Original cost: $525.00
On loan from: Estate of Ken Gilson, Lincoln, NE
Number made: 286,935
Engine, etc.: 4 cyl., L-head; 176 cu. in.; 20 h.p.; 2-speed; 1,390 lbs.
Ken Gilson bought this vehicle in January, 1962 and restored it. It has been in the family since then.
This was the first year for a battery and electric starter. Also available for the first time were dismountable rims.
An instrument panel was included for the first time with an ammeter as the instrument. The panel also included the choke knob and ignition/light switch. Speedometers were dealer-installed options.
Black was now the Ford color though it was never listed prior to 1914. Henry Ford preferred the black color because it dried the fastest. Black continued as the color for all models until 1925.
By 1914, the time to build a Model T chassis had been reduced from 12 ½ hours to one hour and 33 minutes. This was also the year that Ford introduced his revolutionary $5 a day wage. He paid workers a wage proportionate to the cost of the automobile so they would be able to buy what they produced. Ford found many ways to cut costs so it could offer the least-expensive product. He instructed his suppliers on how to assemble wood crates used to ship him parts. The crates were then disassembled and used within the bodies of the cars.
During the years 1917 through 1923 Ford did not do any advertising but sold 9 out of 10 cars – no advertising was necessary.
There were two classes of the Model T – those produced before 1919 and after 1919. The pre-1919 Model T’s are known as veteran cars while the later models are called vintage cars. Open touring cars and roadsters were cheaper to produce and thus, produced in greater numbers.
The three-speed transmission was actually two speeds forward plus one reverse. With no clutch pedal, shifting was handled by floor pedals that did not require a clutch. A third floor pedal operated reverse gear. A lever on the steering column controlled the throttle. Wood “artillery wheels” were standard until 1926 when they were replaced by steel wire wheels.
The Model T was described as having “a chassis of blessed simplicity and dogged reliability”. It was called the “Tin Lizzie” and the “Flivver”.
Source: Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805 -1942 Beverly Rae Kimes, et al. 3rd ed. Krause Publications, 1996.
http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z14456/Ford-Model-T.aspx
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Ford/1919%20Ford/index.html (Link to three original dealer brochures including general one, starting and lighting system manual, and user manual)