Car History 4U

Model T Ford History

9.3   Model T Ford

  • 9.3.1 Introduction

    • Design and development of the Model T started in late 1906.

    • The first factory built Model T car was produced on 24 September 1908. It achieved 20 mpg (gasoline/petrol) and 85 mpg (oil).

    • The first production standard Model T engine was produced on 27 September 1908.  

    • The first production Model T was “announced for release” on 1 October 1908 in Detroit, USA. It was priced at $850.   

      1908 Touring Car

    • The first public showing was at the Olympia Exhibition held in London on 13 November 1908. A Double Phaeton Touring Model was priced at £225.

    • By 1910 Ford had 9 sales branches in the US; in Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Kansas, New York, Philadelphia and Seattle. 

    • The Model T was Henry Ford's ninth production model. Previous production models were the A,B,C,F,K,N,R & S.

    • The Model T was the first Ford vehicle with the steering wheel on the left.

    • It is a rear-wheel drive vehicle.

    • The Coupe model produced in 1909 was the first fully enclosed Model T”.

    • Two other 1909 models, the Town Car and the Landaulet, had an enclosed compartment but only for the passengers, not the driver. See www.mtfca.com/encyclo/1909.htm”.

    • The first engine fitted with an electric starter was produced on 11 December 1918 and was fitted to closed cars in 1919. It was available as an option on open cars.                                         

      1920 Centre Door Sedan

    • Prior to then the Model T was started using a hand crank .

    • In 1909 there were only about 300 miles of artificially surfaced roads in the US.

    • In the 1920s the average life of a car in the US was 6.3 years. The average life of a Model T was 8 years.

    • In early 1922 George Frost of the Lane High School radio club in Chicago, USA, installed a modified battery operated portable radio into a Model T Ford.

    • A high impedance cone loudspeaker was fitted into the car’s passenger door.

    • It was one of the first automobiles to be fitted with a radio.

  • 9.3.2 Types of Cars 

    • All cars were built with essentially the same engine and chassis.

    • The Model T car came in eight main body styles; Touring/Tourabout, Runabout (Roadster), Landaulet, Town Car, Coupe/Couplet, Sedan, Fordor Sedan & Tudor Sedan.

      1912 Roadster        1915 Town Car        1915 Couplet         1924 Fordor Sedan        1925 Tudor Sedan

    • The five models produced in 1908-09 were, in order they were first built: www.mtfca.com/encyclo/1909.htm

    • Five-passenger Touring

    • Seven-passenger Landaulet

    • Two-passenger Coupe

    • Seven-passenger Town Car

    • Two-passenger Runabout/Roadster 

    • Note: A Landaulet is a limousine in which the passengers sit in an enclosed section, the rear of which has a hooded portion.

  • 9.3.3 Other Model T Vehicles

    • In 1911-12 and 1917-18 Ford in the USA and Great Britain produced 8,604 model T delivery vehicles.

    • In July 1917 the company produced a one-ton Model T truck chassis, its first chassis designed for trucks.

    • Previously trucks had been produced using the same chassis as the Model T car.

    • The basic Model T chassis was extended by two foot and a new and stronger frame fitted.

    • The rear suspension was stiffened and artillery-type rear wheels with solid rubber tires fitted.

    • Production of complete Model T trucks started in 1918, with 3 produced that year.

    • Note: The first Ford truck (the third vehicle to be built by Henry Ford) was produced in 1900.

    • It wasn’t until January 1924 that the company started to produce bodies for their trucks.

    • Up to then Ford used independent body suppliers.

    • In 1925 the first truck with a fully closed body was produced. 

    • Also in 1925 Ford produced their first factory-assembled pickup; billed as the "Ford Model T Runabout with Pickup Body."

    • 34,000 were built in the first 12 months.

    • Between 1918 and 1927 over 1.6 million Model T trucks were produced by Ford in the USA.

    • Trucks represented about 11% of all Model T vehicles produced by Ford in the USA and an even greater percentage in Great Britain. British & Canadian % required.

    • In addition Ford sold Model T truck chassis; chassis’ which were later converted into trucks of various types.

    • Over the years Model T chassis’ were used to produce Fire Tenders, School Buses, Buses, Milk Wagons, Grocery Trucks, Delivery Trucks, Petrol Bowsers and others.  What else?

    • Other applications included a Model T that was fitted with flange wheels to run on railway tracks, a model fitted with handsaws for use by timber-jacks and one adapted to provide power for milking machines.

    • During WW 1 (1914-18) the company produced chassis’ for scout cars, machine gun carriers and ambulances.

      WW1 - Model T Field Ambulance                 

    • Between 1916 and 1919 26,515 Model T ambulances were produced by Ford in the USA and Great Britain; 20,700 in 1916.  

