1926 Ford Model T Touring car, runs and looks great, sold in August, 2014. Everything is functional that should be, to include:
- Runs very well on both battery and magneto
- Generator charges at approx. 7-8 amps when running according to the working ammeter
- Foot starter button easily engages the 6-volt starter, but also starts with hand crank in front
- Low/high forward speeds and reverse work as they should
- Convertible top folds up and down and can be done by one person ( it is called a ‘one man top’ but one woman can do it as well).
- Radiator cools nicely, and uses no water pump (only Henry Ford’s preferred ‘thermosiphoning’ at work)
- Fully inflated and functional spare tire with reconditioned split rim
- All tires are relatively fresh (one is brand new), with no age cracks. The spare has slight age cracks, but is a very solid tire with lots of tread left
- Have run the car up to 42 mph, as measured by GPS. It cruises nicely in high gear at approx. 35 mph, but will certainly go faster.
Clear title in my name Many new or nearly new components, to include:
New radiator with new dog bone and motometer – high version
New top, side curtains and top irons
New or nearly new tires and tubes
New upholstery and door/kick panels
Reconditioned coils
New lighting wiring harness and timer to coil wiring harness
Items of ‘interest,’ problems or issues:
Radiator shell: the car comes with two 1926 all-brass radiator shells (see photos), and as the photos show, the car currently sports a gloss black radiator shell. I had intended to nickel plate one of them, and simply paint the other black so that the car could be driven while the work was done on the plating. I chose the rougher unit as the one to plate, since the plating company was going to do the brazing repairs, dent repairs and polishing prior to the plating, and I thought that the better condition shell would look better painted in the interim. The plating company originally promised me to have the radiator shell done in ‘six to eight weeks.’ Wow, I thought at the time, that’s really a long time to wait, but I agreed to this turnaround time. When 6 weeks had elapsed, I went back to the plating company to see how things were coming, and they told me that they had only just removed the old nickel plating, and had yet to do any of the repairs. “It’ll be another month, maybe more, and it will cost you more than we originally quoted you.” That, and other local plating companies are two months or more lead time as well to effect this work. I asked them to just give me my unfinished radiator shell back at that time. It is still in need of plating, but some work has been done on it. If the ultimate buyer wants to return the car’s appearance to original, then this shell needs nickel plating and perhaps a plating company near you can complete this task in a more timely manner than any plating companies here in the Chicagoland area. I would sincerely hope so.
Paint: the paint job on the car is OK, and does not really detract from the general appearance, but it has imperfections here and there.
Oil leaks. Virtually all Model T’s leak oil, and especially around the ‘hogshead’ in spots, but this is all part of the fun of owning a Model T.
NOT INCLUDED: photos show this Model T equipped with an antique bulb horn (not included with sale), an accordian-style running board luggage rack (not included with sale) and an antique piece of leather luggage (also not included with sale). These three items will be removed prior to buyer taking possession of the car.
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