OT can anyone ID this car? OT

[Don Coatney]

[Plymouthy Adams]

oh my goodness..it is the car my great grand dad reported stolen long back..do you know who is driving it? we would like to get the car back...

I have not a clue...but..should you get really stumped..the AACA guys are more into this vintage and a post there get a quick ID..they nailed my grandads car vintage immediately..I would never have found it otherwise..trust me..I scoured plenty of pictures..I was only 1 year off on my guess..

[bamfordsgarage]

That, Don, is a Model T "Speedster", probably based on a late 'teens to early '20s chassis.

Back in the day, young bucks could buy a rattletrap old T for $5-25, discard the factory body and build themselves a hot rod. Thousands were constructed in the 'teens to '30s, with bodies ranging from factory aftermarket, to home-built (workmanship and amenities ranging from excellent to abysmal), to barely a bucket seat.

The car in your photo has an aftermarket body, fenders and wheel covers. The "tells" which identify this as a T are the transverse front suspension, shape of the rad core (the rounded area at the top of the shell is empty), distinctive reversed dish steering wheel and general proportions of the wheels, wheelbase, height, etc.

The T Speedster hobby is alive and well. One of the most most active groups is Northwest Vintage Speedsters out of Oregon. Click over to www.nwvs.org to see a whole bunch of really cool rides.

Here are a few photos of the '24T-based speedster I built in 1992-93, starting with a couple pickup loads of leftover T parts purchased from a local collector...

- Dad & me on the Icefield Parkway between Jasper and Banff, AB, on a 6-day, 900-mile journey through the Canadian Rockies in Sept '95; We pounded out the #1 con-rod babbit climbing the long hill up to Lake Louise (Ts are splash lube only), pulled over, dropped the pan and fashioned a temporary bearing from a piece of oily leather strap. That temporary got us home and served for another 18 months before I replaced it in the course of other mechanical work.

- When the car looked its best about 8 years ago.

- Stripped down for drag racing in Grand Prairie, AB. My best run was 43.7 mph in 25.983 seconds;

- Two winters ago in our back alley, the D25 peeking in from left;

- Pacing the field for a Model T race at the horse track in Edmonton, 1942. There was a very active provincial T racing scene here through the 1940s. A number of T folks in Calgary are building track speedsters this year and next to relive the glory days in a friendly fashion — I hope to be part of this.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I basically ruled the T model out based on the slope of the hood rising to the cowl/dash and the second eliminator ws the use of the full disk wheels..I was placing this cars orgins in the foriegn class, posssibily French/German as solid sics were a bit more prevailing over there but then I admitted at the begining I had no real idea...

[Don Coatney]

I believe this to also be a "T". The cab lines look the same as the above picture.

Youngest girl in this picture is my grandmother.

[greg g]

I don't believe the radiator surround in the first pic is a ford product nor do the fenders look T. the pic with your grand mother seems to be a different car, it has the round exposed tank and the rear springs are parallel leaves as opposed to what T used.

[bamfordsgarage]

The radiator shell and fenders in the first picture are aftermarket, not T, but are installed on a T chassis.

The car in Don's picture is not T as indicated by the springs running front to fear not crosswise, as Greg pointed out, also that frame has a kick-up over the axle. T frame rails are straight as shown in my third picture.

[james curl]

Quite a few cars used basically straight frame rails with a rear kick up with both axles on parallel leaf springs. It was not uncommon in the early years to substrate Ford cross members in the front for the Ford axle when building a non-fendered car in the USA. Almost all non Ford hot rods that you will find running sans fenders employ the Ford front suspensions, almost all thirties MoPar cars running sans fenders use the Ford beam axle. Therefore it is difficult to tell from a frontal picture the origin of the frame. Most used Ford engines for they were plentiful and cheap with lots of speed equipment to make them run fast.

[P-12 Tommy]

I believe this to also be a "T". The cab lines look the same as the above picture.

Youngest girl in this picture is my grandmother.

The older woman in the picture looks like "Ma Kettle"

Tom

[bamfordsgarage]

James you are quite right that early — and present day — hot rods often used Ford front suspensions. However these were later Ford front ends, much beefier than the Model T front end which was spindly and not equipped with front wheel brakes. Model T front ends are a little squirrelly at speed and would not be an improvement in a hot rod. Model As (1928-31) and all subsequent Fords had 4-wheel brakes and sturdier construction.

In much the same way, Ford flathead V8 engines (1932+) were/are used in many many hot rods, but the 20-HP splash-lubed Model T engine was not swapped into hot rod projects, only out! Not only was the engine unattractive with its 1908 technology and low power output, it had an integral 2-speed planetary transmission that was unappealing to hot-rodders.

The car in Don's photo has a Model T front end and steering wheel, the headlights and front hubs appear Model T and the general proportions of wheels/wheelbase/tire size/etc. are right for Model T. The bottom rear of the engine has the Model T dropped sump below the flywheel. There are also no front brakes on this car (we cannot see the brake drum location in this photo, but can see there is no mechanical linkage going to that area, and this car is too early to have hydraulic brakes). It's a Model T with a very attractive aftermarket body.

It is interesting to note the similarities in the body tubs for both cars. This was a fairly common style — one could build an appealing design with attractive curves using flat metal and only simple hand tools.

[james curl]

Up until 1928 almost all glo jobs were model T based as you could buy speedster body's from Sear Roebuck and company. Many model A engines were used up until the mid to late thirties. I started reading Hot Rod when they first came out on the news stand in 48/49. I had the first 12 issues bound in hard cover along with the first 12 issues if Road and Track. I had them in a book case along with all the hot rod and Road and Track magazines up until the mid sixties. I loaned the hard bound volumes out and cannot remember to whom or they are in a large closet here in the house filled with books on shelves with clothes hanging in front of the shelves. Some day I will remove all of the winter clothes from the closet and see what all I can find. In the attic I have file boxes filled with magazines I will have to dispose of someday. I hope to give all of my old Hot Rod magazines and all of the old Fawcett and Trend Publishing co. How To Books to The Jalopy Journal site for future reference material.

Edited October 25, 2010 by james curl
additional information

[BobT-47P15]

Somewhere I saw this idea for what to do with old magazines after you

read them........take a few a put on the rack at places like the doctor's

office, dentist office, barber shop and others as you go there.

I remove or mark over the adress labels. Have gotten rid of a few this

way so far.

I get tired of reading the mags you usually find there.

However, they're better than nothing to help kill time in the

waiting room.

I actually re-read one at my last doctors visit that I took the time

before.

[Young Ed]

Anyone want about 20 years worth of hotrod with a few carcrafts etc mixed in? Mostly 60s era I believe.

[Plymouthy Adams]

make good fire starter for the winter...I find these mags just a bit to biased in their opinion and the way they misrepresent things...so I decided to subscribe to a mag that dedicated to my choice of cars..they turned out to care noting for older marks, little for smaller compact, tolerate the small block and push big block down everyone throats..so I dropped them..it is hard to find a publication for all folks. so if I am going to waste money. let it be for gas to a swap meet...

[JIPJOBXX]

That the new Ford thats comming out next year! Notice the fine lines and the powerfull spoke wheels? Dang can't wait for it to come out and take it for a test ride. Oh yes it comes with a nice handle on the frount for quick starts when your battery is dead. Now that modern:)

[Don Coatney]

The older woman in the picture looks like "Ma Kettle"

Tom

The older woman is my great grandmother.