    • Walt Disney and the writer Ernest Hemingway were Model T ambulance drivers.

    • What other Model T vehicles were produced in Canada? Ambulances?  

  • 9.3.4 Engine & Performance

    • The Model T had 2,896 cc (176.7 cubic inches) four-cylinder engine. 

      Model T Engine                                                                    
                                                                 

    • The car’s top speed was about 45 mph (72 kph).

    • The owner’s manual of 1911 stated that whilst the Model T was originally rated at 20 hp, the horse power based on the “now generally accepted formulae” is 22.5.

    • The engine has a bore of 3.75 inches (95.2 mm) and a stroke of 4 inches (101.6 mm).

    • Up to 1912 the compression ratio was about 4.5 to1. Between 1912 and 1916 it was 4.1 to 1 and 3.98 to 1 after 1916.

    • Valve covers were fitted to engines from 1910.

    • In 1920 lighter weight rods and pistons were fitted. New, lighter, pistons were also introduced in March 1924.

    • In 1920 a racing car fitted with a modified Model T engine achieved a top speed of about 90 mph (144 kph).

  • 9.3.5 Weight & Size

    • The first cars weighed 1,199 lbs (545 kg).

    • In 1915 the chassis weighed 1,200 lbs (545 kg), reducing to 980 lbs (445 kg) in 1916. By 1923 the weight had increased to 1,262 lbs (573 kg).

    • By August 1920 a Sedan weighed 1,725 lbs (784 kg), a figure that had increased by August 1921 to 1,875 lbs (852 kg).

    • The 150 lb increase in the Sedan’s weight being due to the inclusion of an electric starter (95 lbs.), demountable rims and a tire carrier (55 lbs). 

    • Weights of other models in 1920 were: Touring (1,500 lbs), Runabout (1,400 lbs) and Coupe (1525 lbs).

    • The introduction of all-steel bodies in 1926 increased the weight of a Model T. The 1926 Tourer model assembled in Australia weighed 1804 lbs (820 kg).

    • The wheelbase of a Model T is 100 inches (254 cm).

    • Wheelbase is the distance between the centre of the front wheel and the centre of the rear wheel.

    • The track width is 56 inches (142 cm). 60 inch (152 cm) track was available by special order.

    • Track is the distance between the centre of the left and right tire.

    • The length of a Model T car is 134 inches (340 cm) and the standard width 66 inches (168 cm).

  • 9.3.6 Fuel and Cooling

    • The fuel capacity is 37.9 litres, 8.3 imperial gallons, 10 US gallons.

    • Fuel consumption is 20 to 25 mpg (US) at 35 mph. 

    • Note: One US gallon = 3.76 litre. One imperial gallon = 4.55 litre.  One imperial gallon = 1.21 US gallon.

    • Gravity fed (no fuel pump).

    • There have been four types of fuel tanks.

    • Round tanks (1909-19), Oval tanks (1920-25 and 1926-27 on the trucks), Irregular shaped cowl tank on most 1926-27 cars (except Fordor models) and Square tanks on Tudor/Fordor, centre doors and most Coupe model.

    • There are numerous web site reports that, in addition to petrol/gasoline, the Model T was designed to also run on alternative fuels such as ethanol (ethyl alcohol).

    • Special Note: Evidence to support such a claim was not uncovered whilst preparing this history of the Model T Ford. Evidence required.

    • There are also web site reports that Ford established an Ethanol Fermentation Plant in Atchison, USA, in 1908.

    • Special Note: Atchison Country’s records have not revealed the existence of such a plant. Evidence required.

    • It is possible that Henry Ford first started experimenting with alcohol as a fuel in about 1915 at his Fair Lane estate.  Further information is required.

    • In an interview reported in the Detroit Evening journal of November 5, 1916  Henry Ford is quoted as saying: 

      “We have found that 160-proof alcohol works very well in the ordinary gas engine on our cars and tractors. Using alcohol in an ordinary Ford car, we are able to get 15 per cent more power than with the present gasoline”.

    • Other than kerosene, no evidence was uncovered whilst preparing this history of the Model T that it used any fuel other than gasoline/petrol during the period 1908 to 1927. Evidence required.

    • Kerosene could be used and a required attachment that pre-heated the kerosene fuel was advertised by the Burn Oil Device Company in 1918. “No new carburettor required. Burn 8c Kerosene in Fords”. 

    • The Model T employs a water cooling system.

    • After the first 2,500 models the centrifugal water pump was removed and replaced with a thermo-siphon circulation system. 

    • Prior to the US entering WW1 in 1917, kite-shaped brass radiators were fitted. They were replaced by black painted steel shell radiators.

  • 9.3.7 Lights & Horn 

    • The initial price of $850 for a Model T included one rear and two side oil lamps. Headlights were optional extras. A spare tire was not provided.

