Ford Model-T Auto
Table of Contents
- Manual for Ford Model-T Auto
- YouTube of Ford assembly line methods.
- Driving a Model T by Stan Paddock, 27 KByytes,
- Just Relaxin
- A different ignition system
- Conversion to truck, magneto added Sept 2012
- "modified" Model T starting a vintage aeroplane from Milt Thomas added Nov 30, 2012
- 1914 Station Wagon, 1928 Service Post Card added Jan. 1, 2013
- Alex Farlie noticed that page 46 is in Index:Ford manual 1919.djvu but missing from this web site, Feb 18, 2013, I will get original back to fix this problem
- YouTube, Ford Model T - How to Start & How to Drive, Ford Model T - Starting Safely & How to Change Gear, Ford Model T - A Closer Look: Transmission & Clutch, Ford Model T - Replacing Transmission Band Linings, Ford Model T Buyers Guide (1908 - 1927) - carphile.co.uk, 1922 Ford Model T Roadster How to Start & Engine Sound & Ride, etc.
LaFarr Stuart was explaining to a friend how to buy stuff on e-bay, and bought a manual for Ford Model-T Auto dated 1919 for $9.99. You know, what the heck? (And he had a Model T back at his farm at the time.)
coverThe manual is so charming that I decided to present it here. This file is Adobe .pdf and 6.4 megabytes long. I have not obtained clearance from Ford Motor company, figuring they could use the advertising more that the I.P. revenue. ;-))
A Different Ignition System
In 2012, Tom Johnson mentioned that he just saw a Model T, and the four high voltage wires for the spark plugs came out from the fire wall. I, having played with 1950 type autos, figured this was - improbable - what was going on ???.
Stan Paddock came up with this diagram and these URLs.
- http://www.smokstak.com/articles/buzz_coil.html
- http://www.modeltcentral.com/Model-T-Ford-Electrical-Specifications.html#ignition%20coil
- http://www.modeltcentral.com/ignitionarticlepage.html
This is from the Ford manual (above) These are two of the four spark coils in the upper left of the picture, apparently behind the "fire wall". Each spark plug had its own spark coil. The spark coils have little buzzers to break the current, giving an "Inductive Kick" ;-))
Yes, I had a Model-T Ford which my father converted into a truck. It was the first "car" I ever learned to drive, probably when I was about 6. And I inherited it when he died. Dad had a Black Smith shop, and unfortunately, when he had nothing better to do he would modify the Model-T. He removed the body, then to make it shorter so he could load it in a 1941 Fort Truck (which is still in Clarkston) he cut about a foot and a half out of the frame & drive shaft. Only about 3 or 4 years ago I gave it to a cousin. He hasn't done much with it, so I think I could still take a photo of it.
Regarding Model-T coils: If a spark-plug wire got disconnected very often the condenser inside would short out--even if it was on 6-volts. (I never considered 12-volts on a T) Dad, and I think many others, removed the magnets from the fly-wheel destroying the magneto. Dad thought the magneto would ruin the coils. There was a "Magneto" position on the ignition switch, but it was never used. The Magneto was gone before I was born.
The box that held the coils had spring contacts for the three connections, I would suggest anyone using such a coil should make such a box (possibly out of plastic) rather than solder onto the contacts.
LaFarr with someone else's Ford Model T Truck, pretty much as manufactured. 1914 Station Wagon, 1928 Service Post Card added Jan. 1, 2013
1914 Model T Ford Station Wagon. May 31, 1927, the last Ford Model T rolled off the assembly line. It was the first affordable automobile, due in part to the assembly line process developed by Henry Ford. It had 2.9-liter, 20-horsepower engine and could travel at speeds up to 45 miles per hour. It had a 10-gallon fuel tank and could run on kerosene, petrol, or ethanol, but it couldn't drive uphill if the tank was low, because there was no fuel pump; people got around this design flaw by driving up hills in reverse. Ford believed that "the man who will use his skill and constructive imagination to see how much he can give for a dollar, instead of how little he can give for a dollar, is bound to succeed." The Model T cost $850 in 1909, and as efficiency in production increased, the price dropped. By 1927, you could get a Model T for $290. "I will build a car for the great multitude," said Ford. "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 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."
If you have comments or suggestions, Send e-mail to Ed Thelen
Updated Aug 1, 2018