Rally Restoration ProjectS
’25 Doctors Coup
The origins are a bit of a mystery. It was located in SA but ironically the owner had purchased it from Hayman Island off the Qld coast. The body was advertised on Facebook Aussie Model T page, and after contact was made I grabbed my old mate, another retired driver and fellow car enthusiast, and we made the pilgrimage from Qld to SA to complete the disassembly and bring it home.
The origins are a bit of a mystery. It was located in SA but ironically the owner had purchased it from Hayman Island off the Qld coast. The body was advertised on Facebook Aussie Model T page, and after contact was made I grabbed my old mate, another retired driver and fellow car enthusiast, and we made the pilgrimage from Qld to SA to complete the disassembly and bring it home.
I originally was under the impression that it was a Canadian body, but the “Made in USA” embossed on the radiator surround, and the roughly cut indent in the dash for the steering column, along with the factory cast one on the left side has me believing it is and older conversion… just how old is anyone’s guess…. The firewall had stress cracks around the steering column plate where they bolt together, so I’d hazard a guess that she’s done a few k’s. One of the first jobs I did was to move the factory dash steering column recess to the right side…. ie the Right Side
Click here Woodwork is not my forte, and progress has been erratic. I had the good fortune through the Facebook page to contact another Coup restorer in Melbourne, and their interaction has been both useful and encouraging. The timber generally was in poor shape, dry rot having made inroads. I got hold of a quantity of Silky Oak slabs, from which I have been able to fashion replacement timbers. A local MTOQ member, who is well versed in T history, sent me a copy of the wood plan for the Coup and that has also been most useful in working out what goes where. The frame is done, so work now starts on the panels.
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Not a lot of rust to replace.. the cowl is done and the doors were eaten away at the bottom inside. Fortunately the skin was OK with only minor pinholes to contend with.
The drive train has been set up for some time. It was destined for another project, but that became a daunting task as there are no known examples of the woodwork plan and the project had stalled. When the Coup body came up, that particular fetish was propelled to the fore, as it had always been in my mind to “do” a Coup….. one day.
The chassis sits on stands at the moment with a rebuilt motor and transmission ( Dick Pakeman has forgotten more about T engines than I ever knew). Diff has been re-done….. I picked it up as a “ready to go” item. Just thought for interests sake I decided I should make sure the babbit thrust washers had been replaced so I stripped it down. One babbit thrust washer on the left side, one of those Roller thrust washers on the right side, and, because the dowl pins that the thrust plate sits on in the housing were worn down to a stub, the thrust plate had been attached with silastic. I considered that to be inadequate!!! I have plenty of diff housings in stock , so I started from scratch with that one.
The chassis sits on stands at the moment with a rebuilt motor and transmission ( Dick Pakeman has forgotten more about T engines than I ever knew). Diff has been re-done….. I picked it up as a “ready to go” item. Just thought for interests sake I decided I should make sure the babbit thrust washers had been replaced so I stripped it down. One babbit thrust washer on the left side, one of those Roller thrust washers on the right side, and, because the dowl pins that the thrust plate sits on in the housing were worn down to a stub, the thrust plate had been attached with silastic. I considered that to be inadequate!!! I have plenty of diff housings in stock , so I started from scratch with that one.
A new radiator, from Aussie Desert Cooler in Melbourne, is fitted.
There’s new glass, new spoked wheels and new rims all stashed away in the shed waiting to be fitted as the Coup evolves..gotta get it done ..it’s on the register for Dubbo.
There’s new glass, new spoked wheels and new rims all stashed away in the shed waiting to be fitted as the Coup evolves..gotta get it done ..it’s on the register for Dubbo.
RESTORATION OF 1915 MODEL T TOURER
This vehicle was located from a farming property in Dunedoo about 98 km from Dubbo. The rear seat was removed forming a flat deck for carrying farming equipment. When its useful life was finished it was stored in a leaky shed and dismantled in to many parts. During storage some body panels were lost or damage beyond repair. All the rear seat panels were missing and the rear mudguards were stored upside down and filled with rain water and rusted out at the crown.
I took all the remains of the car home and stored it safely in my Garage while I thought about how to restore the car. I decided I wanted to do as much of the restoration myself so I enrolled at Tafe in Panel beating, spray painting and upholstery courses.