    • Up to 1914 a generator supplied acetylene gas to the headlights.

    • Kerosene oil was used to illuminate the tail and side lights.

    • Up to 1915 Model Ts were fitted with a bulb horn. 

    • The change to electric, magneto, powered head lights and horn began in 1915. From 1919 a battery powered horn was fitted to the electrically equipped Model T cars.

    • From 1920 kerosene oil lamps were not fitted to Model T’s fitted with an electric starter.

    • When the electric starter became standard fit in 1926 kerosene oil lamps were discontinued.

  • 9.3.8 Electrics & Gauges

    • The Model T was fitted with a low tension magneto, which generated electricity for the ignition system.

    • The first instrument panel and battery (6 volt) were fitted in 1919. They were initially installed in the closed cars being fitted with an electrical starter.

    • Prior to 1919 starters operated by acetylene gas, compressed air and powerful springs were sometimes fitted.

    • The instrument panel included a large size ammeter (1919-25) and a smaller version from 1926.

    • From 1916 the speedometer ceased to be a Ford supplied optional extra. It was available as a dealer installed option.

    • Both gasoline and oil gauges were soon being supplied by other manufacturers for use on the Model T.

    • The petrol/gasoline “gauge” consisted of a stick with numbers on it that was dipped into the top of the fuel tank.

  • 9.3.9 Tires & Wheels

    • In the USA 30 inch (76 cm) diameter tires were used up to 1926 when 21 inch (53 cm) wire wheels were introduced as an option.

    • The rear tires are 3.5 inch (8.9 cm) wide, the front tires 3 inch (7.6 cm).  Who supplied the first tires? Michelin?

    • Between 1908 and 1925 the wheels were wooden, with steel wire wheels available in 1926-27.     

      1914 Touring Model                                        

    • In 1919 30 inch (76 cm) diameter, 3.5 inch (8.9 cm) wide demountable wheels were offered as an option for all the four wheels.

    • All 1927 Model T’s were fitted with 21 inch (53 cm) tires and wheels.

    • Initially (1912-13) the Model T cars assembled in Britain were fitted with metric size (760 mm x 90 mm) tires.  From the 1914 model year 30 x 3 inch (front) and 30 x 3.5 inch (rear) tires were fitted.

    • All Canadian produced Model Ts used 3.5 inch (8.9 cm) tires front and rear. Is that true of the very first Canadian produced cars?

    • From 1918 trucks were supplied with either pneumatic or solid tires.

    • At a meeting of the French Society of Civil Engineers in the early 1900s, Michelin reported: “If the weight of a car is increased by 33% the life of a tire is halved”.

    • In the early 1920s the average life of a tire fitted to a 20 hp car was 3,000 miles (4,800 km). The average life of a tire fitted to a Model T car was 7,000 miles (11,200 km). Is that correct?

  • 9.3.10 Doors

    • In late 1911 front doors were added to the Touring models. The rear seat had doors on both sides.

    • On the US models the doors were removable but only the right door opened. On the Canadian models both doors opened and were removable.

    • The first four-door Model T was produced in 1912. Later models had removable front doors. When?

    • In 1913 Ford in the US introduced the three-door Touring model, with one door on the left and two on the right.

    • Canadian produced Model Ts in 1913 had driver’s doors, American produced cars did not.  In what year was the first US car fitted with driver’s doors?

    • Canadian Touring models retained two operable front doors up to 1925.

    • In 1926 doors that opened on both sides were fitted to the US Touring models.   

      Late 1920s Model T                                                                                                                    

    • The basic open two-seater Roadster/Runabout had no doors. One door was added as an option to the deluxe model.    

      1923 Runabout

    • Town Car: No doors in the drivers section.

    • Tourabout: No doors.

    • Torpedo Runabout: One door on each side.

    • Open Runabout: No doors.

    • Sedan: Two or four doors.

  • 9.3.11 Windscreen & Wipers

    • The $950 price of a Touring car in October 1909 included a windscreen.

    • Windscreen wipers were first introduced as a factory accessory in late 1924. They were manually operated.

    • Automatic, vacuum-operated wipers became a Ford accessory in April 1926.

  • 9.3.12 Heating

    • Heating could be provided via a grating in the floor but this was only available after delivery.

    • Heat being extracted from a stove pipe that was fitted around the car’s exhaust pipe.

    • During WW1 a similar system was used to provide heating in Model T ambulances; raising the temperature 17 degrees F in about 30 minutes. 

  • 9.3.13 Colour

    • Between the start of US production in October 1908 and June 1909 Model T cars were produced in three colours: Red, Green and Grey: Touring (Red), Runabout (Grey), Town Car, Landaulet & Coupe (Green). www.modelt.org/tcars.html

    • Between July 1909 and during 1910 all US cars were Brewster Green (very dark, almost black).

