That body is definitely a Model A.
Ford Model Ts out for a drive today
- Thread starter wwillson
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Actually, they didn’t really go by viscosity numbers back then. They went by weight - a light weight oil, a medium weight oil, a heavy weight oil. If you look at lubrication guides back then, numbers weren’t common, just categories of oil.
SA as a specification, was a construct from much later to describe the oils from back then.
Also, luxury cars didn’t have a dipstick, either - they had a gauge. I’ll post up a picture later.
200 cubic inches, 20 horsepower IIRC. Low compression and, well, lacking any sort of polish, as it was at the beginning of ICE development, and meant to be a cheap version of it at that.
I've read that they were concerned about running out of gas in those days, so Henry wanted this to be able to run on a variety of fuels, ethanol included. Anyhow, leaded gas came around in the 20's. If the T needed leaded gas, then for much of its lifetime it wasn't available and thus not used.
Car picture 3 is an A.
I'm fortunate enough to have driven both a Model T and a Model A. The difference is significant. With the Model T, outside of the steering wheel, very little about it is intuitive. You have to have someone teach you how to both run the engine and how to drive it. But, the Model A is more what would be expected today. The levers and pedals are pretty much where you expect them to be, and they do what you expect them to do.
I'm fortunate enough to have driven both a Model T and a Model A. The difference is significant. With the Model T, outside of the steering wheel, very little about it is intuitive. You have to have someone teach you how to both run the engine and how to drive it. But, the Model A is more what would be expected today. The levers and pedals are pretty much where you expect them to be, and they do what you expect them to do.
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The proper way to check the oil, by examining the level gauge. Keep your hands clean.
When I pull the engine to fix the rod bearings, this will get cleaned up.
When I pull the engine to fix the rod bearings, this will get cleaned up.
Now that is the way to do it! nothing required, couldn't be more easy. Makes the dipstick look like a step backwards--yet we all think it's somehow the best thing in the world...
1934 Veedol lubrication guide. It refers to SAE viscosity grades, but they were relatively recent. The vernacular was for light, medium, winter, heavy, that kind of thing.
Here are the notes
And of course, the pages I care about
Here are the notes
And of course, the pages I care about
You might appreciate the oil guidance from the booklet labeled “Owner instructions”
Now, the filter hasn’t been available for decades, and it’s a partial bypass anyway. But, going forward, I have this little gem, which cost more than I care to admit. Made by a machinist, precisely duplicating the external dimensions of the factory Purolater.
And inside?
Now, the filter hasn’t been available for decades, and it’s a partial bypass anyway. But, going forward, I have this little gem, which cost more than I care to admit. Made by a machinist, precisely duplicating the external dimensions of the factory Purolater.
And inside?
For a moment I thought was the best setup for finding an orange can of death lurking in there.
Yeah, the easiest way to have the proper oil in the sump is to just change it every month. Easy-peasy that way, keeps it simple. 8 or 10 quarts, sure thing.
Then, as now, there were different tiers of automobile makers.For a moment I thought was the best setup for finding an orange can of death lurking in there.
Yeah, the easiest way to have the proper oil in the sump is to just change it every month. Easy-peasy that way, keeps it simple. 8 or 10 quarts, sure thing.
And automobile ownership wasn’t as widespread. Suburbs weren’t common. You lived and worked in a city, or you lived and worked on a farm.
For comparison, in 1932, the Ford Model B, successor to the A, with an available V-8, went for $450-600 depending on engine and configuration. My car sold for $3,100 with its options. I have a copy of the sales record. A Packard V-12 roadster* was well over $5,000.
The Great Depression had just started- and average family income dropped from somewhere just over $2,000 to about $1,600. So, a basic Packard was about double the average family annual income. A Ford was about 1/4 of average family annual income.
That background to make the point - if you owned a Packard, 8 quarts of oil each month wasn’t likely an issue for you.
*Clark Gable paid over $20,000 for his Duesenberg Model SSJ a few years later. A 280 HP supercharged roadster when a Ford V-8 made 65 HP and was considered fast - that’s why Bonnie & Clyde chose a Ford V-8.
In 1932, you would buy a bare chassis from Duesenberg for about $8-10,000, depending on the engine, and then get a custom body for another $6-$8,000.
A “doozy” in today‘s vernacular means something outrageous, wild, on the extreme end. Because back in 1932, a Duesenberg was outrageous. It cost ten times what a Packard cost, twenty times what a family made in a year. It would go 90 MPH in second gear. Push 120 in third.
So, a “Duesie”, now spelled doozy, was anything excessive, wild, or outrageous. It was the very best of the best. The word persists long after the car has been forgotten.
So about 6x? going from basic transportation Model B at around $500 (let's say, toss in doc fee) to this upper tier? In modern terms, going from my $23k Corolla to around $140k? Different ballgame, as you indicate. Not a problem for the man who has a man to do the oil changes for him.
Of course, everything was a bit different back then, way less asphalt, slower speeds and a completely different mindset about things. And let's not even contemplate how worse off they were, not having the internet, instant 24/7 news, nor social media in their lives. Primitive times--times that could create an automobile which might outlast not just the warranty period but their first, second and who knows how many owners.
Laporte Colorado?
Wow Colorado has license plates for everything I've never seen one of those before. I also didn't know where Laporte was go figure. My neighbor rebuilt a model T years ago with his brother. I was surprised how analog it is. Everything from spark/ Timing to the actual driving which isn't as straightforward as I thought. The big oddity is that on steep inclines you had to drive backwards as the fuel pickup/pump would lose prime or fuel and would stall.
I'm surprised. Model T's seem to be relatively inexpensive to purchase.
Yup
Used to live in Fort Collins co. Would take my weekly weekend cruise to to Laporte and take that main road directly west all the way to old flowers rd up in the mtnw
Also used to work at the Laporte grocery store too a couple years ago
The main reason for backing a Model T uphill was that the brake mechanism is sensitive to direction, and the brake pedal does very little to stop the car from rolling backwards. You did not want to get into a situation that required backing downhill.
I'm still recoiling over the 10,000 mile bearing lube intervals in post #28.
I've read the Ford Model T engine, a 2.9l 4cyl., was so available, the French automobile industry lobbied for restrictive import duties on all engines 2.9l and above.
POP QUIZ: What years did Ford offer Model T's in different colors -before switching to only black?
I think it was 1908 -1914.
I've read the Ford Model T engine, a 2.9l 4cyl., was so available, the French automobile industry lobbied for restrictive import duties on all engines 2.9l and above.
POP QUIZ: What years did Ford offer Model T's in different colors -before switching to only black?
I think it was 1908 -1914.
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