Help Identify a 1929 Coupe

SRPhoto

SRPhoto

Junior Member
Greetings to all members! ....new to the forums, first time posting.
I have started working on a family owned 1929 FORD Model A Coupe and I have a lot of questions about it, trying to get a better history on it. My grandfather purchased it around 1975, we have always been told it was a 1929 but a few features on the car have me confused.

Unfortunately, I cannot read the engine numbers off the original block but I did find an old NY State registration ID card that listed the engine ID number. It was an “A” followed by 6 digits. Checking the numbers it would have been built in December of 1928, I am guessing making it into the car in early 1929. I am confused by the emergency brake handle: the brake lever is in front of the gear shift, however, it is the squeeze grip handle. Les Andrews book states that lever was used from June 1928 to Dec 1928 (page 1-113)

The original motor needed to be replaced so we have a March of 1931 motor in it, rebuilt in December of 2006.

The other area of confusion is the radiator cowl emblem, it has white FORD letters against a black background....does that mean Canadian built?
The back of the emblem appears to be double stick tape so someone has definitely been in there before, it’s not original. I believe a Canadian built motor would have a CA in front of the digits so I am confused by the the grill emblem.

The car has been sitting for almost 17 years and is not running but I am working on it.

Thanks for the help!
Steve
 

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SRPhoto said:
Greetings to all members! ....new to the forums, first time posting.
I have started working on a family owned 1929 FORD Model A Coupe and I have a lot of questions about it, trying to get a better history on it. My grandfather purchased it around 1975, we have always been told it was a 1929 but a few features on the car have me confused.

Unfortunately, I cannot read the engine numbers off the original block but I did find an old NY State registration ID card that listed the engine ID number. It was an “A” followed by 6 digits. Checking the numbers it would have been built in December of 1928, I am guessing making it into the car in early 1929. I am confused by the emergency brake handle: the brake lever is in front of the gear shift, however, it is the squeeze grip handle. Les Andrews book states that lever was used from June 1928 to Dec 1928 (page 1-113)

The original motor needed to be replaced so we have a March of 1931 motor in it, rebuilt in December of 2006.

The other area of confusion is the radiator cowl emblem, it has white FORD letters against a black background....does that mean Canadian built?
The back of the emblem appears to be double stick tape so someone has definitely been in there before, it’s not original. I believe a Canadian built motor would have a CA in front of the digits so I am confused by the the grill emblem.

The car has been sitting for almost 17 years and is not running but I am working on it.

Thanks for the help!
Steve
Click to expand...
Grill emblem is Canadian, must have been replaced over time unless it is a Canadian car. Lift body off to show frame number.!? Are there Robertson screws around window frames etc?
 
If I remeber right, you have the correct hand brake set up. It should be in front of the shift lever. Squeeze type may have been added later at some point. Keep plugging away on her.

Mike
 
Thanks for the replies. I am thinking the emblem was replaced as well. I won't be able to lift the body off the car at this point. The interior was redone around 1975 but all the screws around the windows are slot head screws.
 
If your coupe was built in late 1928, early 1929, you have a special coupe, not a standard coupe. I have a Nov 28, 1928 special coupe that I restored. Special coupe's have a wood frame work for the top that has formed sheetmetal nailed to the wood,before the top padding and material is installed. On many special coupes, the wood has decayed or missing. I had to install all new wood in my coupe. Special coupe's have rubberize canvass material going down to the beltrail (top of the main part of the body).



I doubt your car is Canadian. The radiator emblem has a stepped edge on it indicating it is a 1928/early 1929 emblem. Later 1929 emblems had a smooth outer edge. If the emblem has tape on it, it probably was replaced.


Most 1928 and the early half of 1929 had a date stamped on the drivers side on the front of the gas tank just above the firewall - something like 12 9 28. In addition, there should be a body stamp number where the drivers left heel would be on the body crossmember. The body number has a 2 letters followed by a number indicating body number of bodies built to this car's mfg. My body stamp is TC1491 indicating it was built in the Twin Cities Minnesota and the 1491st coupe built at the plant.