    • In 1911 and up to the start of the moving production line in 1913 all US cars were Blue (again very dark, almost black).

    • One report states that the colours Red and Grey were phased out from 1911 and replaced with Blue, Brewster Green and Black.

    • Between the start of the moving production line in 1913 and 1926 the US Model T was only available in Black.  

    • The black paint used in 1913 was called “Japan Black”.

    • Ford report at the time indicated that the colour black was chosen because it was cheap and durable and not because of it’s faster drying time.

    • In 1926, when closed models became available, the US Model T was available in Windsor Maroon and Channel Green.

    • Later in the same year open cars were available in Phoenix Brown and Gunmetal Blue. In 1927 Black was available in the USA by special order only.

    • From 1924, in addition to Black, the Model T was available in Empire Grey in Great Britain (open cars only) and Grey in Denmark.

    • British built cars were Dark Blue (1912 Touring Models), Mid Green (1913) and Black (from 1914).

    • Between 1925 and 1927 British built cars were also available in Dark Red, Cobalt Blue and Coach Green.

    • In Great Britain, when only black was available, it was fairly common to get the dealer to repaint the car before delivery.

    • From 1926 Danish models were also supplied in brown/red.

    • What colours were the Canadian produced Model Ts?

  • 9.3.14 The Controls

    • Up to about the 500th model (1909) the Model T had two pedals and two levers.

    • The left pedal controlled the forward gears and neutral, the right pedal was the brake.

    • Subsequent models had three pedals and one lever. The three pedals controlled two forward gears/neutral (clutch), a reverse gear and a foot brake. 

      Model T Controls                                                                      

    • The single lever was the hand brake.

    • Fuel was controlled by a lever located on the right hand side of the steering wheel. When pulled down the car speeded up, when moved up the car slowed down.

    • The lever on the left hand side set the spark advance – timing.

    • A foot operated accelerator was not fitted by Ford but one could be obtained and fitted after delivery.

    • In 1911 the diameter of the steering wheel was increased from 13 to 15 inches. It was increased to 16 inches in 1920 and 17 inches in 1926. 

      Model T Operation Drawing                                                                                                        

  • 9.3.15 The Chassis

    • In 1910 the US company started to sell a body-less Model T chassis producing 108 in the first year. 

    • A total of 450,432 Model T chassis that were sold separately were produced in the USA between 1910 and 1927.

    • This total includes the standard and one-ton TT truck chassis.

    • The chassis moved along the production line at six feet per minute.

    • It took 41 separate tasks to produce a chassis.

    • The side members of the Model T chassis are 100 inches (39.4 cm) long.

  • 9.3.16 Price

    • When first introduced in 1908 the price of the Tourer model was $850 (equal to about $17,000 in 2007).  

      1908 Touring Car Advert                                     

    • The open Runabout introduced in February 1909 was priced at $825.

    • A 1912 sales brochure shows: Touring Car ($690), Commercial Roadster ($590), Town Car ($900) and a Delivery Car (($700).   

      1912 Roadster                                                                                                                          

    • By 1915, soon after the introduction of the moving assembly line, the price of the open Tourer model had reduced to $440, reducing to $360 in 1917.

    • A December 1925 sales brochure shows: Runabout ($260), Touring Car ($290), Coupe ($520), Tudor Sedan ($580), Fordor Sedan ($660), Chassis ($225) and a Truck Chassis ($365).   

      1925 Tudor Sedan                                                                                                            

    • When production ended in May 1927 the price of the Touring Car was $280 (a third of the 1908 launch price).

    • Prices (kroner) in Denmark in January 1925 were; Open Runabout (2,575), Open Touring (2,750), Closed Coupe (4,050), Closed Tudor Sedan (4,325) and Closed Fordor Sedan (4,975).

    • In Great Britain the Touring model was priced at £225 (1908), £190 (1911), £135 (1915), £250 (1919) and £125 (1924-27).

    • Prices for Model Ts in other countries are required.

  • 9.3.17 Manufacturing Sites

    • USA (Detroit)

      • Cars: September 1908 to May 1927  

      • Model T engines: September 1908 to August 1941

      • Delivery Vehicles: 1911, 1912, 1917 & 1918

      • Ambulances: 1916 to 1919

      • Trucks: 1918 to 1927. In what month did truck production cease? August 1927?

    • Canada (Ontario)

      • Cars: 1909 to 1927

      • Trucks: From (date required) to 1927

      • Model T engines: 1913 to 1927

    • Great Britain (Manchester)

      • Cars: Late December 1911 or January 1912 to 19 August 1927 (initially assembly only. Manufacturing from about September 1912).

