The following factory photographs taken July 28, 1913, present the new “1914 style” touring car. Although the photos are small, there are a number of features to note:
The car carries the Ford Motor Company 1913 Michigan Manufacturers license plate number 5005. The one in the photo is green with white letters. This plate is seen in many factory photographs and even though they appear black and white, they yield the calendar year. That style plate was used from 1910 - 1914.
The touring also has a 1913 style windshield that folds to the front and the wheels have pin stripes. This new 1914 style touring had apparently been in production for about four weeks when this photograph was taken according to the July 1, 1913, note in the archives posted below.
The Stewart speedometer cable is visible and the car would been furnished with one of the later Stewart Model C speedometers for 1913, per Russ Furstnow’s excellent book on speedometers. Speedometers were to furnished from the factory for only about four months after these photos.
Please feel free to post some of the period photographs you have of the 1914 models. Many of the early photographs have such great detail.
The taillight shown in the first photo is the one that was typically used on the first coupes and sedans. I have no idea who the maker of this lamp is, but it would be nice to know.
I believe that is the “early 1913” Victor #1 tail lamp. The Victor #2 tail lamp is a square lamp like the side lights.
Interesting that it shows up on a 1914 style touring car in late July 1913. The round tail lamp seems to be rather rare but obviously not out of place on an early 1914 style touring car any more than striped wheels and a forward folding windshield.
The headlights could be Victor #2’s but they certainly aren’t the Victor #1 gas headlamp. You can tell by the brass bonnet. The gas generator isn’t a Victor either.
Another early 1914 style touring with 1913 style fenders, windshield, crank handle etc. Appears to have John Brown lamps and speedometer. If the passenger door were closed, car would appear in the photo as a “1913”.
I agree with auto inn. That lamp is commonly called a Victor #1. My car came with these lamps, and I think they are ugly, so I switched to John Brown, however I still have the taillamp which is the one pictured in Bruce McCalleys book.
A fairly early 1914 Runabout with 1913 style front and rear fenders. Also, this car has no speedometer but does have a nice top cover for sunny California 1914. Date on photo tends to coincide with the time Ford had dropped furnishing speedometers. The car is dusty so it is hard to tell if the wheels have pin stripes.
Another example of an early 1914 style Touring car probably built between July 1st and the end of September 1913.
The front fenders are the same as used on later 1913 cars.
The car also appears to have a 1913 style Vanguard windshield that folds forward. Beginning in late June through September of 1913, Ford must have been attaching forward folding windshields to both 1913 and 1914 style touring cars as they were being produced at the same time.
This car has been equipped with E&J lamps. During this time period, E&J claimed they were supplying 70% of Ford lamps. E&J was located in Detroit at at what is now 2717 Buchanan Street. When Model T production began in 1908, E&J was only 2.9 miles from Ford’s 461 Piquette Avenue plant and was supplying the three tier E&J all brass side lights. Little wonder why they were Ford’s primary supplier of lamps.
This car has E&J Model 30 two tier side lamps and E&J gas headlamps. E&J B&B gas headlamps all have the latch on the right side of the lamp and five vent holes on each side of the bonnet.
The burners are visible in the gas lamps so the owner probably has a Prest-O-Lite “B” tank in the “tool box” on the driver side running board.
Ford was still supplying speedometers when this car was built. The script Stewart No.1322 road gear that mounted to the wood spokes was being used at the time. Later in 1914, Ford machined the hub to make alignment and mounting easier and another style road gear came into use.
A lot of nice details in this previously posted photo.
The following great photograph was posted on a separate thread some time ago.
I would like to post it on this thread and make some comments about features on not only the early 1914 style Touring driver’s compartment but some of the other Fords in the background.
The speedometer is the Stewart-Warner Model C. According to the great book on speedometers by Russ Furstnow, the one we see here was the second of four variations of the Model C used by Ford before November of 1913 when the factory quit supplying speedometers.
The car has the late 1913 style front fenders.
The windshield is a Rands and it seems to have brass clips on each end to hold the center glass channels.
It is clear that the coil box has a dull or mat black finish. The top of the coil box on my 1914 appears just like that.
The lamps are E&J and unlike the three Fords in the background, this car is using gas headlamps. The “ribbed” style gas hose is visible on right front headlamp just before the burner elbow. Visible on the high resolution photo is the jewel on the E&J Model 30 side lights.
Three Fords in the background…
Take a look at the first touring on the left. It is clearly a 1913 style car as the right rear door edge shows going all the way down to the bottom of the body. As you would expect, the crank handle is the aluminum style and I believe I see the front passenger door latch handle sticking up. The windshield is the typical 1913 style and it very likely is a wide track car. An interesting aspect of the photo is the front fenders have bills. So does the 1913 touring next to it.
Why would both of these car be retro-fitted with “older” style fenders? Neither of the cars have the Ford Michigan Manufacturer plate 5005M on them but I believe this photo was taken at Ford’s facilities.
This is a photo taken inside the Ford executive garage in Highland Park. The Ford executives would be given special cars to use. Henry normally drove a coupe or a sedan, even in 1913 and 1914 when Ford didn’t even offer those body styles to the public.
I suspect the car in the foreground is an early 1914 since the 1914 model year began in July 1913. The cars in the background, some have electric lights, so they are probably being used to test the new magneto lights that would be offered in 1915 model year. As “mule” cars they might have any fenders that were handy, we don’t really know what year they started out as. Being cars that are at least from the previous model year they could be an amalgam of any kind of parts on hand.
According to Russ’s speedometer book regarding the “script” #1322 road gear pictured above, "The Stewart name appeared in block letters, but later in 1913, script lettering began to appear on road gears, page 46. From that, it seems both block and script Stewart #1322’s appeared on Fords prior to calendar 1914.
The earlier road gear was the block letter #1322. This is one I have but it also has extra holes cast into it. Russ didn’t picture the “block letter” type, so I’m not sure if they are all this way.
Here is a Canadian produced 1914 Ford RHD touring car. Great photo with some excellent detail.
It has U.S. production E&J Black & Brass Model 30 spade mount side lights. They are not Clasco which are easily distinguished by the large all steel round bowl font. The headlights are U.S. E&J Black & Brass.
I’m not sure why Ford Canada didn’t use all Clasco lamps and avoid the 28-30% tariff on U.S.made lamps produced by E&J, Brown, Victor and Corcoran. The Clasco plant was operational by January 1913 and only a mile from the Ford Motor Canada plant. Maybe one of our Canadian folks can shed some light on that.
The horn is upside down to us U.S. folks, correct for RHD, but seems to have the oval dash mount. Seems to not be painted but hard to tell in this photo.
The gas hose from the generator is run through a punched hole in the splash shield . Apparently Canadian right side splash shields are not punched just as the late 1912 through 1914 U.S. production. I assume the sheet metal is from Detroit but since the car is RHD he had to punch holes for the all brass generator to get it out of the way of the door. Generator, Dietz maybe?
Anyone know what the gadget is on the splash shield in front of the generator hose?
I have a friend that has a mid year '14, and he is going to mount a Stewart 100 speedometer in it. The above road gear is what I believe he should have.
Here is a very nice photograph of a new 1914 style Touring taken next to the Ford Motor Company.
Woodward Avenue is in the background with the trolley barn that was located across the street from Ford.
The car has the Michigan Manufacturer’s License Plate for 1914 that was assigned to Ford, 5005M.
A good spot to take photos.
Seems to be the same building behind Frank Kulick when he had his photo taken in the Ford Special 410 Racer two years earlier. Note that the racer has the factory tag on the right rear axle.
