Some "T" Questions for South Park

[Jim Courtney]

My adopted hometown of Poulsbo, WA, was originally settled by Norwegian emigrants in the early 1880s. Today the old "downtown" along Front Street has become a tourist destination for the boating community of the Puget Sound region, with boutique shops, art galleries, antique stores and of course the famous Scandinavian bakery, Sluys.

Today, I noticed something new, parked in front of one of the antique stores:








Perhaps SP can tell us the year model of the little truck. Is the cab and body original, do-ya-think? Or is it a later modification.

Wonder what it was used for near 100 years ago? A produce truck? A taxi?

One can imagine it waiting at the depot, to take passengers up to the hotel. Poulsbo never had a railroad, but did for most of its existence have a steam ship wharf, where the small steam ships of the "Mosquito Fleet" made several round trips a day to Seattle and its Pike Place Market. Local farmers sold a lot of eggs there . . .

[South Park]

  Without looking at certain details, I can only give general thoughts about
the history of the vehicle.  What I can tell you is that what you see here is
a last-year (1927), car-based "depot hack".  While it is possible that this is
a period build, most were built in the early days of the old car hobby (1950's
and later), from piles of scrounged parts.  The rear part of the body actually
looks like it was built for hauling, not passengers.  Another similar use for
a body style like this was vegetable peddlers and other door-to-door delivery
type businesses.  Of course, as post-war America woke up to a new concept
that old stuff was something quaint and something to be preserved - a similar
parallel was seen with the preservation attitude toward old railroad stuff at the
same time - lots of people still had hulks of early cars lurking in barns and
fields and decided it might be fun to "restore" them.  However, the interpretation
of the word "restore" varied widely, and was subject to the dedication to finding
parts, ....  a lack of, often leading to the building of "depot hacks", because they
could not find missing body parts, or thought an open rig like this would be more
fun in parades.

  It would be interesting to see if the wood is all plank material (no plywood) and
what the assembling hardware looks like.  The non-comfy seating and beveled
front corners of the cab suggest an old build, but the rear fenders and roofline look
too amateur to be period.  Another conflicting bit is the painted wood (suggesting
period build), and not the cutesy bare wood with clear coat latter-day silly people
tend to favor, yet it wears silly whitewalls, suggesting a "cutesy" enthusiast had a
hand in this car's build or post build history.  Hard to say for sure from the photos
provided.

  The fenders are 26-27 "Improved Car".  The bar-mounted headlights were introduced
in late 26 model year.  All 27's had them.  The nickel-plated radiator shell was 26-27
"Improved Car", and should have matching headlight rings.

  Most of these were what T enthusiasts call "bitsa cars", built from bitsa this and bitsa
that.  Ford built over 15,000,000 Model T's from 1909 to 1927, and much of it is inter-
changeable, which is why so many survived and why when anyone thinks of a 1900-1930
car, they don't think of a Metz or a Moon or a Michigan.  They think of a Ford Model T.

  And before anyone gets the idea I am some Ford nut, let me be clear ....  Henry Ford
was a brilliant and frugal 19th Century mind, and his car reflected a time and attitude
that made America the powerhouse it became during Henry's time.  But Henry's el cheapo
car was an honest el cheapo car.  After Henry gave up control of product to Edsel with
the Model A, Fords became what I consider "dishonest" el cheapo cars.  Still selling the
least amount of car, but trying to pass them off as more by styling them up and hanging
glitter on them.  I have no use for most post-1925 Ford products.  I just like the Model T
for it's iconic role in a period of American history that I love.  And it's something I can
actually buy, work on, and use with relatively little expense (as old cars/hobbies go).  If
I had cubic millions, I'd do the model railroading youze guys do, but in full scale.  I don't,
so the Model T is my compromise.    

[South Park]

  Here is a photo of my truck.  My truck is a Ton Truck, or "TT".  They were
made from 1918 to 1927, and were never built with the "Improved Car" fenders
and headlights and other streamlined "improvements" that Edsel pushed he
Father to let his incorporate to boost sales. If Henry had his way, the T would
have only changed practical reasons of production efficiency or product improvement,
...  such as a taller radiator in 1925 to reduce overheating problems that Henry
thought would deter new sales.



  Ford sold their Ton Truck as a chassis-only from 1918 to 1923, when they finally
offered a factory C-cab body.  In 1924 the company added a closed cab (like my
truck) and a factory flatbed, which my truck also has.  So, it was more common
than not to see Ford trucks with aftermarket/home made cabs and bodies than
Ford/factory equipped trucks.  Old photos bear this out, but wood bodies that
were not kept up and out of the weather fell apart badly, and fewer survive today.

