Projects New project model T touring car

Been looking half heartedly for several years. Finally came across this t and got what I'd call a fair deal on it. Missing just the radiator and grill shell, and motor is missing the head but I won't use it anyhow.
Seller called it a 23, haven't decided the motor yet but I'm guessing earlier. It's a 3 door model with wood firewall.

I remember there is a reason for the non functional driver door but it's skipping me now.

No sure plan with it yet. Maybe pinto, maybe flahead, maybe sbf? Fenders will stay.

 

Congrats, and good luck on the build

 

Model A's are phaetons, T's are touring cars. Just a little trivia from the purist side. A closer picture would make year identification easier. Engine number might provide a clue, but most have been changed over the last hundred years.

 

You got your work cut our for ya

 

Looks older than '22. Ford saved a few cents by not putting a door there. "Only men drive and men can step over".

 

I always wondered which was the correct term, phaeton/touring.
I'll have to get some closer up pics and pull the number off the motor, but yeah who know if its really the one it left Henry with.
The worst of it is the back of the front seat, rear door on drivers side has had something dropped on it and some good wrinkles. Most of it is pretty solid and dont think it will be too hard to bang out.

 

'23 or '24. Might be a '25 if it has an extra 90degree angle on the back edge of the body that the wood fits on. And, Choffman41 is right, "T"s are Tourings, not Phaetons.

I'm doing a similar project for a client right now with fenders and a 4.3 Chevy with a jag rear end.

 

Yes to fenders and a flathead. Y block would look nice too depending on what era you're shooting for. I didn't think '25 would have had a wood firewall, I'd guess earlier than that, but the pic doesn't show much.

 

I'm thinking that someone either trimmed the hood rail off of the stock fire wall, or the stocker steel piece was re-created in wood. Either way, I think I might have a spare if you need it, Gearhead Graphics.

 

Yeah chip that car has had some work done on it. It is fitted with later wheels that I don't think would bolt to T spindles or differential. It will be interesting to see some more pictures of it.

 

NeedLouvers, I may have one in dads stash, but if not I'll hit you up, I do plan on a steel firewall either way.

Steel Rebel, I'll sell you those wheel adaptors, they're pretty fancy. Plate steel mounted like a stock T wheel, and then 1/4 20 bolts holding the wheels on with a bit of spot weld here and there too. I doubt its been "driven" with them but at least they rolled well enough to get it on trailer.

 

Nice! Always thought a Touring would be fun. Maybe next project. Good luck with it!

 

Actually, Gary, if you could find a really powerful telescope and look north, you would see that Canadian built 'T' tourings had 4 doors. Up here we built 'Ts" for both left hand drive and export to countries with right hand drive.
And there is a possibility for 5-on-5 bolt pattern wheels could fit on hubs that had Ford factory wire wheels installed.
If you're not going to lengthen the wheelbase in order to accommodate a flathead or a SBF, you will end up reducing precious leg room with a tunneled firewall. Other option is to weld the rear doors shut, and move the front seat-back rearward to gain the legroom you desire, thereby making a Model 'T' Phaeton (phantom, of course).

 

Can't imagine anyone replacing a steel firewall with wood, so if it is original wood firewall, that limits it to early 1923 or older.

 

Yeah, much as I hate to do it I think it will be stretched a bit to keep leg room as much as possible. Cant bring myself to weld shut the back doors, thats part of what makes me love them to start with. If anything Id consider adding the drivers door to be functional, but at the same time itll make people who dont know any better scratch their heads when they look at it. Its a ways out, doing paint/motor/trans in my unibody and hoping to move soon. But couldnt resist it. Will have plenty of time to collect parts and make a plan before doing anything.

 

If it is the same body as a 1920 touring, I've got a spare front seat back you can have it for shipping. I love seeing Model Ts on the hamb.

 

Good to see you got it!!

Earl

 

I always heard that they didnt want people getting out/in of there car on the street side so thats why there is no door. Also door locks on early ford are on the p***enger side. Unlock and scoot two the drivers side.

 

rusty rocket, i have always thought that was true too. then it dawned on me, the touring may not have the drivers door working but the p***enger back door does. i also heard Henry didn't have the drivers door working because it was hard to get in with the steering wheel in the way.

 

Okay, it's definitely a high cowl car, which places it between late '22 and '25. The front seat panel from a '20 will not fit as it is a very different body. Yes they look the same, the are not. If it was a factory wood firewall car, you would have to go all the way back to '16 for that, this is not that era. someone just simply couldn't find a steel firewall at some point and improvised. The firewalls on "T"s until '25 unbolted, so it could have gone anywhere, and such repairs are very common.

Man, I'm not too happy about putting a V6 in the car I am building right now, but I'm doing that because of the legroom issues these cars have. The guy I'm building it for is almost 70 and having mobility issues as it is, and would like a small block, but also wants to drive the thing. I would also look at engines such as straight fours for this car, too. A Ford 2300 is what is going in my full fendered '23 roadster soon, backed by a five speed with a couple of Webers hanging off the side. these things are so light, a couple hundred horse power feels like a million. Stretching the hood, fenders, and wheels base on these cars absolutely kills the proportions right away. You might find a couple fo inches in the seat back to go backwards with.

Check out my thread "Full Fendered "T"s... Official maybe?" and you see many different ways of doing these cars. Also, dig up any late sixties and early seventies Rod&Custom you can, as "T" were all the rage back then.

 

I thought a little more about this this morning when I woke up. Is the top of the cowl panel damaged? If it is, that's what could be making the spacing look like the later high cowl stuff to my eye. After blowing up the picture a bit more, the beads on the cowl sides look as though they could be the earlier '17-'22 stuff. I walked out earlier and went through my cowls, which I know to be '23-'25, and the beads on yours drop faster to the firewall than mine do. I would love to see a better profile shot of this, even just so I could put my brain to rest.

 

If you look at a stock T and observe the steering wheel, pedals, and emergency brake lever, you will see why they didn't bother putting an opening door there. There used to be kits available to add a door on the roadsters.

 

Yrah cowl is damaged a bit. And wood is plywood so I'm sure it's not the one Henry sent it out with if it is a wood car. Took more pics this am. On phone now I'll see if I can get them to upload.

 

A few more

 

It's a low-cowl. The half-moon cut out on the firewall lip of the cowl top is one of the identifying features. See pic below (high cowl on top, low cowl on bottom)


Wood firewalls were used until about April 1923 (steel firewalls were introduced in Feb 1923 and were used concurrently until existing stock was exhausted). The fact that the rear section is 3-piece indicates it was built after June 1920 (earlier tourings used 5 piece rear sections).

So, this car was built between June 1920 and April 1923.

 

Bigger photo might help with pinning down the year. HRP

 

Splitting hairs here, but technically all 1923 model year cars are low cowl. When the cowl was revised in August 1923, they were generally considered to be 1924 models per Ford literature.

 

Love touring/phaeton builds. My hidden agenda in this joint. Nice start to something fun. Good luck with it, wish it were me.

 

One other thing to check is to see if it has top irons behind the front doors. If it doesn't, then it is a "one man top" car - produced beginning September 1922 (1923 model year). That will narrow it down further.

 

The '15 to early '23s not only had a lower firewall but also narrower.
Up here above the 49th parallel, I searched for a long time to find a fake door circa'20 left side. Lots of functional door left sides up here, howbeit with 90+ years of weathering. My avatar is the front-half of a T touring - it is a bit cramped for this aging 5'11" frame.