Assessment and Research — 6 ½ Hrs
Safe, Reliable, Period Correct
I will deviate from “period correct” in order to make the car more safe and reliable.
Lots of photos and online research. Spoke with owners of early Ts.
1913 was a transitional year for Ford vehicle production. Early in the year cars were built using Stationary Bench Assembly, then on December 1, 1913 Ford introduce the Assembly Line cutting production time down from 12 ½ man hours to 1 hour and 33 minutes.
"While early 1913 bodies were often manufactured and hand-painted by outside carriage-makers, the birth of the moving assembly line (December 1, 1913) saw Ford bring painting 'in-house' to Highland Park. They traded the slow, hand-brushed blues and greens for a high-speed 'flow-coating' process using fast-drying black enamel—a change that cemented the Model T's iconic look and legendary production speed."
"One of the most unique aspects of the Canadian 1913 Touring is its adaptability. While American buyers were restricted to three doors and left-hand drive, Canadian Fords were built with four opening doors to accommodate the 'Rule of the Road' differences between provinces. In 1913, if you were driving your Model T in Victoria, B.C., you would be driving on the left side of the road with the steering wheel on the right—making that extra driver's side door not just a luxury, but a necessity!"
COLORS: Initially all cars were painted a very dark blue, with either blue or black fenders. Black became the standard color early in the year. Try Mercedes Midnight Blue
UPHOLSTERY: Initially full leather in the open cars, in a diamond sewn pattern. Imitation leather began to appear on the seat backs and side areas, with real leather at the very front of the arm rest.
RUNNING BOARDS: Pressed steel with embossed diamond pattern. The Ford script now ran across the board.
HOOD: Aluminum, with no louvers. Hinges were separate from the panels, and riveted in place. Holddown clamps had two “ears” and were of forged steel. Handles were now forged steel.
DASHBOARD (Firewall): Wood, with flat brass edge trim. Board now mated with the body side panels.
CHASSIS: Rear body support a separate forging bolted to the rear of the frame. Painted black. An extra body bracket was installed, just ahead of the rear seat, to support the rear section of the touring body. During the year the rear crossmember was lengthened, eliminating the need for the forged body brackets. This car has the original forgings
STEERING COLUMN ASSEMBLY: Brass quadrant, brass-plated spark and throttle levers, with flattened metal ends replaced the rubber knobs. Gear case was brass, riveted assembly. Wheel was 15'' outside diameter, wood, and painted black. The wheel spider was iron and painted black. Column was 56'' long on all cars.
FRONT AXLE: Tapered leaf spring with figure eight shackles
REAR AXLE: Cast center section, introduced in later 1912, with the axle tubes flared and riveted to it. This axle then continued into early 1915. The “1913-style” rear axles used a hex-head drain plug instead of the slotted type used earlier.
DRIVESHAFT HOUSING: Pinion bearing spool was a casting and was held by studs and nuts, the studs being enclosed (not visible) in the housing. Separate front housing for universal joint assembly discontinued later in the year.
REAR RADIUS AND BRAKE RODS: Had forged ends. Brake rod support brackets extended out and wrapped down and around the rods.
WHEELS: Used 30 by 3 tires in front (30 by 3 ½ in Canada) 30 by 3-1/2 in the rear. Original tires had no tread. Hub flanges are 6 inches in diameter. Front wheels used ball bearings. Hub caps had “Ford” in script letters. “Made in USA” on all caps.
SPRINGS: Tapered-leaf, front and rear. “Figure eight” style shackles, similar to the earlier type but not so ornate. The use of the brass oilers was continued.
RADIATOR: Supplied by Ford with the standard Ford script. “Made in USA” on all radiators under the Ford script. The filler neck was now a spun brass design, riveted and soldered in place.
ENGINE: Engine number is 230802 which means it was assembled in March of 1913. The block was cast on February 29, 2013
ENGINE PAN: Early production used the “three dip” with narrow front “snout” and “teacup” oil drain. The mounting arms were held with three rivets instead of seven. The drain plug was now 15/16” hex-head instead of a slotted screw. The “tea cup” drain pocket was discontinued late in the year.
OIL FILLER CAP: The mushroom-shaped cap, of brass, with six flutes and the Ford script appeared on all models. “Made in USA” stamped under the “Ford” was now standard.
ENGINE CRANK: Aluminum formed handle, painted black.
ENGINE FAN: Driven by a leather belt from a pulley at the front of the engine. The fan hub was brass (bronze), with the blades riveted in place. Adjustment was by means of a bolt/nut arrangement now located on the right side of the front plate and bearing against a boss on the mounting end of the fan bracket.
MANIFOLDS: Exhaust was cast iron; pipe fits inside the threaded end and was packed with asbestos and held with a brass nut. The exhaust manifold and pipe were modified so that the pipe flared at the manifold and was held in place with the brass nut but with no packing. Intake was aluminum and is more curved than the usual design.
CARBURETORS: Kingston “four ball” or Holley Model S.
CARBURETOR STOVE: Several designs, all of which rose vertically at the rear of the carburetor and mated with the exhaust manifold at the rear area.
MUFFLER: Cast iron ends, mounted with pressed metal brackets. Longer, curved rear exhaust pipe extension integral with the rear cover plate. Wrapped with asbestos, secured with three steel straps. The asbestos was specified to be dyed black.
FUEL TANK: Cylindrical, under the front seat. Mounting brackets now clamped to the tank. The outlet was between the center and the right side, between the frame rails.
TRANSMISSION: Three pedal standard-design. Pedals were marked with “C,” “R,” and “B.” Transmission cover was cast aluminum. Tapered inspection door, held with six screws. The door was now a plain metal plate with no script.
COIL BOX ASSEMBLY: Heinz, the box is original. One of the coils is suspect.
Ford. The Ford box used the standard-size coils.
LAMPS: Made by Edmond and Jones (E&J), Brown,
Corcoran or Victor. All were painted black with brass trim, replacing the all-brass types used until late 1912.
HORN: Bulb type, single twist. Black and brass style.
WINDSHIELD: Rands, Vanguard, Diamond, or
Standard. Painted black. Lower section leaned back, while top section was vertical. Top section folded forward. Painted black.
TOP: (Open cars). Top color was black on all open cars. Oval top sockets. Front attached to the windshield hinge with a strap, similar to 1912.
SPEEDOMETER: Stewart Model 26 in black and brass on early cars, then Stewart Model 100.
The initial 1913 Touring bodies were built on wooden sills about 2-5/16 inches thick. The front and rear sections of the body were separate, with the doors extending to the splash aprons to give the body a onepiece appearance. These thin sills proved to be too weak, allowing the doors to open as the rear of the body flexed, particularly when there were rear-seat passengers. Early in production the sills were reinforced with a strip of wood which was glued and screwed on top of the existing body sill. Later a formed-steel bracket which coupled the two body sections together was installed over the body sill. Then additional body brackets on the frame were installed just ahead of the rear seat section, and finally the sills were increased to 3-1/4 inches but the problem was still not solved. The ultimate solution, however, was the change to smaller doors with a connecting body panel (the 1914 style body) in later 1913.