The engine in the car has engine number C42920 with a casting date of 30th January 1914 putting it as a late 1915 car which is why it has electric head lights. The original fire wall was beyond restoration but gave me some useful information as the original Canadian dating plate was still attached showing the same engine number, a speedo had been fitted but was missing and the coil box was complete. I took many photos of the car before starting the restoration and this proved to be a good move as I had a record of all the parts I had and how they fitted together.
I began the restoration with the Chassis which apart from being heavily covered in red mud which had set like concrete proved to be straight and square. The original wheels were in good condition so I removed all the paint and soaked each wheel for three months in a linseed oil mixture before repainting. I was surprised how elegant the fellows were.
I re timbered some parts of the front of the car and completely remade the rear timber structure. I had some rear old panels that I used for the timber details and some Mel Miller plans. Next I started work on the sheet metal work the under seat panels, side panels and the rear were quite easy but those rear corner panels which form the tapered junction of the rear and sides were the most difficult to make but they turned out well after a lot of work.
I was lucky enough to have a friend importing a car from the USA who was purchasing a new K C Warford gear box for his vehicle so I purchased one for my car and they came to Australia inside his car. This required 12 inches to be cut from the drive shaft and this was done by a club member I now have six forward gears. While the diff was out of the car new axles with safety hubs were fitted and Rocky mountain brakes have been added.
All the mud guards, valances and running boards have been fitted to the body as it required some adjustment of the panels prior to removing for painting. I have to tidy up the hood before painting can begin. Painting the body is the next big job.
I have already finished many components ready to be installed after the body is painted these include the following:
New hood irons with new timber bows, Brass radiator fitted with new core, new round fuel tank, assembled new muffler, coil box finished, Head lights and two side light finished tail light still not finish, steering column and timber steering wheel finished. The upholstery to the rear seat squab is finished and the front seat is underway.
There are still a lot of fiddley bits to do but I am well on the way to Dubbo and maybe even to Dunedoo.
Robert Fordham
This vehicle was located from a farming property in Dunedoo about 98 km from Dubbo. The rear seat was removed forming a flat deck for carrying farming equipment. When its useful life was finished it was stored in a leaky shed and dismantled in to many parts. During storage some body panels were lost or damage beyond repair. All the rear seat panels were missing and the rear mudguards were stored upside down and filled with rain water and rusted out at the crown.
I took all the remains of the car home and stored it safely in my Garage while I thought about how to restore the car. I decided I wanted to do as much of the restoration myself so I enrolled at Tafe in Panel beating, spray painting and upholstery courses.
The engine in the car has engine number C42920 with a casting date of 30th January 1914 putting it as a late 1915 car which is why it has electric head lights. The original fire wall was beyond restoration but gave me some useful information as the original Canadian dating plate was still attached showing the same engine number, a speedo had been fitted but was missing and the coil box was complete. I took many photos of the car before starting the restoration and this proved to be a good move as I had a record of all the parts I had and how they fitted together.
I began the restoration with the Chassis which apart from being heavily covered in red mud which had set like concrete proved to be straight and square. The original wheels were in good condition so I removed all the paint and soaked each wheel for three months in a linseed oil mixture before repainting. I was surprised how elegant the fellows were.
I re timbered some parts of the front of the car and completely remade the rear timber structure. I had some rear old panels that I used for the timber details and some Mel Miller plans. Next I started work on the sheet metal work the under seat panels, side panels and the rear were quite easy but those rear corner panels which form the tapered junction of the rear and sides were the most difficult to make but they turned out well after a lot of work.
I was lucky enough to have a friend importing a car from the USA who was purchasing a new K C Warford gear box for his vehicle so I purchased one for my car and they came to Australia inside his car. This required 12 inches to be cut from the drive shaft and this was done by a club member I now have six forward gears. While the diff was out of the car new axles with safety hubs were fitted and Rocky mountain brakes have been added.
All the mud guards, valances and running boards have been fitted to the body as it required some adjustment of the panels prior to removing for painting. I have to tidy up the hood before painting can begin. Painting the body is the next big job.
I have already finished many components ready to be installed after the body is painted these include the following:
New hood irons with new timber bows, Brass radiator fitted with new core, new round fuel tank, assembled new muffler, coil box finished, Head lights and two side light finished tail light still not finish, steering column and timber steering wheel finished. The upholstery to the rear seat squab is finished and the front seat is underway.
There are still a lot of fiddley bits to do but I am well on the way to Dubbo and maybe even to Dunedoo.
Robert Fordham