      • Other vehicles: From 1914

      • Note: Engines were not manufactured

    • Ireland (Cork)

      • Model T engines: 1920 to 1927.

      • Note: Vehicles were assembled (1923 to 1927), not manufactured in Ireland.

  • 9.3.18 US Production

    • The first production Model T that was “announced for release” on 1 October 1908 was manufactured at the Piquette Plant in Detroit, Michigan.

    • Only eight cars were produced in the first month. Were they all Touring models?

    • About 12,000 cars were produced at the Piquette Plant.

    • Between 1910 and 1927 production of the Model T was carried out at the Highland Park complex, Michigan.

    • In late 1913 the company introduced the world's first moving assembly line. It was also the first to use completely interchangeable parts.

    • "The man who puts a bolt in does not put on the nut", Ford explained. "the man who puts on the nut does nto tighten it".

    • The intital assembly line was 200 feet (61 meters) long. By January 1914 it had been extended to 300 feet (92 meters) and 3 4 lines were operating. What was the maximum number of lines?

    • Assembly took place in a four-story building, with engines produced on the top floor.

    • After the engine was fitted to the chassis the basic assembly sequence was:  dash & steering gear, then radiator, tie rods, steering post and finally the starting crank.

    • After the assembled chassis was fully tested the body was then lowered to the bottom floor using a chute called a “Drop” for the final production stage of combining the body with the chassis.

    • Up to 1911 the bodies were made from wood. A Touring model became the first Model T to be fitted with a wooden framed body covered by sheet steel.

    • Model T bodies could also be obtained from accessory manufacturers.

    • By the end of 1913 chassis assembly time was nearly 8 times faster, having reduced from 728 to 93 minutes.

    • Very few changes were introduced during the cars production run.

    • In 1915 rear tires with treads were fitted, the horn was mounted inside the hood, body numbers were discontinued and the elimination of the use of brass began.

    • On early models the radiator, headlights and horn were brass.

    • In 1917 the famous brass radiator was replaced by a black painted steel one.

    • In 1919 the factory had the capacity to produce 1,200,000 vehicles annually.

    • By the time production ended in May 1927 the company had reduced Model T production time to one every 24 seconds.

  • 9.3.19 US Assembly Plants

    • Fully assembled Model Ts that had been manufactured in Detroit were "knocked down" - the wheels removed and then prepared for shipment to the car dealers around the USA.

    • A standard railroad boxcar contained three or four “knocked-down” Model T cars.

    • In 1910, because the parts and sub-assemblies of twelve cars could be despatched in a railroad boxcar, the company started to despatch the main parts of the Model T for assembly at certain branches. What were the “main parts”?

    • Some branches included specially designed assembly plants.

    • The first branch with an assembly capability plant in the USA was opened in 1910 at Kansas City.

    • Later in 1910 a second branch assembly plant was opened at Fargo, North Dakota.

    • Ford's first San Francisco branch, which opened in 1911, originally received “knocked down” Model Ts. In late 1913 a new branch assembly plant was opened in San Francisco.

    • By 1914, 15 of the companies 29 US branches were branch assembly plants.

    • These 15 branch assembly plants were responsible for producing about a quarter of the company's total output in 1914 of more than 202,000 cars.

    • In 1914 the company’s largest branch plant, which was in Chicago, assembled more than 150 cars daily.

    • By 1920 there were 36 Ford branches in the USA. How many contained assembly plants?

    • A report in “The Ford Industries” published by the Ford Motor Company in 1926 included the following information:

    • In addition to the Highland Park manufacturing plant in Detroit there were 34 branches in the USA, 31 of which contained assembly plants.

    • Model Ts were not assembled at the Washington DC, Fargo and Salt Lake City branches.

    • The Company used over 500,000 freight cars annually to move material and supplies to its branches.

    • 50,000 workers were employed in Detroit and 26,000 at the other 34 branches.

  • 9.3.20 Canadian Production

    • The Canadian Ford Motor Company was founded in 1904 to manufacture Ford vehicles for Canada and the British Empire (but not Great Britain). www.modelt.ca/background-fs.html (select “Specifications”)

    • Production of the Model T started in Walkerville, Ontario in 1909, with 1,280 produced in the first year.

    • By the end of July 1913 a total of 22,057 Model Ts had been built.

    • Up to late 1913 Canadian built Model Ts used engines produced in the USA. After that date engines were built in Canada.

    • See Section 9.3.23 Engine Production for further information.

    • Left hand and right hand drive Model T vehicles were produced in Canada.

    • By 1927 Ford of Canada had sales branches in Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, and Vancouver.

    • Note: Existing Canadian production records for the Model T are not as accurate as those in the US and the figures that follow should be treated with some caution.

    • About 757,430 Model Ts are thought to have been built in Canada between 1909 and 1927. How many were cars and how were trucks, ambulances, etc?

