2020 6:53 am

Andrew, thats a great use of material that would otherwise be lost forever. Its not the easy route but very rewarding. I really like your project and the way you are taking it. More photos as you progress please.

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Retro54
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* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1915 Cut-down touring
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Re: 1915 cut-down touring - Project update

Post by Retro54 » Tue Oct 13, 2020 7:01 am

Dallas Landers wrote:
Tue Oct 13, 2020 6:53 am
Andrew, thats a great use of material that would otherwise be lost forever. Its not the easy route but very rewarding. I really like your project and the way you are taking it. More photos as you progress please.
Thank you very much Dallas! I really appreciate your compliment and also enjoy following all of your projects. Cheers!

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Retro54
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Re: 1915 cut-down touring - Project update

Post by Retro54 » Tue Oct 13, 2020 8:07 pm

Thought I would add some more photos from today's work. All planks are fastened down with carriage bolts and the box cleaned up. Gotta get some steel slotted wood screws yet for the top metal edge protection straps. Once they're on we just need to make the tailgate and sloped wooden sideboards for the top of the box. Its fun seeing this project come together!

All planks are rough-sawn Hemlock cut on an old Frick sawmill and weathered from their previous use as a wagon bed. The subframe is 'new' spruce from the lumber yard. The bigger brackets and hardware is hand forged from an old wagon and the new carriage bolt heads get the new style production marks ground off and then painted black before installation using new 'squares nuts. We are trying hard to make this creation look old.. or at least close enough to fool most people!
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Last edited by Retro54 on Tue Oct 13, 2020 8:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Topic author
Retro54
Posts: 543
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 4:40 pm
First Name: Andrew
Last Name: Blaydon
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1915 Cut-down touring
Location: Middletown
Board Member Since: 2018

Re: 1915 cut-down touring - Project update

Post by Retro54 » Tue Oct 13, 2020 8:08 pm

Some more photos. I really like the proportions we got. The bed is just a little longer and a little taller than most slip on style beds.

The protective steel straps will be fastened to the top edge of all the side boards, back and tailgate with steel slotted screws. Very hard to find in our parts on the shelf and so I need to order them from Fastenall.
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Hap_Tucker
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Re: 1915 cut-down touring - Project update

Post by Hap_Tucker » Tue Oct 13, 2020 8:35 pm

Andrew,

It is looking Good!

Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off

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Tim Rogers
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Re: 1915 cut-down touring - Project update

Post by Tim Rogers » Wed Oct 14, 2020 9:29 am

Very, very nice! This is how wood beds are supposed to look (or painted black). Stained and urethaned beds look like furniture or kitchen cabinets.
<o><o><o><o> Tim Rogers - South of the Adirondacks - Forum member since 2013 <o><o><o><o>

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Henry K. Lee
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Re: 1915 cut-down touring - Project update

Post by Henry K. Lee » Wed Oct 14, 2020 10:03 am

Looking Awesome!!!!!

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Topic author
Retro54
Posts: 543
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 4:40 pm
First Name: Andrew
Last Name: Blaydon
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1915 Cut-down touring
Location: Middletown
Board Member Since: 2018

Re: 1915 cut-down touring - Project update

Post by Retro54 » Wed Oct 14, 2020 2:25 pm

Hap, Tim and Henry, thank you for your kind words! I've spent a lot of time reading your posts on the forum and value your opinions. If anyone is a Hershey Fall Meet attendee next year, it'll be on the Chocolate Field, and then the show field on Saturday. I'm only a 15 minute drive away.

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