Brodhead revisited: an enchanting afternoon with an early speedster

We might be looking at the latest star of our Friday Lady series, but this picture looks to have been taken on a lazy Sunday afternoon tour. Even so, the car seems more appropriate for a race of some kind. Is it an early Ford speedster? We’d put our bets on it, although the pointed radiator is not something you might have come across before, making it a real hot rod of the Brass Era. Edsel Ford was building speedsters as early as 1911, at least one of which had a radiator like this, but we’re not sure if this one could be one of those.

Was Edsel the first person to construct a Model T speedster? According to Henry Ford’s general secretary, Edsel was “Very much interested in the various types of roadsters and cars that appealed to him. He would make sketches and rough drawings of them and take them up and explain them to the people in the Experimental Department. He wanted things that looked clever, looked fast, and were fast. He really had an eye for style. Everything had to be right…”

We think, perhaps, this speedster does not look quite right, though. Perhaps it's a do-it-yourself job, carried out over a century ago in someone’s long-gone shed? Probably. Amazingly, the first tuning parts were already being marketed and sold in the USA in the 1910s, so they may have purchased it from such a company. We did come across another T speedster with a similar radiator grille, which had ‘Fronty Ford’ moulded into the brass, as a reference to Frontenac, the tuning company set up by the Chevrolet brothers in 1915.

It’s all guesswork from us, we're afraid. We don’t know much about this enchanting shot other than that it was taken “At an unknown covered bridge, possibly near Brodhead, Wisconsin”. The ‘W’ in the number plate probably indicates that very state. Now, there are a few covered bridges over the Sugar River left in Wisconsin. Wouldn’t it be lovely to find this one and recreate the photograph?

Words: Jeroen Booij; photograph: archive

Published:

Tuesday May 21st, 2024

Edwin Hayslip

22 May 2024, 16:43

The radiator is the V model by Livingston, not to be confused with Livingston's Super V model. Livingston had several addresses in New York City. Probably a longer starting handle was needed to make a 360-degree crank rotation without hitting the radiator. The cylinders at the ends of the spring are filled with coil springs as shock absorbers. The cowl and possibly the hood are aftermarket.

David Liepelt

22 May 2024, 04:25

Fenders are the giveaway of what was originally a 1911 Model T Torpedo Runabout (with front doors) or Open Runabout (no doors). They were Ford's first factory built "Halo Car", in modern terms, that attracts buyers through the showroom door. The bonnet was a few inches longer than standard, the steering column was four inches longer than standard and sat at a much lower angle, and there was a special reverse pedal to clear the column. The frames were unique with the running board brackets spaced differently, and were only built for the 1911 model year. This car has front axle with one-piece spindles, meaning production in early winter of 1911 or before. An accessory lower radius rod has been installed for safety.

The 1912 T Torpedo was totally different and built on a standard T chassis.

In the photo, the lower platform of the body may still be original to the Open Runabout. The firewall was cut down from the original rectangular piece to match the hood shape. I suspect the cowl was home made. The seat is narrower than standard and appears to have a buggy rail that the top fastens to. That entire piece came off some other earlier car. The wire wheels are pin drive, but wheel centers look smaller than PASCO. The front tires are smooth, but the rears are Firestone NON SKID tread. Original T wheels had 30 by 3 in front and 30 by 3½ in the rear. I suspect these are 30 by 3½ all round. The headlights look to be a bit larger than standard 1911 T equipment, but they could be 1914 era J.N.O. Brown manufacture, fed from a Prestolite tank on the running board. The very long vee radiator was made by Livingston. This is a much shorter vee I find advertisements for these shorter vee types from Rome-Turney, and Superior companies in my copy of "Model T Ford in Speed & Sport", a must have for any T Speedster enthusiast!

Keith Kuehn

21 May 2024, 01:42

Yes, there are a number of covered bridges left in Wisconsin. We went on one during the initial Celebration of Brass at the Gilmore Museum a few years ago. It was quite the sight and quite the event! And yes, that is a Ford T, or a T chassis and bonnet at least. The windshield may be from an Overland. The lamps are Ford. I'm pretty willing to bet it is an early "kit" type body for Fords—there were a LOT of them...

Brodhead revisited: an enchanting afternoon with an early speedster

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