    • A total of 747,259 have also been reported. When did car production and when did truck production cease?

    • About 225,000 Canadian built Model Ts were exported (see 9.3.25).

  • 9.3.21 British Production

    • The Ford Motor Company (England) was formed in 1909.

    • In possibly late December 1911 or early January 1912 production of the Model T started at Trafford Park, Manchester, about 2 months after the company moved to this new plant.

    • The first cars were produced from component knock down (CKD) kits; Model T cars that had been assembled and tested in Detroit then dismantled for transportation to England.

    • By September 1912, still using engines, transmission and rear axils produced in Detroit, cars were being assembled using some locally produced parts.

    • In addition to locally produced lamps, windscreens, bonnets (hoods), bodies and petrol tanks, imported chassis frames were being assembled.

    • By September 1913 over 6,800 Model Ts had been produced.

    • Europe’s first moving production line was established at Trafford Park in February  1914 and produced up to 21 vehicles per hour.

    • By September 1913 over 6,800 Model Ts had been produced and it had become the top selling car in Great Britain.

    • By 1914 nearly one in every three cars sold in Great Britain was a Model T.

    • During WW1 (1914-18) British produced Model T chassis’ were used to provide scout cars, machine gun carriers and ambulances.

    • One reports states that 30,000 Model T military vehicles were produced in Great Britain between 1916 and 1918. Note: This figure includes cars used for military use.

    • At one stage over 100 ambulances were being produced daily.

    • The Kellner Carriage Works in France converted many British built chassis’ into ambulances (which carried up to 4 patients plus an attendant & driver).

    • Model T one-ton commercial vehicles were also produced. How many and between what dates?

    • Vehicles other than cars represented about 11% of all Model T production in the US. In Great Britain the percentage was about 55%.Canadian % figures required.

    • In 1919 the British factory had the capacity to produce 25,000 vehicles annually.

    • Between 1919 and 1927 Model T various parts produced in Manchester were supplied to assembly plants in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain.

    • By 1920 40% of all Model T parts were produced in Great Britain.

    • From 1920 engines fitted to Model Ts built in Manchester no longer bore the mark “Made in USA”.

    • Fully assembled engine-gear boxes were now starting to be provided by Ford in Ireland. Were engines ever assembled in Manchester? Possibly from about 1923?

    • By the end of 1921 engines were no longer supplied from the USA.

    • During the 1920s Model T light commercial vehicles were the most popular vehicles of their type in Britain.

    • A "Horsepower Tax" was introduced into Britain in 1921 and was set at £1 per horsepower for cars.

    • This change increased the annual Road Fund Licence fee for a Ford Model T from £6 6s to £23 (a fee that was higher than for some of the smaller Rolls Royce cars). Note: At this time a teacher was paid about £4/week.

    • This tax seriously hampered the sales of Model T cars in UK and consequently during the 1920s Ford sold more Model T commercial vehicles than cars.

    • By 1924, excluding the engine, 90% of the parts used to produce the Model T were made in Great Britain. In what year did the figure exceed 50%?

    • The height of the Model T’s chassis was reduced by 3 inches (7.6 cm) for the 1924 and 1925 Models. These were referred to as the English Drop Frame cars.

    • The 250,000th Model T was produced in Manchester in April 1925.

    • Between 1909 and 1927 about 303,000 Model Ts were sold in Great Britain and about 295,000 were assembled or manufactured.

    • The last Model T to be manufactured in Great Britain was a Model T car on 19 August 1927. This may be the last Model T car to be manufactured world wide.

    • Note:  The last Model T car was built in the US A in late May 1927. When was the last car built in Canada?

    • For detailed information concerning the history of the Model T Ford in Great Britain see www.modeltbook.co.uk. The book published in 2008, entitled “The English Model T Ford”, provides extensive data and is highly recommended.  

  • 9.3.22 Assembled Abroad

    • Toward the end of the the 1920s the Model T was being assembled abroad at 20 plants (assembly start date shown in brackets).

    • Parts supplied from USA:

    • France (1913).

      • Model T assembly began in 1913 in the Bordeaux premises owned by the French Ford agent Henri Depasse. 

      • In May 1916 the Automobiles Ford Company was established and in July they acquired Depasse’s Bordeaux factory.

      • In 1925 the company moved to a new factory at Asnières, Paris.

      • A fire in 1920 destroyed the production records. Between 1921 and 1927 a total of 78,731 Model Ts were produced.

      • It is estimated that between 125,000 and 150,000 were produced between 1913 and 1927.

           

    • Brazil – Sao Paulo (1919). More info required

    • Denmark (1919).

      • Assembly of the Model T started in Copenhagen in October 1919, initially producing 14 per day.

