The Ford Model T will always be a special mark in the history of American automobiles. It came about when automobiles were first becoming very popular, and is said to be the first affordable automobile.
“The Car the put America on wheels”
The model T was named the world most influential car of the 20th century. From the great words of Henry Ford: “I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for a family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God’s great open spaces.”
The model T was designed by Childe Harold Wills and two Hungarian immigrants named Joseph A. Galamb and Eugene Farkas. As with the times, every model T was put together by the hands of Ford’s automotive team. It made for very slow productions, but it was still a very sought after automobile none the less.
The model T was put out to the public with a front mounted 117 four cylinder engine. It managed 20.2 horses, and reached top speeds of 40-45 mph. According to Ford Motor, it had great fuel economy that got 13 to 21 mpg. This engine was very versatile, it could run on either gasoline or ethanol. Though ethanol was quickly made illegal and with the lowering prices of gasoline, there was really no more need to use ethanol.
It came with a Magneto alternator that produced low voltage current to a power coil that turned that low voltage into high power. The model T was a rear wheel drive vehicle with a two speed transmission. Although Ford did label it as a 3 speed. However, one of the three speeds was Reverse, and in todays standards, that does not count as a speed.
The model T never really came in all that many colors and it was Henry Ford’s statement that said: “Any customer can have the model T in any color they like, so long as its black.” Which is so very interesting as the first few model T’s were not actually black at all.
The 1923 Ford Model T actually appeared first in the fall of 1922. These were funny little cars by todays standards. The initial version had only one rear door to enter the vehicle. This meant that both the passenger and the driver had to enter the vehicle through the back and squeeze through the front seats if they wanted to go for a ride. Later, Ford put out a four door sedan that they creatively name the “fordor”, but with his hopes of using up the original center door models, Henry asked his dealers not to push the Fordors. Aside from adding doors, the Fordor also used a rectangular rear window and crank roll-up windows. This gave the Fordor quite a distinction from the original center door model T.
From the factory lines, the 1923 Model T came with an electric starter and demountable rims. The model T was quickly becoming fords hot ticket. Competing with other American modeled cars that were being put out in those times, Henry ford had a lot of work on his hands. As great as the 1923 Model T was, is still needed many upgrades and improvements to keep up with what the public was demanding from their automobiles.
The 1923 Model T will forever be marked as a part of automobile history. You can learn a lot from the making of this car, or truck as some would call it. Thank you Henry Ford, you helped paved the way for many of the wonderful cars and vehicles we see today.
