One hundred years of Model T Fords

The Model T Ford celebrates its one-hundredth birthday this year. The Ford Motor Company was already five years old then, founded in 1903.

By this time Henry Ford (the founder) was 40 years old and had failed twice at building automobiles. At a time when most auto-builders were working and experimenting with steam cars, Henry Ford was tinkering with a gasoline powered “Horseless Carriage”.

The great inventor Thomas Alva Edison thought this was the way to go and had great confidence in Henry Ford. That made two of them.

The first Ford production to come out of the Detroit plant was called the Model “A” (not the Model A of 1928). Next came Model B, C, D; some were automobiles and some were engines and machines of different types.

When Henry Ford and his crew came to the letter “T” they hit the jackpot. The Model T was exactly what they wanted.

The car had a wheelbase of 100 inches, a four-cylinder motor of 20 horsepower rating and left-hand steering. Many or most early cars were right-hand drive.

The tires were 30” x three-and-a-half inches, outside measurement. The transmission was of the planetary type and the magneto was on the flywheel.

A new type of shock resistant steel called vanadium steel was used in the chassis and running gear. The car made about 20 miles to the gallon and could go as fast as 35 or so miles per hours. The gasoline tank was situated under the front seat.

Debuted Oct. 1, 1908

The first Model T debuted to the public Oct. 1, 1908 and was known as the 1909 model. This model weighed 1,200 pounds, had no water or gas pump, no speedometer, no self-starter until 1919 and no shifting levers. There were three little pedals on the floor and a hand brake on the left side. This would activate the clutch and act as an emergency brake. The left pedal was the clutch, low and high gear. The centre pedal was reverse and the right pedal was the brake, which applied to the rear wheels only.

This car needed no more and could not possibly do with any less. It sold for $850 in 1909 and the price kept going down. During its last year, 1927, some Model T Roadsters sold for as low as $260. This was indeed the first people’s car.

Soon Ford would have plants in Great Britain, France, Ireland, Italy, Africa, and as far away as Australia. The Model Ts on the roads of Nova Scotia were made at the Walkerville, Ontario plant across the river from Detroit.

The roads of the Maritimes in the early days of motoring were not much better than when the natives surrendered them. For this reason the agile Model T Ford was perfect for the farmers; with its high wheels it could conquer most road conditions.

Until 1914 the car came in a variety of colours; after that it was “any color as long as it was black.” Black Japan enamel was the only paint available at the time that could dry fast enough to keep up with the assembly line output. In the last two years (1926-27) Ford sold cars in colour again to make them more attractive to the buyers.

Car dealerships opened across the country

The car sold, and sold well; every other car on the road was a Ford. Car dealerships would open up all over the country.

In Yarmouth it was Trefry’s Garage on Central Street who sold Model T Fords for many years. The Annapolis Valley and the rest of the province had its dealers as well.

Over the years, a few changes were made to the car. In 1917 the brass radiator shell was changed to black. In 1919 some cars came with a self-starter, but old Henry kept the starting crank just to be on the safe side. By 1926 one could buy a car with steel spoke wheels and balloon tires.

Trucks, ambulances and fire engines rolled on the Model T chassis. You could even buy an attachment with big metal wheels to make a tractor out of your Ford. Talk about a universal car.

Some peculiarities

Model T had her little peculiarities: on a cold day the oil in the clutch would turn to molasses and the owner had to jack up one rear wheel to be able to turn the starting crank.

Laurel and Hardy used the Model T in many of their comic antics, as did the Keystone Cops. Songs and jokes were made about this car. It was called a Flivver, a Tin Lizzie, and the Jitney Bus. It was made out of old tin cans, but it put the average man on wheels and people loved it for what it was.

Some cars have survived to this very day. Knowledgeable writers of the Model T Ford Club International estimate that close to one million Model Ts in various states of restoration are still in existence. Close to 16 million were built all together. All antique car owners have catalogues where they can buy reproduction parts or N.O.S. (new old stock) for their cars today.

The 1909 Model T was a car ahead of its time. Over time some improvements were made, but the chassis remain basically the same.

By 1927 the demand was declining for everybody’s car. The era of the Model T was over and we were ushered into the next; the era of the Model A Ford when “Henry made a lady out of Lizzie” … but that’s a story for another day.

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