      • By 31 December a total of 700 Touring models had been produced. Note: The first petrol station was built in Denmark in 1919.

      • Between 1919 and 1922 a total of 164 Model Ts were exported to Iceland. 

      • A moving assembly plant established on 15 November 1924, increasing Model T production from 140 to 225 per day.

      • In 1925 10,561 Model T's were exported to Germany.

      • Models produced in Denmark in 1925 include the Runabout, Touring, Coupe, Tudor Sedan and Fordor Sedan.

      • A total of 109,783 Model T cars and trucks were assembled in Denmark up to August 1927.

    • Belgium – The Ford Motor Company was formed in Antwerp in January 1922.  Assembly of the Model T is believed to have started in 1924. Is the 1924 date correct?

      Belgium Model T

    • Ireland – Cork (1923).

      • About 10,000 Model Ts were assembled up to 1927.

    • Italy – Trieste (January 1923). More info required

    • Spain – Cadiz (from April 1920) and then from Barcelona (1923 or 1925).

    • Germany – Berlin (1925).

      • Model T truck first produced in 1925, then the Model T car from January 1926 (which model?).

      • About 9,000 Model Ts were produced in Berlin.

    • Japan - Yokohama (January 1925). More info required

    • Argentina – Buenos Aires (1925).

      • Parts were imported, semi assembled, from the US; with 20% produced locally. 

      • By 1927 a total of 100,000 Model Ts had been assembled in Argentina.

    • Mexico – Mexico City (1925). More info required

    • Parts supplied from Canada:

    • South Africa – Port Elizebeth (1923). More info required

    • Australia (1925).

      • A total of 24,301 Model T cars and trucks were assembled in Geelong, Victoria. A total of 29,000 has also been reported.  Breakdown of types required.

        Australia - Geelong Launch

      • The assembly line was 130 feet (40 meters) long. When it opened in July 1925 about 30 vehicles a day were produced.

      • Initially Model T bodies were built by Holdens of Australia. From late 1925 / early 1926 Ford Australia produced their own bodies.

  • 9.3.23 Engine Production

    • Engines were manufactured in USA, Canada and Ireland.

    • In addition to being fitted to Model T cars, trucks and other vehicles Model T engines were sold as spares and for other applications.

    • The world’s first ski lift was powered by a Model T engine.

    • A total of 15,176,888 Model T engines were manufactured in the USA from 27 September 1908 to 4 August 1941. Only 7 were built in 1941. www.mtfca.com/encyclo/E.htm

    • 309 engines were manufactured in 1908.

    • The one millionth US manufactured engine was produced at the end of 1915.

    • Engine serial number 2,815,891 that was produced on 11 December 1919 was the first one to be built with an electric starter.

    • Peak US production was achieved in 1923 when 2,055,300 were built (nearly 40,000/week). By mid 1924 the 10th million had been built.

    • 169,855 Model T engines were produced in the US between 27 May 1927 and August 1941 to support the Model Ts that remained in use.

    • Note: A 1948 survey indicated that there were 49,869 registered Model T cars in the US.

    • In 1913 Ford Canada began casting their own engine blocks, which were given serial numbers starting with C1.

    • Between 1909 and 1913 at least 22,000 Canadian built Model Ts were fitted with engines produced in the US.

    • From 1 May 1913 to 31 May 1921 a total of 299,500 “C” annotated engines were built in Canada.

    • By the end of July 1927 the number had increased to 748,010 C.  When did engine production cease? How many were built in Canada?

    • Model T engine units were manufactured in Cork, Ireland, between about 1920 and 1927.  The engine’s serial number started with the letter E. How many were built?

    • Engines produced in Cork were supplied to Ford in Manchester, England and to other Europeans countries where the Model T was assembled.

  • 9.3.24 Production Figures

    • Unless stated otherwise the US Model T production figures that follow are based on those complied by R E Houston of the US Ford Production Dept. on 3 August 1927. www.mtfca.com/encyclo/fdprod.htm

    • Note: There are several sources of differing Model T production figures.

    • In the first year of production (1908 - 1909) 10,660 Model Ts were produced, 10% of all the vehicles manufactured in the USA.

    • A total of 14,689,520 Model T vehicles were manufactured in the USA from 1908 to 1927.

    • 12,516,923 (85.2%) were cars, 2,105,737 (14.3%) were trucks, chassis, delivery vehicles and ambulances, 66,860 (0.5%) were export vehicles (types not known).

    • 450,432 chassis were built and sold separately.

    • 6,856,782 (54.8%) of all Model Ts cars were Touring models. Figures for the other models are:

      • Runabouts: 2,194,477 (17.5%)

      • Coupes/Couplets: 1,734,843 (13.9%)

      • Tudor Sedans: 1,217,764 (9.7%)

      • Fordor Sedans: 430,568 (3.4%)

      • Sedans: 70,886 (0.6%)

      • 11,303 Town Cars and 300 Landaulets.