  The TT is standard T from the cowl forward ...  engine, trans, chassis, steering,
wheels.  Where it differs is in the frame and everything from the cowl back.  Just
look at my rear wheels.  The rear end and suspension are incredibly heavy duty
and HEAVY !  What other vehicle has a worm drive rear end ???  

[Jim Courtney]

Well, there ya' go.

If I need legal advice, I call my lawyer.
If I need something rewired, I call my electrician buddy.
If I have a question about a Model T, SP's the go to guy!

With your observations in mind, I will revisit this 1926-27 little car for a closer look and report back.

I seem to recall a period photo from the Poulsbo Historic Society of a similar "T", used by a local dairy to deliver milk, door to door . . .

[South Park]

  Jim,

  If it were possible for you to look at the car closely, like raise the hood,  etc.
there is a raised boss, just below the water pipe exit on the driver's side.  It should
have a number stamped on it, unless it was a replacement block.  Get that number
and I can run it to tell you the build date.  That doesn't necessarily mean the engine
is original to the car, but we can date the engine right down to the day it was assembles

Now, on vehicles built after 1924 (?) .... the company stamped that same number on
the top of the passenger side frame rail about even with the front door post.  Depending
on if the floor boards are stock, you can lift the floor boards (not hard to do) to see this.  
If the numbers match, it is likely the chassis and engine left the factory together as a
complete vehicle.  Not sure if records show what body the car was built with, or if it
was sold as a chassis and got an aftermarket body after the sale.  I can ask persons more
knowing in these things than I .....

  All but the very earliest Model T's have three floor pedals.  Left side is the high/low
pedal for the planetary transmission, center is reverse, right is the main/internal brake.
A 26-27 T should have outward pointing pedals on the two outside pedals, with a "diamond"
shaped center pedal.  On the rest, all three pedals are diamond shaped.  A quick peek at
the pedals would at least tell us if the pedal assembly is 26-27.

[Jim Courtney]

Thanks for the clues, SP.

I'm planning a little field trip this afternoon and I'll check these details out.

When was the Model A introduced, 1928??

[South Park]

  Model A introduced for 1928 model year.  It was a two year run, with 30-31
being a little "updated" from the 28-29 cars.

  The T was a hand built car from 1909 to 1912.  In 1913, the famed Henry Ford
production line was implemented, but the cars retained a largely similar look to
the originals through 1914.  In 1915, the old acetylene lights were replaced by
electric lights, and changing the appearance of the cars considerably.  1915 was
the last year for the brass radiator, and in 1916, the only brass remaining was the
headlight rings.  1917-1925 cars are what is known as the "black era", because
the only color you could get was .... you guessed it, ... black.   Breaking the black
era up slightly was the low and high radiator.  1917-1922 having a 2" shorted radiator
than the 1923-25 cars.  As mentioned previously, the 1926-27 cars were TOTALLY
reworked for styling, and sold as the new "Improved Cars".  In 1928, the new and
modern type engine/transmission was introduced with the Model A, completing the
total phaseout of the 19 year run of the Model T.

  In 1932, the Model A was phased out for the Model B, but this would be the end
of lettered model series, and from 1933 on, Ford just used model year designations.

[Jim Courtney]

Thanks for the "A" info, SP.

Friday afternoon I found a parking place on Front Street, hard to do before Labor Day, and got to examine the little Model T more closely.

First, it is just a display piece, the engine and transmission have been removed, so no stamped numbers to search for.
I couldn't conduct SP's "three pedal test" because . . . well, the pedals were removed with the transmission.

Some of the wood in the cab / seat may be original, very worn and irregular in places, but in other places obvious new wood replacement is present under the paint, secured with wood screws with shiny heads.

The rear / bed is a mixture of old wood on one side wall and new wood on the other, the old metal brackets having been reattached.  The planks forming the floor of the bed are new planks, secured with deck screws. The roof appears to be new / replacement, with black vinyl as a top surface.

I was able to quiz the antique store owner; she confirmed that the little T was local, not from Poulsbo but from nearby Gig Harbor. The car was acquired from an estate, the car owned by the same family since it was purchased new. From WWII or there about's it had resided in the back of a barn on the family farm.

The oral history given to the store owner at sale was that the car was a 1926 "Huckster", WETH a "huskster" is.

This has been a fun little thread, I've learned a lot from South Park. I suggest we pose any new Model T questions / discussion here.

[South Park]

  Well, Detective Courtney, ...  nice work !  👍

  A "huckster" body is just what I suggested earlier, an all-purpose body for door-to-door
salesmen, also known as "hucksters", .... and this one certainly looks the part.