The Ford Model T (colloquially A colloquialism is a linguistic phrase that is characteristic of or only appropriate for casual, ordinary, familiar, and/or informal written or spoken conversation, rather than for formal speech, standard writing, or paralinguistics. Dictionaries often display colloquial words and phrases with the abbreviation colloq. as an identifier known as the Tin Lizzie, Flivver, T‑Model Ford, or T) is an automobile An automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally for the that was produced by Henry Ford Henry Ford an American industrialist, philanthropist, pacifist and antisemite, was the founder of the Ford Motor Company and widely considered a father of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry. As owner of the Ford Motor Company, he became one's Ford Motor Company The Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury brands, Ford also owns Volvo Cars in Sweden, and a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK. Ford' from 1908 through 1927. The Model T set 1908 as the historic year that the automobile became popular. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, the car that opened travel to the common middle-class American; some of this was because of Ford's innovations, including assembly line An assembly line is a manufacturing process in which parts are added to a product in a sequential manner using optimally planned logistics to create a finished product much faster than with handcrafting-type methods. The assembly line developed by Ford Motor Company between 1908 and 1915 made assembly lines famous in the following decade through production instead of individual hand crafting, as well as the concept of paying the workers a wage proportionate to the cost of the car, so they would provide a ready made market.^[1] The first production Model T was built on September 27, 1908, at the Piquette Plant The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant is located at 411 Piquette Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, within the Piquette Avenue Industrial Historic District. It was the second home of Ford Motor Company automobile production. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 and designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2006 in Detroit, Michigan Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded on July 24, 1701, by the Frenchman Antoine de la. The Model T was the first automobile mass produced Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines. The concepts of mass production are applied to various kinds of products, from fluids and particulates handled in bulk (such as food, fuel, chemicals, and mined minerals) to discrete solid parts (such as fasteners) to assemblies on assembly lines with completely interchangeable parts, marketed to the middle class The American middle class is an ambiguously defined social class in the United States. While the concept remains largely ambiguous in popular opinion and common language use, contemporary sociologists have put forward several, more or less congruent, theories on the American middle class. Depending on class model used, the middle class may.^{[citation needed]}

There were several cars produced or prototyped by Henry Ford from the founding of the company in 1903 until the Model T came along. Although he started with the Model A The original Ford Model A was the first car produced by Ford Motor Company, beginning production in 1903. Dr. Ernst Pfenning of Chicago, Illinois became the first owner of a Model A on July 23, 1903. 1,750 cars were made from 1903 through 1904. The Model A was replaced by the Ford Model C during 1904 with some sales overlap, there were not 19 production models (A through T); some were only prototypes. The production model immediately before the Model T was the Model S The Ford Model N was an inexpensive automobile produced by the Ford Motor Company. It was introduced in 1906 as a successor to the Models A, C and F as the company's inexpensive entry-level line,^[2] an upgraded version of the company's largest success to that point, the Model N The Ford Model N was an inexpensive automobile produced by the Ford Motor Company. It was introduced in 1906 as a successor to the Models A, C and F as the company's inexpensive entry-level line. The follow-up was the Ford Model A The Ford Model A was the second huge success for the Ford Motor Company, after its predecessor, the Model T. First produced on October 20, 1927, but not sold until December 2, it replaced the venerable Model T, which had been produced for 18 years. This new Model A (a previous model had used the Model A name back in 1903–1904) was designated as and not the Model U. Company publicity said this was because the new car was such a departure from the old that Henry wanted to start all over again with the letter A. As it happens, the first Plymouth Plymouth was a marque of automobile based in the United States, marketed by the Chrysler Corporation and DaimlerChrysler car (1928), built by competitor Chrysler Corporation Chrysler Group LLC is a U.S. automobile manufacturer headquartered in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925. From 1998 to 2007, Chrysler and its subsidiaries were part of the German based DaimlerChrysler AG . Prior to 1998, Chrysler Corporation traded under the "C", was named the Model U.