    • 47% of all Model T vehicles were Touring models.   

      1910 Touring Model

    • A total of 1,620,186 Model T Trucks were built in the US, 11% of all Model T production.

    • In 1927 truck production represented 18.6% of all Model Ts built in the US in the final year.

    • In Manchester, England, a total of approximately 295,000 model T vehicles were produced between about December 1911 and August 1927 of which only approximately 37% were cars and 8% car chassis. 

    • About 88,400, 80% of all Model T cars produced in England were the Touring model. The next two most popular models were the Sedan (8%) and the Runabout (7.9%).

    • A total of about 757,430 Canadian Model Ts are believed to have been produced between 1909 and 1927. www.modelt.ca/background-fs.html (select “Specifications”). What percentage were cars?

    • Canadian production reached its peak in 1926 when 100,611 Model Ts were built. Only 37,677 were produced in 1927. 

    • The 1 millionth Model T was produced on 10 December 1915, with the 5th million on 28 May 1921, the 6th millionth on 18 May 1922 and the 10th millionth on 4 June 1924.

    • By 1921 the Model T accounted for almost 57 percent of the world's automobile production.

    • Of the 14,689,520 Model Ts manufactured in the USA a total of 1,655,305 were not cars (11.26%). Total number of cars: 13,034,215.

    • Of the 757,430 Model Ts manufactured in Canada it is estimated that not less than 83,300 (11%) were not cars. Estimated maximum number of cars: 674,130.

    • Of the just under 300,000 Model Ts manufactured in Great Britain a total of not more than 135,000 were cars (45%). 

    • The maximum number of Model T cars is estimated at not greater than 13,843,345.

    • There are numerous web site reports that not less than 15,000,000 model T cars were manufactured. 

    • Special Note:  Evidence to support such claims was not uncovered whilst preparing this history of the Model T Ford. Evidence required.

  • 9.3.25 Overseas Sales

    • From Canada:  One report states that  225,000 Model T vehicles were exported to the following countries: www.dyna.co.za/cars/ford-history.htm

      • South Africa: 30,000

      • Australia: 75,699 plus 24,301 assembled in country. In what year did the first Model T arrive ?                                                              

        Australian Model T

      • New Zealand: 37,000. First order about 1912.

      • India: 22,000. First order about 1910.   

        Indian Model T
                                                             

      • Java: 7,900

      • Singapore: 12,000

      • Unknown destinations: 16,000.

      • Malaya: First order by 1910. Total quantity not known.

      • Barbados: First order by 1910. Total quantity not known.

      • Special Note: The exported toal implies that 532,430 Model T's were sold in Canada and for it's then population (8.4 million in 1920) this figure may be too high. Could the export total be much greater than 225,000? The Canadian export total appears to be too low.

    • From USA:

      •  Turkey: 1910

      • Mauritius: 1910

      • China: September 1913.

      • Dutch East Indies: October 1913.

      • Indonesia: October 1913.

      • Siam: October 1913.

      • Brazil: December 1913. By 1925 24,000 Model T cars and trucks had been sold.

      • Cook Island: About 1914.

      • Christmas Island: late 1915/early 1916. Two cars shipped from California.

      • Egypt: Model T sales office opened in September 1926.

      • Total US export sales figures required.

  • 9.3.26 End Of Production

    • Model T car fitted with an engine serial number of 15,000,000 left the US production line on 26 May 1927.

    • There are reports that the last Model T car was formally manufactured in the US on 26 May 1927. It was fitted with engine serial number 15,006,625.  

    • One set of records indicate that no production took place from 27 to 30 May 1927 and that on 31 May engines with serial numbers 15,006,626 to 15,007,032 were produced. www.mtfca.com/encyclo/E.htm

    • Engine serial number 15,007,033 was built on 1 June.

    • A Model T fitted with engine serial number 15,007,033, is frequently quoted as being the last car built. On what date was the last Model T car built in the US ?

    • In 1927 truck production continued in the US for about three months after car production ceased. How many trucks were produced during this extended period and when was the last US truck built ?

    • The world’s last Model T was assembled in Ireland, from parts supplied from the US, in December 1927.  Was this last Model T a car or a truck?

    • The last British Model T car was built in Manchester on 19 August 1927. On what date was the last Model T truck built in England?

    • Production of the Model T’s replacement, the second generation Model A, began in late October 1927 (first model A was produced in 1903).

    • Henry Ford opted to call his next model the Model A and not U to signify a change to a range of “New Ford” cars. “Ford wanted to break from tradition and begin anew”.

  • 9.3.27 Books & Web Sites

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