Also, some cars build in late 28 were registered as 1929 vehicles.
Hope this helps.
Rusty Nelson
 

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You have run into the simple fact these cars are nearly 90+ years old and over the years have been maintained, rebuilt and finally restored. The vast majority of cars have been "restored" to be good drivers so they used what was available for parts that would work. They were generally not done to be 100% accurate fine point restorations as they left the factory using the same parts that were used the same day the engine was stamped.
Even your old registration could be for an engine that had been swapped into your current car. But, if your car has the top as shown in wrndln's post your car build date is probably accurate. I would not even consider the Canadian angle since the emblem is held on with modern tape.
 
Thanks Rusty, a lot of helpful info there. I will have to go crawl around with a flash light and look for those numbers. With so many hands all over this car over the years, I may never know for sure what it is.
 

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Looking at your recent pictures, I can't tell if you coupe is a special coupe or a standard coupe. Special coupes were manufactures from July 1928 to July 1929. Does your coupe have fabric top down to the beltrail - i.e. special coupe? The pistol grip emergency brake is correct for late 1928 to early 1929 vehicles. One last thing that will distinguish 1928 and early 1929 model A from later 1929's is the body mounted taillight. There were 3 D nuts on the rear subrail for the taillight bracket on earlier vehicles.
Rusty
 
They stopped production of the Standard Coupe when the Special Coupe came on line in June of 1928. The Special Coupes lasted till July of 1929 when the Standard metal back Coupe went back into production for the rest of the 1929 model year. A person has to look at the belt rail that extends around the back of the cab. It would be a lot like what the Sport & Business coupe models used. The extra wood is covered by interior trim so a person can't tell much from that. The nail holes for the top material around the quarter windows may have been filled or it was converted to a Standard Coupe at some time. The frame number will tell for sure when it was built. Bodys can be changed. The first E-brake levers that were attached with the transmission shift tower did have a pistol grip but were changed later to the push button type. That would have been a fair bit before December 1928.

You never know what your going to find with these old cars.
 
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There is also the assembly plant and body number that could be stamped by the seat riser or sills. I'm not sure if there has been enough research to sort actual dates from those yet.
 
I know the interior was redone around 1976-77, it was by no means an accurate restoration. Sounds like I will have to pull up the floor boards and maybe remove some panels to look for these stamped numbers.

Thanks to all for the responses, very knowledgeable group here!
 
This is the tail light mounting inside the wheel well, I am guessing this is not original.
 

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The taillight is definitely installed by someone, not Ford, probably long after manufacture. There is a plate, not like this, Ford used to provide more strength for the taillight. It appears the wiring is going through in the fender mounting tab and body. Ford didn't do it this way, so someone did install it, not Ford.
Rusty
 
How did Ford run the wires? Instead of going through the fender mounting tab and body should it run straight own the frame rail?
 
Attached is the reinforcing plate Ford used for fender mounted taillights. The stop and taillight wires run down the inside of the left subrail to near the back end, then under the subrail at the taillight, then into the reinforcing plate and then into the taillight. There is a woven wire loom that covers the 2 wires from the subrail to the taillight. Model A suppliers sell the loom and reinforcing plate. The subrail is the heavy U shaped part the rear quarterpanels are attached to at the bottom. I don't have a picture of the wiring, but the reinforcing bracket is shown below. If you don't have Bratton's and Bert's catalogs, they will send you one free or you can go to their websites.
Rusty
 

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The current set up has 3 wires into the single taillight.....a green wire is attached to the nut holding the taillight body onto the taillight mount bracket. The other 2 wires are black. I think that issue will turn into its own thread.

The stop light switch is missing and the wiring harness looks original but spliced in several different spots. I will do some searching on that topic and look for some pictures showing the correct wire routing to the tail light.
 
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