The Ford Model T was named the world's most influential car of the twentieth century The Car of the Century was an international award given to the world's most influential car of the twentieth century. The election process was overseen by the Global Automotive Elections Foundation. The winner, the Ford Model T, was announced at an awards gala on December 18, 1999 in Las Vegas, Nevada in an international poll.^[3] Henry Ford said of the vehicle:

"I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the 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 so 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."^[4][5][6]

Characteristics

The Ford Model T car was designed by Childe Harold Wills Childe Harold Wills , also known as C. Harold Wills, was an early associate of Henry Ford, one of the first employees of the Ford Motor Company, and a contributor to the design of the Model T. After leaving Ford, he began his own ultimately unsuccessful automobile company and two Hungarian immigrants, Joseph A. Galamb József Galamb (English: Joseph A. Galamb) mechanical engineer was born in Makó, Hungary and Eugene Farkas.^[7] Harry Love, C. J. Smith, Gus Degner and Peter E. Martin Peter Edmund Martin (born Wallaceburg, Ontario 1888, died Detroit, Michigan, 1944) was a leading early production executive of the Ford Motor Company were also part of the team.^[8] While production of the Model T began in the autumn of 1908,^[9] model years range from 1909 to 1927.

Engine and means of starting

The Model T had a 177 in³ (2.9 L) front mounted inline four-cylinder The Inline-four engine or Straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft. Where it is inclined, it is sometimes called a en bloc engine (that is, all four in one block, as common now, rather than in individual castings, as common then) producing 20 hp (15 kW) for a top speed of 40-45 mph (64–72 km/h). The Model T four cylinder sidevalve engine was first in the world with a detachable head, making service like valve jobs easier. According to Ford Motor, the Model T had fuel economy on the order of 13 to 21 mpg (5 to 9 kilometres per litre or 11.1 to 18.7 litres per 100 km).^[10] The engine was capable of running on gasoline, kerosene, or ethanol Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a powerful psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. It is best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages and thermometers. In common usage, it is often referred to simply as,^[11][12] though the decreasing cost of gasoline and the later introduction of Prohibition In the history of the United States, Prohibition, also known as The Noble Experiment, was the period from 1920 to 1933, during which the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol for consumption were banned nationally as mandated in the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution made ethanol an impractical fuel.

A flywheel magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce alternating current. Hand-cranked magneto generators were used to provide ringing current in early telephone systems. Magnetos adapted to produce pulses of high voltage are used in the ignition systems of some gasoline-powered internal combustion engines to provide power (broadly equivalent to a modern alternator An alternator is an electromechanical device that converts mechanical energy to alternating current electrical energy. Most alternators use a rotating magnetic field but linear alternators are occasionally used. In principle, any AC electrical generator can be called an alternator, but usually the word refers to small rotating machines driven by) produced low voltage alternating current In alternating current the movement (or flow) of electric charge periodically reverses direction. An electric charge would for instance move forward, then backward, then forward, then backward, over and over again. In direct current (DC), the movement (or flow) of electric charge is only in one direction. The low voltage was distributed by the timer (analogous to a distributor A distributor is a device in the ignition system of an internal combustion engine that routes high voltage from the ignition coil to the spark plugs in the correct firing order. The first reliable battery operated ignition was developed by Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co. and introduced in the 1910 Cadillac. This ignition was developed by in a modern vehicle) to one of the four trembler coils, one for each cylinder. The coil created a high voltage current, directly connected to the spark plug in the firing cylinder. Ignition timing was adjusted manually by using the spark advance lever mounted on the steering column which rotated the timer. A battery could be used for starting current: at hand-cranking speed, the magneto did not always produce sufficient current (but a starting battery was not standard equipment until sometime in 1926, though all T's had a bat position on the coil box switch). A certain amount of skill and experience was required to find the optimal timing for any speed and load. When electric headlights were introduced in 1915, the magneto was upgraded to supply power for the lights and horn. In keeping with the goal of ultimate reliability and simplicity, the trembler coil and magneto ignition system was retained even after the car became equipped with a generator^[13] and battery for electric starting and lighting. Most cars sold after 1919 were equipped with electric starting, which was engaged by a small round button on the floor in front of the driver's seat.

Before starting a Model T with the hand crank A crank is an arm attached at right angles to a rotating shaft by which reciprocating motion is imparted to or received from the shaft. It is used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion. The arm may be a bent portion of the shaft, or a separate arm attached to it. Attached to the end of the crank by a, the spark had to be manually retarded or the engine might "kick back". The crank handle was cupped in the palm, rather than grabbed with the thumb under the top of the handle, so that if the engine did kick back, the rapid reverse motion of the crank would throw the hand away from the handle, rather than violently twisting the wrist or breaking the thumb. Most Model T Fords had the choke operated by a wire emerging from the bottom of the radiator where it could be operated with the left hand. This was used to prime the engine while cranking the engine slowly then starting the engine with the left hand with a rapid pull of the crank handle.

