what year is it? No i'm not Rip Van Winkle

[Barteldes]

My 24 coupe (titled) is what i assume is a 24 but the engine is stamped 23. I assume that happens a lot. The engine was made at the end of the year and assembled on the car in 24 or maybe there was an engine swap later. Is this pretty common? i wish i had the written history of this car .. oh the stories it could tell.

[speedytinc]

What do you mean by stamped? the serial # or engine casting date?

[Rich P. Bingham]

It wouldn't be unusual for a late 1923 serial numbered car to have been titled as a 1924 auto.

[Steve Jelf]

https://dauntlessgeezer.com/DG90.html

[Norman Kling]

Some year models came out in the fall and were titled the year first sold. In other states, they were titled according to the year model. Some were last years model first sold in January. So there are many cars first sold in the fall or winter which will have a different year model according to the location where it was first titled.
Norm

[NoelChico]

I'm sure many of us own a car made in the fall of the year prior to its official model year. I own a Roadster titled as a 1920 car but manufactured in the fall of 1919. I'm putting 1919 YOM plates on it

[NoelChico]

I'm sure many of us own a car made in the fall of the year prior to its official model year. I own a Roadster titled as a 1920 car but manufactured in the fall of 1919. I'm putting 1919 YOM plates on it

[Moxie26]

I was led to believe the new model year always started the first week of October... the same time the New Model T Ford was introduced .

[Wayne Sheldon]

Moxie, Don't believe it! It never was true!

Model year! Fiscal year! Style year! Calendar year! It'll drive ya nuts!

The 1924 "style" coupe began about June of 1923. This has been debated, fought, argued ad infinitem in the hobby over what is a 1923 or a 1924 coupe!
Generally, the 1924 "style" is called a 1924. However many people insist if it was built before some odd date late in 1923 that it should be called a 1923. Other people get confused, or owners of the "true" 1923s get offended by the newer model being claimed as earlier.
The truth is? The truth.
It is no different than a thousand other makes and model cars that had an "early" production start. How many 1964 1/2 Mustangs are there? As far as Ford was concerned? They were 1965 models, just early production. At least there were no true 1964 Mustangs to cause confusion. People with really early Mustangs like to brag about how early they are.

I used to have a 1924 coupe! I loved that car. I was grateful that it was an April of 1924 built car! No confusion. But I got tired of that year/model debate on so many of them.
The major style change between the 1923 and 1924 style cars is part of the problem. When people throw around a year number without any additional information? They are expecting everyone else to think exactly how they do. But a lot of people see the style year as what defines the style of the car. And, frankly, I think they are right! So if someone wants to call their early 1924 style car a 1923? I think that is fine. But they should add a qualifier. Perhaps call it an "early production 1924", or a "late style 1923"? That way other people that do know model Ts can picture in their mind what the car looks like.

There used to be a fine fellow on this forum that became known as the 1924/'25 coupe expert. He was researching all the little details of those coupes. There were a lot of minor production changes over those two-plus years. I haven't heard from him in quite some time now. With his help, an intact original body could be narrowed down to a few months timeframe. He confirmed the timeframe for my coupe to match the engine serial number. A lot of minor changes in the seat structure, doors, window mechanisms, and windshield structure.

Otherwise, engines got changed a lot in model T Fords. The engine alone should never be used to "date" a car.

[TRDxB2]

My 24 coupe (titled) is what i assume is a 24 but the engine is stamped 23. I assume that happens a lot. The engine was made at the end of the year and assembled on the car in 24 or maybe there was an engine swap later. Is this pretty common? i wish i had the written history of this car .. oh the stories it could tell.

As you stated there may have been an engine swap. Also as stated Titles may are dependent up State DMV laws. So.... if you want to know pictures help , engine serial number, body. fenders etc.... In the end it is what it is and you have a written record from the members of MTFCA

[Steve Jelf]

I was led to believe the new model year always started the first week of October.

Nope. Check out the link I posted.

I have no problem calling the year of a car by its features. If it was made in "late 1923" and has all the typical 1924 features, it's a 1924 in my book.

[Wayne Sheldon]

Interesting. Saw this thread earlier today. Tonight I was going through some of Tom Rootlieb's many multiple photo posts, and found this very interesting photo;

There are several interesting things about this photo. One, it is clearly a nice shot of a 1924/'25 style T model coupe! It has a nice branded tire cover over the spare tire. And if you look closely at the far rear wheel, under the car, you can see that it has some original era Rocky Mountain Brakes on it! Their larger drums can also be partially seen through the left rear wheel.
Pertinent to this discussion? Note the 1923 license plate on the car! Must be an early 1924 model.

And some people think I am exaggerating when I mention how I look very closely at so many era photos.

[Rich P. Bingham]

. . . I look very closely at so many era photos.

And I, for one am mighty glad you do !! As they say, the devil is in the details, but so are the small clues that hold the key to so many questions about the Model T production time-line ! I'm very glad for the knowledge you share by pointing out these things ! More often than not, I don't know what I'm looking at, and it helps to have a guide ! Thanks, Wayne !!

[Kaiser]

I imported a nice-ish 23 huckster a couple years ago, the body was a salad, probably a movie prop by the way it was costructed.
I was aware of that before the deal was done, it had a nice clean title, the guy i bought it from was very good people and he even lowered the price when he learned i was going to ship it over the Atlantic (NOT cheap).
All paperwork listed it as a 23, the casting date and engine # were 23, but the knowitall A-hole at our DMV insisted it was a 24, so now its a 24 with 1923 Wisconsin plates
The plus side of all this is it gives me an extra year to get it running for its centennial

[ModelT46]

Remember the saying ; Is a rose by any other name still a rose? You can call your car what you want, that does not change what it is.

[ModelT46]

One more note. There was a local movie shot that had a scene from 1929. They needed cars and asked for use of my 1931 roadster. I put a pair olf 1929 plates (nice ones) on my 31 for the movie. With 1929 plates, it still was a 31.

[Wayne Sheldon]

Thank you Rich B! It is nice to feel appreciated once in awhile. Your insightful comments and contributions always bring a smile to my face.