Vehicle Description
Engine No. 9632516
Model T Speedsters were the hot rods of the Twenties, built by
young men handy with their hands from used examples of the "Tin
Lizzie," on a budget limited by reality and the parts counter of
the local hardware store. Yet if that parts counter was
well-stocked, and if one worked a bit of overtime at the feed store
or the diner, they could put together quite a machine.
The Speedster offered here is equipped with several particularly
desirable pieces, especially under the hood, where, on these cars,
it matters. Its engine, based upon its numbering hailing from a
1924 model, is mounted with a Rajo overhead-valve conversion and
what appears to be a "tri-Y" header system, as well as dual
Winfield carburetors and a conventional water pump. The rear axle
is equipped with Rocky Mountain brakes, a necessity for modern
Model T driving, and the body appears to have been somewhat lowered
on the frame, a nice touch which along with the yellow and black
livery gives the car the appearance of a tiny Mercer Raceabout,
Marmon Wasp, or Marion Bobcat.
Further dressing up the body are Ford-script E&J Model 666
headlamps, as well as matching cowl lights and taillight, and a
dashboard offering a 60 mph Stewart-Warner speedometer, ammeter,
fuel gauge, and Continental Motor Clock. A monocle windshield
shields the driver while a manually operated "oogah" horn clears
his path. Attention to detail extends to a wooden toolbox and brass
accessories everywhere that one looks - not just the aforementioned
lamps, but the gas cap, the steering wheel spokes, and even the
fuel tank strap in the rear. Button-tufted leather seating is
surprisingly well-designed and quite comfortable for one of these
cars, with more padding than is often seen.
Indeed, with beautifully applied paint and carefully laid striping
throughout - even on the brakes! - this is a remarkably
well-finished automobile, put together with time, care, and likely
a great deal of money, to be the very best that it can possibly be.
Even the auxiliary fuel tank is concealed within a beautiful
polished wooden box. All finishes remain in excellent show-quality
order, as they should, the car recording only 36 miles at the time
of cataloging, and having been preserved in the Gateway Automobile
Museum since their acquisition in October 2004.
Almost certainly the best-finished Model T Speedster available,
this is a near-concours example of a car almost never seen
completed to such standards. It looks right, feels right, and is
right for any enthusiast of early American performance.