The car's 10 gallon (38 litre) fuel tank was mounted to the frame beneath the front seat; one variant had the carburetor A carburetor or carburettor (Commonwealth spelling) is a device that blends air and fuel for an internal combustion engine. It was invented by Karl Benz before 1885 and patented in 1886. It is colloquially called a carb (in North America and the United Kingdom) (a Holley Model G) modified to run on ethyl alcohol Ethanol fuel is ethanol , the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It can be used as a transport fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. World ethanol production for transport fuel tripled between 2000 and 2007 from 17 billion to more than 52 billion litres. From 2007 to 2008, the share of ethanol in global gasoline type, to be made at home by the self-reliant farmer. Because Ford relied on gravity to feed fuel to the carburetor, rather than a fuel pump, a Model T could not climb a steep hill when the fuel level was low. The immediate solution was often to drive up steep hills in reverse. In 1926, the fuel tank was moved forward to under the cowl on most models.^[14]

Early on, the engine blocks were to be produced by the Lakeside Foundry The Lakeside Foundry was based in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It still stands, although is no longer in business. It is on Newcastle St. South of Jefferson between Jefferson and Freud between St. Jean and Clairpointe. It opened in the late 19th century and was owned and operated by Alexander Russel Keys Sr on St. Jean in Detroit. Ford cancelled the deal before many were produced.

While the first few hundred Model Ts had a water pump, its use was abandoned early in production. Ford opted for a cheaper and more reliable circulation system based on the thermo-syphon principle. Hot water, being less dense, would rise to the top of the engine and up into the top of the radiator, descending to the bottom as it cooled, and back into the engine. This was the direction of water flow in most makes of cars even when they did have water pumps, until the introduction of crossflow radiator Radiators are used for cooling internal combustion engines, chiefly in automobiles but also in piston-engined aircraft, railway locomotives, motorcycles, stationary generating plant or any similar use of such an engine designs. Many types of water pumps were available as aftermarket accessories.

Transmission and drivetrain

The Model T was a rear-wheel drive In automotive design the automobile layout describes where on the vehicle the engine and drive wheels are found. Many different combinations of engine location and driven wheels are found in practice, and the location of each is dependent on the application the vehicle will be used for. Factors influencing the design choice include cost, vehicle. Its transmission was a planetary gear Epicyclic gearing or planetary gearing is a gear system that consists of one or more outer gears, or planet gears, revolving about a central, or sun gear. Typically, the planet gears are mounted on a movable arm or carrier which itself may rotate relative to the sun gear. Epicyclic gearing systems may also incorporate the use of an outer ring gear type billed as "three speed". In today's terms it would be considered a two speed, because one of the three speeds was actually reverse.

The Model T's transmission was controlled with three foot pedals and a lever that was mounted to the road side of the driver's seat. The throttle was controlled with a lever on the steering wheel. The left pedal was used to engage the gear. With the handbrake in either the mid position or fully forward and the pedal pressed and held forward the car entered low gear. When held in an intermediate position the car was in neutral, a state that could also be achieved by pulling the floor-mounted lever to an upright position. If the lever was pushed forward and the driver took his foot off the left pedal, the Model T entered high gear, but only when the handbrake lever was fully forward. The car could thus cruise without the driver having to press any of the pedals. There was no separate clutch pedal.

The middle pedal was used to engage reverse gear, and the right pedal operated the engine brake. The floor lever also controlled the parking brake, which was activated by pulling the lever all the way back. This doubled as an emergency brake.

Although it was extremely uncommon, the drive bands could fall out of adjustment, allowing the car to creep, particularly when cold, adding another hazard to attempting to start the car: a person cranking the engine could be forced backward while still holding the crank as the car crept forward even though it was nominally in neutral. As the car utilised a wet clutch A clutch is a mechanical device, by convention understood to be rotating, which provides driving force to another mechanism when required, typically by connecting the driven mechanism to the driving mechanism. Clutches and brakes are similar; if the driven member of a clutch is fixed to the mechanism frame, it serves as a brake, this condition can also occur in cold weather where the thickened cold oil acts somewhat like an adhesive and prevents the clutch discs from slipping freely. Power reached the differential A differential is a device, usually but not necessarily employing gears, capable of transmitting torque and rotation through three shafts, almost always used in one of two ways: in one way, it receives one input and provides two outputs--this is found in most automobiles--and in the other way, it combines two inputs to create an output that is the through a single universal joint A universal joint, universal coupling, U joint, Cardan joint, Hardy-Spicer joint, or Hooke's joint is a joint or coupling in a rigid rod that allows the rod to 'bend' in any direction, and is commonly used in shafts that transmit rotary motion. It consists of a pair of hinges located close together, oriented at 90° to each other, connected by a attached to a torque tube A torque tube system is an automobile driveshaft technology, used in cars with a front engine and rear drive. It is not as widespread as the Hotchkiss drive, but is still occasionally used to this day which drove the rear axle; some models (typically trucks, but available for cars as well) could be equipped with an optional two speed Ruckstell rear axle shifted by a floor mounted lever which provided an underdrive gear for easier hill climbing. All gears were vanadium steel Vanadium is the chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a soft, silvery gray, ductile transition metal. The formation of an oxide layer stabilizes the metal against oxidation. Andrés Manuel del Río discovered vanadium in 1801 by analyzing the mineral vanadinite, and named it erythronium. Four years later, however, he was running in an oil bath.

