A 1920 hot rod? Gow job?

[m-mman]

This is a picture taken of the damage from an earthquake in Inglewood, California, that occurred on June 21, 1920.

 

Of interest to this august group might be the roadster in the lower right corner. Missing fenders and turtledeck, I perceive it as a hopped up car. Seems pretty early for 1920. 

 

There was a city scene discussed here recently and there was interest in the rarity of early hot rods that were captured in random images. I submit this for your enjoyment. 

 

[keiser31]

Model T Ford... stripped.

[CarlLaFong]

The adults are surveying the damage, the kids are checking out the car, "23 Skidoo!!!"

[Ric Dean]

The more that things change, the more they stay the same. 🙂

Edited June 30, 2019 by Ric Dean (see edit history)

[Dave Mellor NJ]

Custom body

[ron hausmann]

All - it's a stripped Kissel Model 6-45.

If you blow up the image, you'll see the rounded top radiator, and  very importantly, the off center round radiator emblem on the radiator body. Both of those traits are  almost unique to Kissels. Kissel panted radiators black or you could get them with nickel, as in the picture below. The rounded cowl top and windshield are similar to early Kissel Toursters, but ithe body in your scene seems to have been cut off after the front seat. Wonder why?  It would have been a pretty new car then too,  since 1919 was the first year of the Model 6-45.

A lot of Kissels, which were sporty, were sold in BCalifornia.

thanks, Ron Hausmann

[ron hausmann]

Better picture .

 

[keiser31]

That sure does look to be a Model T front axle... looks like a Model T with aftermarket radiator shell. I can see where you think it looks like a Kissel.

 

[1912Staver]

Model T for sure. However the rad is clearly Kissel influenced in style.

 

Greg in Canada

[Casper Friederich]

There was at least one aftermarket speedster body for Model T with exactly that radiator, perhaps it's a Morton & Brett?

 

http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/m/morton_brett/morton_brett.htm

[emjay]

My grandfather built a cutdown Model T for his family about that time. He had two daughters followed by four sons who were more than capable of doing it themselves. The youngest daughter would have turned 16 by 1921 and she would tell the story of driving it from PA to upstate NY in the winter, just once.

[ron hausmann]

Model T guys,

 

You are probably correct! After I wrote my post I looked at the scale of the car next to the pedestrians and the car I the picture is just too small to be a Kissel. Kissels were relatively large cars and the pictured body and radiator, while very similar to a Kissel if you look at it alone, but is just too small to be a Kissel when viewed with the people. So I stand corrected..

 

I still wonder why they used a rounded radiator and off-centered badge.

 

Thanks,

 

Ron 

[keiser31]

I think it's the lighting... it looks more like a crest on the radiator shell to me. I don't see a badge. Kinda crested like this Marmon shape...

 

[ron hausmann]

Keiser31,

 

Could be, except the car in the picture, like the Kissel, is too small in scale to be a Marmon as well.

 

The Model T speedster with "Morton Brett" optional body in the website above seems to get more plausible to me.

 

Thanks,

 

Ron

[Spinneyhill]

My first thought with the long visor projection of the roof over the windscreen was Studebaker, but...

[wayne sheldon]

Morton and Brett was one of a few companies that offered a kit very similar to that. Morton and Brett sold quite well (I once saw a photo of a stack of more than a dozen crated kits delivered to a dealer!). That may be a Morton and Bret bodied model T. The Morton and Brett body was also sold under a couple different marketing names, including Speedway. I am not sure of the exact corporate structure. Unfortunately, they seem to have a very low survival rate. I don't know why that is. But Mercury, Paco, and Faultless bodies were built in similarly low numbers, and quite a few of each are known to survive. I have seen serious estimates that nearly fifty Mercury bodied model Ts survive (and personally have known almost ten of them myself). I have personally seen at least four Paco bodied Ts, and two original Faultless cars (one owned for more than fifty years by a long-time good friend, now owned by a grandson). In my over fifty years, I have only seen one surviving original Morton and Brett, and heard of only a couple others.

 

It appears to be a sort of a "bobtail" (a short boat-tail). Possibly a Morton and Brett model 6 (I am not that smart, I had to look in my "Model T Ford in Speed and Sport" book!). However, I suspect that it may not be a Morton and Brett body after all that. The cowl does not look right. Morton and Brett generally had a significant up-sweep at the back of the cowl. This car does not appear to have that. I believe there were some Morton and Brett exceptions to that detail, but on a quick look did not see any identified. In that same book ("Speed and Sport), on page six, are original era pictures of four speedsters, one of which looks very much like this body (car has wire wheels). Unfortunately, it is not identified there.

 

One other interesting thing I notice about that car. The wheels appear to have flat steel discs put over the wooden spoke wheels. These "poor-man" disc wheels were a fairly popular accessory back in those days. The really cheap set had only four discs, one for the outside of each wheel. The deluxe set had eight steel discs, one for each inside and outside of all four wheels. I can't be sure (due to the sharpness of the angle and the photo), but I think I can see the spokes on the inside of the left front wheel, indicating that this may be the cheap set.

 

A wonderful photo to be sure! Thank you for sharing it here.

[Spinneyhill]

I think I can see the spokes in the left rear wheel. I think the car is moving so the spokes are fuzzy.

 

Question for OP: What is a Gow job?

Edited June 29, 2018 by Spinneyhill (see edit history)

[keiser31]

A gow job is sort of a stripped down hot rod of the 1920s.

Edited June 28, 2018 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[gwells]

Basically, a gow job was what a hot rod was called before the latter term came into common usage. Hot rod is largely a postwar term, coming to broad use in the '50s.

[Spinneyhill]

Thank you Gentlemen.

 

On a separate note, observe the effect of seismic shaking on unreinforced masonry. It falls down. If the earth starts to move for you, get away from brick buildings. Falling parapets have killed quite a few people.

 

Have we identified the other cars yet?

[Dave Mellor NJ]

Gow might stand for "Get Out of the Way"

[ShawnLancaster]

Here's some examples of the Mercury Sport Roadster Bodies for the Ford Model T chassis. Found this flyer over the weekend at an antique store. 

[nzcarnerd]

The photo is too small to get a good look at the other cars.

 

It looks as if another Ford T might have bitten the dust in the middle of the rubble.

[Dave Henderson]

Strange how the whole axle is turning left, not just the wheels!

[1912Staver]

I think it is just camera distortion .  It looks like a normal Model T front axle.

 

Greg in Canada

[58L-Y8]

Is the Hotel Inglewood still there?  The urge to go fast and look cool when doing so developed along with the automobile.

[AHa]

The car looks to be a touring with the rear seat removed or perhaps a roadster with the turtle deck removed. I don't believe that is a model T. I would guess 490 Chevy. The 490 had half springs that attached to the axle and the frame as you see in the left front. Also, the rear frame cross member is flat as opposed to the raised hump of the model T. You don't see the transverse spring in the front that should attach where the presumed radius rod attaches. What looks to be a radiator badge attached to the radiator is probably a car club badge. The car may be a tow car and is actually pulling the car behind to a shop.

Edited July 7, 2019 by AHa (see edit history)

[Guest]

3 hours ago, AHa said:

The 490 had half springs that attached to the axle and the frame as you see in the left front.

Technically called "Quarter elliptic".