Above we see Dr. David O’Donnell and his family with their 1911 Model T touring. The car shows many features typical of 1911 including E&J model 666 headlamps and E&J Pat 1908 all brass side lamps. Perhaps the carbide generator has been moved to the passenger side of the car to make room for spare tires on the driver side running board. Also notice the double twist horn, again typical of 1911. The inlet tube for the horn now is raked downwards, almost matching the angle of the floor boards. This is an improvement over the 1909 – 10 double twist horns which have the inlet tube running parallel to the running board. Notice the bulge in the left front tire – and the low air pressure in the rear tire. He’s going to need those spares!
Typical E & J Model 666 lamp as used on the 1911 and 1912 Model T Ford. E& J provided lamps for many brands of cars, and in fact the Model 666 was used on other cars. The non – Ford Model 666 lamps have plain bonnets with a triangular E&J name plate riveted to the bonnet. Ford lamps have the E&J Model 666 and Ford script stamped on the bonnets as seen here.
Above, looking at the rear of the bonnet on the E & J Model 666 lamps there is an exhaust port for hot gases that has a inverted “smile” between two round holes. This is how original lamps are made. There are reproductions of these lamps on the market, you can quickly spot the repros because they do not have the inverted “smile” between the two holes. The reproductions have been made since the early 1960’s and are often corroded enough that people believe they are old enough to be originals. Buyer beware!
Above, Ford had a secondary supplier for most components including headlamps. The JNO Brown Model 19 headlamps were also used in 1911 – 12. Note that the Brown Model 19 lamps were made in lefts and rights, unlike the E & J lamps.
The bonnets on the JNO Brown Model 19 are reverse stamped with Ford script and the manufacturer’s logo and model number.
Above, there are also reproduction JNO Brown Model 19 lamps on the market. They are very nice looking but are not precisely the same as originals.
Brown headlamps were paired with JNO Brown Model 100 cowl lamps as seen above. These were some of the most elaborate and beautiful lamps ever used by Ford. Replacement parts are available to fix the broken lens and dented lens retainer on the driver side lamp above.
Back side of the JNO Brown Model 100 lamps showing the red jewels. The jewels allow the driver to know whether the lamps are still burning.
The E&J Pat 1908 tail lamp was paired with E&J headlamps and cowl lamps.
We’ve heard collectors and restorers say that Ford may have mixed brands of lamps on the assembly line but have not seen many original photos or documentation that supports this theory. Above is a photo of a 1911 touring that has JNO Brown Model 19 headlamps paired with E & J Pat 1908 cowl lamps so who knows?
Above we see the JNO Brown Model 105 tail lamp used in 1911 – 1912 typically paired with the JNO Brown Model 19 headlamps and JNO Brown Model 100 cowl lamps. A popular accessory in those days was the “Neverout” brand license plate holder seen here. Ford did not offer a license plate mounting bracket until 1915 model year. Many states did not even have license plates, for example Texas first offered license plates in 1917. The car above is painted white which of course is not a color offered by Ford in 1911.
The wonderful photo above shows us the new for 1911 running boards with raised diamonds and Ford script running lengthwise. Running boards were made in lefts and rights so that the Ford script would be facing outwards. These running boards were used through 1912 model year. Other details seen in this photo are the black hard rubber crank handle, profuse pin striping on the body and wheels, Rands windshield with equal sized panes, E & J 666 headlamps with E & J cowl lamps. This was the most popular car in the world in 1911.