Alternate uses of engine power

Reflecting the practical-mindedness of people in "make do" days, the purchase costs of the car were made up for by adding duties. Some were put to work as farm vehicles: one of the rear wheels could be jacked up and used to power the then commonly available belt-driven agricultural equipment. A pre-1940s example has a wide belt, powered from the rear hub, used to convey hay from the ground to the hayloft in the barn. The engines were sometimes removed to provide the power for other types of machinery, such as saws.^[15]

Suspension and wheels

Model T suspension employed a transversely mounted semi-elliptical spring for each of the front and rear axles, which was a solid beam axle, not an independent suspension Independent suspension is a broad term for any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically independently of each other. This is contrasted with a beam axle, live axle or deDion axle system in which the wheels are linked - movement on one side affects the wheel on the other side. Note that “independentâ€, which still allowed a great deal of wheel movement to cope with the dirt roads of the time.

The front axle was drop forged Forging is the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which it is performed: '"cold," "warm," or "hot" forging. Forged parts can range in weight from less than a kilogram to 170 metric tons. Forged parts usually require further processing to as a single piece of vanadium steel. Ford twisted many axles eight times and sent them to dealers to be put on display to demonstrate its superiority. The Model T did not have a modern service brake. The right foot pedal applied a band around a drum in the transmission, thus stopping the rear wheels from turning. The previously mentioned parking brake lever operated band brakes on the outside of the rear brake drums.

Wheels were wooden artillery wheels The artillery wheel was developed for use on gun carriages when it was found that the lateral forces involved in horse artillery manoeuvres caused normally-constructed cart wheels to collapse. Rather than having its spokes mortised into a wooden nave , it has them fitted together (mitred) then bolted into a metal nave. Its tyre is shrunk onto the, with steel welded-spoke wheels available in 1926 and 1927.

Tires were pneumatic A tire is a ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel to protect it and enable better vehicle performance by providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock while keeping the wheel in close contact with the ground. The word itself is derived from the word "tie", referring to the outer steel ring part of a wooden cart wheel that ties clincher type, 30 in (76 cm) in diameter, 3.5 in (8.9 cm) wide in the rear, 3 in (7.5 cm) wide in the front. Clinchers needed much higher pressure than today's tires, typically 60 psi (4.1 bar), to prevent them from leaving the rim at speed. Lots of horseshoe nails on the roads together with the high pressure made flat tires a much more common problem than today.

Balloon tires became available in 1925. They were 21x4.5 in (53x11.4 cm) all around. Balloon tires were closer in design to tires of today, with steel wires reinforcing the tire bead, making lower pressure possible - typically 35 psi (2.4 bar) - giving a softer ride. The old nomenclature for tire size changed from measuring the outer diameter to measuring the rim diameter so 21" (rim diameter) × 4.50 (tire width) wheels has about the same outer diameter as 30 in (76 cm) clincher tires. All tires in this time period used an inner tube A tire is a ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel to protect it and enable better vehicle performance by providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock while keeping the wheel in close contact with the ground. The word itself is derived from the word "attire", referring to the dressing of the wheel to hold the pressurized air; "tubeless" tires were not generally in use until much later.

Wheelbase In automobiles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the center of the front wheel, and the center of the rear wheel. At equilibrium, the total torque of the forces acting on the car is zero, and thus the wheelbase is related to the weight on each tire by the following formula: was 99 inches (250 cm); while standard tread width was 56 in (142 cm), 60 in (152 cm) tread could be obtained on special order, "for Southern roads".

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