In the truck display area there is a Dodge Brothers screenside delivery truck painted as a "paddy wagon" and a couple of Model T delivery trucks. The Dodge Brothers truck is tucked into a corner so that you cannot see it very well and I did not pay much attention to it but the Model Ts were situated so that you could get a good inside. And the insides are all wood.
So I stopped and studied the trucks and the little voice in the back of my head started getting louder saying " I can do that".
On the way home I talked to my wife about the trucks and how it would be a neat project to do with the boys in the future. I envisioned that it would be a very expensive proposition with parts being hard to find so the idea was filed under "someday" and forgotten. A few weeks later I was playing on the Internet and googled Model T truck. There are owners clubs, specialty junk yards, new replacement part manufacturers, and all sorts of resources for restoring Model Ts. The surprising thing was how cheap it was. I was looking at under $5000 for a running Model T truck that I could use for parades, advertising my business, and general fun. The "someday" project was moved to "soon" project status and I started doing serious research.
Now I am a professional woodworker and can build anything from wood (cabinets, furniture, signs etc. ) and I have a shop set up to do so. You can see some of my work on CustomMade.com. The woodworking part was not a worry but the mechanical part I was not sure about so I did the most important part of my research. I talked to friends and acquaintances who did know about old cars. The consensus was that I was mechanical enough to do the job and if I had any problems they would be happy to help. So the search was on for a suitable Model T and information on restoring antique trucks.
My search criteria was:
1. The engine and drive train had to run.
2. Any sheet metal or wood that was bad must at least be good enough for a pattern.
3. No oddball unreplacable parts were missing. You can get replacement headlights easy but door hinges might be harder to find or expensive to have made.
Where I looked:
1. Google. There are owners clubs and junk yards that sell trucks and parts over the Internet
2. Hemming Motor News. This is also a good reference for restoration services and generic parts.
3. Local antique car clubs.
4. Friends of Friends of Friends. It amazing how Joe has a friend Bob who knows someone who has an old truck in a barn.
5. EBay. EBay has surpassed most owners clubs for the quantity of parts listed but you have to keep a constant lookout for the parts you need. Most EBay auctions are only for a week or two and then they disappear. Owners club sites usually list parts until they are sold and the seller removes the listing. Owner clubs listings are also usually by fellow enthusiasts so they are likely more knowledgeable about the condition of what they are selling.
6. Library and bookstores. Most of the print information that I could find was directed toward restoring muscle cars of the 50s thru 70s. Out of all the books I read the only one I bought was "Sheet Metal Fabrication, techniques and tips for beginners and pros" by Eddie Paul, Motorbooks.com. I have also found Vintage Truck Magazine to be helpful.
So the hunt was on. I was convinced that I would by a Ford Model TT truck, buy replacement sheet metal as needed and do all the woodworking myself, so I limited my search to Model T owners clubs and looked for a restorable chassis with working drive train. I also sent off for a catalog from a company that specializes in Model T replacement parts. Then I saw a listing for a 1925 Graham Brothers 1 1/2ton truck. My last name is Graham. I had never heard of Graham Brothers Trucks. The picture showed a truck that was much larger than a Ford Model TT. Interesting.
I started to search and found out that the Graham Brothers started out making kits to convert the family car into a farm truck. Mostly for Ford and Dodge but also for other cars. Ford started building the TT so the Graham Brothers partnered with the Dodge Brothers and using Dodge parts created the first truck division of Dodge. 3/4 ton trucks were sold with a Dodge label, like the screenside truck I had seen and ignored at Luray, and larger commercial oriented trucks were sold under the Graham Brothers label. The more I looked the more I liked the Graham Brothers truck over the Ford. It is beefier, has a very large rear end, very large tires, very large (manual ) brakes, And the suspension was fore and aft springs as opposed to Fords buggy style springs. I showed the listing to my wife and she smiled. She knows my "I can do that" look. I called the owner and found out that the truck did run. There was enough of the cab wood to use for patterns. The cab metal was rusted out but again, there was enough for patterns. There was no bed so I could build what I wanted for the back. And it cost less than a non running Model TT chassis. So one fine October weekend my younger son and I hooked up the trailer and drove to Illinois for a truck that looked like it should be in the dump.
We met the owner and he showed us the 1 ton "G-Boy" that he was restoring and I took pictures of how the cab was supposed to look when it was back together. Then he pulled out my truck. We started it and ran it back and forth. The radiator had holes so we did not run it for long but it started easy and ran smoothly. We pushed it onto the trailer, strapped it down, said our goodbyes, and headed back home. An antique truck on a trailer does not get a second look in Ohio but near Washington DC it was an oddity and got lots of stares from passing cars. When we got home I was able to start the truck and drive it off the trailer and gave the brakes there first real test. My wife laughed as I drove around the back yard looking like Jed Clampett.
Now the work begins.
The original ad pictures
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